Aston Bay Holdings' Agreement with Antofagasta to Terminate
ACCESS Newswire
Untitled Document
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 18, 2015 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX-V:BAY.V - News) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") today announced that it has received preliminary notice from Antofagasta that it intends to formally terminate the Earn-In Agreement for the Storm Project ("Storm").
The execution of the Earn-In Agreement was announced by the Company on December 1, 2014. Formal termination of the agreement will occur immediately after the next meeting of Antofagasta's Business Development Committee. Antofagasta cited budget cuts due to copper market uncertainty as the reason for the termination of the agreement.
"Antofagasta's decision to terminate the agreement on Storm in no way diminishes the technical merits of the project," says Benjamin Cox, President and CEO of Aston Bay. "We believe that the property has demonstrable value potential that is attractive to investors, copper explorers and copper producers alike."
Aston Bay has commenced planning for the 2015 field season and is pleased to announce that a key focus for the upcoming field season is a kilometre-scale conductivity anomaly, the "SE Anomaly". The SE Anomaly is oval in shape with approximate dimensions of 4.0km x 1.5km and was investigated by the Company during the 2014 joint exploration program. The prospectivity of the SE Anomaly is enhanced by locally elevated levels of copper in the rocks and soils that lie above the SE Anomaly and its apparent location along the structural system that hosts mineralization identified in previous drilling.
"The SE Anomaly is indicative of the scale potential that exists at Storm," commented Benjamin Cox. "It is significantly larger than any of the known mineralized zones and we believe it to be a very compelling target."
SE Anomaly overlaid with structure, rock and soil chemistry
The SE Anomaly, presented in the image above, is one of several conductivity targets identified in the Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic (VTEM) survey data collected in 2011. Interpretation of the VTEM data suggests that sulphides may be the source of the SE Anomaly and that the top of the conductor is about 220m below surface. The prospectivity of the SE Anomaly is enhanced by the discovery of chips of copper-bearing minerals, including malachite, in frost boils located over the target as well as anomalous copper values in stream and sediment samples collected over its length. Finally, the structural environment is believed to be favourable for fluid flow, which enhances the potential for mineralization.
"Sediment-hosted copper environments are generally prospective because of their potential to host large bodies of copper mineralization," says Bruce Counts, Chief Operating Officer of Aston Bay. "Viability of concept has already been demonstrated at the Storm Copper Property with historic drilling. The next step in its exploration is the application of that model to other locations on the property, beginning with the SE Anomaly."
Senior management of Aston Bay will be available to discuss the Storm Copper Property and to provide additional corporate updates from booth 1126 at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference taking place January 18th and 19th.
Qualified Person
The content of this news release and the technical information that forms the basis for this disclosure has been prepared under the supervision of Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and a consultant to Aston Bay.
About Aston Bay Holdings Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX-V:BAY.V - News) is a publicly traded mineral exploration company focused on the 345,033-acre Aston Bay Property located on northwest Somerset Island, Nunavut. The Property hosts the Storm Copper and Seal Zinc prospects, where historic drilling has confirmed the presence of sediment-hosted copper and zinc mineralization. Aston Bay holds the right to earn or buy up to a 100% undivided interest in the Storm Property from Commander Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:CMD.V - News).
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Benjamin Cox, Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: (360) 262-6969
For further information about Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. or this news release, please visit our website at www.astonbayholdings.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. In the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. We seek Safe Harbor.
