Golden Sky Identifies Large 3km x 1km Copper Soil Anomaly on the Rayfield Property, British Columbia
Golden Sky Identifies Large 3km x 1km Copper Soil Anomaly on the Rayfield Property, British
Columbia
Vancouver, March 30, 2022 – Golden Sky Minerals Corp. (AUEN.V) (the “Company” or “Golden Sky”) is
pleased to announce the results of the 2021 soil program conducted on its 100% owned Rayfield Property
(“the Property”) in British Columbia . The program consisted of 1,337 B -horizon soil samples that
encompassed an area of 26 km2 (~4km x 6.5km). This program was designed to create a compreh ensive
database for surficial geochemistry and to outline any soil anomalies on a regional scale. In addition to
the soil samples, a total of 2 7 rock samples were collected and submitted for both geochemical and
lithogeochemical analysis.
This first-pass soil program successfully delineated a large copper -in-soil anomaly (>100 ppm Cu) that
extends >3.0 kilometres (north to south) and up to ~1.0 kilometre wide (east to west). Within this anomaly
are several soil samples that assayed up to ~4,000 ppm Cu (0.400% Cu) (Figure 1).
“We are very pleased with the early success of this extensive soil program on the Rayfield Property,” stated
Cameron Dorsey, VP Exploration of Golden Sky . “A broad copper -in-soil anomaly has now been defined
with similar geological, geochemical, and geophysical characteristics that are commonly associated with
other alkalic porphyries in the Quesnel Terrane. We are very excited to get boots back on the ground for
exploration in 2022.”
The Rayfield Project is located in the Quesnel Trough, British Columbia’s primary copper-producing belt,
which hosts Teck Resources’ Highland Valley Mine, Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley Mine, Centerra Gold’s
Mount Milligan Mine, and Kodiak Copper’s MPD Project (see Figure 2). The Rayfield Copper-Gold Project
is located approximately 20 kilometers east of the Town of 70 Mile House, British Columbia, and is
accessible year-round by well-maintained service and logging roads extending from BC Highway 97.
TSX-V: AUEN
GOLDEN SKY MINERALS CORP.
2110 -650 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada, V6B 4N9
Telephone: 604 568 8807
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www.goldenskyminerals.com
Figure 1: Assay values for copper in the 2021 soil program overlaying airborne geophysical magnetic survey (TMI) results.
Copper assays become elevated above and adjacent to two magnetic anomalies. Surficial geology, occurring as thicker blanket
till on the plateau and colluvium along the margins of the canyon, is likely affecting the copper values. Intermittent copper
assays may be indicating an extension of copper mineralization to the northwest and southeast within thick till cover.
Figure 2: Rayfield Copper-Gold Project in relation to major projects in the Quesnel Trough.
Rayfield Property 2021 Fieldwork Highlights:
• Elevated copper-in-soil anomalies were identified adjacent to, and overlying, several geophysical
magnetic and radiometric anomalies (Figure 1). These geophysical characteristics are similar to
those signifying other alkalic copper-gold porphyry systems in the Quesnel Terrane. The elevated
copper grades from the 2021 soil program may indicate a mineralized porphyry system at depth.
• Surficial geology varies across the property, with a thick till blanket on the plateau and colluvium
along the canyon margins. As the till is typically quite thick, slight increases in pathfinder mineral
abundances are therefore crucial in vectoring towards a target zone. Several elements, including
copper (Cu), silver (Ag), bismuth (Bi), arsenic (As) and zinc (Zn) are closely correlated here, and
are commonly associated with porphyry deposits . The overlap of these pathfinder elements
defines a Cu-Ag-Bi-Zn-Pb anomaly that extends approximately 1.8 kilometres (north-south) by
1.5 kilometres (east-west), centered on a magnetic anomaly (Figure 3).
• Geological and alteration mapping delineated several zones of intense sheeted and stockwork
quartz veining (up to 20% of rock volume) and localized brecciation (Figure 4). Potassic alteration
occurs commonly as halos bounding quartz veinlets. The m ost abundant sulphide minerals
observed were bornite and chalcopyrite , associated with malachite and azurite. Native copper
was also present. A total of 27 rock grab samples were collected in 2021, with assays up to 0.45%
Cu. Copper mineralization was mainly constrained to quartz vein margins but were also present
as disseminations within intrusion s of intermediate composition . The highest-grade samples
were collected near the northern limits of the 2021 soil program in a zone that was never tested
by historic drilling.
• Sheeted quartz vein orientations strike northwest and dip moderately-steeply northeast. In zones
of stockwork quartz veining, however, veins strike east-west and dip shallowly-moderately to the
north (Figure 4) . Both sets of quartz veins are mineralized, commonly with trace amounts of
bornite and/or chalcopyrite.
• The soil sampling program also revealed that low-moderate gold values are commonly associated
with copper-in-soil anomalies. Although the threshold for a nomalous gold-in-soil is established
as >10 ppb Au, three samples assayed from ~250-500 ppb Au (0.25-0.50 g/t Au) (Figure 5). These
higher-grade results are in close proximity to the Rayfield River canyon, which may be the surface
expression of a fault zone that may have acted as a conduit for hydrothermal fluids enriched in
gold. The Vidette Mine area, located about 20 km to the southeast, is marked by high-grade gold-
bearing epithermal quartz veins. These quartz veins were mined in the 1930s , with an average
grade of 30-45 g/t Au. A similar system of epithermal quartz veins enriched in gold may explain
the gold-in-soil anomalies outlined in the 2021 program.
John Newell, President and CEO of Golden Sky Minerals, states, “We are very pleased with this
initial soil work at our Rayfield project, as we prepare the property for further exploration in
2022. Golden Sky is well funded and will continue to explore and build upon its geological
database for our district-sized, ~11,000-hectare Rayfield property. We are encouraged that this
work is just the beginning to help us reveal the property’s potential to host a copper gold
porphyry system.”
Rayfield Property 2021 Fieldwork Highlights:
• In 1989, a 34 line -kilometer Induced Polarization (IP) survey on the Rayfield Property outlined
several chargeability “high” zones, which were subsequently tested by drilling programs in 1989,
1990, and 2008. Interestingly, many of the chargeability “high” zones trend east -west within an
overall northwest-southeast trend, very similar to the orientation of the magnetic highs and the
observed quartz vein orientations (Figure 5). Importantly, due to the shallow response of the
survey (limited to ~125m depth), these anomalies are interpreted to remain open to depth.
Golden Sky believes that , with modern exploration methods, there is significant potential to
discover additional mineralized zones at depth.
• Exploration drilling on the property from the 1970s to the early 2000s comprised just 60 holes
(7,774.2 metres), with the majority of the holes being shallow percussion holes typically <60 m
in depth. Historic drilling outlined a broad footprint (~450m x 2,100m) of low-grade copper
mineralization and hydrothermal alteration indicating potential for a copper-gold porphyry
system. Further drilling is warranted to determine if historic drilling on the Rayfield Property
intersected the higher-grade core of the porphyry system.
o 1970 Exploration Program: 31 percussion holes totalling 1,748 m
▪ Drillhole highlights include: 0.42% Cu over 6.1m
o 1989 Exploration Program: 8 diamond drillholes totalling 1,141 m
▪ Drillhole highlights include: 0.18% Cu and 71 ppb Au over 33.9 m; 0.14% Cu and
30 ppb Au over 66.7 m
o 1990 Exploration Program: 14 diamond drillholes totalling 3,337 m
▪ Drillhole highlights include: 0.13% Cu and 35 ppb Au over 164 m
o 2008 Exploration Program: 7 diamond drillholes totalling 1,548.2 m
▪ Drillhole highlights include: 0.13% Cu and <10 ppb Au over 67 m
• The Rayfield Property is located within the Quesnel Trough, a major mineralogic belt hosting
major alkalic porphyry deposits.
Figure 3: Pathfinder element plots for copper mineralization encompassing the defined copper-in-soil anomaly and also
extending potential mineralization up to 1km to the south. There is a thick till blanket covering most of the plateau, masking
underlying bedrock element distribution.
Figure 4: Rock grab samples with radiometric and magnetic geophysical surveys. Outcrop is rare due to till cover but was well exposed near the Rayfield River canyon margin.
Potassic halo alteration commonly occurs with radiometric potassium anomalies that also coincide with magnetic high features.
Figure 5: Gold-in-soil results from 2021 program overlying Cu soil contours, and magnetic survey (1VD). Lower-grade gold
associated with copper is typical of Cu-Au porphyry systems. Higher-grade gold along linear trends may be related to epithermal
quartz vein systems similar to the Vidette gold mine, ~20km to the southeast.