APPAL : Acquisition and exploration update on Dufferin Mine project area, Nova Scotia

Press ReleaseAcquisition and exploration update on Dufferin Mine project area, Nova Scotia

Rimouski, July 21, 2011 - Ressources Appalaches (APP:TSXV) and StrikePoint Gold (SKP:TSXV) (STKXF:OTCQX), joint venture partners in the Nova Scotia Dufferin Mine area project announce the acquisition of additional exploration land to capture prospective extensions of gold-bearing anticlinal axes, describe the publication of a geological research paper that supports Appalaches and StrikePoint?s position that the Dufferin mineralization and its potential on-strike extensions represent large and important gold exploration targets and summarizes the objectives of the summer 2011 exploration program.

Project expansion by property acquisition

The Dufferin Joint Venture, consisting of the Dufferin Mine Property and Mill, the Chocolate Lake, Miller Lake and Ecum Secum properties, are located along fold structures that are known to be prospective for gold exploration. A detailed geological description is available in our Press Release of June 3, 2010. The joint venture has recently acquired three other properties with similar geology to the southwest of the Dufferin mine; the Sheet Harbour East, Sheet Harbour Centre and Sheet Harbour West properties, covering approximately 900 additional hectares (2,000 acres). As a result of the recent acquisition, the Joint Venture now consists of seven properties, including the Dufferin Mine, within a 35 kilometre strike segment containing favourable fold structures and rock types. The Sheet Harbour properties were acquired for

$100,000, including a $10,000 signing payment, three $25,000 annual payments and a final

$15,000 fourth year payment. The properties are also subject to a 3% Net Smelter Return (NSR) with a buyback provision whereby 1% can be purchased for $500,000 and an additional percentage can be purchased for $1,000,000. A map showing the properties comprising the Dufferin Mine Project is available on our web site.

New geological model points to new gold targets

The Saddle Reef gold deposits in the Dufferin project are distinct and occur along the anticlinal axes of regional folds. They have historically and with justification represented the main focus of exploration and mining activity. A recently published landmark study of sedimentary rock hosted gold deposits suggests that exploration targeting in the Dufferin project area should be expanded to include different structures and host rock candidates. The paper appeared recently in ?Economic Geology?, a respected scientific journal that has been published for over 100 years. Entitled ?A Carbonaceous Sedimentary Source Rock Model for Carlin-Type and Orogenic Gold Deposits?, the paper presents detailed evidence and analysis that the gold in certain important gold deposits was originally deposited in sedimentary formations and subsequently, due to structural compression, folding and other geological events, were concentrated into higher grade commercial deposits. The main examples presented to characterize these processes are the

prolific deposits of the Carlin Trend in Nevada, the Dufferin gold deposit in Nova Scotia and the

22 million ounce Bendigo deposit in Victoria, Australia. A ?Fair Use? summary of the

copyrighted Economic Geology paper, together with selected diagrams, is available on our website.

2011 Summer Work Program Underway

The 2011 Dufferin Project summer exploration program is underway. This program will include an initial mapping and sampling program on the new Sheet Harbour properties, to be followed by an airborne LiDAR study to extend the previously surveyed areas. This data has proven effective in precisely locating the target anticlinal axes.

Following a ground-proofing survey, an initial drilling program will be undertaken on the Chocolate Lake property to test for gold-bearing extensions of the anticlinal axes over an eastward distance of 8 kilometres that have been traced using LiDAR data collected last year. Subsequently, the new Sheet Harbour LiDAR survey will be used to identify drill targets that could extend westward from the Dufferin Mine area.

A nominal cost rock analysis program will be taken to investigate additional target possibilities as suggested in the recently published paper described above.

Bulk sample test pits will be excavated on the Dufferin Mine property to test the gold grade and metallurgical properties of the gold-bearing saddle reefs where they project upward to intersect the land surface as indicated by LiDar and 2010 drill data, Additionaly, test pits will be excavated eastward from known Saddle Reef subcrops approximately 1.4 km eastward to the Dufferin Mine property boundary.

About Ressources Appalaches

Since it was first established in 1994, Ressources Appalaches has targeted the discovery and development of deposits of base and precious metals in Canada, mainly in Quebec and Nova Scotia. The Company holds some twenty mineral properties in various stages of development.

The Company's objective is to become a gold producer: on April 9, 2009 it became the owner of the Dufferin Mine in Nova Scotia. The society owns 10M shares of the mining exploration company Puma Exploration (TSXV- PUM). Photos of the Dufferin Mine and its mining facilities are available on the Company's website at www.ressourcesappalaches.com.

Additional information can be obtained from the Company. Visit our Web site at www.ressourcesappalaches.com.

The contents of this press release were prepared by Alain Hupé, Eng., a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43 -101. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts any responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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For information:

Alain Hupé

President

418-724-0901

info@ressourcesappalaches.com

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that include elements of risk and uncertainty. Consequently, actual results may differ substantially from those anticipated in such statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the quarterly and annual reports, and in the documents submitted to the securities administration.

Here is an extract (first four pages) of a recent article that mentions the Dufferin deposit and compares it with world class deposit including the Bendigo, Australia.

Voici un extrait (premières quatre pages) d?un article récemment publié qui mentionne le gîte Dufferin et le compare avec des gisements de classe mondiale dont celui de Bendigo en Australie.

Alain Hupé Eng.

President

Ressources Appalaches

©2011 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

Economic Geology, v. 106, pp. 331?358

A Carbonaceous Sedimentary Source-Rock Model for

Carlin-Type and Orogenic Gold Deposits

ROSS R. LARGE,1,? STUART W. BULL,1 AND VALERIY V. MASLENNIKOV2

1 CODES ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 126, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 7001

2 Institute of Mineralogy, Russian Academy of Science, Urals Branch, Miass, Russia

Abstract

This paper presents evidence and arguments that carbonaceous sedimentary rocks were a source for Au and As in sediment-hosted orogenic and Carlin-type gold deposits and develops a corresponding genetic model. In this two-stage basin-scale model, gold and arsenic are introduced early into black shale and turbidite basins during sedimentation and diagenesis (stage 1) and concentrated to ore grades by later hydrothermal, structural, or magmatic processes (stage 2). In reduced continental margin basin settings, organic matter, sedimented under anoxic to euxinic conditions, immobilizes and concentrates gold, arsenic, and a range of trace elements (particularly V, Ni, Se, Ag, Zn, Mo, Cu, U) present in marine bottom waters, into fine-grained black mudstone and siltstone of slope and basin facies. During early diagenesis, gold and certain other trace elements (Ni, Se, Te, Ag, Mo, Cu, ±PGE) are preferentially partitioned into arsenian pyrite that grows in the muds. These processes produce regionally extensive black shale and turbidite sequences enriched in syngenetic gold and arsenic, commonly from 5 to 100 ppb Au and 10 to 200 ppm As. Rare organic- and sulfide-rich metalliferous black shales may contain up to 1 to 2 ppm Au and over 1,000 ppm As, present as refractory gold in arsenian pyrite and nanoparticles of free gold.

During late diagenesis and early metamorphism (stage 2) the diagenetic arsenian pyrite is recrystallized to form coarser grained pyrite generations, and the organic matter is cooked to bitumen. Under higher grade metamorphism (lower greenschist facies and above) arsenian pyrite in carbonaceous shales is converted to pyrrhotite. These processes release gold, arsenic, sulfur and other elements (Sb, Te, Cu, Zn, Mo, Bi, Tl, and Pb) from the source rocks to become concentrated by hydrothermal processes, locally to produce gold ores, in structural sites such as fold hinge zones, shear or breccia zones within or above the black shale sequence.

LA-ICP-MS analyses of diagenetic pyrite in carbonaceous sediments, both associated and not associated with gold deposits, suggests that invisible gold contents of greater than 250 ppb in diagenetic pyrite, are indicative of carbonaceous shale source rocks with the potential to produce economic gold deposits. Applica- tion of this sedimentary source-rock model enables a systematic exploration approach for sediment-hosted gold deposits, based on the distribution, composition and structure of carbonaceous shale sequences and their con- tained diagenetic pyrite.

Introduction

THIS INVESTIGATION sought to determine whether, or not, car- bonaceous sedimentary rocks could have been an important source for gold in orogenic and Carlin-type gold deposits. De- velopment of the resulting model has been stimulated by an industry collaborative AMIRA International research project (Large et al., 2007, 2009; Chang et al., 2008; Meffre et al.,

2008; Scott et al., 2008), combined with previous ideas on gold ore genesis presented by Boyle (1979), Buryak (1982), Kribek (1991), Titley (1991), Hutchinson (1993), Cooke et al. (2000), Hofstra and Cline (2000), Emsbo (2000), Reich et al. (2005), and Wood and Large (2007). Our research has been focused on Sukhoi Log (Siberia), Bendigo (Victoria), and the northern Carlin Trend (Nevada) but also includes data from Spanish Mountain (British Columbia), Macraes (South Island New Zealand), and Kumtor (Kyrgyzstan).

Although there is some consensus on aspects of the models for orogenic and Carlin-type gold deposits, there remains a number of unresolved questions (Groves et al., 2003; Cline et al., 2005). The model presented here challenges three cur- rent views related to orogenic gold deposits: (1) gold-rich flu- ids are derived from deep metamorphic processes or from crustal granites?we contend the gold is sourced in the sedi-

? Corresponding author: e-mail, Ross.Large@utas.edu.au

mentary basin; (2) organic-rich sediments are traps for gold? we contend that organic-rich sediments are excellent source rocks for gold and a variety of other elements (As, Zn, V, Mo, Ag, Ni, Se, Te); and (3) gold is introduced late, i.e., syn- or posttectonic?we contend that gold is introduced early (syn- diagenetic) and remobilized and concentrated locally on a scale of meters to kilometers during syntectonic and/or syn- magmatic fluid flow.

The gold ores under consideration have been variously cat- egorized as orogenic, turbidite-hosted, and Carlin-type gold deposits. They are strata bound and discordant to bedding, comprised of disseminated pyrite (±arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite) concentrated in black shale, siltstone, carbonate, and sandstone sequences (Table 1; Figs. 1, 2). Some of the world?s largest gold districts and/or deposits are of this type (e.g., Muruntau, Ashanti, northern Carlin Trend, Kumtor, Homestake, Sukhoi Log; Table 1). Quartz veining may or may not be present (Fig. 2). Gold may be refractory (dissolved within arsenian-pyrite or arsenopyrite) or, in the case of many deposits, occurs as free gold or gold tellurides within meta- morphic and/or hydrothermal pyrite, arsenopyrite, or associ- ated quartz veins. The key criteria for considering this diverse group of deposits together is that they are hosted by sedi- mentary rocks and, in particular, carbonaceous mudstones or shales make up a significant component of the sedimentary

0361-0128/11/3950/331-28 331

Submitted: August 3, 2010

Accepted: January 11, 2011

332 LARGE ET AL.

TABLE 1. Some Major Sediment-Hosted Gold-Arsenic Deposits and Districts (modified after Goldfarb et al., 2005)

Deposit Location Au (t) Au grade (g/t) Age of host rocks Sedimentary lithologic units

Alaska-Juneau U.S. Cordilera 281 1.4 Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Metasediments

Macreas Flat New Zealand 251 1.2 Jurassic Carbonaceous schists

Spanish Mountain Western Canada 54 0.8 Triassic Carbonaceous mustone, graywacke Natalka Russian Far East 716 4.2 Permian Carbonaceous mustone, sandstone Nezhdaninskoye Russia 311 5.4 Early Permian Carbonaceous siltstone, sandstone Bakyrichik Tien Shan Asia 361 6.8 Carboniferous Carbonaceous metasediments

Carlin Trend Nevada 3000 0.9 to 19 Siluro-Devonian Calcareous carbonaceous mustone, limestone

Zarmitan Tien Shan Asia 470 9.5 Silurian Metasediments

Muruntau Tien Shan Asia 5290 3.5-4.0 Ordovician-Silurian Carbonaceous mustone, carbonate, sandstone

Amantaitau Tien Shan Asia 288 3.7 Ordovician-Silurian Carbonaceous metasediments Bendigo SE Australia 533 12.9 Lower Ordovician Sandstone, carbonaceous mudstone Getchell district Nevada 800 3 Cambro-Ordovician Calcareous carbonaceous mustone,

limestone

Sukhoi Log Edge Siberian craton 1920 2.8 Neoproterozoic Carbonaceous mudstone, siltstone Kumtor Tien Shan Asia 284 4.4 Neoproterozoic Mudstone, siltstone, sandstone Telfer Patterson, WA 1564 1.5 Neoproterozoic Sandstone, mudstone

Olimpiada Edge Siberian craton 700 10.9 Neoproterozoic Schists, carbonaceous slates

Brasilia Brazil 313 0.4 Neoproterozoic Carbonaceous phyllite

Ashanti West AfriCa 2070 4.7 Paleoproterozoic Metasediments Homestake Trans-Hudson USA 1237 8.3 Paleoproterozoic BIF, metasediments Granites-Tanami Central Australia 369 4.6 Paleoproterozoic Metasediments, BIF

succession (Figs. 1, 2). For the orogenic deposits of this group, metamorphism and deformation have been critical processes in their genesis. In contrast, although deformation has been important in the genesis of Carlin-type deposits, the ores have formed in rocks of low metamorphic grade. Our

view is that carbonaceous sediment-hosted gold deposits can form in a diverse range of environments from very low grade diagenetic to metamorphic (archizone) environments to mod- erate (green schist) metamorphic environments. Deposits in higher grade rocks (amphibolite and granulite facies) have

FIG. 1. Typical geologic cross sections showing relationship of carbonaceous sediments to orebodies in selected gold de- posits. A. Betze-Post deposit, northern Carlin Trend (Bettles, 2002). Pyritic gold ores in yellow are strata bound and struc- turally controlled in the Popovich Formation. B. Sukhoi Log, Lena gold district (Wood and Popov, 2006). Pyritic gold ore is concentrated in an overturned anticline in carbonaceous shales and siltstones. C. Bendigo, central Victoria (Willman, 2007). D. Dufferin deposit, Meguma district (Ryan and Smith, 1998). Gold ores occur in quartz-rich saddle reefs and associated crosscutting quartz veins.

A CARBONACEOUS SEDIMENTARY SOURCE-ROCK MODEL FOR CARLIN-TYPE & OROGENIC Au DEPOSITS 333

FIG. 1. (Cont.)

Dufferin deposit

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