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The Midway gold project consists of approximately 3,500 acres within the Haile-Brewer gold trend in South Carolina, USA. The Haile-Brewer trend extends for 16 kilometres between the past-producing Haile and Brewer gold mines located within the volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Carolina slate belt (CSB). The CSB is host to a number of additional past producing mines including Rio Tinto's Ridgeway mine which had total gold production of approximately 1.5 million ounces. Romarco Minerals Inc. (R: TSXV) has been actively exploring the Haile Brewer gold trend since 2007 and is presently in the process of acquiring the necessary permits to commence mine construction at the Haile gold mine. Romarco has reported current measured and indicated resources for the Haile gold mine consisting of 3.1 million ounces gold with additional inferred resources of 1.1 million ounces gold.
The exploration opportunity within the Haile Brewer gold trend was recognized by Strongbow in 2010. The area fulfills many of the main criteria that define high quality exploration opportunities - it is located in a politically stable jurisdiction with excellent power and transportation infrastructure along a geological trend with significant, well-established mineral endowment. Strongbow has advanced the project through the assembly of a strategic land position and the identification of some very compelling gold targets through the use of geochemical and geophysical surveys and initial drilling.
The Midway project presently includes 1) over 1,700 contiguous acres covering a 2.5 kilometre strike length in the middle of the Haile-Brewer gold trend; 2) approximately 100 acres adjoining the northeastern boundary of the Haile gold mine property, directly along strike from Romarco's Haile gold mine property; and 3) over 1,000 contiguous acres directly adjoining the past producing Brewer gold mine to the east and the Buzzard exploration properties of Romarco and Firebird Resources to the southwest. Despite their location along strike from and in close proximity to the Haile and Brewer properties, extensive coastal plain sand deposits cover most of the Midway properties, and, as a result, comparably little past exploration work has been conducted in this area. Importantly, at the Haile gold mine, Romarco has discovered significant gold mineralization beneath the coastal plain sands, including intercepts of 60.7 m grading 11.9 g/t gold and 148.3 m grading 3.6 g/t gold at the Horseshoe deposit. Mineralization at the Horseshoe deposit confirms the potential of the CSB to host additional high grade gold mineralization along strike from the Haile gold mine beneath the coastal plain sands.
The Company has used geochemical survey techniques as a key exploration tool at Midway. Over 2,800 geochemical samples have been collected to date and fifteen discrete geochemical targets have been identified. Strongbow's exploration team and consultants have designed, tested and implemented surveys that use three different sampling techniques to see through the overlying sand cover (which is typically less than 10 to 15 metres thick). Analysis of all samples is performed using standard laboratory analytical techniques. The identified targets have been defined by their multi-element signatures and are robust and repeatable. The surveys have successfully defined similar geochemical anomalies over areas of know mineralization, including the Springs showing to the southwest of the Haile gold mine and also over the Lloyd zone that is located within Strongbow's Ridgeway project, approximately 65 kilometres to the southwest.
During the summer of 2011, Strongbow completed an initial ten hole (1,949 m) drilling program intended to test five of the fifteen target areas. At four of the targets, drilling intersected variable widths (centimetre scale up to 32.4 metres) of hydrothermal, sericite-silica-pyrite alteration. Molybdenite and chalcopyrite mineralization is associated with these alteration zones and gold values are locally elevated (from background up to 375 ppb gold). Drilling of the fifth target was terminated early due to challenging drilling conditions. Four of the five tested targets were located beneath ten to fifteen metres of unconsolidated sand cover. Management is encouraged by the identification of hydrothermal alteration and pathfinder element mineralization with this first phase of drilling as it confirms that a mineralized system is present and further drilling is required to fully evaluate these targets. As a comparison to highlight the need for more drilling, total drilling completed to date at the Haile gold mine property amounts to approximately 500,000 m in several thousand drill holes.
In September 2011, the Company completed additional infill surface geochemical surveys that have further confirmed and better defined the highest priority targets. The Company is planning an overburden drilling program intended to rapidly test each geochemical target with multiple, shallow (35 to 60 metre) drill holes in an effort to better define the complex geology underlying the sand deposits and identify potential mineralization. Results of the overburden drilling and the recent detailed geochemical surveys will be used to prioritize drill targets for a second phase of diamond drilling planned for 2012.
Strongbow's exploration programs at the Midway project are conducted under the supervision of David Gale, P.Geo.(BC), Vice-President of Exploration for Strongbow and a qualified person under NI 43-101.
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