Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – December 13, 2023) – Stratabound Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SB) (OTCQB: SBMIF) (“Stratabound” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce it has confirmed a new Reduced Intrusion-Related Gold System (“RIRGS”) discovery on its Win Gold Project in the southern Tombstone Gold Belt, Yukon Territory. The Win Gold project is located 11-km south of our other Golden Culvert Tombstone Gold Belt project.

Highlights include:

• Outcrop of sheeted gold-bearing quartz veins discovered in hornfels altered contact aureole between two mineralized quartz monzonite intrusives (Figures 2-4)

• Distinctive assemblage and zonation patterns in surface rock geochemistry:

  • Boundary (Outer) Discovery Zone: Ag-Bi-Pb-Te-As-Sb-Co-Au:
    • Gold values up to 8.53 g/t
    • Silver values up to 155 g/t
    • Bismuth values up to 516 ppm
    • Lead values up to 1.6%
    • Tellurium values up to 2.6 ppm
    • Cobalt values up to 0.49 ppm
      
      
  • Inner Zone B: Au-As-Te- Bi:
    • Gold values up to 0.72 g/t Au
    • Bismuth values up to 98.6 ppm
    • Tellurium values up to 2.5 ppm
      
      
  • Interpreted to be a ~3-km wide carapace overlying the unroofed link between both the adjacent Hyland and Boundary Intrusives
    
    
  • All surrounded by a larger 8-km ring of molybdenum-tungsten-indium assemblage
    
    
  • Exposed gold-bearing quartz veins have a periodicity of 1-10 per metre (Figures 4-6)
    
    

• Excellent infrastructure, located within 5-km of all-season highway and 12.8 km south of Cantung Mine, a skarn-type tungsten deposit consistent with RIRGS regional systems

• Site of a modern-day exploration gold rush with heightened staking and acquisition activities by Snowline Gold, Rackla Metals and Seabridge Gold adjacent to Stratabound properties

• Stratabound is located at the centre of a new 12km x 55km orogenic RIRGS district in the overlooked Southern Tombstone Belt. This Tombstone Belt is the host of world class discoveries and deposits such as Snowline’s Rogue, Rackla’s Rak, Victoria Gold’s Eagle, Banyan’s AurMac, and Fort Knox.

• Win’s vertically dipping sheeted quartz vein array trends directly onto Stratabound’s Golden Culvert Main Discovery Zone, (see previous Dec. 7, 2023 press release) – and may be genetically related

• Follow-up work includes surface channel sampling and detailed mapping of the new discovery site locally expanding outwards regionally with airborne geophysical surveys to define known, and identify new, intrusives for ground-truth follow up in anticipation of drilling programs on 2024

R. Kim Tyler, President and CEO, commented: “We are very pleased today to report this new RIRGS discovery. Vectoring in on historic signature soil, stream and float rock geochemistry has led us back to this solid outcrop exposure of RIRGS-type gold-bearing sheeted quartz veins. As noted in our previous December 7, 2023 press release, our focus to date has been on the orogenic-type gold deposit model, however given the recent spectacular results by Snowline Gold’s RIRGS deposit-type target at its Rogue Property, we have been compiling and reviewing compelling evidence for similar RIRGS potential on our own Tombstone Gold Belt properties including recorded and unrecorded new intrusions discovered on our claims that may be related to the other high-grade gold discoveries made on our properties to date.

“Moreover, we are greatly encouraged to discover that the strike and trend of the new sheeted veins project directly back in a near-perfect line 14 km to our Golden Culvert corridor of six parallel gold-bearing quartz vein, breccia and wall-rock mineralized structures featuring drill hole intersections up to 60.1 g/t Au over 0.9 m within 2.53 g/t Au over 33 m reported in our previous press release. Further follow up work will examine the possible genetic link between both discoveries, deposit-types and remaining unexplored intrusives within our ground.”

Hashim Ahmed, Chairman of Stratabound states, “This recent finding by Stratabound reaffirms our enduring geological model, indicating that the Win project has analogous mineralization roots with significant discoveries at Snowline and Rackla. In November 2020, our market capitalization stood at $30 million, driven solely by the Yukon and New Brunswick exploration assets. Now, with the incorporation of a US$200 million NPV project in Fremont, Stratabound has become a more compelling option for investors keen on gold discovery and development.”

Figure 1. Location map of the Golden Culvert and Win Projects Relative to Other Tombstone Gold Belt RIRGS Deposits

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He further stated, “We invite our new neighbours Rackla Metals, Seabridge Gold, and Snowline Gold to take note of this new discovery with respect to their newly staked and acquired claims adjacent to both our Golden Culvert and Win Projects.” (Figure 2)

The Company is pleased to report it has now collected, received and processed results confirming a new RIRGS discovery on its Win Property in the southern Tombstone Gold Belt. Three rock chip samples collected from a sheeted quartz vein outcrop on the last day of the 2022 reconnaissance program yielded 8.53 g/t Au, 0.64 g/t Au and 0.18 g/t Au with associated antimony, arsenic, tellurium, tungsten and bismuth mineralization hosted in what are currently interpreted to be hornfels altered sediment host rock in a 3-km wide contact aureole between two molybdenum and tungsten mineralized Tungsten Suite intrusives of the same Hyland Group that hosts the other known regional gold deposits.

Figure 2. Recent Staking and Acquisition Activities by Seabridge Gold, Rackla Metals and Snowline Gold Adjacent to Stratabound’s Properties 

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A recent follow-up examination of the discovery collected a further six outcrop chip samples at an average 13 m interval over a total 90m section along a single 5cm-15cm wide quartz vein confirming the 2022 Results (Samples S124805-S124810 in Table 1). Past exploration work on the property between 1992 to 2012* had investigated regional geochemical stream, soil and surface rock survey results that indicated intrusive-related geochemical signatures resembling the large Fort Knox, (Alaska), Dublin Gulch Eagle Deposit (Yukon) RIRGS deposits and the new Snowline Gold Rogue discovery.
(*Hulstein (1992), Van Randen & Dougherty (1993), Gruenwald (2012))

Table 1. 2022-2023 Boundary Zone Discovery and Confirmation Rock Sample Geochemistry. (*Selected rock grab samples are selective by nature and may not represent the true grade or style of mineralization across the property.)

Although the geoscientific work to date includes stream and sediment geochemical surveys that support the conclusions, the data reported in this press release is a compilation of rock samples only collected in past and recent programs for brevity.

Figure 3. Surface Rock Geochemistry Compilation 1992-2023

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The new Boundary Zone RIRGS Discovery is still at a very early stage with much more definitive work and sampling still to be done, yet the early evidence is very compelling. The compiled geochemical data of the Boundary Zone to date indicates an inner zonation pattern proximal to the nearby Boundary Intrusive, (Subzone B, Figure 3), of very strong element affiliation of gold-silver-arsenic-tellurium-antimony-lead-bismuth-barium-copper with lesser indium, cobalt and molybdenum affiliation. It is noted that 7 outcrop and subcrop samples (6 quartz vein + 1 hornfels sediment host rock) used in the analyses are a statistically low sample population nevertheless correlation coefficients in Subzone B relative to gold are tabled below:

Table 2: Correlation Coefficients of Inner Subzone B Gold to Other Elements.
* Correlation values are stronger towards a value of 1. (i.e. perfect correlation=1)

The outer Discovery site outcrop zone is less proximal to the Boundary Intrusive. It is comprised of 54 rock outcrop, subcrop and float samples within the hornfels alteration zone and features a strikingly different geochemical element strong zonation assemblage of silver-bismuth-lead-tellurium and moderate antimony- cobalt-arsenic affiliation with a very weak gold correlation. This zone hosts the most consistent and higher-grade gold values yet has a lower elemental correlation (Table 3).

Table 3: Correlation Coefficients of outer Subzone A Gold to Other Elements.
* Correlation values are stronger towards a value of 1. (i.e. perfect correlation=1)

Outbound across an 8-km diameter ring beyond both these inner zones is a molybdenum-tungsten-indium zonation pattern (Figure 3).

Quartz vein density is a key control to gold grade in RIRGS-type deposits. At the Win Boundary Discovery site outcrop exposure, the veins have a density of 1-10 veins per metre, (Figures 4-6 below). This compares to Dublin Gulch where there are 3-5 veins per metre and an overall deposit grade of ~1 g/t gold, (Hart, (2006) and cited below).

Figure 4. Boundary Zone Discovery Site: Gold-bearing Sheeted Quartz Veins in Hornfels Altered Host Rock 

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Figure 5. Boundary Zone Vertically-dipping Sheeted Quartz Veins View East

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Figure 6. Boundary Zone View North Showing 306º Azimuth Strike Direction towards Golden Culvert Main Zone

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The Stratabound technical team now postulates that the mineralized hornfels hosting the sheeted gold-bearing quartz veins are potentially a ~3-km wide carapace overlying the unroofed link between both the Hyland and Boundary Intrusives.

Projection to Golden Culvert Orogenic-Type Mineralization and Regional Implications

It is an important observation that the 306º azimuth of the Win Boundary Zone sheeted gold-bearing quartz veins project along regional trend in a direct line to the Company’s neighbouring Golden Culvert Discovery Zone 14-km to the north which likewise feature vertically dipping quartz veins with a 320º -306º azimuth, are strongly gold-mineralized and comprised of a corridor of a minimum 6 parallel high-grade gold bearing veins along a regional axial hinge on trend with the Win Boundary Zone.

Future plans for the Win Project include further reconnaissance and detailed ground geochemical sampling, geological mapping, UAV geophysical and LiDar surveys, and surface channel sampling across the known exposure, all towards targeting an initial diamond drilling program.

About the Win Gold Property:

Stratabound’s Win Property is located 11 kilometres south along strike of its Golden Culvert Discovery Site, ~20 km north of Aben Resources’ Justin RIRGS project and ~220 km south along strike of Snowline Gold’s Rogue RIRGS project in the Tombstone gold Belt. The Win Property covers an area of 15.7 and features two mineralized quartz monzonite intrusives of the Tungsten Suite within hornfels altered country rock. Earliest exploration began in 1982 ostensibly following up on anomalous tungsten, molybdenum, copper and silver mineralization. Subsequently during the 1990’s the Reduced Intrusion-Related Gold Systems or “RIRGS”-type was recognized to explain such large, low-grade gold deposits as Fort Knox, (Alaska) and Dublin Gulch, (Yukon). Thereafter exploration between 1991-2012 focussed on exploring this deposit type based on the above RIRGS geochemical indicators in the earlier work through stream, soil and rock geochemistry. One historic grab sample yielding 0.52 g/t gold,100 g/t silver and 0.63% lead has been confirmed by the Company’s recent follow-up work leading to the new Boundary Zone discovery site described in this press release.

About RIRGS Deposits (Source: Dr. Craig Hart, Yukon Geological Survey Bulletin, 2006)

“The RIRGS model is characterized by a wide range of mineralization styles that vary in a predictable manner in concentric rings outward from a central mineralization intrusion. IRGS deposits and occurrences are either intrusion-hosted, proximal in contact with the pluton (intrusive),within the thermal aureole, or in distal settings beyond the hornfels zone. The most characteristic type of mineralization associated with IRGS deposits are intrusion-hosted sheeted quartz vein arrays such as those that comprise the Eagle Zone at Dublin Gulch, and at the Fort Knox Mine, Alaska. The quartz +/- K-feldspar-mica veins host sparse pyrite (or pyrrhotite) scheelite and bismuthinite. Rock containing the veins have values up to 30 g/t Au and a gold-bismuth-tellurium-tungsten signature. Overall grade depends on the vein density. For example, at Dublin Gulch there are 3-5 veins per metre and an overall grade of ~1 g/t Au.”

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

The samples referenced in this press release were collected and hand-delivered by Stratabound personnel to the ALS Canada laboratory in Whitehorse, YT where they were crushed to 70% less than 2mm. A riffle split of 250 grams was then taken and pulverized to an 85% passing 75 microns pulp sub-sample. The pulps were then shipped by ALS Canada to its Vancouver laboratory for gold and multi-element analyses. The ME-AA26 gold assaying procedure used is a standard fire assay with AA finish technique on a 50- gram sub-sample taken from the 250-gram pulp split. Samples that exceeded the 100 g/t Au upper detection limit of this method were re-assayed by a by the Au-GRA22 Ore Grade procedure on a 50-gram pulp fire assayed and gravimetric finish analyses.

The samples were also tested for 51 other elements using the ME-MS41 Ultra Trace Aqua Regia ICP-MS method. ALS uses a procedure of standards, blanks and duplicates inserted into the sample stream results for which all fell within satisfactory confidence limits. ALS is an independent internationally recognized and ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited chemical analysis company.

About Stratabound Minerals Corp.

Stratabound Minerals Corp. is a Canadian exploration and development company with grassroots and advanced exploration properties in highly prospective and safe mining jurisdictions.

Its Golden Culvert and Win Projects, Yukon, covering 99.5 km² across a 27-km strike length, are situated in a district-scale, high-grade-gold-mineralized trend within the southern portion of the Tombstone Gold Belt. Gold deposits and occurrences within the Belt include Fort Knox, Pogo, Brewery Creek and Dublin Gulch, and Snowline Gold’s Valley target on its Rogue property in the Selwyn Basin.

Its McIntyre Brook Project, New Brunswick, covering 120 km² and a 17-km strike length in the emerging Triple Fault Gold Belt, is surrounded by Puma Exploration’s Williams Brook Project (5.55 g/t Au over 50m) and is hosted by orogenic rocks of similar age and structure as New Found Gold’s Queensway Project.

The Company is also advancing its Fremont Gold development project in the historic Mother Lode Gold Belt of California where 50,000,000 oz of gold has been produced. Fremont, located 500km north of Equinox Gold’s Castle Mountain and Mesquite mines, has a PEA with an after-tax NPV of USD $217MM, a 21% IRR, 11-year LOM, averaging 118k ounces per annum at USD $1,750 gold. The project hosts an NI 43-101 resource of 1.16 MMoz at 1.90 g/t Au within 19.0 MMt Indicated, and 2.02 MMoz at 2.22 g/t Au within 28.3 MMt Inferred. The MRE evaluates only 1.4 km of the 4 km strike length of the Fremont property that features 4 gold-mineralized zones. Significantly, three step-out holes at depth hit structure, typical of orogenic deposits that often occur at depth. Fremont is located on private land in Mariposa, the original gold rush county and is 1.5 hours from Fresno, California. The property has year-round road access and is close to airport and rail. Please refer to the Fremont Gold project PEA dated Apr 4, 2023 under NI 43-101 guidelines. The technical report has been reviewed and approved by independent “Qualified Persons” Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET, and Andrew Bradfield, P.Eng. both of P&E, and Travis Manning, P.E. of KCA.

The Company also holds a pipeline of early-stage exploration projects including the critical mineral Captain Cobalt-Copper-Gold Deposit in New Brunswick and the Dingman Gold Project, Ontario.

Qualified Person:

Mr. R. Kim Tyler, P.Geo., President and CEO of Stratabound, and a “Qualified Person” for the purpose of NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents and technical information of this news release.

For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.stratabound.com or contact:

R. Kim Tyler
President, CEO and Director
info@stratabound.com
(416) 915-4157 

Gary Nassif
Senior Vice President, Director
info@stratabound.com
+1 (416) 915-4157 

Kevin Shum
Investor Relations
kevin@jeminicapital.com
+1 (647) 725-3888 ext 702

Neither the 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 fills release.

WARNING: The Company relies upon litigation protection for “forward-looking” statements. The information in this release may contain forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. This forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking information. Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to, inaccurate assumptions concerning the exploration for and development of mineral deposits, currency fluctuations, unanticipated operational or technical difficulties, changes in laws or regulations, failure to obtain regulatory, exchange or shareholder approval, the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets and the inability to raise additional financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update this forward-looking information after the date of this release or to revise such information to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

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