Dalradian Resources Inc. (TSX:DNA) (AIM:DALR)  is pleased to report results from a total of 20 drill holes from step-out and infill drilling at the Curraghinalt gold deposit in Northern Ireland. The drill program is ongoing, with 6 drill rigs working on surface and 3 drill rigs focused underground. Today’s results include 14 step-out holes and 6 infill holes.

Highlights

• Step-out: 1.85 m of 19.27 g/t gold from the Crow vein in hole 17-CT-440
• Step-out: 1.2 m of 27.31 g/t gold from the 106-16 vein in hole 17-CT-456
• Step-out: 0.74 m of 82.47 g/t gold from the V75 vein in hole 17-CT-456
• Infill: 1.38 m of 15.75 g/t gold from the V75 vein in hole 17-CT-443
• Infill: 0.26 m of 92.7 g/t gold from the Slap Shot vein in hole 17-CT-443
• Infill: 2.61m of 36.15 g/t gold from the No. 1 vein in hole 17-CT-454
• Infill: 1.29 m of 24.73 g/t gold from the Crow vein in hole 17-CT-457a

Patrick F.N. Anderson, Dalradian’s President and CEO, commented:

“Our drilling continues to deliver high grade intercepts, both within the bounds of the previous resource and up to more than 450 metres to the West. At this point, we have completed more than three quarters of the planned drilling and reported results from just over half of the holes. We are working our way through a considerable backlog of core because of the more detailed logging our geologists are doing this year to boost our understanding of the geotechnical characteristics of the deposit. What we have seen so far shows that there are numerous areas within the deposit that we should be able to convert to lower cost mechanized mining methods because the rock strength is much better than originally modelled. This work is vital to our updated feasibility study planned for Q3 2018. Drilling will continue into January so that we have the data we need to deliver a resource update in Q2 2018, which will also feed into the FS update.” 

Details of drilling at Curraghinalt

Results are being reported for 20 drill holes for a total of 7,721 metres. Six of the drill holes were drilled from underground and are in the central part of the Curraghinalt deposit (see plan map and two cross sections at http://www.dalradian.com/news-and-events/news-releases/news-releases-details/December-14-2017-News-Release-Figures). These holes were drilled at varying intervals targeting some of the veins included in the last mineral resource estimate (see the Company’s Technical Report, as defined below, dated January 25, 2017) in zones where increased drill hole density would likely result in conversion of resource ounces from the Inferred to the Indicated category. Some of the drill holes were designed to also yield geotechnical data for a planned update of the geotechnical model during 2017. The remaining fourteen drill holes were drilled from surface targeting extensions to the west of veins included in the last resource. Most drill holes were oriented generally towards the south in order to intercept the steeply north dipping vein array.

Selected Curraghinalt Drill Intersections 

Notes

• True widths vary depending on the vein zone intersected but generally average 80% of the down hole interval
• Intercepts are calculated using samples greater than or equal to 2.0g/t Au, and contain no more than 1.0m of internal dilution
• Only those mineralized intercepts exceeding 10 gram-metres have been included in the table
• 17-CT-438, 17-CT-439, 17-CT-441, 17-CT-455 and 17-CT-457 intercepted the projected veins, but no significant mineralisation was encountered

Qualified Person

Eric Tremblay, P. Eng., Chief Operating Officer and Greg Hope, MSc, MAIG, Exploration and Geology Manager, are the Qualified Persons who supervised and reviewed the preparation of the technical data in this news release.

Drill core was halved with samples (averaging between 0.25 m and 0.50 m in mineralized material and up to 1 m in wall rock) submitted to ALS Laboratories in the Republic of Ireland. Rigorous quality assurance and quality control procedures, including the use of blanks, standards and duplicates, identified no material issues. Core samples were analyzed by a 50 gram gold fire assay with either an atomic absorption, or a gravimetric finish for samples initially reporting over 100.0 g/t gold.

ALS Laboratories is accredited by the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) to undertake testing, including for Ores and Minerals (INAB P9 703), as detailed in the Schedule bearing the Registration Number 173T, in compliance with the International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 2nd Edition “General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories”.

For additional details on the Curraghinalt high-grade lode gold deposit, please refer to the Company’s technical report titled “NI 43-101 Feasibility Study Technical Report on the Curraghinalt Gold Project Northern Ireland” dated January 25, 2017 and prepared by Garett Macdonald, P.Eng., Michael Makarenko, P.Eng., Indi Gopinathan, P.Eng. and Stacy Freudigmann, P.Eng., all of JDS Energy & Mining Inc., and Jean-François Couture, P.Geo., Bruce Murphy, P.Eng., Cam Scott, P.Eng., all of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., and William Harding, C.Geol., of SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd., all of whom are independent Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101. The Technical Report is available on the Company’s website and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Dalradian Resources Inc.

Dalradian Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company that is focused on advancing its high-grade Curraghinalt Gold Project located in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.