BOISE, Idaho, Nov 03, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc. (THMG) (the Company) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Thunder Mountain Resources, announced today the completion of leases on two parcels of private ranch land totaling approximately 489 acres. The land consists of both surface and mineral rights, and is prospective exploration land adjacent to their South Mountain Project in Owyhee County, Idaho. The Company and its subsidiary now control approximately 815 acres of private land and mineral rights plus 21 unpatented mining claims totaling approximately 420 acres. The acquisition of the ranchland brings the total land package under control at South Mountain to approximately 1,235 acres. The leases were obtained under reasonable terms and carry annual rental costs and a 3% royalty if the economic mineralization is discovered and future production takes place.
The geology of the newly acquired land consists of metasedimentary rocks in structural contact with Cretaceous/Tertiary granitic intrusives. The Company's geologists believe there is potential of down dip extensions of mineralization extending beneath the newly-leased land. The Company also identified a large area of structurally-controlled breccias in the metasediments and intrusive situated on the new parcels, based on previous work by South Mountain Mines, Inc., and by the Company. Select rock chip samples from brecciated zones along structures indicate zinc values ranging from 125 parts per million (ppm) to 769 ppm and gold values ranging from 0.278 ppm to 1.66 ppm gold (0.008 to 0.049 ounce per ton (opt)). A preliminary orientation soil survey has identified a 1,200' x 900' significant anomaly with gold values ranging from 0.01 ppm to 0.176 ppm (0.005 opt). These breccias are generally parallel to known mineralization on the South Mountain property, and may be indicative of larger intrusive-contact related mineralization at depth.
The 326-acre South Mountain Project was acquired when Thunder Mountain Resources, Inc acquired all of the stock in South Mountain Mines, Inc. in September, 2007. The principal metals historically recovered from the South Mountain property were silver, zinc, lead, copper, and gold. Approximately 83,653 tons of ore are reported to have been extracted from the district, principally during World War II when, based on smelter receipts, there were 53,635 tons of ore direct-shipped to a smelter with a grade of approximately 14.5% zinc, 10.5 opt silver, 1.4% copper, 0.06 opt gold, and 2.4% lead.
The Company is currently conducting a core drilling program on their patented claims at South Mountain to test the down dip extension of the significantly mineralized Texas and DMEA 2 ore zones that were encountered and mined in by historic underground workings. The drilling is targeting mineralization approximately 300 feet down dip of the Sonneman Level, the lowermost tunnel that encountered both of these favorable mineralized ore shoots as well as a number of others. The targets were refined by placing the historic data into a computer mine model. Drilling of the first hole to test the DMEA 2 ore zone commenced on September 16th. A successful drilling program during the remainder of 2008 and in 2009 could significantly increase this resource by extending the known mineralized zones down dip and along strike of current known mineralization.
Jim Collord, President of Thunder Mountain Gold, said of these developments, "We are very excited to have worked with the local private property owners and reach terms that were acceptable to all parties. The acquisition of these parcels will allow us to pursue the known targets to depth, and to pursue a new exploration model for the district. The fact that there are anomalous gold values in the large breccias zones to the south of the main mineralization suggests that there is a tremendous upside potential for the district. We look forward to expanding our exploration targets in the future."
About Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc.:
Thunder Mountain Gold is an exploration company focused on the generation of precious and base metal projects in the Western United States, Mexico, and Alaska. A 73-year old company, Thunder Mountain Gold performs its own natural resource exploration and generates value for shareholders by aggressively developing high-grade, high-quality precious and base metal resources in politically stable mining regions.
Forward-Looking Statements: Statements made which are not historical facts, such as anticipated production, exploration results, costs or sales performance are "forward-looking statements", and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, expected or implied. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, metals prices volatility, volatility of metals production, exploration project uncertainties, industrial minerals market conditions and project development risks. Refer to the Company's Periodic Filings for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. Thunder Mountain Gold undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Cautionary Note to Investors - The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce.
SOURCE: Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc.
Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc.
Investor Relations:
Eric Jones, 208-658-1037
eric@thundermountaingold.com
or Jim Collord, 208-658-1037
jim@thundermountaingold.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
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