Marathon Gold Corporation (TSX: MOZ) is pleased to report drill results from recent exploration drilling at the Valentine Gold Project, central Newfoundland. These latest results represent fire assay data from the latest nine drill holes completed in the new Berry Zone, located within the six-kilometre long Sprite Corridor. Highlights include:
All quoted intersections comprise uncut gold assays in core lengths. All significant assay intervals are reported in Table 1.
Matt Manson, President & CEO commented: “The latest batch of drill assays from the new Berry Zone include additional long intersections of high-grade mineralization. The mineralization occurs in the familiar geological setting: quartz-tourmaline-pyrite veining developed in the hanging-wall of the Valentine Lake Shear Zone within “Main Zone” type configurations. The drilling is establishing broad continuity between 50 metre sections, and has extended the zone to approximately 650 metres in strike length.” Matt Manson continued: ”Our 2020 exploration program is focused on new discovery, with broad step out holes into previously untested areas. Currently, one drill rig is progressing steadily northeastwards from Berry to the area of the “Frozen Ear Pond Road”, approximately 1.5 kilometres from where we started in January. An additional drill rig is scheduled to be mobilized in early September, exploring southwestwards from the margin of the Marathon Deposit towards Frozen Ear Pond Road. At the end of this campaign we will have drilling information along the full 6 kilometres of the Sprite Corridor between Leprechaun and Marathon. This is high-risk, greenfield exploration, with no certainty of success. However, the results achieved to date at the Berry Zone give confidence in the potential for additional discoveries along this highly prospective trend.”
Previous drilling in the Berry Zone (Figure 1) has outlined extensive gold mineralization contained within shallowly southwest dipping, en-echelon stacked Quartz-Tourmaline-Pyrite-Gold veins that are characteristic of the Valentine Gold Project. These QTP-Au veins form steeply northwest plunging “Main Zone” envelopes within quartz-eye porphyry host rocks on the hanging-wall (NW) side of the Valentine Lake Shear Zone. The extent of mineralization appears related to the size and frequency of sheared mafic dykes which extend NE-SW within the hanging-wall, parallel to the shear zone.
The nine drill holes released today represent both step out and in-fill drilling over a broad length of the Berry Zone. They extend the strike length of drill intersected mineralization to approximately 650 metres, from section 13350E to 14000E (Figure 2). An area of particularly intense mineralization has now been intersected by several drill holes between sections 13600E and 13800E where QTP-Au veining is concentrated in a 30-50 metre wide zone between a large mafic dyke and the shear zone contact (eg Section 13790E, Figure 3, and Section 13690E from Marathon’s news release dated July 22, 2020).
These latest results are derived from drill-holes oriented steeply down through Main Zone QTP-Au stacking towards the northwest (VL-20-829, 830, 831, 834 & 835, Figures 3 and 4), oblique drill-holes across Main Zone mineralization towards the southeast (VL-20-828 & 833), and one drill-hole collared in the hanging-wall and oriented towards the northwest (VL-20-836). Eight of the nine holes returned “significant” drill intersections of greater than 0.7 g/t Au (Table 1), and each of the nine drill holes returned drill intersections with gold grades above the 0.3 g/t Au cut-off used in the January 2020 Mineral Resource Estimate for the Project. No significant mineralization was encountered in drill hole VL-20-832, which was collared in the meta-sediments of the southeastern, foot-wall side of the Valentine Lake Shear Zone.
Table 1: Significant assay intervals, Sprite Corridor, Valentine Gold Project
DDH | Section | Az | Dip | From | To | Core Length (m) | True Thickness (m) | Gold g/t | Gold g/t (cut) |
VL-20-828 | 13860E | 164 | -46 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.12 | |
21 | 22 | 1 | 0.75 | 0.91 | |||||
38 | 41 | 3 | 2.25 | 1.18 | |||||
102 | 104 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.13 | |||||
126 | 129 | 3 | 2.25 | 1.56 | |||||
VL-20-829 | 13790E | 343 | -77 | 13 | 24 | 11 | 10.45 | 1.02 | |
29 | 32 | 3 | 2.85 | 2.93 | |||||
61 | 63 | 2 | 1.9 | 11.66 | |||||
103 | 104 | 1 | 0.95 | 1.88 | |||||
108 | 109 | 1 | 0.95 | 0.76 | |||||
117 | 118 | 1 | 0.95 | 17.52 | |||||
141 | 143 | 2 | 1.9 | 10.49 | |||||
150 | 167 | 17 | 16.15 | 1.03 | |||||
174 | 194 | 20 | 19 | 2.12 | |||||
Including | 181 | 182 | 1 | 0.95 | 16.89 | ||||
212 | 213 | 1 | 0.95 | 2.22 | |||||
273 | 283 | 10 | 9.5 | 2.26 | |||||
290 | 291 | 1 | 0.95 | 1.11 | |||||
VL-20-830 | 14000E | 343 | -75 | 27 | 28 | 1 | 0.95 | 0.82 | |
55 | 56 | 1 | 0.95 | 11.77 | |||||
82 | 96 | 14 | 13.3 | 0.93 | |||||
113 | 114 | 1 | 0.95 | 0.71 | |||||
134 | 135 | 1 | 0.95 | 0.76 | |||||
154 | 155 | 1 | 0.95 | 1.86 | |||||
164 | 166 | 2 | 1.9 | 2.43 | |||||
VL-20-831 | 13920E | 343 | -77 | 16 | 17 | 1 | 0.95 | 1.30 | |
75 | 76 | 1 | 0.95 | 2.62 | |||||
84 | 94 | 10 | 9.5 | 1.82 | |||||
102 | 103 | 1 | 0.95 | 1.17 | |||||
201 | 202 | 1 | 0.95 | 1.31 | |||||
228 | 230 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.89 | |||||
259 | 261 | 2 | 1.9 | 1.58 | |||||
VL-20-833 | 13540E | 163 | -62 | 59 | 60 | 1 | 0.85 | 3.76 | |
71 | 72 | 1 | 0.85 | 1.58 | |||||
78 | 79 | 1 | 0.85 | 0.72 | |||||
VL-20-834 | 13460E | 343 | -84 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 1.9 | 2.22 | |
121 | 151 | 30 | 28.5 | 2.23 | |||||
126 | 134 | 8 | 7.6 | 6.53 | |||||
186 | 187 | 1 | 0.95 | 0.72 | |||||
VL-20-835 | 13420E | 343 | -83 | 16 | 20 | 4 | 3.8 | 1.55 | |
33 | 34 | 1 | 0.95 | 32.25 | 30.00 | ||||
49 | 50 | 1 | 0.95 | 9.89 | |||||
76 | 80 | 4 | 3.8 | 1.30 | |||||
100 | 101 | 1 | 0.95 | 10.46 | |||||
111 | 112 | 1 | 0.95 | 10.11 | |||||
146 | 147 | 1 | 0.95 | 27.00 | |||||
154 | 156 | 2 | 1.9 | 5.90 | |||||
166 | 213 | 47 | 44.65 | 2.96 | 2.41 | ||||
Including | 166 | 180 | 14 | 13.3 | 7.55 | 5.69 | |||
VL-20-836 | 13450E | 343 | -75 | 43 | 44 | 1 | 0.95 | 0.83 | |
96 | 97 | 1 | 0.95 | 1.09 |
Notes on the Calculation of Assay Intervals
Figure 1: Location Map, Valentine Gold Project. (See News Release Dated February 3, 2020 for a Description of the 2020 Exploration Drill Program) is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6a4f5fe3-93e3-4aa2-a075-3dc30d75978d
Figure 2: Location of Berry Zone exploration drill hole collars VL-20-828 to VL-20-836 is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/785cf718-6f25-4f79-ad20-0afb316df8ac
Figure 3: Cross section 13790E (View NE) Sprite Corridor, Valentine Gold Project is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee1ff9b0-dc18-40c8-888b-3c1901bff590
Figure 4: Cross section 13420E (View NE) Sprite Corridor, Valentine Gold Project is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fd783e6e-8faa-46d1-974c-4f3335264bb6
Qualified Person
Disclosure of a scientific or technical nature in this news release was prepared under the supervision of Nicholas Capps, P.Geo. (NL), Project Manager for exploration at the Valentine Gold Project. Exploration data quality assurance and control for Marathon is under the supervision of Jessica Borysenko, P.Geo (NL), GIS Manager for Marathon Gold Corporation. Both Mr. Capps and Ms. Borysenko are qualified persons under National Instrument (“NI”) 43-101.
Quality Assurance-Quality Control
QA/QC protocols followed at the Valentine Gold Project include 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, NL. All reported core samples are analyzed for Au by fire assay (30g) with AA finish. All samples above 0.30 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 (70 – 95% of core length), and reported with and without a top-cut of 30 g/t Au applied.
Acknowledgments
Marathon acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
About Marathon
Marathon is a Toronto based gold company advancing its 100%-owned Valentine Gold Project located in the central region of Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Project comprises a series of four mineralized deposits along a 20-kilometre system. An April 2020 Pre-Feasibility Study outlined an open pit mining and conventional milling operation over a twelve-year mine life with a 36% after-tax rate of return. The Project has estimated Proven Mineral Reserves of 1.3 Moz (26.3 Mt at 1.52 g/t) and Probable Mineral Reserves of 0.6 Moz (14.8 Mt at 1.23 g/t). Total Measured Mineral Resources (inclusive of the Mineral Reserves) comprise 1.9 Moz (31.7 Mt at 1.86 g/t) with Indicated Mineral Resources (inclusive of the Mineral Reserves) of 1.19 Moz (23.2 Mt at 1.60 g/t). Additional Inferred Mineral Resources are 0.96 Moz (16.77 Mt at 1.78 g/t Au). Please see the Technical Report dated April 21, 2020 for further details and assumptions relating to the Valentine Gold Project.
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