VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golden Predator Mining Corp. (TSX.V:GPY, OTCQX:NTGSF) (the “Company”) today announces the start of its 2020 drill program at its licensed 100%-owned Brewery Creek mine project located approximately 55 km by road from Dawson City, Yukon. The drill program, now underway, will consist of more than 3,000 m of exploration drilling including:
- Wide spaced exploration drilling on new large intrusive porphyry system. Two gold zones--the Classic and Lonestar Zones—have been identified by outcrop, geophysics, surface sampling and previous drilling which was limited to road access along the western margin. This intrusive has a surface expression in excess of 20km2. Initial column leach tests have indicated that this intrusive-hosted mineralization is leachable to at least 200 m in depth.
- In-fill drilling within a 400 m gap between the Lucky resource area and the Keg resource to increase the density of 2019 drilling, confirm continuity of mineralization between the two deposits and increase resources. The goal is to incorporate the Lucky resource into the much larger Keg pit shell for mine planning now in progress as a part of the Brewery Creek Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS).
Brewery Creek maps and a 3D video of resource areas can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B29GzHd-3kA and https://www.goldenpredator.com/_resources/news/GPY-NR20-26-Brewery-Creek-2020-Drilling-Commences-Maps.pdf
2020 Exploration Drilling of New Large-Scale Targets – Classic and Lonestar Zone
The drill program, in newly defined extensions of the Classic/Lonestar porphyry-style intrusive, consists of step-outs approximately 1 km or more from existing drilling at the Classic and Lonestar areas. These holes will be targeted based on 2019 surface sampling and earlier geophysical studies.
The Classic Zone is a near surface bulk tonnage target that lies approximately 3 km south of the Brewery Creek Reserve Trend. Together with the more recently discovered Lonestar zone, the Classic Zone demonstrates the discovery potential of the entire southern portion of the large Brewery Creek Property where a large syenite intrusion hosts gold mineralization primarily in sheeted quartz/carbonate/pyrite veins and as fine-grained disseminations. Initial column leach tests have indicated that this intrusive hosted mineralization is leachable to at least a 200m depth. This mineralization is clearly a separate younger mineralizing event not associated with the quartz monzonite thrust-hosted mineralization historically exploited in the Reserve Trend which is the subject of the ongoing BFS.
Significant Classic Zone intercepts from previous drilling include:
- 30.5 m of 0.84 g/t gold from a depth of 35.1 m;
- 41.2 m of 1.04 g/t gold from a depth of 131.1 m including 3.1 m of 4.25 g/t gold;
- 33.5 m of 0.95 g/t gold from a depth of 99.1 m including 6.1 m of 3.20 g/t gold;
- 200.0 m of 0.38 g/t gold from surface including 10.0 m of 1.10 g/t gold and 38.0 m of 0.90 g/t gold and 19.8 m of 0.71 g/t gold from a depth of 260.6 m;
- 148.0 m of 0.32 g/t gold from a depth of 2.0 m; and
- 134.0 m of 0.34 g/t gold from surface, including 22.0 m of 0.80 g/t gold
The Lonestar mineralized area lies southeast of, and adjacent to, the Classic Zone. Three styles of mineralization occur at Lonestar; gold in skarns, disseminated gold in intrusive rocks, and gold-bearing sheeted quartz veins.
Significant intercepts from previous drilling include:
- 32.0 m of 0.81 g/t gold from a depth of 172.2 m;
- 10.7 m of 1.14 g/t gold from a depth of 25.9 m, and 21.3 m of 2.24 g/t gold from 166.1 m;
- 27.4 m of 1.24 g/t gold from a depth of 1.5 m; and
- 93.0 m of 0.27 g/t gold from the surface.
“We are excited to be exploring these new targets which have the potential to make large additions to our mineral inventory very rapidly. Based on our knowledge of the Classic and Lonestar zones, this porphyry-style system has the advantages of near-surface expression and extensive oxidation when compared to many similar targets attracting attention in the Golden Triangle of BC,” said Golden Predator President Janet Lee-Sheriff.
Keg and Lucky Pitshells – In-Fill Drilling
Golden Predator’s successful 2019 program established continuity of mineralization within the licensed Reserve Trend between the eastern edge of the Keg pitshell (formerly the Canadian-Fosters-Kokanee-Golden pits) east to the Lucky pit. We now plan to complete this work with approximately 25 reverse circulation drill holes designed to bring the Lucky pit into the Keg pit. The recent Mineral Resource Estimate Report recommended additional in-fill drilling in this area as a priority item to expand the eastern margin of the Keg pit another 1,000 m along strike to encompass both the gap area and the Lucky resource area. These holes are currently underway to incorporate into the BFS.
Metallurgical Drilling
In addition, approximately 700 m of large diameter (PQ) core drilling will be conducted to obtain samples for further metallurgical testing at the Keg (Canadian-Fosters-Kokanee-Golden) and Lucky zones. The core samples will be used to conduct additional column leach tests at a coarser crush size of approximately ¾” versus previous test work conducted at 3/8” crush size ) at Kokanee, Golden and Lucky. These column tests are being conducted to confirm the recent results of column leach tests run at various crush sizes on material from the historic heap leach pad where the data showed slightly better recoveries of gold in solution for the coarser ¾” crush size. These tests will also be included in the BFS currently underway.
Both phases of the program commenced on September 22 and are expected to be completed by the end of October.
Brewery Creek Mine: Resources1
| 2020 Brewery Creek Mineral Resource Estimate(1) | |||
| Leachable | Tonnes | g/t | Gold Oz. |
| Indicated | 22,200,000 | 1.11 | 789,000 |
| Inferred | 16,800,000 | 0.92 | 497,000 |
| Sulphide | Tonnes | g/t | Gold Oz. |
| Inferred | 30,600,000 | 0.84 | 828,000 |
Materials on the heap leach pad were not included in the resource update.
Mineral Resources estimates conducted within a pit shell developed at $2000/oz gold with an internal cut-off grade calculated at $1500/oz gold was used to report mineral resource inventories
The resource estimate is based on a recovery model created from assay data, bottle and column leach test work and historic recovery analysis instead of a less accurate visual oxide-sulfide boundary developed from geologist drill logs. Sedimentary and intrusive rocks, which have distinct metallurgical characteristics, were estimated separately based on gold-grade distribution analysis.
The current 2020 Mineral Resources Estimate supersedes the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate. A supporting NI 43-101 Technical Report will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company intends to host a conference call with a Q&A session upon public filing of the Report.
Brewery Creek Mine Work Plan
The Brewery Creek Mine is a licensed brownfields heap leach gold mine that was operated by Viceroy Minerals Corporation from 1996 to 2002. Brewery Creek is authorized to restart mining activities as defined within the Quartz Mining License and Water License. The Company intends to resume mining and processing of licensed deposits when supported by an independent study that outlines technical and economic viability. The 180 km2 property is located 55 km east of Dawson City and is accessible year-round by paved and improved gravel roads. Significant infrastructure remains in place, allowing for a timely restart schedule under existing operating licenses.
A Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) is being conducted by Kappes Cassiday & Associates of Reno, Nevada which will include a multi-year mine plan for the advancement of the Brewery Creek project. The BFS will include an inventory of the mineralized material remaining on the heap and mine planning (completed by Tetra Tech Inc of Golden, Colorado) for the resumption of the mining of material from leachable resources contained within the licensed area and reported in the Company’s Mineral Resource Estimate. The BFS will include all the key parameters involved in reconstructing or adding necessary infrastructure including a crushing facility, the Adsorption-Desorption-Recovery (“ADR”) plant and assay lab and an implementation schedule, sourcing, and economic cash flow model sufficiently detailed to move directly into procurement, development and construction if economically warranted. Any production decisions would be dependent on the outcome of a study demonstrating positive technical and economic viability.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Maslowski, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is employed by the Company as its Chief Operating Officer.
About Golden Predator Mining Corp.
Golden Predator is advancing the past-producing Brewery Creek Mine towards a timely resumption of mining activities, under its Quartz Mining and Water Licenses, in Canada’s Yukon. With established resources grading over 1.0 g/t Gold the Company is completing a Bankable Feasibility Study for the restart of heap leach operations. The Brewery Creek Mine project operates with a Socio Economic Accord with the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation.
For additional information:
Janet Lee-Sheriff
Chief Executive Officer
(604) 260-8435
info@goldenpredator.com
www.goldenpredator.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This press release contains forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations that the Brewery Creek will advance to an early production decision, or the extent of any additional mineral resource that could result from incorporating 2019 exploration drilling. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.
- The 2020 Mineral Resource Estimate was conducted in accordance with CIM guidelines and is reported in a NI 43-101 Technical Report which will be filed on SEDAR and the Company’s website within 45 days.