Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.’s (TSX-V: OMM) reports that it has finished compiling the data from its 2021 exploration programs targeting potential lode gold sources of the Paleoplacer gold at the company’s Wingdam Project in the Cariboo Mining District in South Central British Columbia. The 2021 program was significantly expanded over the previous year’s exploration program and entailed detailed geophysics, rock, soil, and stream sediment sampling programs which have been correlated with the 2020 exploration and drill result data. A prioritized 2021/22 drill program is currently being finalized for the following high priority target areas:

1. Skopos – located immediately south of the Wingdam underground placer project.
2. Mary Creek – on trend 10 kilometers northwest of Wingdam.
3. Roadcut Gossan – along trend 15 kilometers south of the Wingdam underground workings.

Omineca has an expanded multi-area, multi-year permit that now covers the 2021/22 drill and future exploration programs. These programs are planned to begin in the winter 2021/22 season and run through 2022. Each program will be announced once finalized.

Stephen Kocsis, P. Geo., and lead geologist comments, “The 2021 exploration program, correlated with the 2020 data, is providing the geological team with highly prospective targets for the upcoming 2021/2022 drill season. With very limited historical hard rock mining, exploration or drilling in the area, the geophysical and geochemical programs continue to corroborate our general theory of the main structural setting for potential lode gold deposits that could have been the source of the autochthonous or locally derived placer gold found at Wingdam. We have several new soil and stream sediment gold and pathfinder element anomalies along trend proximal to a first-order thrust structure called the Eureka Fault. The trend extends about 11 km southeast to a newly discovered gossanous area and 8 km northwest to a lucrative placer gold area surrounding Mary Creek (the Toop Mine). Drilling will focus along the Eureka Fault trend in favourable places intersected by secondary north to northeast trending faults identified in geophysical surveys and chargeability zones identified along new induced polarization (IP) surveys.”  

Geology of the Cariboo Mining District and the Wingdam Trend

Omineca’s NW striking Wingdam Trend shares similar lithology, structure, and mirrors Osisko Developments’ Cariboo Gold and Lightning–Yanks Peak Trends both also striking NW, approximately 20-30 kilometers east of Wingdam (See Map 1). Omineca’s lode gold exploration program targets several areas of Riedel style strike-slip deformation along NW trending regional faults initially identified by geophysics conducted in 2018/19 and expanded along trend in the 2020 geophysics program. This structural control pattern is indicative of those Riedel style strike-slip deformation zones known to produce sub-vertical ore shoots at the Cariboo Gold Project’s gold deposits.

Skopos Target

The Skopos target is less than 500 meters south of Omineca’s Wingdam underground Paleoplacer crosscut location and along trend with the historic Toop Mine along Mary Creek to the northwest and with the Roadcut Gossan to the southeast. The Skopos target is at an intersection of structural activity identified in the most recent geophysics, coincident with elevated gold values in stream sediment samples and arsenic along with gold in soil sampling grid surveys across the area. Exploration programs at Skopos will be targeting the identified structural fault zones and nose folds and will include IP (Induced Polarization), stratigraphic drill holes and a diamond drill program. The Skopos program is slated to begin in the 2021/22 winter season and details will be announced once initiated and finalized.

Mary Creek

The 2021 exploration program has identified Mary Creek as a primary drill target.  On trend with Wingdam and other targets along the Eureka Thrust Fault, Mary Creek presents as an analogue to Omineca’s main Wingdam Project. Historic production of autochthonous placer gold and limited sonic drill holes from the Mary Creek area have been correlated with current work including geophysical chargeability, resistivity and geochemical MMI programs to reveal potential structures that could theoretically host the lode gold source of the Mary Creek placer gold.

Roadcut Gossan

The Roadcut Gossan priority target is located approximately 11 kilometers south of Wingdam. The 2021 exploration program included extensive geophysical, geochemical, and prospecting work. Although on trend with Wingdam and other targets, the program geologists are seeing the potential for sediment hosted gold targets in this area analogous to the Spanish Mountain gold deposit located further on trend to the southeast. Prospecting found abundant stockwork quartz veins, blebby and disseminated pyrite, and intense oxidization while soil sampling grids revealed high arsenic, copper, nickel, zinc and 10-50 ppb gold. In addition to prospecting, IP and MMI surveys were conducted over the target area with further results pending. Exploration is budgeted to continue with follow-up work, which will include diamond drilling later in 2022.

Qualified Person

All scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared by, or approved by Stephen Kocsis, P.Geo. Lead Geologist. Mr. Kocsis is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.

Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.’s flagship Wingdam gold exploration and placer recovery project is located along the Barkerville Highway 45 km east of the town of Quesnel. The Wingdam Property includes mineral tenures totaling over 50,000 hectares (500 square kms) and more than 15 linear kilometers of placer claims, both encompassing the Lightning Creek valley where topographic conditions created thick layers of overburden, which preserved a large portion of a buried paleochannel containing placer gold-bearing gravels. Omineca also has a diamond drill program currently underway exploring for the potential multiple hard rock sources of the placer gold at Wingdam.