Golden Predator Mining Corp. (TSX.V:GPY,
OTCQX:NTGSF) (the “
Company” or
“
Golden Predator”) reports major advances in the
work program at its 100% owned Brewery Creek Mine project located
45 minutes from Dawson City, Yukon. Following the announcement
(July 2019) of the approval of the Quartz Mining License and Water
License at Brewery Creek, the Company has focused intensely on
preparing the former gold producer for redevelopment work to
commence in 2020. The Company has also undertaken an aggressive
exploration program designed to expand and upgrade current
resources.
Significant highlights
include:
- A metallurgical drill program on the existing heap leach pad to
conduct tests to determine optimal crush size. Results are
pending;
- Positive assessments of the suitability of existing
infrastructure for use in a restart of the project;
- Clearing topsoil to access old heap leach material in advance
of development and to provide accurate sampling of heap;
- An aggressive exploration and development drill campaign with
169 drill holes to date. Assays are pending;
- Expansion of camp capacity and supporting utilities to
accommodate an additional 49 persons for next year’s expanded
development program, bringing total on-site housing to more than 75
personnel;
- Due diligence review of previous mine planning to develop a
phased mining approach which exploits the mineralized material
remaining in existing mine plans and potentially expands the life
of mine;
- Request for Proposal issued for a Feasibility Study for the
reprocessing of the heap leach pad, a possible first phase in the
restarting the mine;
- Request for Proposal issued for an updated 43-101 compliant
technical report expected in the first quarter of 2020.
“Golden Predator has completed a massive volume
of work in the last 90 days, made possible by assembling a highly
skilled team with previous experience both working in the Yukon and
restarting heap leach operations in California and Nevada,” said
Janet Lee-Sheriff, Chief Executive Officer. “Much of the original
infrastructure was left intact and is in excellent condition,
providing significant cost savings for a project restart while also
significantly advancing timelines to a resumption of mining at
Brewery Creek.”
To view the Brewery Creek maps please visit:
http://www.goldenpredator.com/_resources/news/BC-NR19-18-Maps.pdf
Brewery Creek Mine Work Program: Site
Preparation
Work has commenced to develop an updated
multi-year mine plan including Phase 1 and Phase 2 activities; all
previously assessed and licensed. Phase 1 will focus on the
reprocessing of the 10 MM tonnes of mineralized material remaining
on the heap leach pad to provide production revenue in the early
stages of a restart while also providing a sound environmental
foundation for future phases and the eventual closure of the
mine.
Phase 2 activities are focused on completing the
original mining plan as currently assessed and licensed. Phase 3
activities include an anticipated expansion beyond the currently
licensed plan which would extend the mine plan and is dependent
upon exploration success and additional licensing.
Site work has been completed in advance of
planned development work to commence in 2020. EBA Tetra Tech was
retained to study the structural integrity of foundations in place
and confirmed the current structures have the necessary stability
for use to support the ADR plant and assay lab. Examination of heap
leach pad plumbing and infrastructure also confirmed that existing
infrastructure is in proper condition for a restart of the heap
leach pad. Earthworks commenced to remove a thin layer of topsoil
placed over the heap leach pad to assess the physical
characteristics and grade of the mineralized material on the pad.
Topsoil has been relocated to provide efficient access as future
reclamation material as required.
Water wells to support environmental monitoring
have been upgraded and monitoring has expanded from annual
reclamation sampling to monthly production compliance sampling. In
keeping with the Company’s high standards for socio-economic
benefits at the community level, a business incubator model has
been developed to assist businesses owned and operated by Tr’ondëk
Hwëch’in First Nation (THFN) citizens, enabling them to benefit
from a project restart. Further contract opportunities are under
development with THFN.
A modular 49 person camp was moved onto the
Brewery Creek site, bringing total on-site housing to more than 75
personnel, to be fully operational for the commencement of
development work in 2020.
The contractors selected for the Feasibility
Study and the Technical Report will be announced once contracts
have been secured; both studies will be completed prior to the 2020
season start.
Brewery Creek: Exploration Program
The Company has, to date, completed 138
exploration drill holes for a total of 15,223 m (49,995 ft) since
the program commenced in July 2019. This total includes a
combination of reverse circulation and diamond drilling with the
objective of upgrading and expanding the known resources. Drilling
includes:
Lucky Zone |
36 RC drill holes for a total of
4,241 m (13,914 ft) |
Golden Zone |
67 RC drill holes for a total of
7,059 m (23,159 ft) |
Kokanee/Fosters Zones |
28 RC drill holes for a total of
2,959 m (9,708 ft) |
Camp Zone |
7 RC drill holes for a total of
286 m (938 ft) |
Metallurgy |
9 PQ diamond drill holes for a
total of 678 m (2,224 ft) |
Drilling focused on:
1) Developing shallow, oxide mineralization
along strike from known mineralization in the Fosters/Kokanee and
Golden/Lucky corridors; both of these zones have approximately 500
m of untested strike length;
2) Developing the down dip transition/sulfide
mineralization south of the Fosters, Kokanee, Golden and Lucky
zones that were historically mined. CN soluble assay data will
allow for the evaluation of potentially leachable "oxide" zones
below the historically defined "oxide" boundary that controlled
earlier drilling, modeling and mining by the previous
operator. This zone has about 2,000 meters of untested strike
length.
Additionally, a metallurgical drill program of
31 holes for a total of 343 m (1,125 ft) was conducted across the
heap leach pad to provide a 22 tonne bulk sample to determine
optimal crush size for processing of ore material. The bulk sample
has been shipped in its entirety to McLelland Labs in Reno, Nevada
for analysis including multiple column leach tests; results are
anticipated in Q1/20.
Mineralized rock from five of the current
resource areas (Fosters, Kokanee, Golden, Lucky and Sleeman) was
also obtained for metallurgical testing to evaluate the potential
to use bio-oxidation to enhance the recovery/economics of the
sulfide mineralization on the project. This work will follow
up on historic work by the previous operator in 1997, which
suggested the sulfide mineralization could be amenable to
bio-oxidation.
Aurora Geosciences collected ~82 line/kms of
ground magnetic/VLF and 5 line/kms of ELF resistivity data in
October 2019. The ground magnetic/VLF data was collected over the
Schooner/Sleeman resource areas to augment structural geologic
interpretation in an area of intersecting easterly and
northwesterly regional structures which localize a gold in soil
anomaly over a 2 km x 0.5 km area. Resistivity data was
collected using the Aurora ELF system along a 5 km traverse from
the Reserve Trend (Kokanee/Golden pit areas) south to the Classic
resource area. The resistivity survey was designed to map the
extension of the east-west trending Reserve Trend structural zone
southward to the younger, alkalic intrusives complex that hosts
gold mineralization along the northwest trending Classic structural
zone.
Mapping, trenching, soil/rock geochemistry and
ground magnetic/VLF were completed to evaluate and expand gold in
soil anomalies in Lone Star South, East Schooner and North Sleeman
areas. The Lone Star South target is the southeast extension of the
Classic and Lone Star resources along the northwest trending
Classic structural zone. The zone is defined by a gold in soil
anomaly; an additional 19 soils and 49 rock were collected for
geochemical analysis. Rock chip samples returned gold values
up to 2 ppm from quartz-arsenopyrite veins.
The East Schooner/North Sleeman targeting
address the interaction of the east-west trending Reserve Trend
with the NW Sleeman Trend. Significant, gossanous, arsenical
shear zones hosted in megacrystic quartz monzonite were exposed
during trenching and results from 60 rock chip samples are pending.
Ground magnetics/VLF data was collected over this area to augment
surface structural mapping in order to define the structural zones
and extend them along strike. Preliminary review of the
ground magnetic/VLF data suggests it correlates well with surface
exposures of mineralization and will be used to guide continued
target development in the area.
An initial test of Aurora's ELF system to
identify/map the Reserve Trend structural zone to depth was
completed. The resistivity transect extends to the Classic resource
area where the Reserve Trend structural zone is inferred at depth
below alkaline intrusives that control/host gold mineralization at
Classic. The collection of additional ground magnetic/VLF
data over the Classic structural zone and associated
calc-silicate/skarn alteration zones couldn't be completed due to
weather and has been deferred to next season.
Drilling will conclude at the end of October
2019. Results will be released as received. The Company is
experiencing a significant delay in lab results due to capacity
issues at labs in Western Canada.
Brewery Creek Mine: Production
History
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 was put into Temporary
Closure in 2002 following a collapse of the gold price to below
$300 US per troy ounce. Golden Predator commenced work on the
project starting in 2009. Brewery Creek is now authorized to
restart mining activities as defined in their Quartz Mining License
and Water License. The Company intends to resume mining and
processing of licensed deposits while the Company works with
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and Yukon Government to expand the licensed
mining area to include new discoveries made since 2011.
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 licenses.
Brewery Creek Mine:
Resources
The Company conducted exploration drilling on
the Brewery Creek project from 2010 to 2013 and increased the
resource 5 fold and completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment
(PEA) resource estimate including an Indicated oxide resource of
577,000 troy ounces of gold in 14.2 million tonnes averaging 1.27
g/t gold and an Inferred oxide resources of 279,000 troy ounces of
gold in 9.3 million tonnes averaging 0.93 g/t gold (includes
resource areas located within and outside of current production
licenses). In addition, the resource estimate contains Indicated
sulfide resources of 142,000 troy ounces of gold in 3.5 million
tonnes at 1.28 g/t gold and Inferred sulfide resources totaling
546,000 troy ounces of gold in 12.4 million tonnes at 1.37 g/t gold
(1). Most drilling was historically terminated a short depth below
the oxide mineralization, leaving the sulfide potential largely
untested.
Brewery Creek Mine: Licenses and
Permits
The Company has a Socio Economic Accord with
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in for the Brewery Creek Mine and is licensed to
resume mining activities under the current Water License and Quartz
Mining Licenses. The project also has a Class IV Mining Land Use
Permit to conduct additional exploration.
The technical content of this news release has
been reviewed and approved by Jeff Cary, CPG, a Qualified Person as
defined by National Instrument 43-101 and an employee of the
Company.
Golden Predator Mining
Corp.
Golden Predator is advancing the past-producing
Brewery Creek Mine towards a timely resumption of mining
activities, under its valid Quartz Mining and Water Licenses, in
Canada’s Yukon. With established resources grading over 1.0 g/t
Gold and low capex to production in a safe first world
jurisdiction, Brewery Creek has a clear path to production as an
economically and environmentally known project. Optimization
studies are progressing to enhance the already positive multi-phase
project economics described in the 2014 Preliminary Economic
Assessment. Drilling continues to expand the open-ended resources
and untested targets across the 186 km2 brownfield property located
55 km by road from Dawson City, Yukon. The Company has a Socio
Economic Accord with the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation.
At the 3 Aces project, Golden Predator continues
to expand on discoveries of native gold in quartz veins while
ongoing bulk sampling and processing at the 50 tpd Company-owned
processing plant has demonstrated gold recoveries of over 85% using
a chemical-free process. This green gold provides the gold for the
mintage of .9999 gold coins from the Yukon Mint™, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Golden Predator.
For additional
information:
Janet Lee-Sheriff
Chief Executive
Officer
Golden Predator Mining
Corp.
(604) 260-8435
info@goldenpredator.com www.goldenpredator.com
(1)
NI 43-101 Technical Report "Preliminary Economic Assessment for the
Brewery Creek Property Yukon Territory, Canada" Release Date of
November 19,
2014.(2)
Brewery Creek Technical Report, Richard Diment, PGeo May 18,
2003
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 express or
implied regarding completion of the transactions described herein,
the upcoming season at 3 Aces project, and projected grades
and gold and silver recoveries from the 2018 and proposed 2019 bulk
sample program, 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.
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