VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- P2 Gold Inc. (“P2” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:PGLD) reports on activities recently completed and underway at its wholly-owned gold-copper Gabbs Project, located on the Walker-Lane Trend in west-central Nevada approximately 145 miles by paved road from Reno, Nevada.
“With the completion of a production trade off study, we are now launching a Phase Two metallurgical program at Gabbs,” said Joe Ovsenek, President and CEO of P2. “These and other programs completed since the acquisition of the project this year, including geophysical studies and diamond and reverse circulation drill programs, have positioned us to advance Gabbs to a preliminary economic assessment.”
Production Tradeoff Study
In August, Kappes Cassiday & Associates (“KCA”) was retained to prepare a tradeoff study of the economic potential of several process options for treating the mineralization at the Gabbs gold-copper project. For the oxide ores, this study included both heap leaching and conventional milling using either acid or cyanide for recovery of gold and copper. In all cases, the sulphide ores were treated by conventional milling followed by flotation producing a gold/copper concentrate and cyanide leaching of the flotation tails to produce doré. In their analysis, KCA determined that a combination of heap leaching of the oxide ores with cyanide and conventional milling of the sulphide ores had the greatest economic potential. In this process option, the flowsheet used standard SART technology (Sulphidation, Acidification, Recycling, Thickening) to recover the oxide copper and gold from the cyanide solutions collected from the heap leach, and then regenerate the cyanide for reuse on the heap. The second-best process option was conventional milling of both oxide and sulphide ores with cyanide and flotation/leaching of the sulphide ores. Additional metallurgical studies were recommended to refine the tradeoff study and advance the project towards a preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”).
Phase Two Metallurgical Program
As previously reported, the Gabbs Phase One metallurgical program demonstrated relatively high recoveries of both gold and copper from oxide samples collected from surface at the Sullivan Zone (see P2 news release dated August 4, 2021). The Phase Two metallurgical program is based on recommendations from the tradeoff study and will build on and advance the Phase One work. For this program, representative samples of oxide and sulphide mineralization have been composited from split diamond drill core and sent to KCA. Using the exploration assay results, the estimated grades of the composites averaged:
Phase Two Metallurgical Program Composite Name | Average Gold Grade (g/t) | Average Copper Grade (%) | Average Sulphur Grade (%) |
| Oxide - High Grade | 1.65 | 0.48 | 0.05 |
| Oxide - Medium Grade | 0.66 | 0.32 | 0.03 |
| Oxide - Low Grade | 0.19 | 0.33 | 0.03 |
| Sulphides | 0.18 | 0.32 | 1.86 |
The Phase Two metallurgical program will primarily focus on processing the oxide ore on a heap leach using cyanide and SART technology to regenerate the cyanide and produce doré and a metallic copper concentrate. These studies will include bench scale agitated leach and bottle roll tests followed by column leach tests. For the sulphide composite, a limited number of tests will be completed testing the flotation responses of the mineralization to confirm the milling option assumptions in the tradeoff study. Sulphide test work will focus on optimizing recoveries and production of a saleable copper concentrate and doré.
The Phase Two metallurgical program is expected to commence shortly and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022. The overall objective of the program is the refinement of the economic analysis in the tradeoff study and definition of any further test parameters required to complete a PEA.
Phase One Drill Program Completed
The Phase One Drill Program has been completed and totaled 580 meters in four diamond drill holes and 4,120 meters in 27 reverse circulation (“RC”) drill holes. The primary focus of the drilling was definition of the ore controls and testing the full extent of the mineralization at the Sullivan Zone. All four diamond and 23 RC holes were completed in the Sullivan Zone. Three RC holes were completed in the Car Body Zone and one RC hole in the Lucky Strike Zone. Assays have been received and reported for the diamond drill holes, with assays pending for all the RC drilling.
Historically, drilling at the Sullivan Zone focused on the near-surface oxide gold mineralization, with a significant number of holes stopped in mineralization or not assayed for copper. Most of this drilling was completed between 1980 and 1995 prior to the adoption of National Instrument 43-101. The results to date from the P2 Gold drill program have confirmed that the zone of gold–copper mineralization is much thicker and higher in grade than previously defined. In addition, the Sullivan deposit appears to be zoned with lower grade mineralization in the northwest with the grades improving to the southeast.
Geophysical Surveys
From 1970 through 2011, exploration activities were carried out on the Gabbs Project by several operators. Historical geophysical work included regional gravity and magnetic surveys, a property scale ground magnetic survey and an orientation IP survey. This work showed that the Sullivan and Lucky Strike zones are associated with prominent magnetic highs, which are open at depth. Re-interpretation of the ground magnetic and historical IP data has identified features which are potentially indicative of the source for the surface mineralization.
Field mapping and prospecting by P2 has located numerous showings and historical shafts, pits, and trenches which overlay some of the interpreted deep-seated sources. In a further attempt to define these targets, a Natural Source Magneto Telluric (“NSMT”) survey is being run over the project which totals 25.7 line kilometers. This survey will cover all four known zones of mineralization and the prospective source locations between the zones.
Plan views of the mineralized zones with 2021 drill holes and planned lines for the NSMT survey are available here. For further details on the Gabbs Project please see Gabbs Project.
Qualified Persons
Ken McNaughton, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., Chief Exploration Officer, P2 Gold, is the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, responsible for the Gabbs Project exploration program.
About P2 Gold Inc.
P2 is a mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing precious metals discoveries and acquisitions in the western United States and British Columbia.
For further information, please contact:
| Joseph Ovsenek President & CEO (778) 731-1055 P2 Gold Inc. Suite 1100, 355 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC V6C 2G8 info@p2gold.com (SEDAR filings: P2 Gold Inc.) | Michelle Romero Executive Vice President (778) 731-1060 |
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Forward Looking Information
This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. “Forward-looking information” includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “potential” or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking information includes, without limitation, information with respect to the Company’s expectations, strategies and plans for the Gabbs Project including the Company’s planned expenditures and exploration activities.
Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. See “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual information form dated August 9, 2021 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com for a discussion of these risks.
The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
