Vancouver, B.C., January 8, 2013; West Cirque Resources Ltd. (WCQ: TSX.V) has acquired a 100% interest in 37 mineral claims (5629 hectares) comprising the Aspen Grove Copper-Gold-Silver (Cu-Au-Ag) Project, located halfway between Merritt and Princeton in southern B.C. The property covers part of an extensive belt of alkalic porphyry copper-gold-silver mineralization hosted by Upper Triassic Nicola Group volcanic rocks and Late Triassic to Early Jurassic dioritic intrusions. Presently two mines are producing in the belt: Afton, located 85 kilometers to the north (Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 51.8 million tonnes at 1.26% Cu, 0.91 grams per tonne [g/t] Au, 2.9 g/t Ag and 0.11 g/t palladium at 0.5% Cu cutoff), and Copper Mountain, 45 kilometers to the south (Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 302 million tonnes at 0.37% Cu at 0.2% Cu cutoff).
The project is part of the Aspen Grove copper district, which contains at least 66 MINFILE copper occurrences within a north-south trending 20 by 3 kilometer belt. These occurrences are denoted either alkalic porphyry copper-gold or volcanic redbed copper type in the B.C. mineral deposits database, but in most cases insufficient technical work has been done to demonstrate the deposit type. Recently attention has been brought to the area with Xstrata Copper Canada optioning the Big Kidd and Axe prospects, located 8 and 11 kilometers north and south of the Aspen Grove project, respectively. Xstrata Copper is the world's fourth largest copper producer (http://www.xstratacopper.com).
The Company's Aspen Grove project encompasses a number of historical copper prospects which can be grouped into five target areas, known as: (1) Zig-Nor, (2) Thalia, (3) Boss-Thor, (4) Par, and (5) Cindy. Of these five target areas, only the Par has received significant drill testing.
Zig-Nor
In the northern part of the project area, the Zig and Nor prospects include widespread exposures of chalcopyrite, chalcocite and native copper mineralization on the south and east flanks of a 1 by 2 kilometer magnetic high. Host rocks have been described by previous workers as mainly agglomerate or intrusive breccia. Historical sampling includes trench chip samples of 0.3% Cu over 25 meters and individual samples of up to 4.68% Cu and 137 g/t Ag. Mineralization has been outlined over a 400 by 1900 meter northeast trending zone. No historical drilling has been carried out on this target.
Thalia
The Thalia prospect includes a series of trenches exposing copper mineralization over a strike length of 1.4 kilometers, controlled in part by north-northwest trending splays of the Kentucky-Alleyne fault system. Trenches near the southern end of this trend expose well mineralized sericite-chlorite-clay-carbonate altered diorite, with historical continuous sample intervals up to 0.38% Cu over a width of 15 meters. One kilometer north of these trenches locally derived trench boulders have returned assays up to 4.76% Cu and 34 g/t Ag.
Six percussion holes testing Thalia zone targets were drilled by Cominco in 1979, but only two holes reached bedrock. One of these holes intersected albite-hematite altered mineralized diorite, averaging 0.14% Cu over 32 meters (7.62-39.62 meters). Gold and silver assays were not reported.
Boss-Thor
The Boss and Thor prospects are located on the north and east flanks of a strong 2 by 3 kilometer magnetic high in part underlain by a dioritic intrusion. Mineralization at the Thor prospect comprises a 1.2 by 0.3 kilometer long north-northeast trending zone on the east side of the magnetic high. Mineralized outcrops consist of disseminated chalcopyrite and chalcocite in diorite clasts and matrix of tuff breccias. Historical rock chip samples have returned 0.29% Cu over 2 meter widths. An isolated outcrop of "agglomerate" near the north end of this trend reportedly assayed 0.24% Cu on average over a 30 by 60 meter area. No drilling has been carried out on this target.
Par
The Par showing is located just west of the regional Allison Fault, where granitic rocks of the Allison Lake pluton have been extensively fractured and brecciated and intruded by small bodies of quartz porphyry. A number of historical diamond drill holes (Tormont Mines, 1962-1965) intersected disseminated pyrite-chalcopyrite over significant widths. Intersections include: 0.90% Cu and 41 g/t Ag over 20 meters (hole 27) and 0.50% Cu, 12 g/t Ag and 0.25 g/t Au over 34 meters (hole 29). Most of the core was not sampled systematically.
Cindy
Limited historical mapping in the southern part of the Aspen Grove project outlined a zone of strongly altered (sericite, pyrite, silica, local biotite, clay) and fractured diorite over an area of about 500 by 150 meters. A rock sample from this area returned an assay of 1.92% Cu, 0.265 g/t Au and 172.6 g/t Ag. No drilling has been carried out on this target.
West Cirque intends to initiate an aggressive first phase fieldwork program in May 2013, with a focus on prioritizing targets in terms of their porphyry potential and delineating initial drill targets.
West Cirque has not carried out fieldwork on the Aspen Grove project, and therefore has neither verified the style, areal extent or grade of mineralized zones described in historical exploration reports. Historical descriptions cited in this release should not be relied on. Rock sample assays generally have not been accompanied by adequate descriptions of the type of sampling and therefore should be considered as typical of high grade mineralization only. West Cirque's disclosure of a technical or scientific nature in this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Bradford, M.Sc., P.Geo. and V.P. Exploration and Director for West Cirque Resources, who serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.
About West Cirque Resources Ltd.
West Cirque is a mineral exploration company focused on creating shareholder wealth by identifying, acquiring and defining resources in world class precious and base metal projects in the North American Cordillera.
West Cirque Resources Ltd.
Steve Vanry, CFA
President
(604) 558-4604
www.westcirqueresources.com
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Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements", as defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change, except as required by law. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and West Cirque's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's public disclosure which is available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.