November 1, 2012
Happy Creek drills 20.0 metres of 0.63% W03 near surface at Fox tungsten property
12-19November 1, 2012 - Vancouver, British Columbia — Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V:HPY, the “Company”) is pleased to announce additional drill results from its 100% owned, 162 square kilometre Fox tungsten-molybdenum property. The Fox property is located approximately 75 kilometres northeast of 100 Mile House British Columbia (B.C.) Canada.
New results from the RC prospect include vertical hole F12-17 containing 20.0 metres of 0.63% W03 starting at 20.0 metres depth. This includes 6.0 metres grading 1.51% W03 and a one metre interval contains 4.54% W03, 1.05% zinc, 7.1 g/t indium and 0.12 g/t gold. The true thickness is estimated to be 90% of the interval thickness.
David Blann, President and Chief Executive Officer of Happy Creek states: “We have now clearly established the presence of a new tungsten deposit containing high grades that are well within conceptual open pit mining parameters. F12-17 has expanded the RC prospect with top-tier tungsten grades that remain open in extent. In addition, the RC prospect is only part of a three kilometre long target thought to have large resource potential. The Fox property is a special opportunity for shareholders to participate in a significant new tungsten discovery.”
At the Ridley Creek area, four prospects named the 708, BN, RC and BK span a northerly trending distance of approximately 3.0 kilometres. In 2010 and 2011, trenching returned 1.0 metre of 2.38% W03 (tungsten trioxide), 0.40 metres of 11.10% W03, 7.0 metres of 0.80% W03, and 4.6 metres of 0.85% W03 at each prospect, respectively. In 2011, the first ever drilling at the RC prospect returned very positive results. On September 18, October 3 and 17, 2012, the Company announced additional results. A summary of all the final drill results for the RC prospect to date are presented in the table below.
Summary of RC zone final drill results to date
| Hole | From (m) |
To (m) |
Interval (m) |
W03 % |
W03 kg/tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F11-02 | 5.7 | 10.85 | 5.15 | 0.91 | 9.1 |
| F11-07 | 14.3 | 19.0 | 4.7 | 1.02 | 10.0 |
| F11-08 | 8.25 | 20.65 | 12.4 | 0.74 | 12.2 |
| F12-01 | 14.0 | 32.4 | 19.4 | 0.82 | 8.2 |
| includes | 22.0 | 32.4 | 9.8 | 1.43 | 14.3 |
| F12-02 | 13.0 | 25.0 | 12.0 | 0.21 | 2.1 |
| F12-07 | 13.0 | 16.0 | 3.0 | 1.18 | 11.8 |
| F12-09 | 15.0 | 26.0 | 11.0 | 0.80 | 8.0 |
| includes | 22.0 | 26.0 | 4.0 | 2.12 | 21.2 |
| F12-10 | 17.0 | 19.0 | 2.0 | 1.12 | 11.2 |
| F12-11 | 27.0 | 41.0 | 14.0 | 0.68 | 6.8 |
| includes | 28.3 | 31.6 | 3.3 | 2.71 | 27.1 |
| F12-13 | 19.0 | 22.4 | 3.4 | 0.64 | 6.4 |
| F12-17 | 20.0 | 40.0 | 20.0 | 0.63 | 6.3 |
| includes | 34.0 | 40.0 | 6.0 | 1.51 | 15.1 |
F12-17 is located approximately 25 metres southwest of F12-09 and 30 metres west of F12-01. For one part of the RC prospect, 13 drill holes have returned potentially economic tungsten grades in an area approximately 165 metres by 75 metres in dimension. This area is thought to outline the beginning of a new deposit. Importantly, F12-09, F12-11 and F12-17 are the western-most and F11-02 is the southern-most drill holes in the RC prospect. These results are thought to be globally top-tier grade and thickness and indicate the zone is open to further expansion.
Approximately forty metres north of F12-09, F12-14 is an angle hole located at the collar of F12-13 and intersected three metres of 0.15% W03 that includes several geochemical results that are only partial for tungsten. These samples are being re-done using peroxide fusion analyses that provide a more accurate tungsten assay. Several other intervals of exploration interest contain less than 0.10% W03. F12-15 and 16 are located 75 metres east of F12-11 and 12, and intersected 1.0 metre of 0.48% W03 and 0.16% W03, respectively, along with other intervals of less than 0.10% W03. At the RC prospect, all drill holes have intersected positive to potentially economic grades of tungsten that confirm a large scale mineralized system.
Results from two additional drill holes at the RC prospect are pending. Following receipt of this information, a complete map of the drill locations and final results will be posted on the Company’s website.
Drilling to date has focused on the RC prospect that is an approximately 300 metre portion of the three kilometre long target area of favorable geology and mineralized outcrops, and its width remains unknown. Scheelite (tungsten mineral) occurs within a favorable geological unit comprised of calc silicate and skarn that is between 20 and 40 metres in thickness. From surface trenches, the mineralized zone dips at an angle of around 15 degrees to the west.
Tungsten has the highest melting point and tensile strength, and the lowest vapour pressure and thermal expansion of all pure metals (1). The British Geological Survey has recently ranked tungsten as amongst the scarcest elements on earth and deemed it a strategic metal that is critical for industrial, military and electronic manufacturing applications. Outside of China, globally commercial tungsten grades are generally greater than 0.24% W03. Very few mines average greater than 0.45% W03 and almost all are underground settings. In June 2012 the market price for W03 was around $30/kg and as such, a grade of 0.63%W03 is equivalent to 2.5% copper or 194.0 g/t silver (2).
The Fox property contains positive tungsten values in drill core, outcrop, stream sediment and soil in an area approximately ten kilometres by three kilometres in dimension that remains largely under explored. Approximately four kilometres to the south of the RC prospect, the Nightcrawler zone has returned encouraging tungsten values; widely spaced drilling in an area 1.5 kilometres by 500 metres in dimension include 5.0 metres of 0.33% W03 and 2.0 metres of 0.74% W03 and surface samples contain over 3.5% W03. The Ridley Creek and Nightcrawler areas are both open to further expansion.
Happy Creek has advanced the Fox prospect from a very early stage to a new tungsten discovery with large scale and grades thought to be comparable to some of the best tungsten mines or advanced stage projects world-wide. The near-surface, potentially open-pit configuration and the nearby resource-based infrastructure are additional positive aspects of this project.
Results for drill holes F12-18 to F12-29 are pending.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
“David E Blann”
____________________
David E Blann, P.Eng.
President, CEO
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
David Blann, President, CEO
Corporate Office:
Phone: 604.662.8310
Email: Info@happycreekminerals.com
Website: www.happycreekminerals.com
Investor Relations:
James Berard Phone: 604-687-2768 Toll free: 1-877-459-5507
David Blann, P.Eng., is a Qualified Person as defined under Canadian NI43-101 regulations and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release. Happy Creek employs a strong Quality Assurance and Control system for its drilling programs. Samples are cut from NQ size drill core using a rock saw or hand-splitter, and a blank, standard or duplicate are inserted into the sample string every tenth sample. Samples are sealed and shipped to Agat Laboratories in Burnaby, B.C. where they are prepared and analyzed first by aqua regia digest and ICP + ICP-MS finish. Samples that return greater than 50 ppm W (tungsten) are then re-tested in triplicate using a peroxide fusion digestion and ICP-finish and are averaged to provide a preliminary result. When these assays return greater than 1.0% W, the sample is subjected to an XRF assay and all four assays are averaged for a final result. Final results for holes F12-1 to F12-17 are presented here. In general, the individual tungsten assay results are around +/- 12% of the average and considered reasonable for a nugget effect inherent to coarse grained scheelite/tungsten mineralization. W is converted to W03 with a multiplication factor of 1.261. (1) Wikipedia. (2) Copper/silver equivalent grade does not account for metallurgical recovery and assumes prices of $7.72/kg copper, $1.0/gram silver and $30.0/kg W03.
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.
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