TORONTO, Jan. 11, 2017 /CNW/ - Argonaut Gold Inc. (TSX: AR) (the "Company", "Argonaut Gold" or "Argonaut") is pleased to release the final assay results for the remaining 123 reverse-circulation ("RC") holes of a 350-hole program completed at its 100%-owned Magino Gold project in Ontario. The RC drilling program was designed to reclassify mineral reserves from Probable to Proven within the proposed starter pit at Magino. These drill results, including those that were released December 5, 2016 (see press release dated December 5, 2016), will be incorporated into a feasibility study, which is expected to be completed during the second half of 2017.
Pete Dougherty, President and CEO commented: "One aspect of Magino that has over-shadowed its economic potential is the perception that the continuity of gold mineralization, especially the higher grade areas, required further definition. Therefore, we designed a definition-drilling program focused on the initial two years of production with the aim of accomplishing three goals: upgrade this portion of the resource to a Proven Reserve category, test our existing model and de-risk the first two years of production, which is the estimated payback period for the project. The team was able to execute the program on time and on budget, and these results will play a fundamental role in the upcoming feasibility study."
Tom Burkhart, Vice President of Exploration stated: "Drill results support the current block model and the interpreted geometry of mineralization. Within the system, there are lenses and stockworks of high-grade gold that are important to the economics of the deposit. It is impossible to know exactly where all these high-grade lenses lie, but what the recent 10 to 12 metre spaced drilling tells us is that the tighter we drill the Magino deposit, the more we validate that these high-grade lenses do occur and that their frequency is predictable. In addition, the successful result of the 2016 drilling campaign increases our confidence in the strength of the overall resource."
Plan View Map of Key Highlight Hole Locations
Table 1 below illustrates key highlight holes from the drill program:
Table 1: Key Highlight Holes
| Hole | Azimuth | Dip | From | To | Length | Grade |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-066 | 164.13 | -51.26 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 52 | 67 | 15 | 1.13 |
| Interval | | | 93 | 114 | 21 | 2.61 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-088 | 165 | -50 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 96 | 133 | 37 | 1.90 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-093 | 165 | -50 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 79 | 96 | 17 | 4.74 |
| Interval | | | 100 | 131 | 31 | 0.96 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-171 | 164.49 | -60.68 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 6 | 22 | 16 | 4.37 |
| Interval | | | 26 | 37 | 11 | 0.38 |
| Interval | | | 41 | 48 | 7 | 0.85 |
| Interval | | | 54 | 66 | 12 | 0.84 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-198 | 166.49 | -48.11 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 50 | 74 | 24 | 2.04 |
| Interval | | | 113 | 118 | 5 | 0.49 |
| Interval | | | 126 | 135 | 9 | 1.11 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-214 | 165.04 | -60.22 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 19 | 71 | 52 | 1.22 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-240 | 163.24 | -48.97 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 26 | 37 | 11 | 0.36 |
| Interval | | | 45 | 63 | 18 | 12.83 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-245 | 162.93 | -48.75 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 28 | 64 | 36 | 1.04 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-262 | 165.75 | -48.67 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 24 | 33 | 9 | 0.47 |
| Interval | | | 62 | 74 | 12 | 5.68 |
| Interval | | | 140 | 147 | 7 | 1.55 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-288 | 165.8 | -48.37 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 15 | 22 | 7 | 0.35 |
| Interval | | | 27 | 33 | 6 | 0.41 |
| Interval | | | 44 | 58 | 14 | 2.46 |
| Interval | | | 92 | 100 | 8 | 0.48 |
| Interval | | | 126 | 136 | 10 | 14.31 |
| Interval | | | 150 | 163 | 13 | 7.26 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-303 | 164.16 | -49.93 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 19 | 23 | 4 | 1.15 |
| Interval | | | 28 | 49 | 21 | 0.99 |
| Interval | | | 55 | 78 | 23 | 3.42 |
| Interval | | | 106 | 113 | 7 | 0.79 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-312 | 168.09 | -49.12 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 2 | 36 | 34 | 3.77 |
| Interval | | | 41 | 48 | 7 | 0.48 |
| Interval | | | 52 | 59 | 7 | 1.15 |
| Interval | | | 74 | 84 | 10 | 0.45 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-323 | 162.35 | -51.54 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 12 | 30 | 18 | 0.87 |
| Interval | | | 34 | 44 | 10 | 1.09 |
| Interval | | | 58 | 84 | 26 | 3.98 |
| Interval | | | 150 | 159 | 9 | 0.41 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-327 | 170.01 | -59.28 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 1 | 32.2 | 31.2 | 1.33 |
| | | | | | | |
| MA16-RC-330 | 165.22 | -49.64 | | | | |
| Interval | | | 10 | 30.8 | 20.8 | 2.98 |
| | | | | | | |
To view a table of all drill results, plan view maps and cross sections, please visit:
https://www.argonautgold.com/gold_operations/drill_results/
Qualified Person Comments / Quality Control Procedures
The preparation of this press release was supervised and approved by Thomas Burkhart, Argonaut Gold's Vice President of Exploration and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Mr. Burkhart also reviewed the reverse circulation and on-site sample preparation procedures at Magino.
For sample analysis the Company utilizes a system of Quality Assurance/Quality Control that includes insertion and verification of standards, blanks and duplicates consistent with industry standards.
Samples from the Magino RC drilling program are collected by Argonaut's geologic personnel every one metre and transported by truck to either Activation Laboratories or Bureau Veritas with analytical facilities in Timmins, Ontario for sample preparation and assaying. All samples are analyzed for gold using a 50g fire assay charge with an atomic absorption finish. Samples that exceed 5 g/t Au are further processed using a standard metallic screen analysis designed to identify and analyze for coarse gold.