North Arrow Minerals Inc. (NAR: TSXV) ("North Arrow" or the "Company") reports that preparations are underway to resume exploration on the Company's wholly owned Hope Bay gold project in Nunavut.
The Archaean Hope Bay Gold Belt extends for a distance of eighty kilometres south of Elu Inlet on the Arctic Coast. The belt hosts three gold deposits that comprise Newmont Mining Corporation's Hope Bay gold project where mine construction is underway with initial production in 2011. Newmont reports potential combined resources for the Doris, Madrid and Boston deposits are up to nine million ounces of gold. The northernmost ten kilometres of the Hope Bay Gold Belt is covered by five surveyed mining leases that are wholly owned by North Arrow and host a number of gold discoveries made between 1960 and 1980. Some of these showings were further explored in the late 1990's when a number of new gold targets were also identified. To date, two mineralized zones of interest have been found in the Ida Point and the Granite Showing areas. Both areas have previously received intermittent exploration and currently represent very favourable exploration targets now that mining production at Newmont's Doris deposit is imminent.
Ida Point Showings: The Ida Point gold showings are hosted in sheared mafic volcanic rocks in a setting very similar to the Doris deposit. The showings were prospected in the 1960's with further exploration, including trenching and four diamond drill holes, conducted in the late 1990's. Drilling tested only an 80 m length of the Elu shear zone which is interpreted to extend for at least 600 m. One of the drill holes returned 2.12 m of 14.3 g/t gold and 5.96 m of 5.48 g/t gold while the remaining holes encountered significant gold values over narrow widths. Trenching results from one untested area of the Elu shear zone, located approximately 170 m northeast from the 1998 drilling, returned 5 m of 25 g/t gold. A number of linear, overburden covered areas thought to host additional shear zones remain untested in this area where gold is ubiquitous.
Granite Showing: This showing is approximately four kilometres northeast of Newmont's Doris mine site. It consists of a northeast trending shear zone that can be traced on surface for about one kilometre, but may extend under overburden for up to three kilometres. Auriferous quartz veins are located within this shear zone in areas of heavily carbonatised alteration ranging from 2 m to 12 m wide. Historic trench sampling results reported by Noranda from the south end of this shear zone ranged from 3.57 g/t gold over 7.22 m to 20.5 g/t gold over 5.64 m. One drill hole completed by that company in 1990 returned 3.8 m of 40.33 g/t gold. Four grab samples collected from an undrilled area 540 m north of this showing ranged from 6.9 g/t to 38 g/t gold.
In addition to the Ida Point and Granite areas, North Arrow plans to follow up on a number of prospecting targets defined during earlier exploration of the property.
Silver Potential: In addition to the gold showings, two Proterozoic silver prospects at Ida Bay and Roberts Lake have seen limited production in the 1970's, when 100,000 ounces of silver were mined from small high grade veins. These prospects will be investigated in conjunction with the gold exploration program.
The location of North Arrow's Hope Bay property, situated along strike from Newmont's multi-million ounce gold deposits, represents a significant opportunity for North Arrow and will supplement the Company's diamond exploration activities in northern Canada. The Company plans to commence drilling and surface exploration as early as possible in the spring of 2011 and will mobilize from the Hamlet of Cambridge Bay, located less than 100 kilometres to the north of the property. Access to the property may also be greatly enhanced by its proximity to Newmont's Roberts Bay Port facility and airstrip, located two kilometres and three kilometres to the southwest, respectively.
North Arrow's exploration programs are conducted under the supervision of Gordon Clarke, P.Geol (NT&NU), Vice President, Exploration for North Arrow and a qualified person under NI 43-101.
North Arrow Minerals Inc.
/s/ "D. Grenville Thomas"
D. Grenville Thomas
President and CEO
For further information, please contact:
D. Grenville Thomas
President and CEO
Tel: 604-668-8355
Gordon Clarke
Vice President, Exploration
Tel: 867-873-8483
Website:www.northarrowminerals.com
