Almadex Stakes Idaho Epithermal Gold Prospect Near DeLamar

Almadex Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V: DEX) staked the Fountain Ridge epithermal precious metals prospect in western Idaho, the company said Tuesday. The claim sits 27 kilometers from the historic DeLamar deposit, which produced roughly 1 million ounces of gold and 50 million ounces of silver. Another nearby analogue is Grassy Mountain in Oregon, 58 kilometers away. Almadex cautioned that mineralization at those deposits does not guarantee similar results at Fountain Ridge.

The alteration at Fountain Ridge matches the paleo water table of a fossil geothermal system – replacement silicification, argillic alteration and hot spring deposits that look like sinter. The host rocks are volcano-sedimentary units capped by basalts. Initial grab samples of the alteration did not return significant gold or silver values. That is expected, the company noted, because the paleo water table environment typically does not concentrate precious metals. The alteration itself is still a useful vector.

Almadex plans further sampling, mapping and induced polarization geophysical surveys over the coming months. The goal is to generate initial drill targets. The company owns several portable diamond drill rigs, which it uses to keep first-pass exploration costs low.

Chairman J Duane Poliquin said the company is "pleased to further expand our exploration portfolio" by acquiring the prospect and looks forward to reporting progress.

The Fountain Ridge project is early stage, with no drilling yet. For now, the story is about proximity to known deposits and the style of alteration. The next concrete marker is whether IP surveys and follow-up sampling produce targets worth testing.