Lamaque South: 1,057,420 Au ounces at a grade of 7.1 g/t Auhttps://www.marketwired.com/press-release/integra-gold-increases-lamaque-south-indicated-resource-106-million-ounces-gold-triangle-tsx-venture-icg-1990601.htm
February 10, 2015 16:05 ET
Integra Gold Increases Lamaque South Indicated Resource to 1.06 Million Ounces of Gold, Triangle Zone Indicated Resource Increases 173%
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - February 10, 2015) - Integra Gold Corp. (: ICG) (: ICGQF) ("Integra" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed updated mineral resource estimates for two of its main gold deposits at its 100% owned Lamaque South Gold Project ("Lamaque South") located in Val-d'Or, Québec. The Triangle and Parallel Zones are located within a 2 km corridor immediately east of the city of Val-d'Or. The Triangle and Parallel Zone resources account for the majority of the resources used in the Company's recently completed (see press release dated January 13, 2015) Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"). There are a number of other high-priority gold occurrences on the property that are now being drill tested as part of the 50,000 meter ("m") drill program announced on January 28, 2015. Six diamond drills are currently operating at Lamaque South.
Lamaque South Resource Estimate1
1 Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Resource Highlights
- Using a 3.0 grams/tonne gold ("g/t Au") cut-off grade, the Triangle Zone Indicated resources increased 173% from 190,760 ounces to 520,630 ounces of gold at a grade of 8.3 g/t Au
- Using a 3.0 g/t Au cut-off grade, total Lamaque South Indicated resources increased by 40% from 756,310 Au ounces to 1,057,420 Au ounces at a grade of 7.1 g/t Au and Inferred resources increased by 13% from 293,710 Au ounces to 330,990 Au ounces at a grade of 8.4 g/t Au
- Using a 3.0 g/t Au cut-off grade, Indicated and Inferred resources represent 76% and 24% of all Lamaque South resources, respectively
- Excellent exploration potential at depth - 9 million ounces of historical production from the adjacent mines which produced to vertical depths of over 2,000 m, whereas the depth of Integra's updated resources are from surface to approximately 620 m vertical depth and open below
"We are extremely pleased with this substantial increase in resources at the Lamaque South Gold Project. We are particularly encouraged by the considerable growth at our largest and highest grade target, the Triangle Zone. With future studies, we anticipate the Triangle Zone will become an increasingly significant part of the mine plan at the project, beyond what we have indicated in our recent PEA update. What is particularly encouraging is the indication of larger, potentially bulk minable, gold mineralization at the Triangle Zone, given the widths encountered in drilling and modelled in the new resource estimate" commented Stephen de Jong, President and CEO. "This thicker style of gold mineralization is reminiscent of the zones mined at the past producing Lamaque Mine adjacent and directly north to Lamaque South, where Teck Corporation produced 4.5 million ounces of gold from a combination of narrow vein hosted mineralization and larger ore zones that were mined using bulk underground mining techniques."
"There are very few low cap-ex, safe jurisdiction, high-grade gold assets that can boast the potential for a 100,000 ounce per year or greater production profile and have the permitting ease we have experienced thus far at Lamaque South. Integra's growing technical and operations team has done a remarkable job getting the project to this point, both in their ability to consistently expand the resource through exploration and concurrently advance the asset towards production."
The updated resource estimate integrates 45,400 m of new drilling completed on the two main gold zones at Lamaque South, the Triangle (33,000 m) and Parallel (12,400 m) Zones. An additional 26,200 m of drilling from the Fortune Zone, No. 3 Mine and No. 5 Plug, and 2015 drilling at Triangle completed so far, all of which are hosted within the same 2 km corridor, has yet to be modelled and included in this updated resource estimate.
The Triangle Zone remains open in all directions and over the next three months the Company plans to have 4 drills operating on the zone focusing on expanding the existing resource to bring additional gold ounces into an updated mine plan. Without incorporating the new resources announced today, and using the closing spot gold price of US$1239 per ounce and exchange rate of 1.24 from February 9, 2015, the Lamaque South Project PEA reports a pre-tax IRR of 106% and NPV(5) of C$266 million, further highlighting the project's potential. (The Company's base case scenario used US$1175 gold and an exchange rate of $1.14, returning a pre-tax IRR of 77% and NPV(5) of C$184.3 million). All new gold ounces are situated in close proximity to proposed underground infrastructure as set forth in the PEA and are situated within a similar vertical depth envelope as the previous resource estimate. The Company plans to analyze accessing the expanded resources using that same underground in its ongoing development studies, potentially significantly enhancing project economics.
To view an idealized cross section of the Triangle zone, click on the link below.
https://www.integragold.com/i/maps/ICG-Corp-TriangleIdealizedSection_wINF-Final.JPG
The new resource estimate incorporates 45,400 m of drilling in 126 holes and was completed by GeoPointCom from Val-d'Or, Québec; geological modelling and interpretation was completed under the supervision of Geologica also from Val-d'Or, Québec. An additional 26,200 m of drilling has been completed at the Triangle Zone and on other target areas on Lamaque South which have not been included in this resource update estimate but will be included in future resource estimates. Further details on the mineral resource estimation parameters and results will be presented in an updated technical report to be filed on SEDAR within 45 days.
Substantial Resource Growth at the Triangle Zone
- Largest and highest grade deposit at Lamaque South accounting for more than 50% of recovered ounces reported in the Company's January 2015 PEA
- Using a 3.0 g/t Au cut-off Indicated resources increased by 173% from 190,670 Au ounces to 520,630 Au ounces at a grade of 8.3 g/t Au and Inferred resources increased by 27% from 137,600 Au ounces to 174,470 Au ounces at a grade of 9.0 g/t Au
- All additional ounces are contained within the same vertical depth (surface to 620 m) as the previous resource estimate
- Triangle Zone open in all directions
Increase in Size and Average Grade of Total Lamaque South Resource
- Indicated resources increased 40% to 1,057,420 Au ounces at a grade of 7.1 g/t Au
- Inferred resources increased 13% to 330,990 Au ounces at a grade of 8.4 g/t Au
The resource numbers above do not include resources obtained through the recent acquisition of the Sigma-Lamaque Mill and Mine Complex (the "Sigma Property") of 586,000 Au ounces of Measured and Indicated resources contained within 3,674,000 tonnes at a grade of 5.0 g/t Au and 1,853,000 Au ounces of Inferred resources contained within 9,159,000 tonnes at a grade of 6.3 g/t Au, as reported in the press release dated January 13, 2015.
Lamaque South Mineral Resource Summary
Gold mineralization at the Lamaque South project starts at surface in multiple zones, and are all situated in close proximity to each other within a 2 km corridor, including some zones laterally separated by only a few hundred meters. For clarity, the resource update disclosed today has not been incorporated into the PEA, nor does it include the additional resources obtained from the Sigma Property.
The updated mineral resource estimate announced today is limited to the Triangle and Parallel Zones, as set forth below. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Resource Estimate for Triangle and Parallel Zones
(3.0 g/t Au cut-off)
Resource Estimate for Triangle and Parallel Zones
(5.0 g/t Au cut-off)
Please click on the following link to view the project plan map and zones location:
https://www.integragold.com/i/maps/LamaqueZoneMap.pdf
Using a 3.0 g/t Au cut-off, the Lamaque South Indicated resources increased by 40% to 1,057,420 Au ounces at a grade of 7.1 g/t Au and Inferred resources increased by 13% to 330,990 Au ounces at a grade of 8.4 g/t Au.
Lamaque South Comparison with Previous Resource Estimate
(3.0 g/t Au cut-off)
At a higher cut-off of 5.0 g/t Au, the Lamaque South Indicated resources increased by 42% to 810,560 Au ounces at a grade of 9.5 g/t Au and Inferred resources increased by 7% to 276,030 Au ounces at a grade of 10.9 g/t Au.
Lamaque South Comparison with Previous Resource Estimate
(5.0 g/t Au cut-off)
Significant potential remains to increase the gold resources, both laterally and at depth, in most of the deposits at Lamaque South. Two additional targets drilled between 2012 and 2014, the No. 5 Plug and No. 3 Mine, have yet to be added to the Lamaque South resource estimate, while numerous significant exploration targets remain to be tested throughout the property. The Company completed additional drilling on the No. 5 Plug at the end of 2014 and will be drilling the No. 3 Mine target at the beginning of 2015.
Including the resource disclosures made in September 2013 and January 2014 (see press release dated September 25, 2013 and January 28, 2014), estimates have now been completed for six separate gold deposits at the Lamaque South project:
- Parallel Zone
- Triangle Zone
- Fortune Zone
- No. 4 Plug
- No. 6 vein, and
- Sixteen Zone
When the Sigma Property resources (see press release dated January 13, 2015) are added to these newly updated resources on Lamaque South, the Company's global mineral resource increases to a total of 1.64 million Au ounces grading 6.2 g/t Au of Indicated (and Measured) resources and 2.18 million Au ounces grading 6.5 g/t Au of Inferred resources, at the cut-off grades noted below.
Summary of Lamaque South Gold Project and Sigma Property Resources
- Using a 3.0 g/t Au cut-off grade.
- The Sigma Property measured resource is 202,000 ounces grading 5.46 g/t Au (1,151,000 tonnes) and 384,000 ounces grading 4.73 g/t Au (2,523,000 tonnes)
- Using a 1.0 g/t Au cut-off grade, except for 19,000 ounces in the Indicated category and 6,000 ounces in the Inferred category for Lamaque No.2 Mine for which the cut-off grade is 2.1 g/t Au.
Triangle Zone
The majority of the increase in the gold resources announced today have been added within or in close proximity to the limits previously established by drilling within the existing Triangle Zone resource. Using a 3.0 g/t Au cut-off, the Indicated resource at the Triangle Zone increased by 173% from 190,670 Au ounces to a total of 520,630 Au ounces at a grade of 8.3 g/t Au while Inferred resources increased by 27% from 137,600 Au ounces to a total of 174,470 Au ounces at a grade of 9.0 g/t Au.
To view an idealized cross section of the Triangle zone, click on the link below.
https://www.integragold.com/i/maps/ICG-Corp-TriangleIdealizedSection_wINF-Final.JPG
This significant increase in resources is a result of:
- the incorporation of more than 33,000 m of new drilling information on the Triangle Zone resource database
- better defined geological controls
- lateral, down-dip, and up-dip extensions beyond the previous resource envelopes
- the incorporation of wider and higher grade zones, often in excess of 10 m in true thickness, in the lower portion of the Triangle Zone (between 450 m to 620 m vertical depth)
It is important to note that the wider zones discovered in the lower half of the Triangle Zone appear to mimic the lower sections of the neighbouring Lamaque Mine, which historically produced 4.5 million ounces of gold with the most productive years coming from bulk mining techniques in the lower, bulk zones. Some of the widest and highest grade intercepts reported are from the lower mineralized zones at Triangle which were discovered in 2014 and remain open laterally and at depth.
These wider zones of mineralization dip to the south at greater than 45 degrees, suggesting these zones could be mined using more productive, bulk mining methods such as long-hole mining. This is a significant discovery and should positively impact mining costs as these mining methods are more efficient and cost effective than traditional shallow dipping, narrow vein mining techniques.
Mineralized intervals from the lower zone at Triangle discovered in 2014 drilling include:
- 14.2 g/t Au over 11.0 m in TM-14-32 starting at 604.0 m
- 10.5 g/t Au over 13.0 m in TM-14-33 starting at 583.0 m
- 15.9 g/t Au over 4.0 m in TM-14-33 starting at 631.0 m
- 8.2 g/t Au over 10.0 m in TM-14-26 starting at 626.9 m
- 17.7 g/t Au over 3.0 m in TM-14-27 starting at 636.0 m
- 26.5 g/t Au over 6.0 m in TM-14-43 starting at 573.0 m
- 38.2 g/t Au over 7.0 m in TM-14-19 starting at 554.0 m
The Company's current 2015 drill program includes step-out drilling on these zones and testing for lateral and depth extensions of the wider, high-grade zones. There is also excellent potential to increase the resource laterally and at depth as the model used in the estimate announced today is limited to a vertical depth of 620 m, the same depth as the previous estimate. Two drill holes completed in 2013, down to a vertical depth of 900 m, intersected significant mineralization including an intercept grading 10.5 g/t Au over 6 m in hole TMS-13-07 (see press release dated November 18, 2013). In 2014, the Company focused its drill efforts on defining resources between surface and 620 m vertical with no drilling testing beyond this depth. As part of the 2015 drill program the Company will be extending a number of holes to 900 m to 1,000 m vertical depth.
Parallel Zone
Using a 3.0 g/t Au cut-off, Indicated resources decreased slightly by 14% from 209,570 Au ounces to 180,750 Au ounces at a grade of 7.3 g/t Au. The Inferred resources remained unchanged at 86,460 Au ounces at a grade of 10.7 g/t Au. The resource variation is a result of the additional 13,500 m of infill drilling primarily in the upper zones of the mineralized envelopes. Drilling has better defined the outer limits of the Parallel Zone decreasing the contained ounces slightly while increasing the global tonnage. The drill spacing, which is now reduced to an average of 25 m, has greatly increased the confidence level in the Parallel modelling and resources. It should be noted that when the Company conducted its previous PEA, the grade of deeper Inferred resources was reduced to 10 g/t Au due to the lack of drilling having been completed in those areas. The grade of the updated Inferred resource announced today is consistent with the previous 10 g/t Au estimate.
The potential to increase the resource at the Parallel Zone remains excellent as the deeper, higher grade vein arrays which occur at approximately 375 m vertical depth have yet to be sufficiently drill tested; this is where the majority of the Parallel Zone Inferred resources are located. Further testing and resource delineation for those zones will likely wait until underground access is available.
Global Lamaque South Mineral Resources
Resources for all others zones presented in this resource update, namely for the No. 4 Plug, Fortune Zone, No. 6 Vein, and Sixteen Zone, remain unchanged from previous disclosures. Modeling and estimation work is still ongoing at the Fortune Zone and No. 5 Plug with results to be disclosed at a later date in 2015. Additional drilling at No. 3 Mine is to be completed this winter before modelling and estimation can proceed.
The following two tables give a summary, by zones, of updated Indicated and Inferred mineral resources at the selected disclosure cut-off of 3.0 g/t Au.
Indicated Mineral Resources by Zones
(3.0 g/t Au cut-off)
Inferred Mineral Resources by Zones
(3.0 g/t Au cut-off)
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; individual gold values uncap; 2 m minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; capping of 55 g/t on composites when composites are > 10 m from estimated cell (composites are 1m); 2 m minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; individual gold values capped to 300 g/t Au; no minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; composites are gradually capped when the gold value is over 90 g/t Au + (0.55*(Au-90)); 2 m minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; individual gold values gradually capped when the gold value is over 40 g/t using the formula hereby = 40 g/t Au + ((x-40)*0.53)); 2 m minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; individual gold values are capped at 35 g/t Au; 2 m minimum true thickness
Global Lamaque South Mineral Resource - Individual Deposits at Alternate Au Cut-off grades
The mineral resources were also compiled using variable cut-offs with results presented at a 5.0 g/t Au cut-off for all zones, as shown in the tables below. Tables at multiple cut-offs will be available in the updated NI 43-101 Technical Report which will be published and filed on SEDAR. Cut-offs used in the recently disclosed PEA for selection of potential stopes vary on an individual zone basis depending on mining method; cut-offs used were between 4.0 and 5.0 g/t Au. The high-grade nature of the deposits is clearly illustrated at the 5.0 g/t Au cut-off below.
Indicated Mineral Resources by Zones
(5.0 g/t Au cut-off)
Inferred Mineral Resources by Zones
(5.0 g/t Au cut-off)
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; individual gold values uncap; 2 m minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; capping of 55 g/t on composites when composites are > 10 m from estimated cell (composites are 1m); 2 m minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; individual gold values cap at 300 g/t Au; no minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; individual gold values cap at 90 g/t Au + (0.55*(Au-90)); 2 m minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; individual gold values gradually capped when the gold value is over 40 g/t using the formula hereby = 40 g/t Au + ((x-40)*0.53)); 2 m minimum true thickness
- Specific gravity of 2.8 g/cm3; individual gold values are capped at 35 g/t Au; 2 m minimum true thickness
Exploration Drilling Program and Resource Potential
As recently disclosed (see press release dated January 28, 2015) the Company has commenced a 2015 drilling program consisting of 50,000 m in approximately 120 holes. This year's program will utilize up to eight drill rigs during the winter months and one to two drill rigs during the summer and fall months. The proposed targets and meterage for the upcoming year are as follows:
Triangle Zone extension - 20,000 m
No. 3 Mine definition - 6,500 m
No. 6 Vein definition - 7,500 m
Plug No. 4 South extension - 4,000 m
Parallel Zone Ramp condemnation - 1,500 m
North Flats Vein exploration - 5,000 m
New target exploration - 5,500 m
The majority of this drilling will focus on increasing the gold resources at Lamaque South by concentrating on definition and extension drilling on four of its main gold deposits while aggressively continuing its search for new gold bearing zones within the Lamaque South project area.
Project and Company Profile
Integra's Lamaque South Gold Project and Sigma-Lamaque Mill and Mine Complex are located directly east from the city of Val-d'Or along the prolific Abitibi Greenstone belt in the Province of Québec, Canada, approximately 550 km northwest of Montréal. Québec is rated one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world. Infrastructure, human resources and mining expertise are readily available.
The Company's primary focus is on production planning for its high-grade Lamaque South project. The Lamaque South property is divided into three clusters, the North, South and West cluster. The primary targets are the high-grade Parallel Zone in the North Cluster and the Triangle Zone in the South Cluster. The acquired Sigma Mill, located 1 kilometer from the Parallel Zone and 3 kilometers from the Triangle Zone, is a fully-permitted, 2,200 ton per day mill and tailings facility. The Sigma-Lamaque Mill and Mine Complex include the historic Sigma and Lamaque Mines which operated for 75 and 52 years respectively and produced more than 9 million ounces of gold in total.
Qualified Person
The Lamaque South exploration project and Sigma-Lamaque Mill and Mine Complex, jointly known as the Lamaque project, are under the direct supervision of Hervé Thiboutot, Eng., Senior Vice-President of the Company, and Francois Chabot, Eng., Manager Operations/Engineering of the Company. Both Mr. Thiboutot and Mr. Chabot are QPs as defined by the National Instrument 43-101. Alain-Jean Beauregard, P.Geo., Daniel Gaudreault, Eng., Geo., of Geologica Inc., and Christian D'Amours, P. Geol., OGQ, from GeoPointCom, are responsible for the completion of the 2015 geological modelling and resource updates; all three are independent QPs as defined by the National Instrument 43-101. The Company's QPs have reviewed the technical content of this release.
Quality Assurance - Quality Control ("QA/QC")
Thorough QA/QC protocols are followed on the project including insertion of duplicate, blank and standard samples in all drill holes. The core samples are submitted directly to Bourlamaque Lab in Val-d'Or for preparation and analysis. Analysis is conducted on 1 assay-ton aliquots. Analysis of Au is performed using fire assay method with atomic absorption finish, with a gravimetric finish completed for samples exceeding 5 g/t Au, or a metallic sieve assay for all samples containing visible gold. When available the gravimetric or metallic sieve assay results are used for the reported composite intervals.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Stephen de Jong
CEO & President