Drilling Highlights:
- The first 2 drill holes of the 2019 infill drilling campaign in the Marathon Deposit have succeeded in intersecting wide
zones of QTP-Au veining with abundant visible gold in the open-pit core area of the main mineralized corridor; the success of
these holes confirms the lateral continuity of the higher-grade gold mineralization between adjacent drill holes at shallow
depths in the Marathon Deposit (Figure 1):
- MA-19-348 intersected 3.92 g/t Au over 23.0 meters with 8.98 g/t Au over 4.0 meters and 6.86 g/t Au over
3.0 meters and a separate interval of 3.55 g/t Au over 10.0 meters with 6.52 g/t Au over 3.0 meters and other high-grade
intervals as in Table 1.
- MA-19-349 intersected several good zones, 2.10 g/t Au over 29.0 meters including 5.43 g/t Au over 4.0
meters and 4.65 g/t Au over 4.0 meters, 1.96 g/t Au over 24.0 meters including 3.86 g/t Au over 6.0 meters, 4.88 g/t Au over
2.0 meters and 1.33 g/t Au over 38.0 meters.
- The excellent gold grades from infill drill holes MA-19-348 and MA-19-349, drilled subvertical, down through en-echelon
stacked, shallow SW dipping QTP veining and located between adjacent strongly mineralized drill holes in the main zone, further
confirms that the geological model we have been using for the Marathon Deposit and proves the extensive lateral continuity of the
QTP bearing veins between adjacent drill holes.
Program Update:
- The winter 2019 infill drilling campaign is underway with the focus on infill drilling at the Marathon Deposit, converting
Inferred resources into Measured and Indicated resources in advance of the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). The first holes of the
program are designed to validate the block model high grade zones that would be mined during the early years of mine production
at the Marathon Deposit.
- Advanced metallurgical testing continues on material from both the Marathon and Leprechaun Deposits, to optimize both mill
and heap leach recoveries. Planning is also underway for geotechnical and environmental programs required for the PFS.
- The Project Description is being prepared for submission to the Federal and Provincial regulators. This is an important first
step in developing the Environmental Assessment program for mine permitting.
TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Gold Corporation (“Marathon” or the “Company”)
(TSX: MOZ) is pleased to announce excellent results from the first drill holes of the 2019 exploration drilling campaign
at the Valentine Lake Gold Camp. The drill holes MA-19-348 and MA-19-349 were strategically located between existing, strongly
mineralized drill holes in the open pit portion of the Marathon Deposit (Figure 1). These drill holes succeeded in intersected
strongly mineralized, en-echelon stacked QTP-Au veining with wide intervals of higher-grade gold intercepts. This provides
additional support of our geological model, demonstrating the extensive lateral continuity of the QTP-Au veining into adjacent
drill holes both along and across strike. It is also significant to note that there is significant low- grade mineralization
between the higher-grade intervals in drill holes MA-19-348 and MA-19-349.
“The success of new infill drill holes into the Marathon Deposit open-pit cannot be overstated”, said Phillip
Walford, President and CEO of Marathon Gold. “Our geological model is sound and additional 2019 infill drill holes, for which
assays are still pending, have likewise intersected wide intervals of QTP veining with abundant visible gold. The assays released
today are fire assays and all assays above 0.1 g/t are further assayed using the metallic screen method to better estimate the gold
content when free gold is present. At the Marathon Deposit, fire assay analysis greater than 1.5 g/t Au typically show a
significant increase in grade, sometimes more than 100%, with metallic screening, while analysis below 1.5 g/t Au may show a slight
decrease in gold grade”.
TABLE 1: Significant assay intervals, Marathon Deposit, Valentine Lake Gold
Camp.
DDH |
Section |
From |
To |
Core
Length
(m) |
True
Thickness
(m) |
Gold g/t |
MA-18-348 |
17190 |
14 |
37 |
23 |
21.9 |
3.92 |
including |
|
21 |
22 |
1 |
1.0 |
5.89 |
including |
|
25 |
29 |
4 |
3.8 |
8.98 |
including |
|
34 |
37 |
3 |
2.9 |
6.86 |
|
|
48 |
51 |
3 |
2.9 |
1.27 |
|
|
62 |
65 |
3 |
2.9 |
1.64 |
|
|
108 |
115 |
7 |
6.7 |
2.70 |
including |
|
109 |
111 |
2 |
1.9 |
5.01 |
|
|
177 |
187 |
10 |
9.5 |
3.55 |
including |
|
177 |
180 |
3 |
2.9 |
6.52 |
including |
|
182 |
183 |
1 |
1.0 |
7.06 |
MA-18-349 |
17160 |
16 |
19 |
3 |
2.9 |
1.31 |
|
|
26 |
30 |
4 |
3.8 |
1.63 |
|
|
56 |
64 |
8 |
7.6 |
2.68 |
including |
|
61 |
64 |
3 |
2.9 |
5.17 |
|
|
73 |
111 |
38 |
36.1 |
1.33 |
including |
|
91 |
96 |
5 |
4.8 |
3.05 |
including |
|
105 |
107 |
2 |
1.9 |
6.02 |
|
|
123 |
147 |
24 |
22.8 |
1.96 |
including |
|
131 |
133 |
2 |
1.9 |
4.88 |
including |
|
141 |
147 |
6 |
5.7 |
3.86 |
|
|
153 |
156 |
3 |
2.9 |
1.33 |
|
|
169 |
177 |
8 |
7.6 |
2.76 |
including |
|
175 |
177 |
2 |
1.9 |
5.87 |
|
|
201 |
230 |
29 |
27.6 |
2.10 |
including |
|
201 |
205 |
4 |
3.8 |
4.65 |
including |
|
217 |
221 |
4 |
3.8 |
5.43 |
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bf94f366-03f1-481f-bb4a-4987c844bc9c
A 3D Model of the Marathon Deposit showing drill holes MA-19-348 and MA-19-349 is available at www.corebox.net.
Acknowledgments
Marathon acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, Department of Natural
Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Quality Assurance-Quality Control (“QA/QC”)
Sherry Dunsworth, M.Sc., P. Geo., Senior VP of Exploration, Marathon’s Qualified Person, has reviewed the
contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon. Thorough QA/QC protocols are followed including
the insertion of blanks and standards at regular intervals in each sample batch. Drill core is cut in half with one half retained
at site, the other half tagged and sent to Eastern Analytical Limited in Springdale, Newfoundland. All reported core samples are
analyzed for Au by fire assay (30g) with AA finish. All samples above 0.10 g/t Au in economically interesting intervals are further
assayed using metallic screen to mitigate the presence of coarse gold. Significant mineralized intervals are reported in Table 1 as
core lengths and estimated true thickness (95% of core length).
About Marathon
Marathon is a Toronto based gold exploration company rapidly advancing its 100% owned Valentine Lake Gold Camp
located in Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Valentine Lake Gold Camp currently
hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell constrained, deposits with measured and indicated resources totaling 2,691,400 oz. of
gold at 1.85 g/t and inferred resources totaling 1,531,600 oz. of gold at 1.77 g/t. The majority of the resources occur in the
Marathon and Leprechaun deposits, which also have resources below the current open pit shell. Both deposits are open to depth and
on strike. Gold mineralization has been traced down over 350 meters vertically at Leprechaun and almost a kilometer at Marathon.
The four deposits identified to date occur over a 20-kilometer system of gold bearing veins, with much of the 24,000-hectare
property having had only minimal exploration activity to date.
The Valentine Lake Gold Camp is accessible by year-round road and is in close proximity to the provincial
electrical grid. Marathon maintains a 50-person all-season camp at the property. Recent metallurgical tests have demonstrated 93%
to 98% recoveries via conventional milling and 50% to 70% recoveries via low cost heap leaching at both the Leprechaun and Marathon
Deposits.
To find out more information on the Valentine Lake Gold Camp please visit www.marathon-gold.com
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Haldane
Investor Relations Manager
Tel: 1-416-987-0714
E-mail: chaldane@marathon-gold.com
Phillip Walford
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 1-416-987-0711
E-mail: pwalford@marathon-gold.com
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Except for statements of historical fact relating to Marathon Gold Corporation, certain information contained herein
constitutes "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon
or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "considers",
"intends", "targets", or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may",
"will", "should", "would" and "could". We provide forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about our
current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for
other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or
specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not
prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct, and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be
achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in Marathon Gold Corporation's
public filings, which may be accessed at www.sedar.com. Other than as specifically required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events, results or
otherwise.
February 6th Drill Map
Figure 1: Location of drill hole collars MA-19-348 and MA-19-349, Marathon Deposit