Toronto, ON - TheNewswire - December 13, 2022 - CANSTAR RESOURCES INC. (TSXV:ROX) & (OTC:CSRNF) (“Canstar” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on the ongoing exploration programs at its properties in southcentral Newfoundland. The diamond drilling program that commenced in mid-September is ongoing and expected to be completed at the end of this week.  Assay results are pending from more than 50 drill holes in approximately 6,200 metres (“m”) worth of drilling at the Kendell prospect and targets at Hillside-Skidder, 97 West, Golden Eye, Northbrush and Wolf Pond (Figures 1 & 2).

Highlights:

• ••A new high-grade gold discovery was made on the claims near Facheaux Bay, located 43 kilometres (“km”) southwest of the Kendell prospect (Figure 1). Outcrop grab samples collected from arsenopyrite-bearing quartz veining hosted in sedimentary rocks assayed 18.4 grams per tonne (“g/t”) and 13.7 g/t gold. 

• ••Gold assays of 197.0 g/t, 45.6 g/t and 29.6 g/t were returned from separate channel cut samples that were 0.5 m long and collected from a recently discovered, ~2 m wide quartz-veined and silicified float boulder that contains abundant fine grained visible gold (see photo 1). The boulder is located 325 m east of the Blow Out target with the bedrock source yet to be determined. 

• ••Channel samples from a new trench at 97 West returned 3.3 g/t gold over 5 m, including 18.0 g/t gold over 0.7 m. 

• ••Several new target areas were identified in areas with no previous trenching or drilling. Rock grab samples from a mineralized trend located 1.8 km southwest of the Kendell prospect assayed up to 6.1 g/t gold in outcrop and 5.3 g/t gold in float. A newly identified target area 1.1 km south of Wolf Pond yielded quartz vein float samples over an area 350 m long along strike that returned gold  assays of 19.7 g/t, 11.8 g/t, 4.4 g/t, and 4.2 g/t (Figure 2).  

Readers are advised that rock grab samples are selective by nature and values reported may not represent the true grade or style of mineralization across the property.

• ••On the Hermitage property, the Company identified elevated concentrations of tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), and ytterbium (Yb) from stream sediment concentrates. These elements suggest that there is the potential for the Hermitage property to host Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum (LCT)-type pegmatite mineralization. Results are pending for subset of rock samples analyzed for lithium-cesium-tantalum and associated pathfinders.  

Matthieu Lapointe, VP Exploration of Canstar, commented: “Our exploration team has made immense progress this year on two fronts.  The team, which was expanded this year, conducted exploration work along key trends across the vast 939 km2 mineral claim package and was successful in making several new gold discoveries, the most notable being at Facheaux Bay.  In addition, we have made great strides in how we convert mineral occurrences to drill targets, which is done using geophysics (LiDAR, mag, and IP) and geochemical sampling (rock, till, and trench channel sampling).  Glaciation and the resulting till cover make pinpointing the sources of gold mineralization more challenging.  However, we are confident that our systematic and efficient data-centric approach will lead to new gold discoveries with the drill. The continued discovery of boulders with visible gold confirms that there is high-grade mineralization in the vicinity and we believe that it is just a matter of time until we locate the source through drilling.”  

2022 Exploration Program Update

The 2022 exploration program on the Golden Baie and Hermitage properties has been extensive and productive.  The Company estimates that approximately $5.5 million will be spent on exploration activities this year.  These expenditures have funded grass roots regional exploration, as well as drill target generation and diamond drilling.

Fall 2022 Drill Program

As of December 12th, a total of 9,093 m of drilling in 92 diamond drill holes has been completed during the 2022 season. Assay results from the winter drill program on the Kendell prospect (2,907 m in 39 holes) were announced on July 5, 2022, and extended high grade gold mineralization for a total of 180 m downdip.  A fall drill program commenced in September 2022 and expanded drill testing of the Kendell prospect as well as multiple other targets along an area which extends for approximately 10 km along strike to the northeast and has multiple surface gold anomalies.  

Drilling is ongoing and expected to be completed at the end of this week.  Since September, more than 50 holes totaling over 6,000 metres have been drilled at the Kendell prospect and target areas at Hillside-Skidder, 97 West, Golden Eye, Northbrush and Wolf Pond. The Company expects to announce assay results early in the new year, once results have been received and interpreted.

Regional Exploration

Many of the mineral claims on the vast 939 km2 land package held by Canstar have had little or no prior gold exploration work. Extensive grass roots exploration work was completed throughout 2022, including helicopter-supported work on more remote mineral claims with no road access.  Approximately 2,300 grab samples, 600 m of channel samples, 2,200 soil samples, 38 stream sediment samples and 410 till samples have been collected during the 2022 field season. Results will be released once compiled and interpreted for each target area.

 

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Figure 1 - Mineral claim licenses, totaling 939 km2, held by Canstar in south-central Newfoundland

 

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Figure 2 - Plan map of Golden Baie central claims with some of the significant results to date. Results in bold text are from 2022 season.

 

2022 Exploration Program Discussion

Facheux Bay – Hermitage Flexure

In the spring and summer of 2022, Canstar completed helicopter-supported prospecting, stream sediment sampling and channel sampling on the Hermitage and Facheux Bay claim areas. These claims are located from 45 to 80 km west-southwest of the core licenses comprising the Golden Baie property. No modern exploration has taken place in these regions aside from regional-scale mapping and base metal prospecting in the 1980s.

Prospecting and reconnaissance mapping by Canstar on the Facheux Bay property has led to a newly discovered zone of quartz veining with associated arsenopyrite hosted in fine grained sedimentary rocks, similar to those that host the Kendell gold mineralization. Outcrop sampling of this zone has delineated a gold trend with grades exceeding 1.0 g/t that strikes northeast-southwest for over 600 m and has samples grading up to 18.4 g/t gold (Figure 3 and Table 1). The mineralization remains fully open along a northeast-southwest trend with follow up prospecting required.

Systematic prospecting and mapping traverses across the Hermitage property this year did not reveal any significant gold results. However, the Company identified elevated concentrations of tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), ytterbium (Yb), uranium (U) and thorium (Th) from instrumental neutron activation analysis (“INAA”) of the stream sediment concentrates. These incompatible elements are often associated with highly evolved felsic systems and suggest that there is potential for the Hermitage property to host Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum (LCT) -type pegmatite mineralization. Results are pending for a subset of rock samples analyzed for lithium-cesium-tantalum and associated pathfinders. Lithium-bearing pegmatite dykes have recently been discovered along the Hermitage Flexure by other exploration companies in Newfoundland.

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Figure 3 - Plan map of Facheaux Bay discovery areas with notable grab sample results.

Gold Boulder Discovery

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In 2020, a one- to two-tonne boulder of quartz with inclusions of shaley wall rock was discovered 325 m east of the Blow Out drill target (Photo 1). A grab sample of the boulder returned a grade if 36.1 g/t gold (see news release dated

Dec. 8, 2020

). In the summer of 2022, Canstar collected three 0.5 m long channel samples from this boulder with all of the samples containing fine grained visible gold. The channel samples assayed 197.0 g/t, 45.6 g/t, and 29.6 g/t gold. The overburden which blankets the area precludes the ability to easily identify the bedrock source of this boulder. To vector back to the source, the Company has collected closely spaced till samples in an ‘up-ice’ direction from the boulder at East Blow Out (Figure 4). The till samples have been sent to Overburden Drilling Management (“ODM”) for processing to determine the total gold

grains and characterize the gold grains based on their shape. This information will be used to assess the proximity of potential local bedrock gold sources.

 

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Figure 4 - Map with sample locations relative to Blow Out drilling area. Includes locations of new till samples collected up-ice of the boulder at East Blow Out.

 

New Magnetic and VLF Airborne Surveys

The Company recently initiated a 1,900 line-kilometer airborne survey using GoldSpot’s Multi-Parameter Airborne Survey System (M-PASS). The gradient magnetic/VLF survey will be acquired at a 50 m-line spacing over the Facheux Bay discovery area as well as the corridor from Kendell to southern Wolf Pond where GoldSpot and Canstar have identified several high priority targets (Figure 5). The closely-spaced survey will aid with the interpretation of this year’s exploration and drilling results and also advance the Company’s understanding of local geology and structural controls on mineralization.

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Figure 5 - Map of GoldSpot high priority targets areas and polygons representing MPASS survey areas.

 

 

Table 1 - Summary of assay results reported in this news release.

Qualified Person

Matthieu Lapointe, B.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President Exploration of Canstar, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, is responsible for the scientific and technical data presented herein and has reviewed and approved this release.

 

QA/QC

All 2022 drilling is NQ-sized drill core. Core samples are split with a diamond saw and half-core retained for further study after being detail logged and photographed. Core and rock samples are submitted to SGS Canada Inc. in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland for preparation and then sent to SGS Canada Inc. analytical laboratory in Burnaby, British Columbia. Samples are assayed using a 30 g fire assay with AAS finish (SGS code GO_FAA30V10). Samples with visible gold are assayed using a screen metallic method (SGS code GO_FAS30K). All rock samples returning >1 g/t Au are reanalyzed using screen metallic method (SGS code GO_FAS30M). Additional geochemical data (34 element) are acquired using a aqua regia digest with ICP finish (SGS code GE_ICP21B20).

Canstar's QAQC program utilizes commercially available reference standards, blanks and duplicate samples to ensure data quality. In addition, duplicates of selected samples are being sent to a second laboratory as check assays.

Acknowledgements

Canstar wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the 2022 exploration program through the Junior Exploration Assistance Program from the Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

About Canstar Resources Inc.

Canstar Resources has a very experienced technical team and board who are focused on new mineral discoveries in Newfoundland, Canada. Central Newfoundland has emerged as one of the most exciting gold exploration districts due to recent high-grade orogenic gold discoveries along crustal scale fault corridors. The Company is focused on gold exploration on 939 km2 of mineral claim licenses in south-central Newfoundland, including the Golden Baie project which has multiple high-grade gold anomalies at surface along 40 km of strike and near-surface drilling confirming the presence of high-grade orogenic gold. The Company also holds the Buchans-Mary March project in central Newfoundland.

 

Canstar Resources is based in Toronto, Canada, and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ROX and trades on the OTCPK under the symbol CSRNF.

 

For further information, please contact:

Rob Bruggeman, President & CEO

Email:        rob@canstarresources.com

Phone:        1-647-247-8715

Website:www.canstarresources.com

 

Forward-Looking Statements

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

 

This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company’s future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward looking statements may be identified by such terms as “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “will”, or “plan”. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company’s objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate First Nations and other indigenous peoples, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains, and those risks set out in the Company’s public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.