Almaden Minerals Ltd. (“Almaden” or “the Company”)
(TSX:AMM) (NYSE American:AAU) is pleased to announce new assay
results from Almaden’s ongoing exploration and development program
at the Company’s Tuligtic project, Mexico. Today’s results
are from the Tano Zone which is located about 1.2 kilometres
southwest, along strike from the Main Ixtaca Zone and the 2017
Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) pit. The Tano zone covers an area of
exposed volcanic and breccia hosted alteration and elevated gold in
soil samples. Previous drilling in this area identified veining and
mineralisation. Further interpretation of these past results led to
the drilling of the holes released today which now confirm
significant mineralisation in this part of the property. There is
no drilling between the holes announced today and the PFS pit area,
along the 060 Azimuth trend of the Main Ixtaca Zone, and this gap
is considered highly prospective. Further drilling in the Tano Zone
area is currently underway. Highlights of today’s results include
the following intercepts:
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Hole
TU-17-530 |
Az. 270, Dip -50 |
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46.00 meters @ |
0.57 g/t Au and 2.2 g/t
Ag |
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Including |
26.00 meters @ 0.71 g/t
Au and 2.3 g/t Ag |
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And |
6.00 meters @ 1.06 g/t
Au and 2.3 g/t Ag |
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Hole
TU-17-531 |
Az. 000, Dip -50 |
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10.00 meters @ |
2.11 g/t Au and 1.6 g/t
Ag |
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Including |
6.00 meters @ 3.38 g/t
Au and 2.0 g/t Ag |
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And |
2.00 meters @ 8.17 g/t
Au and 3.8 g/t Ag |
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Hole
TU-17-533 |
Az. 185, Dip -55 |
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10.50 meters @ |
0.83 g/t Au and 2.4 g/t
Ag |
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Including |
3.00m @ 1.26 g/t Au and
1.5 g/t Ag |
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J.D. Poliquin, chairman of Almaden stated, “We
are very encouraged by these results which are beginning to define
a new mineralised zone well outside of the PFS pit and resource
area. These results demonstrate the potential for discovery on the
project and for the Ixtaca mine plan to grow with continued
exploration. Ongoing drilling will continue to seek more such zones
even as the engineering work and Feasibility Study progress.”
About the Ixtaca Deposit Feasibility
Program
The Company has selected independent engineers
Moose Mountain Technical Services (“MMTS”) to lead the feasibility
study. Various feasibility-related programs are currently underway,
including:
- Feasibility-level engineering
design;
- Additional geotechnical evaluations
in areas of infrastructure and pit slope;
- Continued monitoring of water
quality and flow;
- Metallurgical test work to further
refine the process flowsheet;
- The Comisión Federal de
Electricidad (CFE), the state-owned electric utility of Mexico, has
confirmed the availability of power from its substation located 27
km from the Ixtaca Project;
- Assessment of contractors suitable
to complete site access road improvements required for the mine
construction.
MMTS is an association of Geologists, Engineers
and Technicians providing experienced knowledge in Geology, Mine
Engineering, and Metallurgical Services and Support to the mining
industry for over 15 years. Through their network of associates,
they provide an integrated team of experts and QP’s. Services range
from early grassroots exploration and development, block model
builds, resource and reserve estimates, advanced planning and
studies for mine proposals (including operational support), process
design and permitting process guidance and support. MMTS has
experience working on coal, gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, and
tungsten deposits throughout North and South America and around the
world. A list of specific projects worked on by MMTS can be found
at www.moosemmc.com.
About the Ixtaca Drilling Program and
the Ixtaca ZoneThe Ixtaca Zone is a blind discovery made
by the Company in 2010 on claims staked by the Company. The deposit
is an epithermal gold-silver deposit, mostly hosted by veins in
carbonate units and crosscutting dykes (“basement rocks”) with a
minor component of disseminated mineralisation hosted in overlying
volcanic rocks.
The Ixtaca deposit is located in a developed
part of Mexico in Puebla State, the location of significant
manufacturing investments including Volkswagen and Audi plants. The
deposit is accessed by paved road and is roughly 30 kilometres from
an industrial park with rail service where significant
manufacturers such as Kimberly Clarke have facilities. Any
potential mining operation at Ixtaca would be located in an area
previously logged or cleared with negligible to no current land
usage.
The Company has access to the entire project
area and works closely with local officials and residents. The
Company has employed roughly 70 people in its exploration program
who live local to the Ixtaca deposit. For example, local employees
have made up virtually all the drilling staff and have been trained
on the job to operate the drill rigs being used at the project. The
Company has implemented a comprehensive science based and objective
community relations and education program for employees and all
local stakeholders to transparently explain the exploration and
development program underway as well as the potential impacts and
benefits of any possible future mining operation at Ixtaca. The
Company regards the local inhabitants to be major stakeholders in
the Ixtaca deposit’s future along with the Company’s shareholders.
Every effort is being made to create an open and clear dialogue
with our stakeholders to ensure that any possible development
scenarios that could evolve from the feasibility study work are
properly understood and communicated throughout the course of the
Company’s exploration and development program. To better explain
the impacts of a mining operation at Ixtaca the Company has
conducted numerous tours for local residents to third party
operated mines in Mexico so that interested individuals can form
their own opinions of mining based on first-hand experience. The
Company invites all interested parties to visit
www.almadenminerals.com to find out more about our community
development, education and outreach programs.
On December 12, 2017 Almaden announced the
completion of a Social Impact Assessment (“SIA”) of the Ixtaca
Project completed by Juan-Pablo Gudiño of GMI Consulting (“GMI”).
GMI is a Mexico City-based group which provides social and
environmental consulting services to government and industry. In
2015 it was recognized by Consulting Magazine as one of the 50 most
important consulting companies in Mexico. The work to complete the
SIA was carried out by an interdisciplinary group of nine
anthropologists, ethnologists and sociologists graduated from
various universities, who lived in community homes within the Focus
Area during the study to allow for ethnographic immersion and an
appreciation for the local customs and way of life. The SIA
sought voluntary participation from broad, diverse population
groups, with specific attention to approximately one thousand
persons in the Focus Area. Key points regarding the study include
the following:
- GMI found that Almaden Minerals’ consultation process complies
with the Equator Principles and International Best Practices;
- All the fieldwork is backed up by audio, privacy notices, and
photographs which demonstrate the voluntary participation of the
interviewees, and their consent to be included in the study;
- The SIA included the participation of men, women, the elderly,
boys and girls;
- The SIA concluded that Almaden Minerals had consulted widely
with the Focus Area communities, the Ixtaca project was well
understood, and that the SIA itself was successful in providing
people with an opportunity to clearly express their views on the
impacts of Ixtaca project development.
Technical Details of the Ixtaca Drilling
ProgramThe Main Ixtaca and Ixtaca North Zones of veining
are interpreted to have a north-easterly trend. Holes to date
suggest that the Main Ixtaca and Ixtaca North Zones are sub
vertical with local variations. This interpretation suggests that
true widths range from approximately 35% of intersected widths for
a -70 degree hole to 94% of intersected widths for a -20 degree
hole. The drilling completed to date has traced mineralisation over
1,000 meters along this northeast trend. The Chemalaco (Northeast
Extension) Zone strikes roughly north-south (340 azimuth) and dips
at 55 degrees to the west. This interpretation suggests that true
widths range from approximately 82% of intersected widths for a -70
degree hole to 99% of intersected widths for a -40 degree hole. The
orientations of the new vein zones intersected in the holes
reported today are not well understood and true widths cannot be
calculated at this time.
The Ixtaca gold-silver deposit is largely
comprised of zones of abundant high grade epithermal veins with low
base metals hosted in barren limestone. Gold and silver in these
veins occurs largely as electrum (an alloy of gold and silver) and
other leachable sulphides. The boundaries of these vein zones, or
swarms, with un-mineralised limestone are well defined both
visually and by assay results and are therefore readily modelled
for geologic and resource purposes. The many individual veins and
veinlets within the vein swarms branch and re-connect, as well as
locally change strike and dip, pinch and swell. The wireframe
models constructed to define the overall vein zones therefore
contain interspersed irregular zones of barren limestone wallrock.
This inclusion of limestone dilution in the vein zone wireframes
results in average reserve grades of 1.17 g/t AuEq (80.5 g/t AgEq),
as reported in the Company’s Pre-Feasibility Study which was filed
on SEDAR in May, 2017 (the “PFS”). Nevertheless, the actual
occurrence of gold and silver in the limestone hosted Main Ixtaca
Zone is in the form of high grade veins and veinlets, not, for
example, as widespread low grade disseminated mineralisation. These
geologic and mineralogic observations have very positive mining and
recovery implications as defined in the PFS released by the
Company:
- The near surface occurrence and
broad nature of the Ixtaca gold-silver deposit vein zones allow for
low-cost bulk open pit mining as opposed to expensive underground
methods often required for narrow individual veins. At the time of
future mining, the exposure of the vein system on mine benches may
allow for the visual definition between limestone waste and
epithermal veining and improvement to the geologic model from that
generated from exploration drill holes. An improved mine bench
scale geologic model, along with appropriate ore control systems,
may allow for more selective mining and waste definition of the
vein swarms;
- The contrast between barren
limestone and the non-refractory gold and silver ore and vein
mineralogy allows for simple bulk gravity and flotation to remove
the barren limestone to create low mass pull and volume
concentrates. The PFS demonstrates that a bulk flotation
concentrate of gravity tails over the mine life will average
approximately 4.3 g/t gold and 390 g/t silver with a mass pull of
~8%;
- Leaching these limestone domain
concentrates results in very high overall gold and silver
recoveries (both average approximately 90%) into doré on site
without the need for expensive smelting as is the case for many
base metal rich precious metal deposits.
Mr. Norm Dircks, P.Geo., a qualified person
(“QP”) under the meaning of NI 43-101, is the QP and project
manager of Almaden’s Ixtaca program and reviewed the technical
information in this news release. The analyses reported were
carried out at ALS Chemex Laboratories of North Vancouver using
industry standard analytical techniques. For gold, samples are
first analysed by fire assay and atomic absorption spectroscopy
(“AAS”). Samples that return values greater than 10 g/t gold using
this technique are then re-analysed by fire assay but with a
gravimetric finish. Silver is first analysed by Inductively Coupled
Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (“ICP-AES”). Samples that
return values greater than 100 g/t silver by ICP-AES are then re
analysed by HF-HNO3-HCLO4 digestion with HCL leach and ICP-AES
finish. Of these samples those that return silver values greater
than 1,500 g/t are further analysed by fire assay with a
gravimetric finish. Intervals that returned assays below detection
were assigned zero values.
Blanks, field duplicates and certified standards
were inserted into the sample stream as part of Almaden’s quality
assurance and control program which complies with National
Instrument 43-101 requirements.
About AlmadenAlmaden Minerals
Ltd. owns 100% of the Tuligtic project in Puebla State, Mexico,
subject to a 2.0% NSR royalty held by Almadex Minerals Limited.
Tuligtic covers the Ixtaca Gold-Silver Deposit, which was
discovered by Almaden in 2010.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
“Morgan Poliquin”Morgan J. Poliquin, Ph.D.,
P.Eng.President, CEO and DirectorAlmaden Minerals Ltd.
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) nor the
NYSE American have reviewed or accepted responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release which has
been prepared by management. Except for the statements of
historical fact contained herein, certain information presented
constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and
Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking statements,
including but not limited to, those with respect to potential
expansion of mineralization, potential size of mineralized zone,
and size and timing of exploration and development programs,
estimated project capital and other project costs and the timing of
submission and receipt and availability of regulatory approvals
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of
Almaden to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others,
risks related to international operations and joint ventures, the
actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions of
economic evaluations, uncertainty in the estimation of mineral
resources, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be
refined, environmental risks and hazards, increased infrastructure
and/or operating costs, labour and employment matters, and
government regulation and permitting requirements as well as those
factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in
Almaden's Annual Information form and Almaden's latest Form 20-F on
file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in
Washington, D.C. Although Almaden has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be
as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance
that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Almaden disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than
as required pursuant to applicable securities laws. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
Contact Information:
Almaden Minerals Ltd. Tel. 604.689.7644 Email:
info@almadenminerals.comhttp://www.almadenminerals.com/
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e6f3b282-33dc-48c2-b752-1657df63d470
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/76bb2123-489d-417b-994d-aa879a3334e4