Marathon Gold drills one m of 83.07 g/t Au at Valentine
2021-12-22 07:39 ET - News Release
Mr. Matt Manson reports
MARATHON GOLD REPORTS ADDITIONAL BERRY INFILL DRILL RESULTS
Marathon Gold Corp. has released the latest drill assay results from the Valentine gold project in central Newfoundland. These latest results represent fire assay data from the latest fifteen diamond drill holes completed as part of the ongoing in-fill drill campaign at the 1.5 kilometre long Berry Deposit, and the last Berry drill results to be received from the assay laboratory prior to the year-end. Highlights include:
- VL-21-1083 intersected 7.77 g/t Au over 8 metres including 28.68 g/t Au over 1 metre;
- VL-21-1088 intersected 83.07 g/t over 1 metre, and 22.13 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 2.27 g/t Au over 10 metres;
- VL-21-1075 intersected 1.57 g/t Au over 39 metres including 10.06 g/t Au over 1 metre and including 11.93 g/t Au over 1 metre, and 4.21 g/t Au over 3 metres including 11.64 g/t Au over 1 metre; and
- VL-21-1081 intersected 2.19 g/t Au over 17 metres including 15.95 over 1 metre, and 21.28 g/t Au over 1 metre; and
- VL-21-1076 intersected 2.05 g/t Au over 8 metres, and 3.74 g/t Au over 4 metres including 13.36 g/t Au over 1 metre;
All quoted intersections comprise uncut gold assays in core lengths. All significant assay intervals are reported in Table 1.
Matt Manson, President and CEO, commented: "We are releasing today the latest results from the 2021 infill drill program at the Berry Deposit. We continue to see the steady bulking-up of this important new discovery over its full 1.5 kilometre length. These results represent the last batch of Berry sample assays expected to be received prior to the year end. We are awaiting results from an additional 80 drill holes from Berry completed as part of the 2021 drill program. These will be released in the new year as they are received, along with 44 drill holes completed in 2021 at the Sprite and Victory Deposits. As a reminder, the initial Berry Mineral Resource estimate published in April 2021 comprised 0.64 Moz classified as Inferred Mineral Resources in 11.33 Mtonnes at 1.75 g/t Au. This estimate was based on 42,000 metres of Berry drilling completed as of November 2020. The next Berry estimate will be based on over 100,000 metres of drilling completed to the end of November 2021, and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year."
Matt Manson continued: "Guidance on our 2022 exploration program at the Valentine Gold Project will be provided in January upon its approval by the Board of Directors, but we expect another vigorous year of drilling focussed on both Mineral Resource growth and new discovery."
Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Please see the National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report dated April 23, 2021 for a summary of the Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources at the Valentine Gold Project.
Gold mineralization at the Valentine Gold Project is contained predominantly within shallowly southwest dipping, en-echelon stacked Quartz-Tourmaline-Pyrite-Gold ("QTP-Au") veins. At the Leprechaun, Marathon and Berry Deposits, these QTP-Au veins form densely stacked and northwest plunging "Main Zone" envelopes within intrusive host rocks on the hanging wall (northwest) side of the Valentine Lake Shear Zone ("VLSZ"; Figure 1). The extent of mineralization appears related to the size and frequency of sheared mafic dykes which extend northeast-southwest within the hanging wall, parallel to the shear zone.
The results released today are derived from fifteen drill holes located broadly between section 13750E within the western conceptual pit shell utilized in the April 2021 Berry Mineral Resource estimate and section 14680E within the eastern conceptual put shell (Figures 2 and 3). All fifteen holes were oriented steeply down to the northwest testing for Main Zone-type stacked QTP-Au mineralization in "Set 1" vein orientations progressively further out into Berry's hanging wall rocks (Figures 4 and 5).
All of the fifteen drill holes returned "significant" drill intercepts of greater than 0.7 g/t Au (Table 1), and all returned additional intercepts with gold grades above the 0.3 g/t Au cut-off used in the April 2021 Berry Mineral Resource estimate.
Significant Assay Intervals from Drill Hole Collars VL-21-1074 to VL-21-1088, Berry Deposit, Valentine Gold Project DDH SectionAz DipFromTo Core Length (m)True Thickness (m)Gold g/tGold g/t (cut) VL-21-107414570E 346-77 11 14 3 2.70 2.93 19 21 2 1.80 1.52 53 55 2 1.80 0.72 70 79 9 8.10 1.69 84 85 1 0.90 1.90 95 97 2 1.80 0.89 202 207 5 4.50 0.88 249 251 2 1.80 0.90 VL-21-107514105E 343-78 32 33 1 0.90 0.71 34 35 1 0.90 11.64 135 142 7 6.30 0.91 217 218 1 0.90 1.04 229 231 2 1.80 1.01 245 246 1 0.90 3.85 264 265 1 0.90 6.72 280 319 39 35.10 1.57 Including 290 291 1 0.90 10.06 Including 296 297 1 0.90 11.93 328 331 3 2.70 0.93 346 347 1 0.90 6.97 VL-21-107613870E 345-78 8 11 3 2.70 0.83 111 112 1 0.90 1.41 151 159 8 7.20 2.05 189 190 1 0.90 0.99 196 198 2 1.80 2.08 204 208 4 3.60 3.74 Including 206 207 1 0.90 13.36 227 232 5 4.50 1.47 285 286 1 0.90 0.79 VL-21-107714530E 347-72 20 21 1 0.90 0.78 69 70 1 0.90 0.86 VL-21-107814120E 343-61 78 89 11 9.35 1.56 VL-21-107914680E 343-59 24 26 2 1.6 3.10 35 38 3 2.4 1.99 56 59 3 2.4 2.01 84 86 2 1.6 2.32 92 93 1 0.8 1.90 104 105 1 0.8 0.99 123 124 1 0.8 1.11 178 182 4 3.2 1.08 VL-21-108013850E 345-70 8 9 1 0.85 6.24 36 38 2 1.7 3.78 43 44 1 0.85 0.81 64 66 2 1.7 3.14 91 93 2 1.7 0.75 VL-21-108114050E 344-78 10 11 1 0.9 2.28 56 73 17 15.3 2.19 Including 58 59 1 0.9 15.95 89 95 6 5.4 1.12 98 99 1 0.9 1.76 102 103 1 0.9 0.79 104 105 1 0.9 0.91 172 174 2 1.8 3.08 186 195 9 8.1 1.16 203 206 3 2.7 0.77 216 222 6 5.4 1.55 229 231 2 1.8 1.01 245 247 2 1.8 1.08 265 268 3 2.7 1.31 278 279 1 0.9 21.28 288 294 6 5.4 1.42 314 315 1 0.9 0.80 VL-21-108213750E 344-76 16 17 1 0.9 3.68 69 70 1 0.9 0.85 82 84 2 1.8 1.33 102 105 3 2.7 0.85 147 148 1 0.9 1.13 154 157 3 2.7 0.83 169 175 6 5.4 1.57 VL-21-108314050E 344-66 4 5 1 0.85 0.83 29 30 1 0.85 5.10 55 56 1 0.85 1.20 94 95 1 0.85 4.14 112 116 4 3.4 0.90 120 123 3 2.55 1.00 136 142 6 5.1 0.86 157 158 1 0.85 3.07 164 166 2 1.7 1.57 181 189 8 6.8 7.77 Including 185 186 1 0.85 28.68 202 205 3 2.55 0.78 222 223 1 0.85 2.07 VL-21-108414430E 351-78 84 85 1 0.9 1.96 118 120 2 1.8 6.93 119 120 1 0.9 12.41 219 220 1 0.9 1.39 267 268 1 0.9 6.65 VL-21-108513770E 348-78 71 72 1 0.9 1.49 86 87 1 0.9 0.84 90 91 1 0.9 1.92 99 100 1 0.9 0.85 105 108 3 2.7 1.42 116 117 1 0.9 0.72 175 176 1 0.9 0.85 224 226 2 1.8 7.13 248 251 3 2.7 0.79 257 259 2 1.8 1.85 271 277 6 5.4 0.74 299 301 2 1.8 0.75 319 320 1 0.9 0.85 353 354 1 0.9 1.47 VL-21-108614070E 345-77 35 36 1 0.9 1.63 73 74 1 0.9 0.97 82 84 2 1.8 0.92 181 197 16 14.4 0.91 201 203 2 1.8 1.46 231 234 3 2.7 2.90 238 239 1 0.9 2.66 254 256 2 1.8 2.53 VL-21-108714440E 340-77 29 31 2 1.80 1.72 88 89 1 0.90 1.09 96 97 1 0.90 5.20 VL-21-108813770E 350-79 11 12 1 0.90 83.07 30 78 79 1 0.90 22.13 135 136 1 0.90 1.36 142 143 1 0.90 0.92 178 179 1 0.90 1.49 228 238 10 9.00 2.27
Notes on the Calculation of Assay Intervals
"Significant" assay intervals are defined as 1m core length or more of mineralization with an average fire assay result of greater than 0.7 g/t Au, representing the bottom cut-off for high-grade mill feed in the Marathon April 2021 Feasibility Study mine plan. Assay intervals with an average fire assay result of between 0.3 g/t Au and 0.7 g/t Au are above the cut-off used in the April 2021 Mineral Resource estimate for the Berry Deposit but are not considered "significant" for the purposes of this news release.
Cut gold grades are calculated at 30 g/t Au