Aston BAY Holdings Ltd. Announces Initial Mineral Resource Estimate FOR the Seal Zinc Deposit, Aston BAY Property
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES
OR TO U.S. NEWS AGENCIES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TSX-V: BAY
ASTON BAY HOLDINGS LTD. ANNOUNCES INITIAL MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR THE
SEAL ZINC DEPOSIT, ASTON BAY PROPERTY, SOMERSET ISLAND, NUNAVUT
December 6th, 2017 - Toronto, ON – Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (“Aston Bay” or the “Company”) (BAY:TSX -
V) is pleased to announce an initial Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate for its Seal zinc deposit located
on its 100% owned , >414,00 hectare Aston Bay property, Somerset Island, Nunavut. The deposit, which
is located ~200m from tidewater, is a stratabound body hosted in sandy dolostone and sandstone within
a thick section of Pal eozoic dolostones, and was discovered by Cominco Ltd (now Teck Ltd.) in the mid
1990s. The Aston Bay property also hosts the high -grade Storm copper prospects approximately 30 km
east of Seal.
The Seal zinc deposit is estimated to contain 1.006 million tonnes at a grade of 10.24% zinc and 46.5
grams per tonne silver, using a cutoff of 4.0% zinc equivalent. The estimate is based on diamond drilling
conducted by Cominco in 1995 -96 and Noranda in 2001, and was prepared by P&E Mining Consultants
Inc. (“P&E”) in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43 -101 Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").
Known mineralization has a thickness of up to 20 m, and extends for over 400m along strike and 50 to
100m down-dip, and is partially fault -bound. Seal is interpreted to be a Mississippi Valley –type (MVT”)
deposit, with geological similarities to the Polaris deposit located to the north in the same Paleozoic
dolostone succession. A large hydrothermal “pseudobreccia” alteration zone in the footwall of the
deposit contains minor zinc mineralization and probably represents the feeder zone. MVT deposits are
known to occur in clusters and Aston Bay believes there is exploration potential along strike for
discovery of additional mineralization.
HIGHLIGHTS OF INFERRED MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE @ 4.0% ZNEQ CUT-OFF(1-5)
Tonnage Mt Zn % Contained Zn kt Ag g/t Contained Ag koz ZnEq%
1.006 10.24 103 46.5 1,505 11.44
(1) This Mineral Resource Estimate is reported in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators
National Instrument 43-101 and has been estimated using the CIM “Estimation of Mineral Resources
and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines and CIM “Definition Standards for Mineral Resources
and Mineral Reserves.
(2) An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral
Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of
Inferred Mineral Resources in this estimate could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued
exploration.
(3) Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The
estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title,
taxation, sociopolitical, marketing or other relevant issues.
(4) ZnEq% = Zn% + (Ag g/t/39)
(5) Underground Mineral Resource Estimate cut-off of 4.0% ZnEq is based on approx. Sep 30/17 two year trailing
average metal prices of US$1/lb Zn and US$17 /oz Ag, US$ exchange rate of $0.76, estimated mining cost
C$50/t process cost C$25/t, G&A cost C$10/t, process recovery 90%, concentration ratio 8:1, smelter payables
95%, concentrate freight C$60/t and smelter treatment charges C$100/t.
The effective date of the estimate is October 11, 2017 and the supporting NI 43 -101 Technical Report
will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this press release.
The sensitivities of the ZnEq% cut-off are demonstrated in the table below.
ZNEQ% CUT-OFF SENSITIVITY OF MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE
Cut-off
ZnEq%
Tonnage
tonnes
Zn
%
Contained Zn
tonnes
Ag
g/t
Contained Ag
oz
ZnEq
%
10.0 511,582 13.90 71,110 54.8 902,040 15.31
9.0 658,524 12.69 83,553 51.1 1,081,316 14.00
8.0 763,821 11.97 91,448 49.7 1,219,338 13.25
7.0 825,503 11.55 95,341 49.7 1,318,115 12.82
6.0 862,143 11.30 97,387 49.0 1,359,135 12.55
5.0 910,482 10.94 99,626 48.0 1,405,874 12.17
4.0 1,006,081 10.24 103,061 46.5 1,505,355 11.44
Highlights of the report include:
P&E considers that the zinc and silver mineralization of the Seal zinc deposit is potentially
amenable to underground extraction;
Recent geochronology on the nearby Storm copper mineralization produced an age of 378.1 ±
1.3 Ma (Stein, 2016), within the range of uncertainty for the age of zinc mineralization at the
nearby past -producing (20.1 Mt @ 13.4% Zn) Polaris mine at 374 ± 9 Ma (Selby et al., 2005;
Dewing et al., 2007) and hence linking the Cu and Zn -Ag mineralization to the same regional
metalliferous fluid flow event; and
The property hosts a geological environment that is very favourable for additional base metal
discovery and further regional exploration is warranted to identify new areas of mineralization.
Highlights of the recommendations include:
Evaluate data from the 2017 property-wide Falcon Plus airborne gravity gradiometry survey
conducted by CGG Multi-Physics to further inform target definition;
Further investigate the numerous copper and zinc anomalies along 144 km structural trend; and
Identify and prioritize future drilling targets.
Thomas Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay, commented , “This initial Mineral Resource Estimate for the Seal zinc
deposit demonstrates the potential for high-grade zinc deposits on our Aston Bay property. The
property is already known for its prospectivity for copper mineralization, based on the multiple
mineralized zones present at the Storm copper prospect. These are just two of numerous surface
showings on the >414,000 hectare property, and we are encouraged by the potential for discovery of
additional blind mineralization at both Seal zinc and Storm copper, as well as potential blind
mineralization elsewhere on the property.”
Dr. David Broughton, Chief Geologist for Storm and Seal Projects for Aston Bay, commented “ The
resource provides further incentive for ongoing exploration, including the integration of the recently
acquired Falcon gravity gradiometry data in target generation for a planned 2018 drill program.”
QUALIFIED PERSONS
As per National Instrument 43 -101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Michael Dufresne,
M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., a Director of and 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 on the Storm Project. Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET of P&E Mining
Consultants Inc., an Independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43 -101, has reviewed and approved
the technical contents of this news release.
ABOUT ASTON BAY HOLDINGS LTD.
Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX -V: BAY) is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for
large, high -grade, sediment -hosted copper and zinc deposits in Nunavut, a mining -friendly Canadian
jurisdiction. Aston Bay is 100% owner of the 1,024,345 -acre (414,537 -hectare) Aston Bay Property
located on western Somerset Island, Nunavut. The Aston Bay Property hosts the Storm Copper Project
and the Seal Zinc Prospect, with historical drilling confirming the presence of sediment -hosted copper
and zinc mineralization.
The Company’s public disclosure documents are available on www.sedar.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements made in this press release, including those regarding the closing and the use of proceeds of
the private placement, management obje ctives, forecasts, estimates, expectations, or predictions of the
future may constitute “forward-looking statement”, which can be identified by the use of conditional or
future tenses or by the use of such verbs as “believe”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “estimate”,
“anticipate”, “project”, “plan”, and words of similar import, including variations thereof and negative
forms. This press release contains forward -looking statements that reflect, as of the date of this press
release, Aston Bay’s expectations, estimates and projections about its operations, the mining industry
and the economic environment in which it operates. Statements in this press release that are not
supported by historical fact are forward -looking statements, meaning they i nvolve risk, uncertainty and
other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Although Aston Bay believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward -
looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which
apply only at the time of writing of this press release. Aston Bay disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward -looking statement, whether as a result o f new information, future events
or otherwise, except to the extent required by securities legislation. We seek safe harbour.
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 news release.
THIS PRESS RELEASE, REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE CANADIAN LAWS, IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S.
NEWS SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN
OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN
IN THE UNITED STATES. THESE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN, AND WILL NOT BE, REGISTERED UNDER
THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AND
MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. PERSONS UNLESS REGISTERED OR
EXEMPT THEREFROM.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: (416) 456-3516