Aston Bay Expands Land Package at its Buckingham Gold Project in Virginia Provides exploration update on ongoing drilling at Mountain Copper-Zinc Project
Aston Bay Expands Land Package at its Buckingham Gold Project in Virginia
Provides exploration update on ongoing drilling at Mountain Copper-Zinc Project
TORONTO, ON, March 10, 2022 – Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV: BAY) (OTCQB: ATBHF)
("Aston Bay " or the "Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into exploration
agreements with two private landowners to lease the mineral rights for more key parcels of land
adjacent to the Company’s Buckingham Gold Project in Central Virginia.
The newly signed exploration agreement s add 532 acres (215.3 hectares) adjacent to the parcels
that host Aston Bay’s Buckingham Gold Vein Project, extending the potential strike length of the
vein to over one mile (1.6 kilomet res (km)), as well as adding other land highly prospective for
additional gold mineralization. Negotiations with other landowners in the area are ongoing.
Figure 1: Composite gold-in-stream sample from several panned samples showing textural and size characteristics of gold grains
panned on the property, from fine-grained flakes to coarse, angular grains.
Prior to signing the agreement s, a n expedited reconnaissance stream panning program yielded
visible gold in 28 out of 45 panned samples in 10 feeder creeks on the properties. Gold was found
in samples from all ten creeks, in the form of fine flakes to coarse angular grains up to 4 millimetres
(mm) in length (Figure 1).
Subsequent to the initial reconnaissance program, timber has been harvested from a significant
portion of the area, with the remainder scheduled for harvest within the next year. Aston Bay has
initiated a surface prospecting program to investigate outcrop newly exposed by the timber
operation as well as conducting a more detailed follow -up stream panning program. A
comprehensive soil sampling program is also planned for this spring.
“We are pleased to partner with more private landowners in the area,” stated Thomas Ullrich, CEO
of Aston Bay. “We have a great gold discovery at Buckingham and wanted to expand the potential
for the possible on-strike projection of the vein system , parallel veins and cross structures . We
have confirmed panned visible gold in all 10 drainages tested within the new bloc k, which is
precisely what led Don Taylor to the high-grade gold vein discovery on the existing property.”
“Better yet,” added Mr. Ullrich, “many of the pans on this new area have yielded more gold grains,
and grains of a more coarse and more angular character, than those panned from streams that drain
directly from the area of the Buckingham Vein. Coarseness and angularity are good indicators of
proximity to bedrock source, so this is very promising for the potential for gold-bearing veins on
the parcels. As well, the recent and ongoing logging operations on the parcels facilitate exploration
by removing the dense underbrush and potentially exp osing additional outcrops in road cuts. We
have a geologist and prospector currently working on site looking for new discoveries of gold -
bearing quartz vein like at the original Buckingham Vein area.”
Buckingham Gold Vein, Virginia
Discovered at surface by prospecting in 2015 following up on a gold anomaly from a 1996/97
stream sediment survey, the NW -SE trending Buckingham Gold Vein is a subvertical
mesothermal-style gold vein that outcrops at surface and has been intercepted in dri ll core at
greater than 90 metres (m) in depth and over 200m along strike. Select significant gold intercepts
from 2019 and 2020 Aston Bay drill programs are presented in Table 1, including drill core
intervals of 35.61 grams per tonne (g/t) Au over 2.03m, 20.44 g/t Au over 3.30m and 34.25 g/t
Au over 0.5m, and 24.73 g/t Au over 3.57m including 62.51 g/t Au over 1.39m. A longitudinal
drill section showing select significant intervals is presented in Figure 2 (see also October 10, 2020
Aston Bay press release) . The vein is open at depth and along strike to the SE. Follow -up drill
programs to investigate the down-dip and along-strike potential are anticipated for 2022.
Ongoing Drill Program – Mountain Base Metals Project, Virginia
The Company is currently drilling the tenth drill hole of a 3,500m drill program at its Mountain
Base Metals Project, located 100km southwest of the Buckingham Project in Virginia. Zinc and
copper mineralization at the Mountain Project has been intersected in all 10 drill holes, where
mineralization comprises stacked zones of disseminated and semi-massive chalcopyrite and
sphalerite, with pyrite and pyrrhotite, hosted within metamorphosed carbonate rocks. The style
of mineralization suggests a SEDEX (sedimentary exhalative) deposit model, previously
unrecognized in Central Virginia. The current drill hole is expected to be the last of the twice-
extended program, as the Company pauses to await assays and construct geologic models. Full
assay results are pending, but the Company expects to release partial results with a preliminary
geologic model by end of month.
Table 1: Select Significant Gold Intercepts from Buckingham Project (2019/2020
Drill Season)
Drill Hole (m) (m) Length (m) True Width* (m) g/t Au
BUCK19-001 36.40 38.43 2.03 1.62 35.61
BUCK19-003 23.20 26.50 3.30 2.64 20.44
and 30.90 31.40 0.50 0.40 34.25
BUCK19-004 55.73 59.30 3.57 2.85 24.73
including 56.51 57.90 1.39 1.11 62.51
BUCK19-005 56.73 58.30 1.57 1.25 17.45
and 95.00 96.50 1.50 1.20 19.30
BUCK20-014 44.71 51.00 6.29 5.03 5.81
including 45.43 46.35 0.92 0.74 29.90
BUCK20-015 44.60 47.00 2.40 1.92 4.47
and 53.00 54.40 1.40 1.12 19.25
BUCK20-016 95.70 96.76 1.06 0.85 14.65
BUCK20-018 35.31 36.60 1.29 1.03 33.50
BUCK20-020 38.10 40.28 2.18 1.74 6.56
including 38.53 40.28 1.75 1.40 8.07
including 39.11 40.28 1.17 0.94 10.68
BUCK20-022b 15.50 17.00 1.50 1.20 37.70
*assuming a 72° NE dip on the quartz vein, true interval width is 80%
Figure 2: Longitudinal section of the Buckingham Gold Vein with select Au assay intervals. View looking
NE. (Assuming a 72° NE dip on the quartz vein, true interval width is 80%.)
Qualified Person
As per National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Andrew
Turner, P.Geol., a consultant to Aston Bay, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has
prepared, validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The
Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and
reporting its exploration activities.
About Aston Bay Holdings
Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for base metal s and gold
deposits in Virginia, USA, and Nunavut, Canada. The Company is led by CEO Thomas Ullrich
with exploration in Virginia directed by the Company's advisor, Don Taylor, the 2018 Thayer
Lindsley Award winner for his discovery of the Taylor Pb -Zn-Ag Deposit in Arizona. The
Company is currently drilling the Mountain Base Metals Project in Virginia, exploring the
Buckingham Gold Project, also in Virginia, and is in advanced stages of negotiation on other lands
in the area.
The Company is also 100% owner of the pro perty Storm Project, which hosts the Storm Copper
Project and the Seal Zinc Deposit and has been optioned to American West Metals Limited.
For more information contact:
Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer
416-456-3516
Salisha Ilyas, Investor Relations
647-209-9200