Tectonic Metals Inc. (TECT: TSX-V) announced Rotary Air Blast drill assay results from the Phase II 2019 exploration program on the Company’s Northway Project located in the State of Alaska, USA. The 40 kilometre long Northway Project is bisected by the Alaska Highway on 184,000 acres of land leased from Doyon, Limited, a top tier Alaska Native Regional Corporation with more than 12.5 million acres of land in Alaska and over 20,000 shareholders. Doyon is the largest private landholder in Alaska and one of the largest in North America. Tectonic and Doyon formed a milestone partnership agreement in the summer of 2018 whereby Tectonic was granted the exclusive right to explore for, develop and mine all minerals, ores and mineral products extracted from the Northway property.

Tectonic’s first pass, end-of-season drill program at the Northway Project intersected a new bedrock molybdenum anomaly at Target 6 and multiple polymetallic Au-Cu-Mo-Pb-Zn bedrock anomalies at Target 7. The drill program was designed to follow up on favourable 2019 Phase I GeoProbe top-of-bedrock sampling results and obtain bedrock data to inform and guide Tectonic’s next steps at Northway in 2020. The 2019 RAB drill program consisted of 856 metres (“m”) in eight shallow RAB drill holes; all eight drill holes intersected anomalous gold. Drilling tested two previously undrilled, >1km long soil geochemical anomalies including a copper-molybdenum-gold anomaly at Target 6 and gold-copper anomaly at Target 7. Both targets also individually host large, >2km x 5km magnetic anomalies with coincident Induced Polarization chargeability anomalies.

Key Points

• 2019 Phase I exploration program consisted of 634 GeoProbe top of bedrock samples to test the extent of the >1.2km x 1km copper-molybdenum-gold (“Cu-Mo-Au”) soil anomaly at Target 6 and to provide context for the high-grade gold-copper (“Au-Cu) soil anomalies at Target 7.
• Phase I top of bedrock sample results corroborated soil anomalies at both targets, yielding values ranging from 3 to 497 ppm Cu and from 1 to 51 ppm Mo at Target 6, and from
• <0.005 to 1.72 g/t Au and 9 to 359 ppm Cu at Target 7. >A total of 277.37 metres drilled in two RAB holes at Target 6 yielded a molybdenum intersection of 52 ppm over 86.87m in hole NWYRB19-008. Anomalous molybdenum associated with intensely clay altered intrusive rocks provides encouraging evidence for an intrusive-related mineralizing system.
• A total of 579.12 metres drilled in six RAB holes at Target 7 yielded multiple polymetallic Au-Ag-Cu-Pb-Zn-Mo intersections, including 0.60 g/t Au over 10m in hole NWRB19-005 with the hole ending in mineralization. In addition, minor Au-As intervals were intersected in the southern portion of the target.
• All eight RAB drill holes intersected anomalous gold values. The RAB drill results at both Target 6 and 7 warrant additional exploration.
• Northway plan maps, sections and drill assay sheets associated with this news release can be viewed by clicking the following link: https://www.tectonicmetals.com/projects/northway/#geology

“The Northway Project is an excellent example of how industry, Alaska Native Regional Corporations and local villages can collectively work together towards a common goal,” stated Tony Reda, President & CEO of Tectonic. “The Northway Project holds a special place in our hearts given the fantastic people within the community and the Doyon organization that we have the privilege of working and interacting with. We want to thank them for allowing us the opportunity to work with them and explore their lands. We will continue to interpret the results and the larger regional picture over the coming months to determine the next steps for 2020.”

Northway Project – Geology and Exploration

In 2015, Doyon executed limited, wide-spaced soil grids over porphyry-style magnetic geophysical features identifying Target 6 and Target 7 as coincident magnetic and soil Au, Cu, and Mo anomalies requiring follow-up work. The targets are located 30 kilometres apart along a NW-SE axis, with Target 6 being less than 1 km and Target 7 being 4 km off of the Alaska Highway. Target 6 is located in the northwest of the property and consists of a 1.2-kilometre-long, NE-SW trending soil Cu-Mo-Au anomaly with soil results ranging from 2 to 597 ppm copper and from

 <5 to 253 ppb gold. Target 7, located in the southeast of the property, consists of an approximately 800-metre long gold-arsenic ± molybdenum ± lead ± zinc soil anomaly with values ranging from ><0.005 g/t to peak values of 2.12 g/t and 1.82 g/t gold. >

In 2019, Tectonic completed a two-phased exploration program to tie the soil geochemical anomalies to bedrock at Target 6 and Target 7 with the goal of defining drill targets for later follow-up. A total of 634 GeoProbe top of bedrock samples were collected to test the extent of the Cu-Mo-Au anomaly at Target 6 and to provide context for the high-grade gold-in-soil anomalies at Target 7. The second phase of exploration consisted of an 856-metre Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drill program testing both prospects. Polymetallic mineralization was intersected in multiple holes at Target 7, with a highlight result of 0.6 g/t Au over 10m at the end of hole NWRB19-005, with associated anomalous Ag, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Mo. Two RAB holes at the Target 6 prospect returned a best result of 52 ppm Mo over 86.87m drilled width within a large altered structure. Interpretation of the results is ongoing.

Northway Project – Drill Results

Table 1: Northway RAB drill highlights.

A complete table of drill results from all Tectonic 2019 drill holes at Northway as well as maps, sections, and drill assay sheets associated with this news release can be viewed by clicking the following link: https://www.tectonicmetals.com/projects/northway/#geology 

Additional information about the Northway Project, including historical information, can be found in the “Amended and Restated NI 43-101 Technical Report, Northway Property, Tanacross District, Alaska, United States of America” with an effective date of October 31, 2019, prepared by Carl Schulze, P.Geo., of Aurora Geosciences Ltd., and prepared in accordance with National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101, which is filed on the Company’s profile on SEDAR.

Table 2: Northway RAB drill hole azimuth, dip and collar coordinates.

QA/QC

Tectonic’s disclosure of a technical or scientific nature in this press release has been reviewed, verified and approved by Eric Buitenhuis, M.Sc., P.Geo., Tectonic’s Vice President Exploration, who serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of NI 43-101. The analytical work for the 2019 Northway exploration program was performed by Bureau Veritas Laboratories (“BV”), an internationally recognized and accredited analytical services provider, which is independent of Tectonic. All GeoProbe and RAB samples were prepared using procedure PRP70-250 (crush, split, and pulverize 250g to 200 mesh) at BV’s Fairbanks, Alaska facility. Samples were then sent to Reno, Nevada, where they underwent analysis for gold by method FA430 (30-gram Fire Assay fusion with an atomic absorption finish (AAS). Samples returning >10 g/t Au were re-analyzed using method FA530-Au (30g Fire Assay with gravimetric finish). Following this, a 0.25g pulp was sent to the Vancouver, British Columbia lab for four-acid Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrometer (ICP-ES) analysis for 35 elements using method MA300.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks and standards into the sample string at a rate of approximately 1/10 (10%). For RAB drilling, field duplicate samples are systematically collected at a rate of 3 duplicates per 100 samples. Samples are placed in sealed bags and shipped directly to the Bureau Veritas Laboratories preparation facility in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Rotary Air Blast Drill Methods

Tectonic employed a GroundTruth Americas Inc. track-mounted RAB drill rig with the capacity to drill to 200m depth. RAB bedrock chip samples were collected at fixed 1.52 m (5ft) intervals down each drill hole. The RAB drill delivers compressed air through the centre of 66.6 mm drill rods to activate the drill bit, recovers powdered rock chips from the cutting face and returns sample along the outside of the rods to a conventional cyclone. Each sample comprises a 5-foot run, and sample recovery for each run was recorded. The sample is then tipped out of the pail into a 1:7 riffle splitter, with material to be assayed entering a 12″ x 18″ 8 mil clear poly sample bag which is retained for analysis, while reference sample chips are sieved from a spear sample of the non-split excess material. Borehole diameter was typically 92 mm.

About Tectonic

Tectonic Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company created and operated by an experienced and well-respected technical and financial team with a track record of wealth creation for shareholders. Key members of the Tectonic team were involved with Kaminak Gold Corporation, the company that raised C$165 million to fund the acquisition, discovery and advancement of the Coffee Gold Project in the Yukon Territory through to the completion of a bankable feasibility study before selling the multi-million ounce gold project to Goldcorp Inc. (now Newmont Goldcorp) for C$520 million in 2016.

Tectonic is focused on the acquisition, exploration, discovery and development of mineral resources from district-scale projects in politically stable jurisdictions that have the potential to host world-class orebodies.

Tectonic believes that responsible mineral exploration and development can positively impact the communities in which the company lives and operates and is committed to early and ongoing community engagement, best practices in environmental stewardship and the development of a strong safety culture. Whether at home or at work, the Tectonic team is grounded on the following core values: passion, integrity, patience, focus, perseverance, honesty, fairness, accountability, respect and a play big mindset. The company works for its shareholders and is committed to creating value for them.