Golden Valley Mines Corporate and Exploration Update

 

VAL-D’OR, Québec,, March 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golden Valley Mines Ltd. (“Golden Valley” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: GZZ) is pleased to announce an update of the Company’s activities, at its joint ventures and related entities including Abitibi Royalties Inc., International Prospect Ventures Ltd. and Val-d’Or Mining Corporation.

1. Related Entities  
   
   ° Abitibi Royalties (RZZ-TSXV):  Golden Valley holds an approximate 44.9% interest (5,605,246 shares) in Abitibi Royalties Inc. (“Abitibi Royalties”). 
   
   ° During the past year, Abitibi Royalties acquired a 1.5% net smelter royalty (“NSR”) on the Midway Project (subject to a 1% buyback for USD$1 million) and a 15% net profit interest (“NPI”) on the Radium Property, which are all operated and located at the Canadian Malartic Mine.
   ° Production commenced at the end of Q4-2018 in the area covered by Abitibi Royalties’ 3% net smelter royalty (“NSR”) at the Canadian Malartic Mine.
   ° The operators of the Canadian Malartic Mine, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (“Agnico Eagle”) and Yamana Gold Inc. (“Yamana”), recently announced updated resource estimates for the East Malartic and Odyssey Projects.

Updated Resource Estimate for East Malartic & Odyssey Project

During 2018, a total of 66,396 metres was drilled at East Malartic and 54,825 metres at the Odyssey Project.  The updated resource estimate for East Malartic includes Indicated mineral resources of 722,000 ounces of gold (10.5 million tonnes grading 2.13 g/t gold) and Inferred mineral resources of 2,806,000 ounces of gold (44.0 million tonnes grading 1.98 g/t). The updated resource estimate for the Odyssey Project includes Indicated mineral resources of 136,000 ounces of gold (2.0 million tonnes grading 2.11 g/t) and Inferred mineral resources of 1,618,000 ounces of gold (23.0 million tonnes grading 2.19 g/t). Agnico Eagle stated that it expects the size of the resource to grow further.

For the portion of the East Malartic and Odyssey resources covered by Abitibi Royalties’ 3% NSR as of December 31, 2017, please see Abitibi Royalties’ news release dated March 19^th, 2018.  Abitibi Royalties anticipates receiving an updated resource estimate for areas covered by its 3% NSR at East Malartic and Odyssey in late Q1 or early Q2-2019 based on updated resource estimates above.

Update on Barnat Extension Project

Abitibi Royalties has been advised that work on the Barnat Extension project is proceeding on budget and on schedule. Work is primarily focused on the highway 117 road deviation, overburden stripping and tailings expansion. The highway deviation is expected to be completed in late 2019.  Abitibi Royalties announced on January 16^th, 2019 that production had commenced at the end of Q4-2018 in the area covered by the Abitibi Royalties’ 3% NSR. Abitibi Royalties expects to receive from the mine owners, and subsequently release, an updated 3-year production schedule for its royalties at the Jeffrey and Barnat Extension areas in late Q1 or early Q2-2019.

Possible Production 2021-2023

Agnico Eagle states that it is evaluating several potential opportunities (which have not been approved) at a number of existing operations to build further value and enhance its gold production profile in 2021 and beyond.  Odyssey and East Malartic were identified as possible opportunities for potential underground mining from surface to a depth of 600 metres in 2021-2023 and then potentially deeper beyond 2023. Agnico Eagle further stated that these deposits could provide higher-grade tonnes that could potentially supplement the open pit production at Canadian Malartic. Agnico Eagle also stated that Canadian Malartic will be moving forward with the underground ramp, which as last reported, will provide access for underground drilling and collection of a bulk sample.

For further information, including technical information, regarding Abitibi Royalties’ interests at the Canadian Malartic Mine, please see its press release dated February 19, 2019.

• International Prospect Ventures Inc. (IZZ-TSXV): Golden Valley holds an approximate 16.5% interest (4,470,910 shares) in International Prospect Ventures Inc. (“International Prospect”).

International Prospect now holds 100% ownership of eight properties in the eastern Pilbara of Western Australia, southeast of Karratha, covering a total area of approximately 1026.10 square kilometres. Granting of the exploration licences for the eight properties was completed as of January 9, 2019. The strategic locations of the claims were determined on the basis of a review of known geology and historical exploration results, and a focus on coarse-grained conglomerate host rocks at, or in proximity to, a prominent and well-documented geological unconformity.

Porcupine Miracle Prospect:  The property is located approximately 30 km southeast of South Porcupine (Timmins, Ontario) and is comprised of 9 mining claim cells (64 ha) within Langmuir Township. International Prospect has completed a Phase I property-scale ground magnetic, induced polarization (IP) and Horizontal Loop Electromagnetic (HLEM) geophysical surveying.  A follow-up Phase II program of prospecting, mapping, bedrock stripping, sampling and diamond drill is recommended. The property is available for option and International Prospect is actively seeking joint venture partners.

• Val-d’Or Mining Corporation (VZZ-TSXV):  Golden Valley holds an approximate 32.5% interest (13,187,443 shares) in Val-d’Or Mining Corporation (“Val-d’Or Mining”). 

In 2017, Val-d’Or Mining signed a Mining Option Agreement ("Option") with Golden Valley, to acquire a 100% interest in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt Prospect consisting of 61 grassroots properties. Pursuant to the terms of the Option, Val-d’Or Mining must incur $4,000,000 of expenditures with respect to exploration and other mining operations on the properties before December 31, 2021 (with $500,000 to be incurred on or before December 31, 2018, $750,000 to be incurred on or before the December 31, 2019, $1,000,000 to be incurred on or before December 31, 2020, and $1,750,000 to be incurred on or before December 31, 2021).

As consideration for the Option, Val-d’Or Mining will issue 16,666,668 common shares to Golden Valley at a deemed price of $0.12 per share for an aggregate deemed value of $2,000,000 (issuable as to 4,166,667 common shares on or before each of December 31, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021). In addition, Val-d’Or Mining has granted Golden Valley a royalty equal to 1.25% of the net smelter returns ("NSRs") from the 61 properties on the terms set out in the option agreement of which 1% may be bought back by Val-d’Or Mining by paying Golden Valley $5,000,000, at Val-d’Or Mining option, in cash or shares at a deemed price per share equal to the market price of Val-d’Or Mining's shares at the time of such election.  If Val-d’Or Mining has issued the common shares and incurred the expenditures provided for in the option agreement, it may exercise the option on or before December 31, 2021.

Val-d’Or Mining has exceeded its obligation to incur $500,000 of expenditures on or before December 31, 2018 as required under the Option. Val-d’Or Mining intends to continue the earn-in process and it has therefore issued, subsequent to year end, a total of 4,166,667 of its common shares, valued at $416,667, to Golden Valley.

Val-d’Or Mining’s primary focus for the 2019 exploration program are on two prospective gold targets, the Oregon Prospect and Magoma Prospect. They are both located in the Abibiti Greenstone Belt in northwestern Québec, and within close proximity to the mining and exploration center of Val-d’Or Québec.

The Oregon Prospect covers an elongated granodiorite intrusion that dips to the northeast and lies along a northwest southeast axis. The granodiorite part of the property hosts the historic Oregon Showing (Corps Minéralisé 32/C05-0011. MRNF SIGEOM).  This mineral occurrence occurs within a fracture zone that hosts a series of parallel quartz stringers mineralized with pyrite. It has been traced out by previous exploration programs over a strike length of one hundred and twenty metres. The primary metallogenic target at the Oregon Prospect is an intrusive-hosted, bulk tonnage gold deposit.

The Magoma Prospect overlies the felsic volcanic rocks of the Hunter Mine Group and is situated midway between the Rouyn-Noranda and Normetal mining camps. The Magoma gold showing occurs within an extensive network of quartz veins controlled by intense shearing that cuts through tuffacaeous and porphyritic units of rhyolite. This geological setting is proximal to a fault splay from the regional gold bearing Macamic Deformation Corridor that passes through the northeast part of the property. The primary metallogenic target at the Magoma Prospect is an orogenic gold deposit spatially related to a deformation zone hosted in altered and mineralized metavolcanic rocks.

Diamond drilling activities are expected to commence on the two properties following completion of a short, follow-up program of geological mapping, prospecting and sampling. The objective of this work is two-fold: 1) ground-truthing of defined geophysical anomalies from the 2018 surveys completed by Val-d’Or Mining, and 2) complete detailed mapping and characterization of the historical mineralization, to assist with drill target selection.

Additional exploration activities have been completed or are also planned by Val-d’Or Mining on other optioned properties in order to advance them towards “drill-ready” status either internally or through a joint venture.

2. NSR Updates and Longer-Term Catalysts
   
   ° Sirios Resources Inc. (“Sirios”) - Cheechoo Gold Prospect – James Bay, Québec

The Company currently owns approximately 3% of Sirios and holds an NSR on the Cheechoo Project, which ranges from 2.5% - 4.0% depending on commodity prices.

Sirios completed fifty-five (55) NQ drillholes and three (3) PQ drillholes in 2018 totalling 15,720 metres, bringing the cumulative total on the property to 198 drillholes for 50,743 metres. Exploration plans for the property for 2019 include: 1) to produce a maiden gold resource estimate as well as metallurgical testing and, 2) forty (40) drillholes for a minimum of 10,000 metres, utilizing three (3) drill rigs.

For additional details with respect to the exploration and field work completed to date on the Cheechoo gold project, as well as for the details on the expenditures made to date by Sirios on the project, please refer to Sirios’ continuous disclosure documents available for viewing by the public through the internet at the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com) by accessing Sirios’ issuer profile.

• Other NSR’s and Free-Carried Interests

The Company holds 61 (sixty-one) 1.25% NSR’s, via its option/joint venture with Val-D’Or Mining as well as several NSR’s and free-carried interests (“FCI”) via its active joint ventures with Sirios Resources, Bonterra Resources Ltd. and other joint venture partners. All of these NSR’s and FCI’s are in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt.

3. Near-Term Catalysts – Joint Ventures (Partner-Funded)
   
   ° Alexandria Minerals Corporation (“Alexandria”) – Centremaque Gold Prospect – Gold Project, Val-d’Or, Québec

Alexandria may earn an 80% interest in the Centremaque gold project by issuing treasury shares of Alexandria to Golden Valley over a four-year period from date of signing with a total value of $250,000, and by conducting exploration activities totaling $4 million over the same four-year period, of which $250,000 is to be spent in the first year of the option agreement. The price of the shares, and therefore the number of shares to be issued, is determined by reference to the market price at the time each tranche is due.

A total of seven (7) drillholes totaling 3,348 metres were completed on the Centremaque Prospect. Three (3) new gold-bearing zones have been intersected, located approximately 2 kilometres west of the Bulldog Zone (area west of the Orenada open pit).  Drillholes CAX-18-001 and CAX-18-003) intersected gold bearing hosted in brecciated, biotite and chlorite altered ultramafic volcanic rocks north of the Cadillac Break. Drillhole CAX-18-006 intersected a gold bearing zone associated with strongly altered shear zones hosted within the Pontiac sediments located south of the Cadillac Break.  Presently the Company continues planning for a 2,500 metre Winter drill program to include the Centremaque Prospect.

For additional details with respect to the exploration and fieldwork programs completed to date on the Centremaque Prospect, as well as for the details on the expenditures made to date by Alexandria on the project, please refer to Alexandria’s continuous disclosure documents available for viewing by the public through the internet at the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com) by accessing Alexandria’s issuer profile.

• Bonterra Resources Inc. (“Bonterra”) – Lac Barry Prospect – Gold Project southwest of the Gladiator deposit (Bonterra) & south of Osisko Mining’s Windfall Lake Gold Project

Golden Valley granted an option to Bonterra to acquire an 85% interest in the Lac Barry Prospect. In accordance with the option agreement, Bonterra issued to Golden Valley Mines 519,480 common shares in the capital of Bonterra having an aggregate value of $200,000, and Bonterra must incur expenditures in an aggregate amount of $2,000,000 over a three-year period on the Lac Barry Prospect.

Bonterra has met the option agreement expenditure requirements for the third anniversary date of $2,000,000. Golden Valley now retains a 15% free carried interest in the Lac Barry Prospect and a 3% net smelter royalty (“NSR”), with 1% of the NSR being subject to a buyback in favour of Bonterra for $1 million payable by Bonterra to Golden Valley.

Bonterra completed till sampling (101 samples in 2016 and 26 in 2017), prospecting, grid establishment (79 km in 2016, 26 km in 2017, 53 km in 2018), permanent and drill trail construction (13.8 km), geophysical surveying (74-line km of IP and 310 km of ground and airborne magnetic), LiDAR survey and two phases of diamond drilling programs totalling 19,936.7 metres in fifty-five (55) holes.  The results of this exploration activities lead to a new discovery of a gold and silver bearing horizon termed the Temica Gold Zone, with grades up to 2.7 metres at 4.7 g/t Au as reported by Bonterra.

For additional details with respect to the exploration and fieldwork programs completed to date on the Lac Barry Prospect, as well as for the details on the expenditures made to date by Bonterra on the project, please refer to Bonterra’s continuous disclosure documents available for viewing by the public through the internet at the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com) by accessing Bonterra’s issuer profile.

• Battery Mineral Resources Limited (“BMR”) – Island 27 Prospect – Cobalt-Silver-Nickel project between Kirkland Lake-Matachewan, Ontario.

Golden Valley entered into mining option agreement with BMR pursuant to which the Company will grant to BMR an option to acquire up to an 80% interest in the Island 27 Property, in consideration for which the Company will receive $500,000 in cash payments and Battery Minerals will incur $5,000,000 in expenditures over a 4-year period. Once the option is exercised, Golden Valley will have a 20% free carried interest in the property and a 1% NSR, and is the project operator during the earn-in phase

A 12-hole, 2,119.5 metre diamond drilling program was completed on the property. The primary objective of the drill program is to test the geometry and grade distribution of the mineralization discovered by Golden Valley Mines in 2008 (DDH GIS-08-04) grading 4.18% Co, 0.38% Ni and 12.1 g/t Ag over 4.0 from 110.0-114.0 m:

Selective assay intervals for GIS-08-04 are shown below:

Sample	From	To	Width (m)*	Co		Ni	Ag
311708	110.00	111.00	1.0	1.785%		0.131%	3.0 g/t
311709	111.00	111.90	0.9	4.36%		0.364%	7.0 g/t
311710	111.90	112.30	0.4	1.305%		0.107%	4.0 g/t
311711	112.30	114.00	1.7	6.33%		0.607%	22.0 g/t

*True widths have not yet been established

In addition, a number of untested induced polarization anomalies are to be tested for possible extensions of the mineralized corridor and/or additional zones of Co-Ag-Ni mineralization.

Although no economic grade Co-Ag-Ni was intersected, a number of anomalous multi-element mineralized zones were intersected and are associated with similar fracturing and alteration observed in the original discovery hole intersection. Following completion of the diamond drill hole database, 3D modeling and a proposed follow-up drill program, a structural geological review was undertaken on the historical and 2018 drill core (SRK Senior Consultant - Structural Geology). The objective of SRK’s work was to constrain the structural framework of cobalt mineralization and support exploration targeting. It is now understood that cobalt mineralization is hosted within breccia veins locally developed as dilational jogs along regional faults or shear zones. These breccia veins and dilational jogs will be targeted by the next drill programs.

In addition, Golden Valley and BMR ground staked 12 new claims in 2017 and 73 mining cells in 2018. The Island 27 Prospect is now comprised of 233 mining cells covering an area of 4,641 hectares.

The Island 27 Prospect is located at the northern margin of the Cobalt Embayment and is underlain by early Proterozoic rocks which rest unconformable on Archean intrusive and metavolcanics rocks of the Superior Province.

• Eldorado Gold Corporation (“Eldorado”) – Abitibi Greenstone Belt Joint Venture – Bogside Gold Prospect – Cadillac, Québec

A program of line cutting and magnetic surveying was completed over a prospective section of recently acquired ground following the claim to cell conversion process completed by the Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles (MERN).

The property lies immediately southwest of the “Larder Lake-Cadillac Break”, underlain by wacke and mudstone rocks of the Pontiac Group. In the extreme northeast corner of the property, Piché Group volcanic rocks (komatiite, basalt and andesite) have been previously mapped in contact with the Pontiac Group rocks immediately to the northeast. The western part of the property is dominated by the Heva Lake Granite that intruded the surrounding Pontiac Group strata.

Previous diamond drilling (4 DDH’s) was completed on the property by Camflo Mines Ltd. (MERN documentation technique GM 38093) in 1980-81. Erratic gold values up to 0.23 oz/t gold over 4 feet were intersected (referred to as “Hamel West” showing area) at the granite-greywacke contact or within granitic dikes associated with silicification and quartz veining. The current work program encompasses the southern extension of this area of historic drilling activities.

The primary metallogenic target on the property is a large-tonnage, low grade Archean gold system, consisting of a widespread shell of disseminated gold-bearing pyrite mineralization hosted by porphyritic felsic to intermediate intrusions and altered metasediments, similar to the Canadian Malartic Mine (Agnico Eagle 50% and Yamana 50%). Proven and probable mineral reserves total 2,780 million ounces of gold (78,829,000 million tonnes at 1.10 grams/tonnes gold) on a 50% basis, as of December 31, 2018 (Agnico Eagle Website).

The Bogside Prospect is subject to a 2% NSR agreement with Abitibi Royalties.

In addition, the joint venture completed a property-scale remote sensing study over the Claw Lake Prospect (NE Ontario – Shiningtree area) with the objectives of interpreting historical exploration results and defining targets for a follow-up ground prospecting and sampling program during the summer 2019 field season. The joint venture is also planning an exploration program over selective parts of the Cook Lake Prospect (NE Ontario – Kirkland Lake Gold Camp) targeting the historical Scott-Kirkland Gold Mines Shaft #1 where historical sampling yield results of 2.63 oz/t Au over 3 feet (Reid, A., 1929).

The Bogside, Claw Lake and Cook Lake prospects are held under a 70:30 Joint Venture agreement between Golden Valley and Eldorado, with the latter having acquired their interest through the acquisition of Integra Gold Corporation.

4. Summary of Activity:

Golden Valley Mines remains active through both its related entities (Abitibi Royalties, International Prospect Ventures and Val-D’Or Mining) and arms length joint ventures.  Exploration activity is expected to continue with the focus on both the Abitibi Greenstone Belt and Western Australia, as noted above. 

The Company has relied on publicly available information from the other public companies and has not attempted to independently verify the information in this press release.

Glenn J. Mullan P. Geo., the President and Chief Executive Officer of Val-d’Or Mining, and Michael P. Rosatelli M.Sc., P.Geo., the Vice-President Exploration of Val-d’Or Mining, are the Qualified Persons (as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) who approved the technical disclosure included in this news release.

About Golden Valley Mines Ltd.:  The Company typically tests initial grassroots targets while owning a 100% interest therein and then seeks partners to continue exploration funding.  This allows the Company to carry on its generative programs and systematic exploration efforts at other majority-owned grassroots projects.

For additional information please contact:

Glenn J. Mullan
Chairman, President, and CEO
Golden Valley Mines Ltd.
152, chemin de la Mine École
Val-d’Or, Québec J9P 7B6
Telephone: 819.824.2808 ext. 204
Email: glenn.mullan@goldenvalleymines.com

Forward Looking Statements:

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made.  Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.