Aurania’s Grab Sampling At „Tsenken-A“ Target In Ecuador Yields Copper Grades As High As 9%

Aurania’s Chairman and CEO, Dr. Keith Barron commented, “The significance of these high-grade copper results is that they suggest that the highly magnetic feature at Tsenken – rather than being one very large, broad target area – is resolving into a cluster of discrete magnetic features, each of which could be a porphyry body.  So, rather than having one potential source of copper at Tsenken, we probably have multiple sources that underscore the mineralization potential of the target area.  The resolution of the magnetic feature at Tsenken into a cluster of discrete bodies is leading us to look at the other big magnetic features along trend of Tsenken – the Kirus, Jempe and Awacha target areas – as potential porphyry clusters too”.   

“Tsenken A” Target

The high-grade samples contain malachite, chrysocolla, tenorite and chalcocite with minor cuprite.  A total of 8 samples in this area returned grades ranging from 0.9%-9% copper.  These secondary copper minerals are hosted in distinctly bedded sedimentary rocks, some of which have a tuffaceous component.  These high-grade grab samples were found in streams that drain an area that has a distinct geophysical signature on the edge of the large magnetic feature at Tsenken.  Magnetic data over the Tsenken-A target, acquired in the geophysics survey flown in late 2017, defines a circular area of relatively low magnetism surrounding a core of strong magnetism (Figure 1) – the type of signature expected from a porphyry system in which the central, potassium-altered, magnetite-bearing core is enclosed by “phyllic” alteration in which magnetite has been altered to non-magnetic minerals.

Copper mineralization at Tsenken-A has been found in an area of 3km by 1km in extent (Figure 1, Table 1).  The current exploration concept defines a porphyry body intruding a sedimentary and volcano-sedimentary sequence, with fluids from the porphyry infiltrating and mineralizing the enclosing permeable sedimentary and volcano-sedimentary rocks. 

The Tsenken magnetic feature lies 8km from the Kirus magnetic feature, where copper grades of up to 5.4% with 54g/t silver were obtained, and 12km from Jempe, where grades of up to 3% copper and 47g/t silver were reported in a press release dated October 4, 2018. 

Update on Scout Drilling Program

The Company is awaiting one more permit to clear the way for scout drilling of the epithermal gold-silver target at Crunchy Hill.  This permit is within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment, in which the new minister was appointed in early-December.  Management has met with the new Minister and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of the Environment and has been assured that the scout drilling permit will be issued shortly.  The selected drill contract company has had its technical staff on site and is ready to mobilize as soon as the final permit is received for drilling at Crunchy Hill.    

Sample Analysis & Quality Assurance / Quality Control (“QAQC”)

The samples were prepared for analysis at ALS Global’s (“ALS”) lab in Quito, Ecuador.  The rock samples were jaw-crushed to 10 mesh (crushed material passes through a mesh with apertures of 2 millimetres (“mm”)), from which a one-kilogram sub-sample was taken.  The sub-sample was crushed to a grain size of 0.075mm and a 200 gram (“g”) split was set aside for analysis. 

Aurania personnel inserted a certified standard pulp sample, alternating with a field blank, at intervals of approximately 20 samples in all sample batches. 

ALS’s preparation lab in Quito sent the prepared samples to its analytical facility in Lima, Peru for analysis.   Approximately 0.25g of rock pulp underwent four-acid digestion and analysis for 48 elements by ICP-MS.  For the over-limit samples, those that had a grade of greater than 1% copper and 100g/t silver, 0.4 grams of pulp underwent digestion in four acids and the resulting liquid was diluted and analyzed by ICP-MS.

ALS reported that the analyses had passed its internal QAQC tests.  In addition, Aurania’s analysis of results from its QAQC samples showed the batches reported on above, lie within acceptable limits.

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release has been verified and approved by Jean-Paul Pallier, MSc.  Mr. Pallier is a designated EurGeol by the European Federation of Geologists and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators.

About Aurania

Aurania is a junior mineral exploration company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition and exploration of mineral property interests, with a focus on precious metals and copper.  Its flagship asset, The Lost Cities – Cutucu Project, is located in the Jurassic Metallogenic Belt in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range of southeastern Ecuador.

Information on Aurania and technical reports are available at www.aurania.com and www.sedar.com, as well as on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/auranialtd/, Twitter at  https://twitter.com/auranialtd, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurania-resources-ltd-.

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