CALGARY, AB, July 20, 2021 /CNW/ - TVI Pacific Inc. (TSXV: TVI) (OTC Pink: TVIPF) ("TVI" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc. ("TVIRD") has completed an updated mineral resource estimate in relation to the Balabag Gold and Silver Project ("Balabag" or "the Balabag project"). Balabag is 100% owned by TVIRD, a Philippines corporation in which TVI holds a 30.66% interest. A technical report supporting the updated mineral resource estimate has been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Regulators ("NI 43-101") and is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on TVI's website (the "Technical Report").
Certain statements in this news release constitute forward-looking statements, including statements respecting current development and further exploration activities at Balabag. Readers should refer to the cautionary statement that appears at the end of this news release.
Balabag Project Updated NI 43-101 Highlights
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Total estimated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource of 4.35 million tonnes at 1.79 g/t Au and 43.08 g/t Ag for 2.36 grams per tonne gold equivalent ("g/t AuEq"), which approximates an equivalent 331,000 AuEq oz, at a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t AuEq.
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Total estimated Inferred Resource of 141,000 tonnes at 2.78 g/t Au and 64.11 g/t Ag for 3.63 g/t AuEq, at a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t AuEq.
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Reported results are based on 382 drillholes (for a total of 41,161.60 meters drilled) completed between November 2005 and December 2020.
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Drilling has continued in 2021 with a further eighteen (18) holes completed, the results of which are currently being analyzed. The current focus has been to test and prove the potential deeper mineralized bodies at Lalab, Miswi and West Tinago as well as the shallower lateral extension of West Tinago and shallow Daguman prospect located to the north of Balabag Hill.
Updated NI 43-101
TVI has filed on SEDAR the updated NI 43-101 Technical Report entitled "NI 43-101 Exploration Results and Mineral Resource Update Report on the Balabag Gold-Silver Project". The report was prepared by Mr. Jaime C. Zafra, BSGeo. PGeo. FAusIMM, an independent consultant with significant experience in the style of gold and silver deposition in the Philippines and other epithermal gold-silver deposits in Laos, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Mr. Zafra is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
In addition to a site visit to examine mineralization in the explored areas and to review the drilling and sampling conducted as well as the assaying of gold and silver procedures, Mr. Zafra has relied on historical exploration data provided by TVIRD and on an earlier NI 43-101 report on resource estimates authored by P.J Lafleur of Geo-Conseil Inc. in 2007 and an updated resource report prepared by C.P. Smyth of Georeference Online Ltd. ("Georeference") in 2012, both of which are filed on SEDAR under the Company's profile. The 2007 Lafleur and 2012 Georeference technical reports are no longer current and should not be relied upon. A total of 382 diamond drillholes with a cumulative meterage of 41,161.60 meters was entered into the Balabag Project database as of December 2020 and has been used to update the resource model as presented in this updated NI 43-101 Technical Report. This represents a further 109 drillholes that have been added to the Balabag Project database since the NI 43-101 technical report produced by Georeference.
Together with the diamond drilling, detailed geological mapping and outcrop sampling have confirmed the presence of mineralized bodies within the east-west trending epithermal vein system in Balabag. Three major quartz vein systems have been identified in the area: Tinago-Unao-Unao-Yoyon to the north; Miswi in the east; and Lalab to the south.
The mineral resource was estimated using a conventional geostatistical block modeling approach constrained by mineralization wireframes. Geostatistical analysis, capping, variography and estimation were conducted on the in-situ gold and silver data.
The estimated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource for the Balabag Gold-Silver Project using a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t AuEq is 4.35 million tonnes at 1.79 g/t Au and 43.08 g/t Ag for 2.36 g/t AuEq. This is equivalent to an approximate 331,000 AuEq oz at metal prices of US$1,500/oz Au and US$20/oz Ag. The estimated Inferred Resource is 141,000 tonnes at 2.78 g/t Au and 64.11 g/t Ag for 3.63 g/t AuEq, using a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t AuEq
The overall Mineral Resource as of May 15, 2021 is presented in the following table.
| Category | Tonnage | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | AuEq (g/t) | AuEq (oz) |
| Measured | 3,016,143 | 1.80 | 50.80 | 2.48 | 241,000 |
| Indicated | 1,338,029 | 1.74 | 25.69 | 2.08 | 90,000 |
| Total | 4,354,172 | 1.79 | 43.08 | 2.36 | 331,000 |
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| Inferred | 140,919 | 2.78 | 64.11 | 3.63 | 16,000 |
The foregoing is a summary only of information contained in the full Updated NI 43-101 and represents an estimate; actual results may differ materially. Readers should refer to the full Updated NI 43-101 for more detail concerning the information summarized in this news release.
Several methods were used to determine the resource category in the updated NI 43-101 Technical Report. Blocks generated within 25 to 50 meter-drill-spacing were classified as Indicated Resource while blocks within 25 meter-drill-spacing were coded as Measured Resource. The average drill spacing in the Balabag project is within 25 to 50 meters and the majority of the resource blocks fall within the Measured and Indicated categories. Inferred blocks were generated in areas with significant gold intercepts, where more drilling is required to better define a resource category.
As reported in the Company's exploration update announced on February 25, 2021, and again on May 3, 2021, the Phase 5A drilling program commenced in the second week of March 2021 and has now been completed. Eighteen (18) holes were drilled, and the results are currently being analyzed. The focus of the Phase 5A drill program was to test and prove the potential deeper mineralization at Lalab, Miswi and West Tinago as well as the shallower lateral extension of West Tinago and shallow Daguman prospect located to the north of Balabag Hill. A further Phase 5B drilling program is currently being considered.
"We are pleased to have filed the Technical Report that supports the recent mineral resource update on Balabag. Recent drilling has focused on improving our geological confidence in the mineralized body and it is a welcomed reward to see an increase in the size of the resource expanding our current measured and indicated resource base to 331,000 AuEq and inferred resources to 141,000 tonnes at 3.63 g/t AuEq", stated Cliff James, Chairman and CEO of TVI and Chairman of TVIRD. "TVIRD has advised that its current plan is to expand its exploration efforts, as drilling to date has been predominantly shallow and, as noted in the Company's news release of May 3rd, 2021, management of TVIRD believes that there is potential for additional gold mineralization as has been identified at depth in addition to laterally and near surface."