Gran Colombia Gold Identifies New Zones in its Final 2018 Drilling Results for its Segovia Operations; Gold Production in January 2019 Remains Steady
TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gran Colombia Gold Corp. (TSX: GCM, OTCQX: TPRFF) announced today the final assay results from 83 additional diamond drill holes (8,043 meters) included in its 2018 underground drilling program at its high-grade Segovia Operations. In 2018, the Company completed a total of 209 holes at Segovia representing approximately 26,800 meters.
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Serafino Iacono, Executive Co-Chairman of Gran Colombia, commented, “We got off to a good start in 2019 with almost 18,000 ounces of gold production in January, in line with our expectations. Our drilling programs at Segovia continue to yield encouraging results, with the identification of two new zones at Providencia and the down-plunge extension of the main ore-shoots at Sandra K, both of which have the potential for additional resource growth. Our 2019 drilling campaign at Segovia will focus more on step-out drilling at Providencia and Sandra K, deep zone drilling to extend El Silencio another 200 meters below its currently delineated mineral resource, and brownfield drilling on the Cogote vein system as we increasingly shift our attention toward the blue-sky potential within our Segovia mining title to add production and mine life."
Segovia Drilling Update
The key highlights and intercepts at Segovia since our October 3, 2018 press release are as follows:
- In-fill drilling at Providencia continued to test the Providencia vein system to the west of the current mine development. Multiple high gold grades were intersected from 30 drill holes (3,100 meters) drilled from underground on the main vein system with maximum grades of 84.10 g/t Au and 97.7 g/t Ag over 0.71 meters on the Providencia Vein (PV-IU-164), and 105.93 g/t Au and 65.2 g/t Ag over 0.38 meters on a new, narrow and steeply dipping structure in the hanging-wall of the Providencia Vein (PV-IU-151). Drilling was successful in delineating a new high-grade zone to the west of and near the high-grade orebody that is currently in production, with maximum grades of 15.49 g/t Au and 22.7 g/t Ag over 2.65 meters (PV-IU-145-A) on the Providencia Vein. In addition, another potential high-grade zone was outlined further to west, with maximum grades of 65.83 g/t Au and 36.7 g/t Ag over 0.30 meters (PV-IU-055) still on the Providencia Vein. Both zones offer the potential for another phase of resource growth and the high-grade gold mineralized intercepts associated with these new zones confirm the higher-grade mineralization at depth, which could have a positive impact, increasing both production and mine life. Gran Colombia’s 2019 drilling program includes another approximately 4,000 meters to test these new zones.
- In-fill drilling at Sandra K continued to delineate and further extend down-plunge the main ore-shoots outlined by mining within the upper levels of the existing operation. These orebodies remain open at depth and offer the potential for additional resource growth. Multiple high gold grades were intersected from 35 drill holes (3,182 meters) drilled from underground on the main vein system with maximum grades of 84.14 g/t Au with 94.1 g/t Ag over 1.60 meters on the Sandra K Techo Vein (SK-IU-037), and 44.46 g/t Au with 141.5 g/t Ag over 1.68 meters on a new structure intercepted in the footwall of the Sandra K Techo Vein (SK-IU-042). Gran Colombia’s 2019 drilling program includes another approximately 4,200 meters of infill drilling at Sandra K.
- Infill drilling at El Silencio completed testing of the down-plunge extension of the main ore-shoot located at the northern end of the mine and the drill rig has moved to begin testing the 1040 Vein, which is a splay off the Manto Vein. Some high gold grades were intersected from 18 drill holes (1,761 meters) drilled from underground on the main vein system with maximum grades of 14.09 g/t Au and 37.9 g/t Ag over 2.42 meters on the Manto Vein (ES-IU-044), and 15.78 g/t Au and 14.2 g/t Ag over 0.59 meters on the 1385 Vein (ES-IU-043), interpreted as a hanging-wall vein of the Manto Vein. As announced on August 7, 2018, Gran Colombia is following up on the high-grade results from last year’s channel sampling program at El Silencio with approximately 10,000 meters of directional drilling included its 2019 drilling program. This drilling, which commenced in early February, is intended to extend the north, middle and south ore-shoots another 200 meters down-plunge, below the currently delineated mineral resource.
The table below lists the key intercepts from the 2018 drilling program since the last press release issued on October 3, 2018:
| Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Width (m) | Vein | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | ||
| Providencia Mine | ||||||||
| PV-IU-144* | 64.77 | 66.90 | 2.13 | Providencia | 8.64 | 26.2 | ||
| PV-IU-145-A* | 86.60 | 89.25 | 2.65 | Providencia | 15.49 | 22.7 | ||
| Including | 88.57 | 89.25 | 0.68 | 47.00 | 56.4 | |||
| PV-IU-150* | 98.37 | 99.95 | 1.58 | Providencia | 8.06 | 3.8 | ||
| PV-IU-151* | 38.27 | 38.65 | 0.38 | HW1 Providencia | 105.93 | 65.2 | ||
| PV-IU-152* | 32.85 | 33.15 | 0.30 | HW1 Providencia | 62.00 | 49.4 | ||
| PV-IU-154* | 84.50 | 85.10 | 0.60 | Providencia | 7.06 | 5.9 | ||
| PV-IU-155* | 24.87 | 25.20 | 0.33 | HW1 Providencia | 43.05 | 29.9 | ||
| and | 57.60 | 57.90 | 0.30 | Providencia | 65.83 | 36.7 | ||
| PV-IU-156* | 87.90 | 90.00 | 2.10 | Providencia | 13.25 | 5.2 | ||
| PV-IU-164* | 95.08 | 95.79 | 0.71 | Providencia | 84.10 | 97.7 | ||
| Sandra K Mine | ||||||||
| SK-IU-032* | 67.80 | 68.17 | 0.37 | Sandra K Techo | 9.10 | 626.0 | ||
| SK-IU-033* | 51.60 | 52.70 | 1.10 | Sandra K Techo | 13.33 | 235.9 | ||
| SK-IU-036* | 83.37 | 84.90 | 1.03 | Sandra K Techo | 61.71 | 428.0 | ||
| SK-IU-037* | 77.80 | 79.40 | 1.60 | Sandra K Techo | 84.14 | 94.10 | ||
| SK-IU-039* | 113.60 | 117.33 | 3.73 | Sandra K Techo | 3.96 | 73.2 | ||
| including | 113.60 | 114.55 | 0.95 | Sandra K Techo | 13.60 | 138.6 | ||
| SK-IU-042* | 93.55 | 95.73 | 2.18 | Sandra K Techo | 36.20 | 249.4 | ||
| and | 103.62 | 105.30 | 1.68 | FW1 Sandra K Techo | 44.46 | 141.5 | ||
| SK-IU-043* | 64.92 | 67.10 | 2.18 | Sandra K Techo | 8.53 | 432.0 | ||
| SK-IU-047* | 35.94 | 37.85 | 1.91 | Sandra K Techo | 8.92 | 85.07 | ||
| SK-IU-050* | 68.00 | 71.80 | 3.80 | Sandra K Techo | 27.79 | 170.7 | ||
| SK-IU-051* | 53.55 | 54.41 | 0.86 | HW1 Sandra K Techo | 8.80 | 31.4 | ||
| SK-IU-054* | 47.90 | 48.80 | 0.90 | Sandra K Techo | 18.73 | 43.6 | ||
| SK-IU-055* | 56.80 | 58.10 | 1.30 | 6640 | 12.52 | 26.2 | ||
| El Silencio Mine | ||||||||
| ES-IU-043* | 4.22 | 4.81 | 0.59 | 1385 Vein | 15.78 | 14.2 | ||
| ES-IU-044* | 3.75 | 4.10 | 0.35 | 1385 Vein | 13.46 | 29.7 | ||
| and | 58.24 | 60.66 | 2.42 | Manto Vein | 14.09 | 37.9 | ||
| including | 58.24 | 58.87 | 0.63 | 53.27 | 116.0 | |||
| ES-IU-054* | 4.74 | 5.08 | 0.34 | 1385 Vein | 7.98 | 11.3 | ||
| ES-IU-056* | 4.27 | 5.90 | 1.63 | Piso Vein | 11.30 | 23.5 | ||
| ES-IU-58* | 4.82 | 9.18 | 4.36 | Piso Vein | 12.81 | 18.8 | ||
| including | 6.18 | 8.06 | 1.88 | 27.99 | 37.7 | |||
| ES-IU-059* | 79.16 | 79.82 | 0.66 | 1040 Vein | 22.45 | 49.3 | ||
| * Denotes underground drill holes. The underground holes were drilled at -11 to -79 degrees from the horizontal. Sample grades over 7.0 g/t Au reported. Grades are for quartz vein intersections and are length-weighted composites. The width is the sample length and is not necessarily the true width of the vein. All gold and silver grades are uncut and are not diluted to a minimum mining width. Abbreviations: HW: hanging wall vein, FW: footwall vein. | ||||||||
| Results are reported for 83 holes (8,043 m) including 30 holes (3,100 m) at Providencia (PV-IU-143 to PV-IU-171), 35 holes (3,182 m) at Sandra K (SK-IU-023 to SK-IU-055) and 18 holes (1,761 m) at El Silencio (ES-IU-043 to ES-IU-060). No results above cut-off grade shown for 21 holes at Providencia, 23 holes at Sandra K and 12 holes at El Silencio. | ||||||||
Please refer also to the attached illustrative maps showing the Providencia, Sandra K and El Silencio drilling programs.
Gran Colombia currently has four diamond drill rigs in operation at Segovia, with three rigs carrying out resource definition within the underground developments of the Providencia, Sandra K and El Silencio mines and one drill rig operating from surface at Campo Alegre targeting the down-plunge extension of the north ore-shoot of the El Silencio mine.
Qualified Person
Dr. Stewart D. Redwood, PhD, FIMMM, FGS, Senior Consulting Geologist to the Company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure or Mineral Projects and prepared or reviewed the preparation of the scientific and technical information in this press release. Verification included a review of the quality assurance and quality control samples, and review of the applicable assay databases and assay certificates.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
The Segovia samples were prepared and assayed by SGS Laboratories Ltd (ISO 9001:2008) at their laboratory in Medellin, Colombia. Gold was assayed by 30 g fire assay with atomic absorption spectrophotometer (“AAS”) finish. Samples above the upper detection limit of 10.0 g/t gold were re-assayed by 30 g fire assay with gravimetric finish. Silver was assayed by aqua regia digestion and AAS finish. Silver samples above 500 g/t were re-assayed by aqua regia digestion with AAS finish for ore grades. Blank, standard and duplicate samples were routinely inserted and monitored for quality assurance and quality control.
January 2019 Production Update
Gran Colombia also announced today that it produced a total of 17,941 ounces of gold in January 2019, maintaining its monthly run rate from 2018 and in line with expectations for the month. This brings the trailing 12 months’ total gold production at the end of January 2019 to 219,242 ounces.
The Segovia Operations continued to perform well with 16,256 ounces of gold produced in January 2019, up slightly from 2018’s monthly average production level. Gran Colombia processed an average of 1,098 tonnes per day (“tpd”) in January with an average head grade of 16.5 g/t.
At the Marmato Operations, Gran Colombia processed an average of 979 tpd in January at an average head grade of 2.01 g/t resulting in gold production for the month of 1,685 ounces.
About Gran Colombia Gold Corp.
Gran Colombia is a Canadian-based mid-tier gold producer with its primary focus in Colombia where it is currently the largest underground gold and silver producer with several mines in operation at its Segovia and Marmato Operations. Gran Colombia is continuing to focus on exploration, expansion and modernization activities at its high-grade Segovia Operations.
Additional information on Gran Colombia can be found on its website at www.grancolombiagold.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information", which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to production guidance and anticipated business plans or strategies, including exploration programs and mineral resources and reserves. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Gran Colombia to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated as of March 27, 2018 and Management’s Discussion and Analysis dated as of November 13, 2018, both of which are available for view on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and Gran Colombia disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
For Further Information, Contact:
Mike Davies
Chief Financial Officer
(416) 360-4653
investorrelations@grancolombiagold.com
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