Trigon Expands Kombat Mineral Resource From 7 Million to 39 Million Tonnes

TORONTO, Sept. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Further to Trigon Metals Inc.’s (TSX-V: TM) (“Trigon” or the “Company”) announcement regarding the potential for a significant increase in the Mineral Resources reported on the Company’s Kombat copper project in Namibia (see press release dated September 8, 2020), the Company is now pleased to announce a 456% increase in the total Mineral Resources reported at Kombat, from 7.0 million tonnes, as at February 28, 2018 (“2018 Mineral Resource”) to 39.1 million tonnes (including inferred resources).

A total of 3,758 additional mineralized underground drill holes have been incorporated outside of the holes utilized in the 2018 Mineral Resource database, leading to a 152% increase in the volume of the resource shell and 3 dimensional confirmation of ore not removed by historic mining. The previous total Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resource of 7 million tonnes represented between 18% of the pre-existing geological model used for resource reporting, with the remaining 82% of the tonnage based on drill holes not previously included.  Additional work was undertaken including improvement of the level of accuracy of depletions in the underground areas. 

Total Mineral Resources include Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources on the open pit and underground areas at Kombat, Asis and Gross Otavi.

Updated Mineral Resource Estimate

The updated Mineral Resource estimate (“2020 Mineral Resource”), as presented in detail in Tables 1, 2 and 3 below, has been prepared and classified by technical consultants Minxcon (Pty) Ltd (“Minxcon”) in accordance with the reporting guidelines as set out in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) as required by the Canadian Securities Administrators. A technical report will be filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR within 45 days of this press release. For further information with respect to the key assumptions, parameters, risks, the mineral resource estimate, data verification, quality assurance and quality control (“QA/QC”) and other technical information, please refer to the technical report, when available.

Open Pit

The previous 2018 Mineral Resource estimate for the open pit areas (Kombat and Gross Otavi) comprised an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.529 million tonnes grading 1.14% copper, 0.72% lead and 2.88 g/t silver, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.582 million tonnes grading 1.40% copper, 1.79% lead and 2.17 g/t silver, at a cut-off grade of 0.6% copper equivalent for Kombat and 0.77% for Gross Otavi.

Table 1 below is a summary of the updated 2020 Mineral Resource estimate for the open pit areas (Kombat and Gross Otavi) as at September 1, 2020.

Table 1 – Updated Mineral Resource Estimate as at September 1, 2020 – Open Pit (0.6% copper equivalent cut-off)

Notes

1. The open pit Mineral Resource is declared with in an optimized resource pit with a CuEq cut-off of 0.6% for Kombat and 0.77% for Gross Otavi.
2. Commodity prices applied: USD3.99/lb (Cu) and USD1.22/lb (Pb).
3. Otavi Mineral Resource and parameters have not changed from 2018.
4. Historical mine voids have been depleted from the Mineral Resource.
5. A geological loss of 15% for the Inferred and 10% for the Indicated Mineral Resource has been applied.
6. The Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
7. Mineral Resources are reported as total Mineral Resources and are not attributed.
8. Inferred Mineral Resources have a large degree of uncertainty as to their existence and whether they can be mined economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the Inferred Mineral Resource will be upgraded to a higher confidence category.

Underground

The previous 2018 Mineral Resource estimate for the underground areas at Kombat and Asis was an Inferred Mineral Resource of 3.929 million tonnes grading 3.72% copper, 1.03% lead and 31.29 g/t silver, at a cut-off grade of 1.4% copper equivalent.

Table 2 below is a summary of the updated 2020 Mineral Resource estimate for the underground areas at Kombat and Asis as at September 1, 2020.

Table 2 – Updated Mineral Resource Estimate as at September 1, 2020 – Underground (1.8% copper equivalent cut-off)

Notes

1. The underground Mineral Resource outside the optimized resource pit is declared at a CuEq cut-off of 1.8%.
2. Commodity prices applied: USD3.99/lb (Cu) and USD1.22/lb (Pb).
3. Historical mine voids have been depleted from the Mineral Resource.
4. A geological loss of 15% for the Inferred and 10% for the Indicated Mineral Resource has been applied.
5. The Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
6. Mineral Resources are reported as total Mineral Resources and are not attributed.
7. Inferred Mineral Resources have a large degree of uncertainty as to their existence and whether they can be mined economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the Inferred Mineral Resource will be upgraded to a higher confidence category.

Combined Open Pit and Underground

The previous combined open pit and underground 2018 Mineral Resource estimate for Kombat, Asis and Gross Otavi comprised an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.529 million tonnes grading 1.14% copper, 0.72% lead and 2.88 g/t silver, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 5.511 million tonnes grading 3.05% copper, 1.25% lead and 22.93 g/t silver

Table 3 below is a summary of the updated 2020 Mineral Resource estimate for the combined open pit and underground areas at Kombat, Asis and Gross Otavi as at 1 September 2020.

Table 3 – Updated Mineral Resource Estimate as at September 1, 2020 – Combined Open Pit and Underground

Notes

1. The open pit Mineral Resource is declared with in an optimized resource pit with a CuEq cut-off of 0.6% for Kombat and 0.77% for Gross Otavi.
2. The underground Mineral Resource outside the optimized resource pit is declared at a CuEq cut-off of 1.8%.
3. Historical mine voids have been depleted from the Mineral Resource.
4. Commodity prices applied: USD3.99/lb (Cu) and USD1.22/lb (Pb).
5. A geological loss of 15% for the Inferred and 10% for the Indicated Mineral Resource has been applied.
6. The Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves.
7. Mineral Resources are reported as total Mineral Resources and are not attributed.
8. Inferred Mineral Resources have a large degree of uncertainty as to their existence and whether they can be mined economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the Inferred Mineral Resource will be upgraded to a higher confidence category.

Mineral Reserve Estimate

The probable Mineral Reserve estimate reported by the Company for the Kombat East and Kombat Central areas as at April 30, 2018 has not yet been updated and therefore remains unchanged at 0.77 million tonnes at a grade of 1.30% copper, 0.47% lead and 4.33 g/t silver.  

Way Forward

The Company recently appointed Minxcon to undertake a detailed analysis of its extensive database of historical information, including the newly acquired historic underground drilling information, previously not available, which has resulted in significant changes in the new updated geological model and re-estimation of the Mineral Resource and the related increase in the updated Mineral Resources.

Minxcon is currently identifying available specific historic drill holes for resampling, as well as preparing and design a detailed cost estimate for a drilling program, further details of which will be provided in due course. This confirmatory drilling program will focus on the additional drill holes included in the 2020 Mineral Resource database to enable the Company to use the information for further upgrading the Resource and Reserve estimates.

In light of the significant upside potential represented by the above information in terms of the scale of the future mining operations at Kombat, the Company has paused its restart strategy in order to focus on the planned drilling program and reassess the potential for a larger mining operation at Kombat.

Jed Richardson, Chief Executive Officer of Trigon, commented, “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the work done on the resource base at Kombat, which supports our view of the long-term potential for Kombat and the surrounding region. Our strategy remains focused on bringing the Kombat mine back into production and a restart of a larger base opens up numerous opportunities for the company in terms of its growth strategy.”  

Qualified Person
Mr. Uwe Engelmann (BSc (Zoo. & Bot.), BSc Hons (Geol.), Pr.Sci.Nat. No. 400058/08, MGSSA) of Minxcon, is a “qualified person” as such term is defined in NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data included in this press release. As a director of Minxcon, Mr. Engelmann is considered independent.

Trigon Metals Inc.
Trigon is a publicly traded Canadian exploration and development company with its core business focused on copper and silver operations in mining friendly jurisdictions in Africa. The Company holds an 80% interest in five mining licences in the Otavi Mountain lands, an area of Namibia widely recognized for its high-grade copper deposits, where the Company is focused on exploration and re-development of the previously producing Kombat mine. The Company also recently finalized the acquisition of the Silver Hill project, a highly prospective copper and silver exploration project in Morocco.

Cautionary Notes  
This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements include statements regarding the Company’s Mineral Resources and Reserves and planned drilling program, the filing of the technical report, the Company’s strategies and the Company’s abilities to execute such strategies, the Company’s expectations for the Kombat operations, the Company’s ability to restart the Kombat operations, the Company’s ability to obtain adequate investment and other financing, and the Company’s future plans and objectives. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statements or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither 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 this release.