TORONTO, June 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Xtra-Gold Resources Corp. (“Xtra-Gold” or the “Company”) (TSX: XTG) (OTCBB:XTGRF), is very pleased to announce latest channel sampling results from the Cobra Creek Gold Corridor prospect, on the Company’s wholly- owned Kibi Gold Project, located in the Kibi – Winneba greenstone belt (the “Kibi Gold Belt”), in Ghana, West Africa. Highlights of the recently implemented outcrop stripping / channel sampling program include:
- saw-cut channel sample composites grading 23.62 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold over 5 m, including 67.9 g/t gold over 0.9 m (#KBCS023-46); and 20.48 g/t gold over 4.58 m, including 35.47 g/t gold over 1.9 m (#KBCS023-47) from newly exposed breccia zone within central portion of High Grade Gold Shoot fold structure;
- High Grade Gold Shoot extended 40 m to NE, to total strike length of approximately 110 m, with saw-cut channel sample composites grading 12.0 g/t gold over 4.3 m, including 39.7 g/t gold over 0.85 m (#KBCS023-12); and 4.1 g/t gold over 7.93 m (#KBCS023-2);
- new high grade shear structure discovered along NW flank of High Grade Gold Shoot with channel sample composites grading 10.26 g/t gold over 3.37 m, including 34.3 g/t gold over 0.75 m (#KBCS092-3); and 13.17 g/t gold over 3.15 m, including 31.5 g/t gold over 0.95 m (#KBCS092-4);
- new auriferous structure discovered along SW extension of #R2 high resistivity trend spatially associated with the Main Shear structure, approximately 625 m southwest of the High Grade Gold Shoot, returning saw-cut channel intercepts of 1.07 m grading 23.6 g/t gold (#KBCS090-V4) and 3.85 m grading 4.62 g/t gold (KBCS090-10).
The Cobra Creek Gold Corridor project corresponds to an approximately 550 m wide, NE- trending, multi-structure braided shear zone system traced to date over an approximately 850 m strike length. The quartz feldspar porphyry (“QFP”) hosted mineralized corridor encompasses at least 9 auriferous shear zones ranging from approximately 1 m to 25 m in apparent width. Gold mineralization exhibits strong spatial association with 2 prominent NE-ENE high resistivity trends appearing to reflect broad zones of strong iron carbonate (+/- silica) alteration. Approximately 1.8 km long by 300 m to 800 m wide, anomalous gold-in-soil trend spatially associated with the structural corridor.
The present surface sampling results correspond to a mechanized outcrop stripping / channel sampling program implemented from mid-October 2015 to early April 2016 on the Cobra Creek Gold Corridor project; with the exploration work designed to further delineate the High Grade Gold Shoot located at the NE extremity of the Main Shear structure and to test the SW extension of the approximately 1,100 m long #R2 high resistivity trend spatially associated with the Main Shear structure.
| Table 1: Saw-Cut Channel Grade Composites | |||||
| Cobra Creek Gold Corridor Project | |||||
| Sample | From | To | Sampled | Gold Grams | |
| String ID | (meters) | (meters) | Length | Per Tonne | Shear ID / Comments |
| (meters) | |||||
| KBCS023-45 | 2.9 | 6.8 | 3.9 | 12.61 | High Grade Shoot – Breccia |
| including | 6.15 | 6.8 | 0.65 | 23.20 | |
| KBCS023-46 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 23.62 | High Grade Shoot – Breccia |
| including | 6.1 | 7.0 | 0.9 | 67.90 | |
| KBCS023-47 | 4.12 | 8.7 | 4.58 | 20.48 | High Grade Shoot – Breccia |
| including | 5.9 | 7.8 | 1.9 | 35.47 | |
| KBCS023-48 | 3.0 | 7.55 | 4.55 | 15.11 | High Grade Shoot – Breccia |
| including | 3.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 22.00 | |
| KBCS092-3 | 0.35 | 3.72 | 3.37 | 10.26 | New Parallel Shear |
| including | 1.65 | 2.4 | 0.75 | 34.30 | |
| KBCS092-4 | 0.0 | 3.15 | 3.15 | 13.17 | New Parallel Shear |
| including | 0.0 | 0.95 | 0.95 | 31.50 | |
| KBCS092-5 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 19.35 | New Parallel Shear |
| KBCS023-2 | 1.72 | 9.65 | 7.93 | 4.10 | High Grade Shoot – NE |
| KBCS023-11 | 0.0 | 3.95 | 3.95 | 3.91 | High Grade Shoot – NE |
| KBCS023-12 | 0.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 12.00 | High Grade Shoot – NE |
| including | 1.4 | 2.25 | 0.85 | 39.70 | |
| KBCS023-13 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 5.20 | High Grade Shoot – NE |
| including | 1.68 | 2.4 | 0.72 | 13.25 | |
| KBCS023-38 | 0.0 | 0.62 | 0.62 | 27.90 | High Grade Shoot – NE |
| KBCS090-V4 | 0.0 | 1.07 | 1.07 | 23.60 | Main Shear – SW |
| KBCS090-5 | 0.0 | 1.02 | 1.02 | 10.10 | Main Shear – SW |
| KBCS090-10 | 0.0 | 3.85 | 3.85 | 4.62 | Main Shear – SW |
| Notes: | |||||
| Reported intercepts are channel string lengths; true width of mineralization is unknown at this time. Due to irregular bedrock surface the reported saw-cut channel intercepts are sample intersection lengths irrespective of mineralization topography and may not represent true width of mineralization. |
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A total of 258 saw-cut channel samples totaling 200.4 m were collected from 106 channel strings ranging from 0.4 m to 9.65 m in length; over approximately 2,600 square meters of stripped bedrock exposure. Of the 258 bedrock channel samples collected: 69 (27%) returned less than 0.1 g/t gold; 85 (33%) returned gold values between 0.1 g/t to 1 g/t; 55 (21%) between 1 g/t and 5 g/t gold; 20 (8%) between 5 g/t to 10 g/t gold; 22 (8%) between 10 g/t and 30 g/t gold; and 7 samples (3%) returned values over 30 g/t gold (67.9 g/t maximum).
Outcrop stripping successfully extended the High Grade Gold Shoot (“Blowout”) over an approximately 40 m distance to the northeast, in addition to exposing a strongly auriferous structural breccia within the central portion of the shoot. The NE-trending, strongly pyritized crackle breccia extending over an approximately 20 m strike distance and ranging from 0.4 m to 5 m in apparent width returned high grade channel intercepts of 5 m grading 23.62 g/t gold, including 67.9 g/t gold over 0.9 m (#KBCS023-46); and 4.58 m grading 20.48 g/t gold, including 35.47 g/t gold over 1.9 m (#KBCS023-47). A total of 6 channel strings encompassing 21 saw- cut channel samples totaling 16.76 m were collected from the breccia zone with individual assay values ranging from 2.2 g/t to 67.9 g/t gold; and the length weighted average grade of all 21 samples being 19.91 g/t gold. The southwestern extremity of the breccia zone sits immediately adjacent to the rock chip channel intercept of 6.7 m grading 32.32 g/t gold, including 82.22 g/t gold over 2 m in scout trench #TCK002 (November 12, 2012 news release).
Latest channel sampling efforts established the High Grade Shoot over an approximately 110 m strike length and up to approximately 15 m in apparent width; with geological mapping to date appearing to indicate that the high grade gold mineralization occurs in hinges of folded quartz / Fe-carbonate / tourmaline veins hosted along a shallow SW-plunging fold structure, and associated fold axis crackle breccia.
The outcrop stripping program also yielded a new high grade shear structure along the NW flank of the High Grade Gold Shoot. Channel sampling across the folded quartz / Fe-carbonate / tourmaline veining exposed over an approximately 12 m strike length returned mineralized intercepts of up to 3.37 m grading 10.26 g/t gold, including 34.3 g/t gold over 0.75 m (#KBCS092-3); and 3.15 m grading 13.17 g/t gold, including 31.5 g/t gold over 0.95 m (#KBCS092-4). The parallel structure lying approximately 25 m northwest of the High Grade Gold Shoot lies along the northwest margin of the prominent #R2 high resistivity trend spatially associated with the Main Shear structure.
Channel sampling of folded quartz / Fe-carbonate / tourmaline veining over an approximately 15 m strike distance on a stripped outcrop lying along the SW extension of the #R2 high resistivity trend spatially associated with the Main Shear structure, approximately 625 m southwest of the High Grade Gold Shoot, returned saw-cut channel intercepts of 1.07 m grading 23.6 g/t gold (#KBCS090-V4), 1.02 m grading 10.1 g/t gold (#KBCS090-5), and 3.85 m grading 4.62 g/t gold (KBCS090-10). Of considerable exploration interest is the presence of a flat-lying chargeability (IP) anomaly centered on the resistivity trend approximately 115 m vertically below the auriferous veining.
A 2,000 m diamond core drill program was initiated on the Cobra Creek Gold Corridor project on June 7, 2016. The first pass drilling program is designed to test up to 10 priority drill targets including 3 major high-grade gold shoots (“blowouts”), including: High Grade Gold Shoot; L17600N Shoot; and Lightning Shoot. Refer to the Q2 2016 Corporate Presentation on the Company’s website at www.xtragold.com for further details on the Cobra Creek Gold Corridor project.
QA/QC
Yves P. Clement, P. Geo, Vice President, Exploration for Xtra-Gold is acting as the Qualified Person in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) with respect to this announcement. He has prepared and or supervised the preparation of the scientific or technical information in this announcement and confirms compliance with NI 43-101. All samples in this news release were analyzed by standard fire assay fusion with atomic absorption spectroscopy finish at ALS Ghana Limited, in Kumasi, Ghana; an ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory operated by ALS Chemex. Xtra-Gold has implemented a rigorous quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) program to ensure best practices in sampling and analysis of drill core, trench channel, and saw-cut channel samples, the details of which can be viewed on the Company’s website at www.xtragold.com.
About Xtra-Gold Resources Corp.
Xtra-Gold is a gold exploration company with a substantial land position in the Kibi Gold Belt. The Kibi Gold Belt, which exhibits many similar geological features to Ghana’s main gold belt, the Ashanti Belt, has been the subject of very limited modern exploration activity targeting lode gold deposits as virtually all past gold mining activity and exploration efforts focused on the extensive alluvial gold occurrences in many river valleys throughout the Kibi area.
Xtra-Gold holds 5 Mining Leases totaling approximately 226 sq km (22,600 ha) at the northern extremity of the Kibi Gold Belt. The Company’s exploration efforts to date have focused on the Kibi Gold Project located on the Apapam Concession (33.65 sq km), along the eastern flank of the Kibi Gold Belt. The Kibi Gold Project (Zone 2 – Zone 3) maiden mineral resource estimate produced by Xtra-Gold in October 2012 represents first ever NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate generated on a lode gold project within the Kibi Gold Belt. The NI 43-101 Technical Report entitled “Independent Technical Report, Apapam Concession, Kibi Project, Eastern Region, Ghana”, prepared by SEMS Explorations and dated October 31, 2012, is filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The TSX does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This news release includes certain “forward-looking statements”. These statements are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations. 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. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of the Company’s mineral properties, and the Company’s financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company’s forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company’s forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
CONTACT: Contact Information For further information please contact: James Longshore Chief Executive Officer 416-366-4227 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.xtragold.com