Alamos Gold Inc. (TSX:AGI) (NYSE:AGI) reported new results from surface and underground exploration drilling at the Island Gold Mine, further extending high-grade gold mineralization in Island Main, East and West. All reported drill widths are true width of the mineralized zones, unless otherwise stated.

• Island East: high-grade gold mineralization extended 110 metres down-plunge from the nearest Inferred Mineral Resource block, and up to 70 m below, and west of previously reported drillhole MH25-04 (28.97 g/t Au (26.89 g/t cut) over 21.76 m), the best surface directional hole drilled to date. New highlights include:
  • 54.18 g/t Au (31.94 g/t cut) over 6.54 m (MH25-05);
  • 123.74 g/t Au (15.75 g/t cut) over 5.06 m (MH25-06); and
  • 21.88 g/t Au (21.88 g/t cut) over 2.52 m (620-623-07).

• Island Main: high-grade gold mineralization intersected up to 200 m east of existing Mineral Reserves in Island Main and between Mineral Reserve and Resource blocks in middle to upper areas of Island East (between depth of 850 and 1,100 m). New highlights include:
  • 18.64 g/t Au (18.64 g/t cut) over 5.89 m (840-578-11); and
  • 97.76 g/t Au (36.40 g/t cut) over 2.00 m (840-578-13).
• Island West: underground directional drilling extended high-grade mineralization up to 45 m beyond the nearest Inferred Mineral Resources. New highlights include:
  • 72.45 g/t Au (72.45 g/t cut) over 2.04 m (740-471-36).

Note: Drillhole composite intervals reported as “cut” may include higher grade samples which have been cut to 160 g/t Au for the Island East Area, and 225 g/t for Island Main and West.

“These latest results conclude another successful drilling campaign in 2020. Despite not completing as much drilling as planned due to COVID-19, the 2020 program included some of the best exploration results drilled to date at Island Gold. We expect these results to drive further growth in high-grade Mineral Resources at Island Gold with our 2020 year end update, improving already attractive economics with the Phase III shaft expansion, while also clearly demonstrating the significant ongoing growth potential of the deposit,” said John A. McCluskey, President and Chief Executive Officer.

2020 Exploration Drilling Program – Island Gold Mine

Exploration activities at Island Gold were focused on continuing to define new near mine Mineral Resources, building on the success of the 2019 drilling program and the additional high-grade mineralization that was defined throughout 2020.

A total of 21,415 m of surface directional drilling, 8,352 m of underground directional drilling, and 15,170 m of standard underground exploration drilling was completed in 2020. This was down from 2019 and lower than the total budget of 76,000 m largely due to the COVID-19 related downtime of the Island Gold Mine during the second quarter of 2020. Exploration activities ramped up during the second half of 2020 and included the best surface exploration hole drilled to date at Island Gold.

New highlight intercepts can be found in Tables 1 and 2 and in Figures 1, 2, and 3 at the end of this news release.

2021 Exploration Drilling Program – Island Gold Mine

A total of $25 million is budgeted in 2021 for surface and underground exploration at Island Gold, up from the initial 2020 budget of $21 million. The focus remains on continuing to define new near mine Mineral Resources across the two-kilometre long Island Gold Main Zone, as well as advancing and evaluating several regional targets. The 2021 exploration budget includes 27,500 m of surface directional drilling, 24,000 m of underground directional drilling, 28,000 m of underground exploration drilling, and 900 m of underground exploration development to extend drill platforms on the 620, 790, and 840-levels.

A significantly larger regional exploration program including 25,000 m of drilling is also planned in 2021. The focus will be on evaluating and advancing exploration targets outside the main Island Gold Mine area on the recently expanded Island Gold property which now covers 14,929-hectares. This was increased by 57% with the acquisition of Trillium Mining in December 2020 adding significant exploration potential in proximity to the existing high-grade Mineral Resource in Island East and regionally.

Island East

Surface and underground directional drilling continues to extend gold mineralization beyond Mineral Resource blocks in the upper through lower portions of Island East with drill hole spacing ranging from 50 m to 100 m (Figures 1 and 2).

New highlights from the drilling program include (E1E-Zone) (Table 1):

• 54.18 g/t Au (31.94 g/t cut) over 6.54 m (MH25-05);
• 123.74 g/t Au (15.75 g/t cut) over 5.06 m (MH25-06);
• 15.26 g/t Au (12.69 g/t cut) over 2.83 m (MH26-01);
• 10.92 g/t Au (10.92 g/t cut) over 3.67 m (620-623-04);
• 14.41 g/t Au (11.08 g/t cut) over 3.61 m (620-MH3-01); and
• 21.88 g/t Au (21.88 g/t cut) over 2.52 m (620-623-07).

Drillhole MH25-05 (54.18 g/t Au (31.94 g/t cut) over 6.54 m) intersected high-grade mineralization up to 70 m below and west of previously reported drillholes MH25-03 and MH25-04. As reported on September 17, 2020, these holes intersected wide, high-grade gold mineralization 40 m and 100 m, respectively, down-plunge from the existing high-grade Inferred Mineral Resource block which contained 719,800 ounces, grading 18.74 g/t Au (1.2 million tonnes) as of December 31, 2019. Using the cut weighted gold grade for metal factor calculation, drillhole MH25-04 (28.97 g/t Au (26.89 g/t cut) over 21.76 m) is the best surface directional hole drilled to date at Island Gold in terms of gold content for a drill hole intersect.

Drillhole 620-623-07 (21.88 g/t Au (21.88 g/t cut) over 2.52 m) intersected mineralization 80 m above and to the east of the nearest Inferred Mineral Resource block in the middle portion of Island East. Drillhole 620-623-04 (10.92 g/t Au (10.92 g/t cut) over 3.67 m) intersected mineralization within a 200 m gap between the Inferred Mineral Resource blocks in the upper and middle portions of Island East.

Drillhole 620-MH3-01 (14.41 g/t Au (11.08 g/t cut) over 3.61 m) also extended high-grade mineralization down-plunge from this same Inferred Mineral Resource block. Combined with previously reported drillholes 620-MH2-01 (29.05 g/t Au (26.67 g/t cut) over 4.86 m) and MH21-04 (44.30 g/t Au (44.30 g/t cut) over 2.25 m), these results continue to infill the 120 m gap between high-grade Inferred Mineral Resources in the middle and lower areas of Island East. They also continue to confirm the vertical continuity of the E1E Zone over 1.2 km, between a depth of 300 m and 1,500 m in the eastern part of the deposit.

Island Main

Underground exploration drilling conducted from the recently established 840-level exploration drift was successful in expanding high-grade gold mineralization within a 300 m gap east of the Mineral Reserves of Island Main, and Inferred Mineral Resources blocks in Island East between depths of 850 m and 1,100 m (Figure 3). The 840-level exploration drift continues to advance to the east, providing improved access for further underground exploration drilling in the middle to upper areas of Island East. The drift will also allow for subsequent delineation drilling focused on converting Mineral Resources to Mineral Reserves.

New highlights from the underground drilling program include (E1E-Zone) (Table 2):

• 18.64 g/t Au (18.64 g/t cut) over 5.89 m (840-578-11);
• 97.76 g/t Au (36.40 g/t cut) over 2.00 m (840-578-13);
• 16.90 g/t Au (16.90 g/t cut) over 3.31 m (840-578-12);
• 8.78 g/t Au (8.78 g/t cut) over 5.46 m (840-572-10); and
• 5.33 g/t Au (5.33 g/t cut) over 7.01 m (840-578-04).

Island West

Underground directional drilling in the Island West area extended high-grade gold mineralization up to 45 m outside of the Inferred Mineral Resources (Figure 1).

New highlights from the underground directional drilling program include (E1E-Zone) (Table 1):

• 72.45 g/t Au (72.45 g/t cut) over 2.04 m (740-471-36); and
• 10.88 g/t Au (10.88 g/t cut) over 2.0 m (740-471-37).

Other Zones

The Island Gold Deposit consists of a number of subparallel mineralized zones, with the majority of Mineral Reserves and Resources being defined in the C Zone and E1E Zone which constitute the main production horizons at the Island Gold Mine. Highlights of new intersections from underground and surface exploration drilling of parallel zones and zones in which the lateral continuity is not yet established include (reported composite intervals are core lengths) (Tables 1 and 2):

• 41.23 g/t Au (41.23 g/t cut) over 10.19 m (MH22-05); and
• 16.92 g/t Au (16.92 g/t cut) over 5.10 m (620-623-01).

Qualified Persons

Chris Bostwick, FAusIMM, Alamos Gold’s Vice President, Technical Services, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Chris Bostwick is a Qualified Person within the meaning of Canadian Securities Administrator’s National Instrument 43-101.

Exploration programs at the Island Gold Mine are directed by Raynald Vincent, P.Eng., M.G.P., Chief Geologist at the Island Gold Mine and a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101.

Quality Control

Alamos Gold maintains an internal QA/QC program at the Island Gold Mine to ensure sampling and analysis of all exploration work is conducted in accordance with best practices.

Access to the Island Gold Mine is controlled by security personnel. Drill core is logged and sampled at the core logging facility within the mine site under the supervision of a Qualified Geologist. A geologist marks the individual samples for analysis, and sample intervals, sample numbers, standards and blanks are entered into the database. The core is cut in half using an electric core saw equipped with a diamond tipped blade. One half of the core is placed into a plastic sample bag and sealed with zip ties in preparation for shipment. The other half of the core is returned to the core box and retained for future reference. The samples are placed in large heavy-duty nylon reinforced Fabrene bags, which are identified and sealed before being placed on pallets. The core samples are picked up at the mine site and delivered to Lab Expert in Rouyn-Noranda, Québec.

Gold is analyzed by a one assay-ton fire assay (29.16 grams) with an Atomic Absorption finish. Samples greater than 6.8 g/t are re-analyzed using gravimetric finish methods. LabExpert has internal quality control programs that include insertion of reagent blanks, reference materials, and pulp duplicates.

The Corporation inserts QC samples (blanks and reference materials) at regular intervals to monitor laboratory performance. Cross check assays are completed on a regular basis in a secondary accredited laboratory. The QA/QC procedures are more completely described in the Technical Report filed on SEDAR August 31, 2020.

About Alamos

Alamos is a Canadian-based intermediate gold producer with diversified production from three operating mines in North America. This includes the Young-Davidson and Island Gold mines in northern Ontario, Canada and the Mulatos mine in Sonora State, Mexico. Additionally, the Company has a significant portfolio of development stage projects in Canada, Mexico, Turkey, and the United States. Alamos employs more than 1,700 people and is committed to the highest standards of sustainable development. The Company’s shares are traded on the TSX and NYSE.