Pasofino Gold Limited (TSX-V: VEIN) (OTCQB: EFRGF) (FSE: N07A) is pleased to announce that it has received results for a further six holes drilled at the Tuzon deposit on the Dugbe Gold Project, in which the Company has an option to earn a 49% economic interest (prior to the issuance of the Government of Liberia’s 10% carried interest).

Highlights

• The results firm up on the increased lateral and strike extent of the higher-grade zone B at the 2Moz (Indicated MRE) Tuzon deposit.
• 4 of the holes have significant 2 g/t+ gold intersections including:
  • TDC040: 36.3 m grading 2.06 g/t gold (from 351.5 m downhole) and 15 m grading 2.01 g/t.
  • TDC191: 11.2 m grading 1.37 g/t gold (from 125.2 m downhole) and 49.9 m grading 1.44 g/t gold.
• 150 m to 300 m wide zone of >2 g/t gold apparent with at least 250 m ‘length’.
• Results expected to have a positive impact on the updated MRE due September 2021.
• Trenching underway on the 6 km soil trend extending on strike from Tuzon, following-up on the 36 m @ 0.6 g/t initial trench result reported in May¹.

Ian Stalker, CEO, commented; “More excellent results from Tuzon, more indications that the deposit may be larger than the current 2 Moz (Indicated MRE) and have an extensive zone with above 2 g/t gold. With the recent positive results from the nearby Dugbe F deposit things are lining up well for our feasibility study. Added to this we are pushing ahead with our exploration on the 6 km trend that extends on strike from Tuzon which we plan to drill later in the year.”

Table 1. All intersections (not highlights) from the latest 6 drill holes with assay results at Tuzon.
Note: All intersections except those of TDC191 are expected to be close (within 10-20%) to the true thickness of the layer.

• The holes were drilled to firm up on the lateral and strike extension of the higher-grade ‘zone B’ of the Tuzon deposit (figure 1) and provide additional ‘zone A’ intersections. The results are provided below and in table 1 and are shown in cross-sections in figures 3 to 5. These results will be included in the update to the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) due in September 2021.
  • TDC040 extended a 2011 hole, successfully intersecting the southern limb of the host fold structure (referred to as zone B) with 36.3 m grading 2.06 g/t gold (from 351.5 m downhole) and 15 m grading 2.01 g/t. TDC186 intersected 17.3 m grading 2.70 g/t gold (from 272.5 m downhole) on the same line (figure 3) supporting the presence of a 150-300 m wide zone with over 2 g/t gold on this and other sections. These holes are the southernmost into zone B, beyond which it remains open (figure 1).
  • Lateral step-out hole TDC191 suggests thicker than expected mineralisation of zone B on the southern flank of the deposit returning 11.2 m grading 1.37 g/t gold (from 125.2 m downhole) and 49.9 m grading 1.44 g/t gold (figure 5), building on the recent intersection in TDC179 (126 m grading 1.05 g/t)².
  • The TDC187 intersection is thinner with 11.8 m grading 2.09 g/t gold (from 218.1 m downhole) but ‘pushes’ out the ‘zone B’ further than expected on the southern flank of the deposit (figure 4).
  • TDC078 was an old hole that was extended to test the northward limit of the host fold (figure 5) that does not contain significant mineralisation but helps support the resource model.
• These results highlight the quality of Tuzon’s ‘zone B’ – which has returned many intersections with over 100 gram-metres (as in a minimum of 100 m @ 1 g/t or equivalent) as illustrated in figure 1. ‘Zone A’ also continues to deliver solid intersections and it is largely at or near surface; TDC186 returned 45.3 m grading 1.51 g/t gold from 44.9 m downhole and TDC180 and TDC187 had good intersections from as little as 19 metres downhole (table 1).
• Trenching is underway on the ‘Tuzon South’ and ‘Dugbe Shear Zone’ targets (figure 2) to follow-up on encouraging ‘first-pass’ trench results reported in May 2021. These targets are on a 6 km long trend defined by soil anomalism extending southwest from Tuzon. Drilling is planned Q3/Q4 to test the best trench results.

Tuzon Drilling

A total of 23 drill-holes have been completed at Tuzon since April 2021, totaling 6,675 metres of drilling. Of these 6 were geotechnical holes. 5 of the exploration holes involved the deepening of previous (2014 and earlier) drillholes (such as TDC040). Aside from the geotechnical holes, the drilling has been aimed at ‘stepping-out’ laterally and on-strike; and providing some ‘infill’ intersections, with the objective of increasing the current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) and converting some parts of the Inferred MRE to Indicated Mineral Resources. An updated MRE for Tuzon is expected to commence in August and be completed in September 2021. Sampling and analysis of the Tuzon core is ongoing; the results reported herein are the 2^nd batch of recent holes for which sampling and analyses have been completed. The previous batch was reported 15 June 2021.

The Tuzon Deposit

The deposit footprint is 1.7 km long with an average width of 250 to 300 m, in plan view. Parts of the mineralised layer outcrop for the full length of the deposit. The depth to the base of the mineralised zone ranges from just below surface to over 400 m in the south reflecting the steady plunge of the controlling fold structure. As at the nearby Dugbe F deposit, the host-rock is orthopyroxene gneiss with increased sulphide content (visible pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite and pyrite). At Tuzon the layer has been repeatedly folded and is interpreted to be a large synform which plunges to the southwest at approximately 20 degrees. The mineralised layer is thickened on certain parts of the fold limbs and around the recumbent lower-most fold hinge. The northern limb is referred to as ‘zone A’ and the southern limb of the fold and the hinge of the synform are referred to as ‘zone B’. Zone B is higher grade than zone A with an average of 1.7 g/t gold.

The current Indicated MRE stands at 41.9 Mt with an average grade of 1.51 g/t Au and contained gold of 2.03 M ounces. The current Inferred MRE is 10.4 Mt with an average grade of 1.31 g/t Au and contained gold of 0.44 M ounces.

Figure 1. Long section through the Tuzon deposit showing intersections with >20 gram-metres gold, and the position of holes TDC186, TDC040 reported herein. TDC174 was reported 15 June 2021.

*announcement dated 18 May 2021

Figure 2. Map showing the Tuzon and Dugbe F deposits and the targets on strike from Tuzon.

Figure 3. Cross-section on line 1120 N (refer to map in figure 6). Results reported herein are those with yellow text-boxes

Figure 4. Cross-section on line 1200 N (refer to map in figure 6). Results reported herein are those with yellow text-boxes

Figure 5. Cross-section on line 1360 N (refer to map in figure 6). Results reported herein are those with yellow text-boxes

Drilling procedure and Quality Assurance and Quality Control

The new holes were positioned using a professional surveying instrument, the Trimble R12i Rover unit. Downhole orientation surveys were completed for all holes and core was oriented to assist with interpretation. All drilling and logging were completed in adherence to industry standard operating procedures. Core recovery is over 95% for all mineralized intersections. Core was drilled HQ (65 mm diameter) through the overburden typically 2-10 m depth, then NQ (47 mm diameter) size. Samples were all half core, analyzed by ALS Kumasi in Ghana, a facility compliant to ISO 17025:2005 for the analytical methods used for the samples. Samples range from 1 kg to over 5 kg depending on the length of each sample. Within every 20 core samples submitted a certified standard and blank was inserted. The results of these samples show acceptable levels of variance. Duplicate (other half of the core) samples were inserted 1 in every 20 core samples to check on precision. Sample weights on dispatch and received sample weights were examined to monitor for sample swaps. All samples were stored and transported to the laboratory securely and accompanied by a company representative until arrival at the laboratory. Similar QAQC measures were undertaken for the previous drillholes reported herein; those samples were analyzed by ALS in Loughrea, Ireland which is an ISO 17025:2005 compliant facility for the analytical methods used for the samples. All samples were analyzed by fire assay with atomic absorption finish on a sample with 50g nominal weight.

Figure 6. Map locating the cross-sections and drill-holes. Those reported herein are TDC180, 186, 187, 191 and extended hole TDC040.

Table 2. Collar positions of the new drillholes reported herein. Coordinates are in UTM zone 29N, WGS84 datum.

Qualified Persons Statement

Scientific or technical information in this disclosure that relates to exploration results was prepared and approved by Mr. Andrew Pedley. Mr. Pedley is a full-time consultant of Pasofino Gold Ltd.’s wholly-owned subsidiary ARX Resources Limited. He is a member in good standing with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) and is as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

About the Dugbe Gold Project

The 2,559 km² Dugbe Project is located in southern Liberia and situated within the south westmost part of the Birimian Supergroup, which is host to the majority of West African gold deposits. To date, two gold deposits have been identified on the Project; Dugbe F and Tuzon. The deposits are located within 4 km of the Dugbe Shear Zone which is thought to have played a role in large scale gold mineralization in the area. A large amount of exploration in the area was conducted by Hummingbird, including 74,497 m of diamond coring. 70,700 m of this was at the Dugbe F and Tuzon deposits, discovered by Hummingbird in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Both deposits outcrop at surface and may be amenable to open-cut mining. In addition, there are a number of prospects within the Project, including ‘Sackor’ where gold mineralization has been intersected in drill-holes and where additional drilling is planned. No other prospects have been drill-tested to date. At some prospects extensive trenching identified anomalous levels of gold that require drill-testing. An aggressive exploration program to test the prospects is planned by the Company. In 2019, Hummingbird signed a 25-year Mineral Development Agreement (“MDA”) with the Government of Liberia providing the necessary long-term framework and stabilization of taxes and duties. Under the terms of the MDA, the royalty rate on gold production is 3%, the income tax rate payable is 25% (with credit given for historic exploration expenditures), the fuel duty is reduced by 50%, and the Government of Liberia is granted a free carried interest of 10% in the Project. Over $70 million has been spent by Hummingbird on the Project.

Table 3. Mineral Resource Estimate for the Dugbe Gold Project using a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off grade

1. Rounding errors may be evident when combining totals in the table but are immaterial.
2. The effective date of the Mineral Resource Estimate is August 19, 2020 as reported in “Dugbe Gold Project, Liberia NI 43-101 Technical Report, Effective Date 19 August 2020,” a report prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) Limited.
3. The Qualified Person is Mr. Martin Pittuck (CEng, MIMMM).
4. The Mineral Resource has been classified under the guidelines of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council (2014), and procedures for classifying the reported Mineral Resources were undertaken within the context of the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101).
5. The estimates are stated using a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off grade.
6. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have no demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, marketing, or other relevant issues.
7. Mineral Resource estimates are stated within conceptual pit shells that have been used to define Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction (RPEEE). The pit shells used the following main parameters: (i) Au price of US$1700/ounce; (ii) plant recovery of 90%; and (iii) mean specific gravity of 2.78 t/m3for fresh rock and 1.56 t/m3for oxide material for Tuzon, and for Dugbe F a mean specific gravity of 2.73t/m3.

Figure 7. Dugbe Gold Project Mineral Development Area.

About Pasofino Gold Ltd.

Pasofino Gold Ltd. is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V. Pasofino, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, has an option to earn a 49% economic interest (prior to the issuance of the Government of Liberia’s 10% carried interest) in the Dugbe Gold Project