Moneta Porcupine Mines Inc. (TSX:ME) (OTC:MPUCF) (XETRA:MOP) is pleased to announce the results from eight additional diamond drill holes completed on the South West Deposit located within the Company’s Golden Highway Project (located 110 km east of Timmins, Ontario, see Figure 1).

Highlights:

Step-out drilling at South West continued to extend the strike and depth extent of the tension vein structures, the SW-1 and SW-2 mineralized shoots and intersected a new shoot (SW-5). Drilling has increased the total number of veins to fifteen and mineralized shoots to five.

Tension Veins

SW-1 and SW-2 Mineralized Shoots

SW-5 (new) Mineralized Shoot

Gary O’Connor, CEO & Chief Geologist commented, “We are very pleased to see the continued expansion of gold mineralization in the South West area. Step-out drilling has extended the strike and depth extent of the veins and mineralized shoots. The drilling continues to expand the size potential and confirms the grades of these higher-grade structures being targeted by the drilling. The total number of veins has increased to fifteen and mineralized shoots to five. We have been very encouraged by the results to date and continue to drill at South West to expand the size of the system, increase the number of veins and shoots, and confirm the higher grades.”    

The latest assay results are from eight drill holes totalling 4,885.90 m of drilling at South West testing higher grade structural targets. The ongoing drill program at South West continues as part of the previously announced exploration drill program undertaken by the Company in late 2017 on the Golden Highway Project. The program consisted of over 20,000 metres and 50 drill holes and the encouraging results have driven the Company to expand the drill program. Assays for additional drill holes are pending and will be released as they become available.

South West Deposit

Drilling to date at South West has been successful in confirming the existence of fifteen tension veins and five shear plane bounded mineralized shoots. The NW trending tension vein arrays occur as stacked en échelon veins, steeply dipping to the SW at 70°, and occur south of the ENE trending shear zone within clastic sediments in contact with the Banded Iron Formation (“BIF”). This sheared contact hosts the mineralized shoots or “D” structures which plunge ~65° to the west and occur up to 50 m long, 25 m wide and have been traced to depths of 400 m.

The tension veins and stock-work style veining within the shoots occur as quartz-carbonate-pyrite veins within a distinct ankerite alteration halo occasionally associated with sericite. A zone of pyrite-chlorite and quartz veinlets occurs adjacent to the veins and also hosts mineralization. The veins can be brecciated and occur as quartz matrix supported breccia zones. 

The modelled veins have an average width of approximately 3.00 m and are spaced 25 m to 30 m apart. The veins can be traced for up to 350 m strike length, have been historically drilled to 1,200 m depth and remain open to the south. A fifth (SW-5) mineralized shoot has now been successfully drilled to the east extending the foot print of the vein system to 1,000 m. The newly tested fifteenth vein (Gap Vein) occurs to the east in the Gap area.

South West Drill Results

Drill holes MGH17-068, MGH17-070 and MGH17-073 successfully connected the veins historically drilled below South West at depths of up to 1,200 m, to the new up-dip extensions. The near surface projections of the Arbutus and Yew veins from depth has now been confirmed. Drill testing of the Arbutus vein assayed 3.00 m @ 4.41g/t Au (MGH17-070) and 5.00 m @ 4.12g/t Au, including 2.00 m @ 6.13g/t Au (MGH17-073). Drilling of the Yew vein returned 2.80 m @ 3.75g/t Au including 0.80 m @ 6.37g/t Au (MGH17-070) and 2.33 m @ 10.21g/t Au (MGH17-073). The Willow vein returned intersections of 5.62m @ 3.13g/t Au (MGH17-068), 0.67 m @ 11.25g/t Au (MGH17-070), and 1.00 m @ 15.10g/t Au (MGH17-073) from the up-dip zone. Drilling also intersected the EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 and Beech veins however these have not yet been drilled and modelled in sufficient detail to be included in the current vein total.

Drill hole MGH17-075 was drilled to test the southern extensions of the SW-2 shoot, the northern strike extensions of three of the original six veins (Cedar, Pine and Spruce) and the depth extensions of the Maple, Oak and Willow veins which occur in an area to the east of the central block. The hole extended the SW-2 shoot to the south (1.67 m @ 5.55g/t Au and 1.01 m @ 6.74g/t Au), and intersected the Cedar (1.05 m @ 8.20g/t Au), Pine (0.37 m @ 7.71g/t Au), Spruce (0.70 m @ 2.48g/t Au), Maple (1.31 m @ 7.46g/t Au) and Oak (1.00 m @ 4.50g/t Au) vein structures. Assays for the bottom of hole MGH17-075 are pending. 

The MGH17-065 and MGH17-071 holes were drilled to test the down dip extensions of the first six modelled veins, the Tamarack vein and the SW-1 shoot. The drilling confirmed the extensions of Tamarack intersecting 2.00 m @ 4.61g/t Au in MGH17-065 and 1.80 m @ 3.42g/t Au in hole MGH17-071. The SW-1 mineralized shoot was intersected in hole MGH17-065 intersecting 8.00 m @ 3.77g/t Au including 5.50 m @ 4.65g/t Au, at a depth of 566.00 m. The depth extensions of the Birch, Cedar, Balsam and Spruce vein structures were intersected with results of up to 5.00 m @ 2.26g/t Au for Cedar in hole MGH17-065, 1.00 m @ 2.98g/t Au for Birch in hole MGH17-071 and Spruce with up to 1.00 m @ 4.24g/t Au in MGH17-065.

The extensions of the west block veins were tested in hole MGH17-072 and returned up to 1.35 m @ 5.24g/t Au and the extension of Elm vein returned 2.90 m @ 3.27g/t Au at a depth of 371.00m.   

Drill hole MGH17-069 was testing the new Gap vein which is currently the eastern most vein structure identified and the BIF contact to the east of this. The hole intersected the Gap Vein at 206.10m returning 1.00 m @ 4.17g/t Au and intersected a fifth “D” structure/mineralized shoot at 568.38 m depth assaying 2.61 m @ 6.35g/t Au including 1.00 m @ 12.15g/t Au. The new mineralized shoot extended the system by 150 m to the east.    

 Table 1: South West: Selected Significant Drill Results

Intercepts are calculated using a 2.0 g/t Au cut-off, maximum of 2m internal waste and no top cap. All intercepts are reported as drill widths.

Please click here for Figure 1: South West Location Map- Golden Highway Project:
http://www.monetaporcupine.com/i/maps/2018-04-11_NR-Fig1.jpg

Please click here for Figure 2: South West: Geology and Drill Location Map:
http://www.monetaporcupine.com/i/maps/2018-04-11_NR-Fig2.jpg

Please click here for Figure 3: South West: Schematic Cross Section:
http://www.monetaporcupine.com/i/maps/2018-04-11_NR-Fig3.jpg

Table 2: Drill Hole Details

QA/QC Procedures

All core drilling conducted by Moneta is oriented. Drill core is sawn and half is sent ALS Canada Inc. for drying and crushing to -2 mm, with a 1.00 kg split pulverized to -75 µm (200#). A 50 g charge is Fire Assayed and analyzed using a AAS finish for Gold. Samples above 10.00 g/t Au are analyzed by Fire Assay with a gravimetric finish and selected samples with visible gold or high-grade mineralization are assayed by Metallic Screen Fire Assay on a 1.00 kg sample. Moneta inserts independent certified reference material and blanks with the samples and assays routine pulp repeats and coarse reject sample duplicates with the samples, as well as completing third-party check assays at Activation Laboratories Ltd. Gary O’Connor, MAusIMM is a qualified person under NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release.  

About Moneta

The Company holds a 100% interest in 5 core gold projects strategically located along the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone in the Timmins Gold Camp with over 85 million ounces of past gold production. The projects consist of the Golden Highway, North Tisdale, Nighthawk Lake, Kayorum and Denton projects. The Golden Highway Project covers 12 kilometres of prospective ultramafic/mafic volcanic/sedimentary rocks along the DPFZ hosting a NI 43-101 indicated resource estimate of 1,091,000 ounces (31.1 Mt at 1.09 g/t Au) and 3,204,000 ounces inferred (83.3 Mt at 1.20 g/t Au), clustered within four kilometres.