Great Basin Options Atna's Golden Cloud Property on the Carlin Trend
Tuesday August 26, 12:42 pm ET
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 2003--Atna Resources Ltd. (TSX:ATN - News) and Great Basin Gold Ltd. (AMEX:GBN - News; TSX Venture:GBG - News) are pleased to announce that Great Basin has entered into an option agreement to acquire an interest in Atna's Golden Cloud project, located in Elko County, Nevada.
The Golden Cloud Property lies on the eastern margin of the Northern Nevada Rift system at its intersection with the Carlin Trend. The property is contiguous with i) the southern boundary of the Ivanhoe claim block, about 3 kilometres south of the Hollister Development Block where the high-grade gold-silver Clementine-Gwenivere vein systems are currently being developed by Great Basin and Hecla Mining Company; and ii) the eastern boundary of the Silver Cloud prospect that is being actively explored by Placer Dome and Teck Cominco. The main Carlin operations of Barrick and Newmont are located 10 kilometers to the southeast.
The principal target at Golden Cloud is a 'bonanza style' epithermal vein gold deposit. Outcrops of silica sinter and silica replacement bodies with widespread cinnabar mineralization are developed on the property, and occur within Tertiary 14-15 million year old volcanic flows and tuffs. Historically, some of the sinters associated with gold deposits in the vicinity of Golden Cloud were mined for their mercury content. Golden Cloud, however, is a new discovery, untouched by previous mining. Gravity anomalies, magnetic anomalies, and mineralized fractures and sinter trends on the property suggest northwest and north-northwest trending structures, similar to ore-hosting structures at Placer Dome's nearby Silver Cloud deposit and Newmont's Ken Snyder mine. The gravity survey results also indicate a potential high in the basement rocks underlying Golden Cloud's silica cap.
Most of the high-grade vein mineralization on the adjacent Ivanhoe property occurs within the basement Valmy Formation rocks beneath the Tertiary volcanic section. Gold becomes increasingly anomalous to the north on Golden Cloud, near a northwest striking structure that appears to bound the silica cap's northern flank.
Geological, geophysical and geochemical surveys by Atna have identified a second target area on the northern part of the property: an extensive, structurally-controlled zone of sinter and silicified volcanic rocks that strikes northward toward the area of the past producing Hollister pit and its feeder vein sets (Clementine & Gwenivere) on the Ivanhoe property. The qualified person for Atna's work on the property work is R. McLeod, P.Geo.
Great Basin Gold can earn a 70% interest in the property by spending $2,500,000 on exploration and development, including a minimum of 30,000 feet of drilling, making cash payments to Atna, and by assuming underlying option and property maintenance payments. Upon fulfilling the earn-in requirements, the companies would form a 70:30 joint venture for further exploration and development of the property.
Atna and Great Basin look forward to further exploration of the Golden Cloud property. A fall/winter exploration program is being planned. Great Basin Gold will manage the project with support from Atna personnel.
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