- Application for Exploitation License expected in Q1/2022
- Initiation of feasibility work underway
- Initiation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is pending final approval of the Terms of Reference; baseline studies continue
- Drilling to convert Inferred Oxide Resources to the Measured & Indicated Category is substantially complete with assay results anticipated in Q1/2022;
- Corporate Social Responsibility programs and reporting accelerating in Q1/2022
- Results from 2021 regional mapping and sampling programs continue to be received
- Drill-testing of a possible buried copper-gold porphyry target at Montazo to commence in January 2022
- Initiation of the Vrify (vrify.com) platform for 3D viewing of work to date at Neita
TORONTO, Jan. 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unigold Inc. (“Unigold” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:UGD; OTCQX: UGDIF; FSE:UGB1) is pleased to provide an update on activities at its 100% owned Neita concession in the Dominican Republic. The objectives for 2022 lead the Company firmly towards a production decision at Candelones.
Joseph Hamilton, CEO, commented, “I am excited about the work that we have scheduled for 2022. Our objectives during the year are to deliver a viable, financed oxide project and to have sufficient permits in place that we can have certainty regarding the timing of construction and production. Our focus for the first half of the year will be firmly on the Oxide Project and the associated permitting. In addition, the return to regional exploration gives us the opportunity to demonstrate that the Neita Concession is a mineral district with the potential for multiple deposits in the future.”
“Our work at the Candelones sulphides will not cease during 2022. We expect to complete further drilling, metallurgical testing and process designs later this year. Our objective would be to schedule a Preliminary Economic Assessment of the sulphide project once we have assembled sufficient technical data. We are looking forward to a transformative year for the Company and expect that we will be able to show how the sulphide project fits into the oxide development by the end of 2022.”
The first step in achieving commercial production at the Candelones oxide deposits is to receive an Exploitation Licence over a portion of the Neita Concession. The Company has been diligently assembling the required documentation to support this Licence Application during late November and December of last year. We expect to be in a position to finalize and submit the Application by the end of January 2022. The Company expects to work closely with the Government authorities to expedite the issuance of the Exploitation Licence. While the government reviews this application, the Company intends to work in parallel to deliver a Feasibility Study and advance in the baseline data collection for an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (“ESIA”), both of which should be delivered in Q3 of this year.
The Company received and assessed a number of proposals from qualified engineering firms to complete a feasibility study for the oxide portion of the Candelones deposits. This feasibility study will build on the design parameters conceptualized in the May 2021 Technical Report titled “Updated Mineral Resource Estimate and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Oxide Portion of the Candelones Project, Neita Concession, Dominican Republic” (available on the Company’s web site as well as www.SEDAR.com).
In early December 2021, the Company announced the expansion of the owner’s team with the appointment of Mr. Gordon Babcock as COO and Mr. Wes Hanson as VP Exploration. The Company expects to add to this team throughout 2022 with a view to having sufficient in-house expertise to be able to commence construction when all permits have been received.
Detailed topographic surveys of the conceptualized oxide project area will commence in January 2022 to be followed by geotechnical studies to assess the plant and pad placements. Large diameter metallurgical column tests utilizing Run-of-Mine material commenced in the middle of 2021. While the Company is expecting a final report towards the end of January 2022, results to date indicate that recoveries over the first 107 days of leaching will likely exceed the recovery assumptions incorporated into the May 2021 PEA. The Company will report the final leaching results when assays of the residual column material are complete. Further metallurgical work on the oxides is planned to finalize process design for the feasibility study.
The Company has completed a program of 36 holes totalling 1110 meters of drilling (see Figure 1.0) within the oxide resource limits in order to convert the Inferred Oxide Resource to Measured and Indicated Resources. All holes have intersected strongly oxidized dacite breccia from surface and the observed oxide mineralization extends to depths ranging from 5.0 meters to 40.0 meters below surface. Assay results are anticipated in Q1, 2022. In conjunction with the strong results from column testing, the Company is confident that a large portion of the Inferred Oxide Resources may be converted to Measured and Indicated Resources. The Company’s objective is to maximize the Measured and Indicated Oxide Resource in sufficient time to incorporate the results into the mine scheduling and ultimately into the feasibility study.
Following completion of the geotechnical and surveying work, the incorporation of completed drilling into the Resource Estimate and the final metallurgical testing, the Company will engage appropriate consultants to finalize a feasibility study with sufficient detail to support project financing discussions. The Company expects this report to be released in Q3 of 2022.
The Company has delivered the Terms of Reference (“ToR”) for the ESIA to the appropriate government agencies in the Dominican Republic. The ToR is the first step in completing the full ESIA for the oxide development project. Work has commenced on the baseline study utilizing in-country contractors while the Company awaits for final approval of the ToR. Environmental studies will accelerate in Q1 and Q2 of 2022. The Company is targeting Q3 of 2022 to have the final ESIA ready for submission to the appropriate government authorities.
The Company’s Environmental and Social Governance (“ESG”) activities continued throughout the second half of 2021 with education and school support programs, road and bridge rehabilitation, community dental and health clinics, support for local amateur sport teams, water and well rehabilitation and community education programs completed during that time. The efforts of the Company will continue throughout 2022 with numerous infrastructure, forestry, agriculture, river rehabilitation and community health programs planned for the first half of the year. An information office is being developed in the local community in order to provide a central location for community engagement and is expected to be operational in Q2 2022. In addition, the Company expects to release its inaugural ESG report in early 2022.
Throughout 2021, the Company retained a multi-disciplinary team of specialist consultants to review all geochemical, geological and geophysical data available over the concession area. This data reflected approximately C$40 million of direct costs over 18 years of exploration. In conjunction with this data review, the Company initiated a field mapping, sampling and trenching program over select targets in order to set priorities for our future drill programs. A number of these targets will be tested throughout 2022. The Montazo porphyry target was highlighted during detailed review of the topographic, geophysical, geochemical, and geological data.
Dr. Annick Chouinard reviewed the geochemical data and confirmed multiple hydrothermal anomalies are present throughout the Concession. Dr. Chouinard identified a copper-rich center with an arsenic halo at Montazo, approximately 3 kilometres to the east of the Candelones deposits. This geochemical signature is within a footprint measuring 4500 x 3000 meters and is centered over an area of interpreted magnetite destruction. Argillic to advanced argillic alteration and soil anomalies extend locally to merge with several known gold targets, including Guano-Naranjo, Montazo and Rancho Pedro, forming a large prospective area of approximately 7 km by 4 km. The Company views this area as a mineral district with the potential to host several styles of gold-copper deposits.
Further work by Jeremy S. Brett, M.Sc., P.Geo., Senior Geophysical Consultant, Jeremy S. Brett International Consulting Ltd., and Betka Ondercova, M.Sc., GIT, Geophysical Consultant, Unigold, identified a discrete, 500 meter diameter semi-circular magnetic high within the geochemical district. The central magnetic high is interpreted to be the response from a discrete body at about 250 to 300 m below surface that persists for over 2000 meters vertically. The peripheral area to the magnetic high has a much lower response which is interpreted to reflect alteration and magnetite destruction. The Company believes that these interpretations point to a buried porphyry target which is central to many of the gold and copper showings that have been identified in the acid volcanics of the Upper Tireo volcanic rocks.
Two shallow drill holes from 2013 and 2014 exploration programs intersected alteration on the edge of the interpreted porphyry (see Figure 2.0). Drillhole MTZ14-05 was located immediately above the interpreted porphyry center and returned argillic alteration marked by silica and potassium enrichment to about 250m depth. Drillhole MTZ13-05A was located approximately 300m south of the interpreted magnetic core with propylitic alteration noted from surface to about 288m depth. Drilling to test the interpreted porphyry will be initiated in January 2022. Two to three holes totalling 1500 meters are planned. The primary objective of this drilling is to confirm the presence of alteration typical of major porphyry systems.
In order to better display the wealth of exploration and drilling data and to allow investors to understand the geometry of the deposits at Candelones, the Company engaged Vrify Technologies Inc. (vrify.com) in Q4 2021 to import the Company’s entire dataset onto the Vrify platform. This information is now available to view in 3D in a simple and effective web-based system. Investors are encouraged to visit the Vrify website or gain access through the Unigold website to get a better understanding of the spatial relationships of the identified mineral deposits within the Neita concession.
Wes Hanson P.Geo., VP Exploration of Unigold has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release.
For further information please visit http://www.unigoldinc.com or contact:
Mr. Joseph Hamilton
Chairman & CEO
T. (416) 866-8157
About Unigold Inc. – Discovering Gold in the Caribbean
Unigold is a Canadian based mineral exploration company traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol UGD, the OTCQX exchange under the symbol UGDIF, and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol UGB1. The Company is focused primarily on exploring and developing its gold assets in the Dominican Republic. The Candelones oxide gold deposit is within the 100% owned Neita Fase II exploration concession located in Dajabón province, in the northwest part of the Dominican Republic. The Candelones project area is about 20 kilometers south of the town of Restauraćion. The oxide deposit occurs at surface as a result of the tropical weathering of underlying mineralization. Unigold has been active in the Dominican Republic since 2002 and remains the most active exploration Company in the country. The Neita Fase II exploration concession is the largest single exploration concession covering volcanic rocks of the Cretaceous Tireo Formation. This island arc terrain is host to Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide deposits, Intermediate and High Sulphidation Epithermal Systems and Copper-gold porphyry systems. Unigold has identified over 20 areas within the concession area that host surface expressions of gold systems. Unigold has been concentrating on the Candelones mineralization and continues to expand the deeper sulphide resources with on-going drilling.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this document, including statements regarding events and financial trends that may affect our future operating results, financial position and cash flows, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are based on our assumptions and estimates and are subject to risk and uncertainties. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words like “strategy”, “expects”, “plans”, “believes”, “will”, “estimates”, “intends”, “projects”, “goals”, “targets”, and other words of similar meaning. You can also identify them by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. We wish to caution you that such statements contained are just predictions or opinions and that actual events or results may differ materially. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Where applicable, we claim the protection of the safe harbour for forward- looking statements provided by the (United States) Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For more information, please visit https://www.unigoldinc.com/profile/forward-looking-statement.
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.
Figure 1.0 – Candelones Oxide Pit Area showing historic drilling and collars of recent infill drilling is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f8058ab0-80c7-4397-b675-88dd8205634e
Figure 2.0 – Drill Hole Locations – Montazo Porphyry Target is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b9f09faf-881f-4a0a-8abb-41176d8ad6a0
