Aton Announces Further Results of Selective Grab Sampling at the Rodruin Prospect, with GOLD Assays up to 15.45 G/T, and the Identification of GOLD Mineralization IN Ancient Workings to at Least 40M Below Ground Level
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ATON ANNOUNCES FURTHER RESULTS OF SELECTIVE GRAB SAMPLING AT THE RODRUIN PROSPECT, WITH
GOLD ASSAYS UP TO 15.45 G/T, AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF GOLD MINERALIZATION IN ANCIENT
WORKINGS TO AT LEAST 40M BELOW GROUND LEVEL
Vancouver, April 16, 2018: Aton Resources Inc. (AAN: TSX -V) (“Aton” or the “Company") is very pleased to
provide investors with an update on exploration activities at the Co mpany’s 100% owned Abu Marawat
Concession (“Abu Marawat” or the “Concession”), and to announce gold assay results from the third phase
of grab sampling at the recently discovered Rodruin prospect.
Highlights:
• A third phase of selective surface grab sampling has been completed at Rodruin, consisting of a total
of 58 samples, including 2 QAQC samples. Samples were an alyzed for gold by fire assay and a 33
element geochemical suite;
• Grab sa mples returned gold assay grades including 15.45, 11.95 and 10.65 g/t Au from a well
mineralized ancient underground working at the western end of the South Ridge, and 7.08 g/t Au
from the eastern end of the North Ridge. Base metal and trace element results are still pending;
• 16 of the 5 6 ‘primary’ samples (29% of total ) returned gold assay grades above 1 g/t Au, and 28
samples (50% of total) returned grades above 0.5 g/t Au;
• This third phase of grab sampling continues to confirm the widespread distribution of surface gold
mineralization at Rodruin. Underground inspection and sampling of the 40m deep ancient stope has
confirmed that strong gold mineralization persists to at least 40m below ground level, and apparently
continues at depth.
• Work on the access road construction is continuing, and it is estimated that the road will reach the
main area of ancient workings at the western end of Rodruin in approximately 2-3 weeks’ time.
“Rodruin continues to provide very encouraging results” said Mark Campbell, President and CEO.
“Widespread mineralization continues to be identified at surface, and strong mineralization has now been
confirmed at depth from the old workings. Ongoing geological mapping is increasing our level of
understanding of the deposit, and will inform the design of the upcoming first phase drilling program, which
is now planned to start after Ramadan.”
Rodruin Prospect
The Rodruin prospect (see Figure 1) was discovered in early December 201 7 by Aton geologists (see news
release dated December 14, 2017), and is located approximately 18km east of the Company’s Hamama West
mineral deposit. The Rodruin prospect is located over an area consisting of 2 approximately E-W trending
parallel mountain ridges, in a remote and rugged location. It is currently still only accessible on foot, but can
be reached via drivable desert tracks which pass within about 3km of the prospect, although the construction
of an access road to Rodruin from its western side is now well advanced. Rodruin is now the clear and primary
focus of the Company’s exploration efforts at Abu Marawat.
Very extensive ancient workings have been identified at Rodruin covering a large area, and occurring
predominantly along the margins of, or within a series of slates and carbonate rocks. These ancient mine
workings are the largest and most significant workings identified to date in the Concession. The workings are
spread over an area of at least 500m x 400m in size, and over a vertical elevation range of more than 100m,
and are located predominantly on the South Ridge of the Rodruin prospect, with fewer workings on the North
Ridge. The ancient miners clearly exploited high grade gold mineralization, often associated with gossanous
gold-bearing quartz veins; with the workings typically targeting structural or shear zones, which are typically
localized along lithological contacts or in fold hinge zones.
Figure 1: Abu Marawat regional geology, showing the location of the Rodruin prospect
February-March 2018 Phase 3 surface sampling program
The third phase program of surface sampling was carried out in the second half of February and early March
2018, with 56 selective grab samples collected. This program now completes the planned surface sampling
at Rodruin for now. Further surface channel sampling will be undertaken once the road has been completed
to Rodruin, and the onsite arrival of the plant will allow for mechanical excavation and exposure of potentially
mineralized bedrock, currently covered by scree and talus . All samples were crushed to - 4mm at the
Company’s onsite sample preparation facility at Hamama, with c. 500g splits shipped to ALS Minerals at Rosia
Montana, Romania for analysis. Samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay using analytical code AA-Au23
(repeated by AA -Au25 for samples w hich returned gold grades greater than 10 g/t). Samples were also
analyzed for Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn as part of a 33 element suite by ICP atomic emission spectrometry, using
analytical code ME-ICP61. Base metal and trace element results are still pending, and are not reported herein.
Figure 2: Sample locations and gold assay results, Phase 3 grab sampling program only
Figure 3: Sample locations and gold assay results, combined Phase 1 to 3 grab sampling programs
Of the 56 grab samples collected, most were collected at surface from the Central Valley area or the North
Ridge (see Figure 2). 8 samples were also collected from a deep ancient underground stope identified during
the Phase 2 sampling program in the main area of workings at the western end of the South Ridge (see news
release dated March 5, 2018, and Figure 2). It remains apparent that outcropping mineralization is more
widespread on the South Ridge, and is more areally restricted to discrete high grade structurally controlled
zones on the North Ridge. A new zone of ancient workings and mineralization was identified and sampled
during the Phase 3 program near the summit of the North Ridge, near its eastern extent (see Figure 2) . Full
details of all samples are provided in Appendix A.
Significant gold assays were returned from many samples , notably the samples from the ancient
underground stope, with 29% of all samples assaying greater than 1 g/t Au and 50% assaying over 0.5 g/t Au
(see Table 1 and Figure 2). The overall mean average grade of all the samples was 1.65 g/t Au.
Phase 3 grab sampling has continued to confirm and extend the areas of significant surface gold
mineralization notably in the Central Valley area and the steep southern flank of the North Ridge (see Figure
2), as well as identifying a new zone of ancient workings and significant mineralization at the eastern extent
of the North Ridge summit, which returned gold grades of up to 7.08 g/t Au.
ALL SAMPLES UNDERGROUND SURFACE
No. % No. % No. %
> 5 g/t Au : 5 9% 4 50% 1 2%
> 1 g/t Au : 16 29% 8 100% 8 17%
> 0.5 g/t Au : 28 50% 8 100% 20 42%
AVERAGE (MEAN) : 1.65 7.84 0.62
AVERAGE (MEDIAN) : 0.42 6.95 0.27
No. of samples 56 8 48
Table 1: Summary of Phase 3 surface and underground sample gold assays
8 samples were collected underground from a deep ancient stope or working towards the western end of
the South Ridge, at various locations between about 15 -35m below surface ground level. The stope is open
to about 5m in length at surface, but on further i nvestigation was found to be some 40m deep, widen ing
underground with a strike length of at least 30m, and possibly more. The underground openings vary from
less than 1m to 5m in width, and are complex and anastomosing. It appears that the ancient miners followed
very high grade structurally controlled zones, but the unmined wall rocks are also significantly and strongly
mineralized. The stope is interpreted as having exploited very high grade anastomosing gossanous quartz
vein mineralization within a bac kground of well mineralized and silicified slatey sedimentary rock s.
Mineralization continues to the bottom of the stope , and the highest grade assay of 15.45 g/t Au was
returned from the deepest sample (AHA -13644) at a depth of approximately 35m below ground level. The
high grade mineralization appears to continue below the mined stope , and the miners apparently stopped
working due to the hardness of the ground, which may be due to the transition from weathered to fresh
rock.
SAMPLE
ID
ORIGINAL SPLIT NEW QAQC SPLIT
Au_AA23 Au_AA25 Au_AA23 Au_AA23 Au_AA25
AHA-13644 >10.0 15.45 >10.0 - 14.40
AHA-13645 >10.0 11.95 >10.0 - 10.75
AHA-13646 9.19 - 9.42 - -
AHA-13647 4.70 - 3.29 4.39 -
AHA-13648 2.64 - 2.33 2.90 -
AHA-13649 3.64 - 2.25 2.44 -
AHA-13650 >10.0 10.65 >10.0 - 10.35
AHA-18975 4.47 - 4.76 - -
1) all Au values in ppm; 2) AHA-13650 - visible gold logged in sample
Table 2: Summary of underground sample assays
All 8 underground samples returned significant grades (see Table 2), with a mean average grade of 7.84 g/t
Au. Visible gold was identified from at least one of the sample locations (sample AHA-13650), which returned
an assay of 10.65 g/t Au. Due to the potential presence of coarse gold in these samples, new 25g splits of the
8 pulverized and homogenized samples were taken and re-assayed by ALS, and the results are presented in
Table 2. The re- sampling exercise confirmed the original assays, and ALS have confirmed that their QAQC
procedures indicated the presence of coarse gold in these samples.
Other activity at Rodruin
Construction of the access road from the west is proceeding well, and it is anticipated that the road will reach
the main area of workings at the western end of Rodruin in about a further 2-3 weeks. The access road head
is currently about 1km to the NW of Rodruin (see Figs. 4 and 5). Once the access road has been completed
work will commence on the construction of the initial drill pads and drill access roads onsite, prior to the
equipment being stood down over Ramadan . It is now planned that drilling will start at Rodruin after the
Ramadan break, around the end of June, once sufficient drill positions have been prepared.
Figure 4: Rodruin access road, as of April 13, 2018 (red: actual position of road; yellow: planned route of road)
Figure 5: Rodruin access road head, as of April 13, 2018 (Rodruin is located behind the ridge above the excavator)
Geological mapping is ongoing at Rodruin and continues to confirm the structural complexity of the area. All
lithologies have been intensely folded, and the shear zone and structurally controlled high grade
mineralization appears to be almost entirely hosted within sedimentary lithologies, and not within the main
gossanous and mineralized carbonate unit. On the North Ridge the high grade mineralized zones appear to
be related to sub-vertically plunging fold hinges, and are likely to occur as steeply plunging shoots with limited
surface areal extent, but with significant depth potential. The structurally controlled mineralization appears
to be very late, and is quite different to the carbonate-hosted mineralization seen in a similar stratigraphic
sequence at Hamama. There appears to be only limited occurrence of volcanic rocks at Rodruin , and the
altered slatey rocks app ear to be predominantly clastic and carbonate -rich sediments, unlike the volc anic
rocks in the Hamama area. While there are broad similarities to the carbonate -hosted mineralization at
Hamama, the widespread distribution of structurally controlled high grade gold mineralization in clastic
sediments at Rodruin is very different to that seen in the Hamama area.
About Aton Resources Inc.
Aton Resources Inc. (AAN: TSX-V) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession (“Abu Marawat”),
located in Egypt’s Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamin’s Sukari gold mine. Aton
has identified a 40 km long gold mineralized trend at Abu Marawat, anchored by the Hamama deposit in the
west and the Abu Marawat deposit in the east, containing numerous gold exploration targets, including three
historic British mines. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which
display potential for the development of RIRG and orogenic gold mineralization, VMS precious and base
metal mineralization, and epithermal- IOCG precious and base metal mineralization. Abu Marawat is over
738km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line,
and a water pipeline are in close proximity.
Qualified Person
The technical information contained in this News Release was prepared by Roderick Cavaney BSc, MSc (hons),
MSc (Mining & Exploration Geology), FAusIMM, GSA, SME, Vice President, Exploration, of Aton Resources
Inc. Mr. Cavaney is a qualified person (QP) under National Instrument 43 -101 Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects.
For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:
Mark Campbell
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +202-27356548
Email: [email protected]
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this release are forward -looking statements. Since forward -looking
statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. Actual re sults in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such
statements.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Appendix A – Gold Assay Results
Sample ID Easting Northing Sample Type Au (ppm) Description
AHA-18672 552838 2912933 Grab 0.54 Soft black/red/yellow/brown gossan in shear
AHA-18673 552778 2912955 Grab 0.04 Highly siliceous carbonate with minor gossan
AHA-18674 552751 2912986 Grab 1.17 Soft brown/black gossan, in ancient working
AHA-18675 552722 2913010 Grab 1.66 Soft red/brown/black gossan, in ancient
working
AHA-18676 552721 2913025 Grab 0.25 Highly siliceous carbonate outcrop, with
minor gossan
AHA-18677 552712 2913077 Grab 0.05 Highly siliceous carbonate outcrop, with
brown gossan
AHA-18678 552431 2913140 Grab 0.01 Sheared carbonate with minor deep
red/brown gossan
AHA-18679 552489 2913065 Grab 0.96 Highly siliceous carbonate outcrop, with
minor red/black gossan
AHA-18680 552512 2913061 Grab 0.01 Red/brown gossan, in shear
AHA-18681 552689 2913010 Grab 0.19 Siliceous carbonate with brown/red/black
gossan, ancient working
AHA-18682 552707 2913004 Grab 0.10 Outcrop of strongly gossanous carbonate
AHA-18683 552748 2912953 Grab 0.91 Soft brown gossan on contact between
altered tuffs and carbonate
AHA-18684 552809 2912906 Grab 0.94 Siliceous carbonate with strong black/brown
gossan
AHA-18685 552855 2912855 Grab 1.04 Strongly iron oxide/limonite altered shear
zone
AHA-18686 552905 2912832 Grab 0.02 Iron oxide stained shear zone
AHA-18687 552969 2912812 Grab 0.17 Iron oxide stained shear zone
AHA-18688 0.17 Duplicate of AHA-18687
AHA-18689 552655 2913010 Grab 0.07 Highly siliceous carbonate with much
black/brown gossan
AHA-18690 552656 2912996 Grab 0.08 Highly siliceous carbonate with minor
black/brown gossan
AHA-18691 552660 2912962 Grab 0.15 Highly siliceous carbonate with minor
black/brown/red gossan
AHA-18692 552684 2912966 Grab 0.28 Highly siliceous carbonate with minor
black/brown gossan
AHA-18693 552688 2912978 Grab 0.56 Highly siliceous carbonate with much
black/brown gossan, ancient working
AHA-18694 552672 2913013 Grab 0.42 Highly siliceous carbonate with much
black/brown gossan, ancient working
AHA-18695 552733 2913042 Grab 0.02 Highly siliceous carbonate with minor gossan
AHA-18696 552763 2913035 Grab 0.08 Highly siliceous carbonate with minor gossan
AHA-18697 552779 2913029 Grab 0.37 Highly siliceous carbonate with minor gossan,
and minor black/brown/red gossan
AHA-18698 552802 2912957 Grab 0.55 Siliceous carbonate with brown/black gossan
at contact between tuffs and carbonate
AHA-18699 552849 2912942 Grab 0.29 Siliceous carbonate with much brown/black
gossan
AHA-18700 552863 2912946 Grab 0.12 Siliceous carbonate with much brown/black
gossan at ancient working
AHA-18851 552889 2912935 Grab 0.55 Carbonate with black/brown/red gossan,
ancient working
AHA-18852 552870 2912933 Grab 0.55 Soft black to brown gossan, ancient working
Sample ID Easting Northing Sample Type Au (ppm) Description
AHA-18853 552841 2912909 Grab 1.10 Very soft red/brown/black gossan 'vein'
AHA-18854 553101 2912871 Grab 0.12 Sheared contact on altered tuffs with iron
oxides, black alteration
AHA-18855 553090 2912905 Grab 0.27
Gossanous 'vein' on contact of altered tuffs,
soft black/brown gossan, small ancient
working
AHA-18856 553085 2912906 Grab 1.23 Contact on altered tuffs with minor
black/brown gossan with Cu staining
AHA-18857 553070 2912912 Grab 7.08 Black/brown gossan with minor Cu staining,
small ancient working
AHA-18858 553045 2912928 Grab 0.87 Sheared, altered carbonate/rich tuffs with
gossan, small ancient working
AHA-18859 553039 2912924 Grab 0.14 Soft brown/black gossan 'vein' in altered
carbonate-rich tuffs
AHA-18860 <0.01 Blank sample
AHA-18861 553039 2912942 Grab 0.14
Soft brown/black gossan 'vein' in altered
carbonate-rich tuffs (extension of sample
AHA-18859)
AHA-18862 553047 2912938 Grab 1.51 Black/red/brown gossan 'vein' with Cu
staining, ancient working
AHA-18863 553050 2912935 Grab 0.60 Brown/red gossan 'vein', ancient working
AHA-18864 553058 2912938 Grab 0.87 Deep red/brown gossan, sampled
underground in ancient working
AHA-18865 553059 2912925 Grab 2.98 Altered rock with minor gossan and boxwork
texture, ancient working
AHA-18866 553102 2912896 Grab 0.09 Black to brown gossan, ancient working
AHA-13644 552353 2913004 Underground 15.45 Narrow shear zone, hard quartz and brown
limonite (c. 35m BGL)
AHA-13645 552353 2913004 Underground 11.95 Mineralized Cu stained wall rock with FeOx
stringers (c. 25m BGL)
AHA-13646 552353 2913004 Underground 9.19 FeOx and Cu stained saccharoidal quartz vein
in very hard siliceous matrix (c. 25m BGL)
AHA-13647 552353 2913004 Underground 4.70 Friable Cu stained quartz vein material in side
vein in stope roof (c. 20m BGL)
AHA-13648 552353 2913004 Underground 2.64 Brilliant red/yellow earthy Fe oxide stained
siliceous wall rock (c. 20m BGL)
AHA-13649 552353 2913004 Underground 3.64
Siliceous, heavily FeOx impregnated quartz
vein with some Cu staining in stope wall (c.
20m BGL)
AHA-13650 552353 2913004 Underground 10.65 Bright yellow/green stained saccharoidal to
massive quartz, with visible gold (c. 15m BGL)
AHA-18975 552353 2913004 Underground 4.47 Very hard, siliceous wallrock with Cu minerals
and jarosite? (c. 20m BGL)
AHA-18981 552929 2912824 Grab 0.02 Grey carbonate body
AHA-18982 552955 2912856 Grab 0.09 Grey carbonate pod with tiny, irregular
FeOx/gossan patches
AHA-18983 552882 2912923 Grab 0.22 Dark grey bedded pyritic/dolomitic?
carbonate
AHA-18984 552726 2913079 Grab 0.01 Grey carbonate rock
AHA-18985 552743 2912971 Grab 0.54 Gossan outcrop on carbonate contact