Little Bear Mine Area Transferred to Panther

5 June 2019

Panther Metals PLC

(“Panther” or the “Company”)

Big Bear Project – Little Bear Mine Area Transferred to Panther

Panther Metals Plc (NEX:PALM) the NEX listed, London based, exploration and development company is delighted to announce the transfer of the Little Bear Mine area, previously a patented claim wholly enclosed within the recently acquired Little Bear North claims (announced 22 May 2019), into the Company. The addition of the mine area at nil cost to Panther is a significant addition to the Big Bear Project, in Ontario, Canada.

Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“The strategic increase of the Big Bear property announced over the last month, combined with the confirmation that the Little Bear Mine is now incorporated within Panther Metals held ground is a significant event for the business and its shareholders.

The historically reported one-ton bulk sample equivalent to 1,564g/t Au from the Little Bear Mine vein and the results of recent soil sampling in Panther’s wider Big Bear Project area, up to of 18g/t gold in soil, show the region has real exploration potential.  The adage of where there is smoke there is fire, gives credence to the potential for as an as-yet undiscovered gold vein plumbing system within the Big Bear Project area.”

Highlights

  • Transfer of the Little Bear Mine area to Panther results from a tax payment default by the previous patented claim holders, curtailing the previous 21-year claim term on the 1st June 2019.
  • Ontario licencing authorities have confirmed that the ground over the mine has now transferred to Panther as the Company is the sole holder of the encompassing claims (constituting the Little Bear North claim area).
  • The historical Little Bear Mine vein was a small-scale high-grade gold working from a shallow shaft and trenching, operating between discovery in 1935 and 1941. It is understood that the project was optioned by Noranda who undertook some exploration in 1983, but that area may have been largely unworked since that time.
  • A historical data search and compilation exercise has commenced in order to plan next steps for the area.
  • Panther considers that the Little Bear vein constitutes a high priority drill target as the bonanza grade gold mineralisation reported near surface has never been tested at depth.

Little Bear Mine Area Details

The Little Bear Mine vein reportedly consists a steeply dipping NW striking quartz vein varying up to 1.5m wide, which carries erratic but high-grade gold and secondary zinc, copper and lead, over an outcropping 61m strike length.

The vein is located at the sheared contact between the Ellis Lake Batholith intrusion and the Archean age greenstone host, consisting strongly foliated mafic metavolcanics. 

Structurally the vein has been interpreted to represent a filling within a tension fracture cutting across a larger north trending shear zone or fault. The host fault trends north, parallel to the intrusion, through Panther’s Little Bear North claim package into the recently acquired Big Duck Creek claim area (announced 28 May 2019). 

Mineralisation is reported to be vuggy and ferruginous quartz with some visible gold and varying amounts of sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena.

Historical Work Summary

  • 1935-41: Vein discovered in 1935. Shaft reported to be up to 7.3m deep excavated, according to unverified historical accounts a one-ton bulk sample from the shaft was assayed at 45.61 ounces/ton (equivalent to 1,564g/t) gold.
  • 1950: Two shallow diamond drill holes totalling only 26.8m were reportedly drilled.
  • 1970-73: Stripping and trenching was undertaken within the area with options taken out on the patented claim group by Royex Mining Ltd and Sturgex Mines Ltd. 
  • 1981: Westfield Minerals Ltd optioned the mine area and undertook geological mapping soil sampling and ground magnetic and electromagnetic geophysics.
  • 1983: The property was optioned to Noranda Exploration Company Ltd and subsequently optioned as part of a larger claim group to United Westland. Geological and geophysical ground work was reportedly undertaken.

Except for the shallow holes drilled in 1950 the Little Bear Mine vein or its possible subsurface strike extensions have never been explored at depth.  Panther considers the Little Bear Mine veins offers enough prospectivity to be fast tracked as a high-priority diamond drilling target.

The Directors accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

The Company
PANTHER METALS PLC
Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer
Mitchell Smith, Chief Operating Officer

www.panthermetals.co.uk
+ 44 (0)7971 957 685
+ 1 (604) 209 6678
info@panthermetals.co.uk
NEX Exchange Corporate Adviser
PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMITED
Mark Anwyl
Guy Miller

Company broker
SI CAPITAL LIMITED
Nick Emerson

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