VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - June 23, 2015) - Integra Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: ICG)(OTCQX: ICGQF)
- Company hopes $1 million prize purse will attract "digital prospectors" to analyze unprecedented amount of data and direct it towards its next big gold find
Integra Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: ICG)(OTCQX: ICGQF) ("Integra" or the "Company") is giving the term "data mining" a whole new meaning with the launch of its Integra Gold Rush Challenge, a form of crowdsourcing it hopes will lead it to the next big gold discovery at its Sigma-Lamaque gold property in Val-d'Or, Québec.
The Data
In October 2014, Integra completed the acquisition of the Sigma/Lamaque Mine and Mill complex immediately adjacent to its Lamaque South project and in doing so became the owner of 6 terabytes of historical mining and exploration data in a digital format. The Company has spent the last 6 months compiling this information which, once completed, will be released to the public in one consolidated database. The data dates back to 1933 and includes over 30,000 historic drill holes, more than 50,000 gold assays, hundreds of kilometres of mined underground workings, other mining statistics and photos. Integra is in the process of verifying and digitizing additional information, which it expects to release to contestants in September via a special website. Integra says that to its knowledge, no mining company has released such a large amount of proprietary information to the public before.
As highlighted in a recent press release the Company believes there is a wealth of potential gold exploration targets that are expected to be generated as a result of this unprecedented digital database that spans more than 75 years of history (see Company press release June 18, 2015).
The Gold Rush Challenge
Online prospectors will analyze and interpret the data to come up with a plan on where they think Integra has the best chance of making a major gold discovery. Further details on what specific types of submissions the Company is looking for will be announced in the coming months, prior to the database being made public in September.
The prize of CAD $1,000,000, which will be broken out into a number of categories, will be awarded to whomever comes up with what the Company and the competitions board of advisors believe is the highest probability location for a major gold discovery. Integra has already made significant headway in raising the award money through sponsorships and plans to announce the winners next March in Toronto at the PDAC mining conference.
To view an animated video summarizing the Integra Gold Rush Challenge, please click on the following link:
www.vimeo.com/131487265
To view a visual infographic summarizing the Integra Gold Rush Challenge, click on the link below:
https://www.integragold.com/i/pdf/gold-rush-challenge.pdf
Certain information presented in the above material is based on publicly available information from third parties and as such, this information may not be complete, up to date or reliable. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given to the accuracy of such information. Ounces-per-vertical meters is a calculation which presents the average production per metre over the entire depth of the mine, and is calculated by dividing total ounces produced by total depth of mine and is based on publicly available historical statistics.
For further information regarding the Company's Gold Rush Competition and associated Cautionary Notes please see the bottom of this press release or visit www.integragold.com/goldrush
"By giving the public access to this data, Integra hopes to tap into the collective brainpower of thousands of participants and save itself years of time and resources to identify high-potential exploration targets we likely wouldn't even know exist," says CEO Stephen de Jong. "By utilizing external sources this competition allows us to stay focused and disciplined on the work we are doing at our Triangle Zone and Lamaque South property, and at the same time move forward with an exciting exploration target."
Integra chairman George Salamis adds, "With this digital gold rush, we hope to tap into the most leading edge and innovative ideas from all sectors of research, not just the mining business. Our expectation is that these new ideas will lead to continued value creation from last year's acquisition of the Sigma-Lamaque Mill and Mining Complex. This competition, which we expect to reveal numerous exploration plans on areas where participants think we should look to make our next gold discovery, will prove to be beneficial for investors, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders. The Integra Gold Rush is also expected to draw unprecedented attention to Québec and the Abitibi Region as one of the world's premier gold mining jurisdictions."
Media and Analyst Conference Call:
The Company will be hosting a conference call for media and analysts only on June 23, 2015 at 8:30 am PDT / 11:30 am EDT to discuss today's announcement. Interested parties can join through the number and access code listed below.
Dial-In Number: 1 (866) 791-7194
Access Code: 39995813
The conference call will be recorded by Integra. All participants are asked to call at least 10 minutes prior to the conference call start time so that an operator can place you into the call. Please note, questions will be limited to media and analysts; however, any additional question not addressed on the conference call can be directed to goldrush@integragold.com.
Partnership with HeroX
Integra Gold is launching the Gold Rush Challenge in partnership with HeroX, a crowdsourcing platform for incentive prizes to discover complex, innovative solutions to the challenges facing companies, governments, nonprofits, and individuals. HeroX is a spin-off of XPRIZE, the leading organization solving the world's Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high profile, incentivized prize competitions.
Integra hopes to attract the expertise of those in academia, geology, the mining sector and many other disciplines to interpret the data.
"The Gold Rush Challenge follows in the incredibly successful footsteps of the Goldcorp Challenge and the Ansari XPRIZE competition," says XPRIZE CEO and HeroX Co-founder, Peter H. Diamandis. "We live in a world of incredible cognitive surplus and your ability to tap into brilliance is now unparalleled. By utilizing the HeroX platform, Integra Gold is paving the way for significant innovation in the mining industry by encouraging collaboration and openness."
HeroX says that based on past experience with crowdsourcing projects, it expects hundreds of people or groups from multiple countries to participate in the Integra Gold Rush Challenge.
"The Gold Rush Challenge is a visionary approach to big data analysis that harnesses the power of the incentive prize model to foster collaboration and reward ingenuity," says HeroX CEO, Christian Cotichini. "HeroX is delighted to partner with Integra Gold to build awareness for this important competition, which is sure to bring unprecedented levels of innovation to the mining sector."
Endorsements from Mayor of Val-d'Or and MNA for the Electoral Riding of Abitibi-East
Mayor of Val-d'Or, Mr. Pierre Corbeil, says this original initiative represents an exceptional showcase event for the city of Val-d'Or. "The discovery of these gold mines marked the debut of Val-d'Or, founded 80 years ago. The Integra Gold Rush reaffirms our region's mineral potential and will certainly have significant benefits for our region. I salute Integra Gold's boldness in this initiative and wish all the digital prospectors good luck."
"I find this a unique and original initiative to re-ignite interest in previously dormant gold mines. This is confirmation that Québec is more present and stronger than ever in maintaining its position as a leading mining jurisdiction. I view a number of interesting economic opportunities for the region," says the MNA for Abitibi-East, Québec, Guy Bourgeois.
History of the Sigma and Lamaque Mines
The Lamaque and Sigma Mines are located 500 meters from one another and are hence being treated by the Company's exploration and geological team as one system. These mines each produced more than 4.5 million ounces of gold each, however, the Sigma Mine was more than 700 meters deeper than Lamaque. The Lamaque Mine ceased operations in 1985 due to falling commodity prices, labor unrest, and development limitations due to insufficient infrastructure, not, as Integra believes, as a result of the mineralized system being exhausted at its lowest levels. The Lamaque Mine was the largest gold producer in Québec for 30 years, from 1955 until it shut down in 1985.
This historic data compiled by the Company provides compelling evidence for a down-dip extension of the gold-bearing system of the Lamaque Mine Main Plug continues at depth. The Company believes detailed targeting work on Lamaque Deep as well as other targets in the vicinity will much more efficiently realized by utilizing the power of a crowd sourcing competition.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed and approved on behalf of the company by Hervé Thiboutot, PEng, a qualified person.
Project and Company Profile
Integra's Lamaque South Gold Project and Sigma-Lamaque Mill and Mine Complex are located directly east of 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 in the region.
The Company's primary focus is on exploring and subsequently developing, subject to further underground exploration, its high-grade Lamaque South gold 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 recently acquired Sigma Mill, located 1 kilometer from the Parallel Zone and 3 kilometres 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.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Stephen de Jong, CEO & President
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Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Cautionary Notes:
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this document constitute forward-looking statements, including the ability of any participant to determine the location of any prospective area of mineralization and exploration plan, the potential for prospective area of mineralization and exploration plan at Integra's Sigma-Lamaque gold property, timing and process for the release of data and completion of the Integra Gold Rush Competition, expected number of participants, and timing for completion of the digitization of the data. In making the forward-looking statements, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company, including that the Company is able to execute the contest in accordance with the terms described herein, that the data will be adequately digitized, that participants will be able to access and analyze the data in accordance with the terms of the competition, that the Company will be able to secure sponsorships, that the Company is able to obtain any government or other regulatory approvals, that the Company is able to procure personnel, equipment and supplies required for its exploration and development activities in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis and that actual results are consistent with management's expectations. Although the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, among others, those matters identified in its continuous disclosure filings, including its most recently filed MD&A. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Third Party Sources: Certain information in this document, including statistics regarding the historical production from the Sigma and Lamaque mines and production from the Abitibi gold belt, is based on publicly available information from third parties and as such, this information may not be complete, up to date or reliable. Although the Company has no knowledge that would indicate that any such information contained in this document is untrue or incomplete, the Company assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given to the accuracy of such information.
Additional Information: Ounces-per-vertical meters is a calculation which presents the average production per metre over the entire depth of the mine, and is calculated by dividing total ounces produced by total depth of mine. Based on publicly available historical statistics for the period from 1933 and 1985, the Lamaque Mine produced 24,151,963 tonnes grading 5.9 g/t Au for approximately 4.5 million ounces of gold from surface to a maximum depth of mining of 1,100 vertical metres. In the case of the Lamaque Mine ounces per vertical metre can be deduced by dividing total past production of 4.5 million ounces of gold by vertical depth of mining of 1,100 metres. The Lamaque Mine had a near vertical dip, with approximately 300 metres and gold grades varied over the course of the orebody with near continuous mineralization.
For additional information on the Company's Lamaque Project see "Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate Update for the Lamaque Project (according to National Instrument 43-101 and Form 43-101F1)" dated March 27, 2015 and "Technical Report and Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Lamaque Project (according to National Instrument 43-101 and Form 43-101F1)" dated February 27, 2015.
Embedded Video Available: https://vimeo.com/131487265