Joint Venture Extends Strike Length of Kutuvuoma-Ikkari (Helmi) Discovery to 1.3 km

• Eight of nine broadly spaced drill holes over 1.3 km strike length intersect significant gold mineralization at Helmi Discovery
• New drill results include:
• 1.29 g/t Au over 19.90 m within 0.87 g/t Au over 36.32 m from 75.78 m
• 250 m step-out from drill hole IKK21003 (1.84 g/t Au over 52.40 m)
• 0.71 g/t Au over 36.00 m from 32.10 m including 3.08 g/t Au over 3.85 m
• 800 m step-out from drill hole IKK21003
• Pending results from 11 holes
• 5-6 km of prospective strike untested
• Aurion to retain 30% interest in JV, commence contributing

ST. JOHN'S, NL, Dec. 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Aurion Resources Ltd. (TSXV: AU) (OTCQX: AIRRF) ("Aurion" or the "Company") reports results from an ongoing exploration program on the Aurion-B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO) ("B2Gold") Joint Venture (JV) in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in northern Finland.

Summary
Results from an additional six holes of the ongoing drilling campaign have intersected broad zones of gold mineralization extending the strike length of the recent Kutuvuoma-Ikkari ("Helmi") Discovery to 1.3 km (see press release dated Oct. 25, 2021).

Aurion's JV partner, B2Gold, drilled broad zones of gold mineralization, starting near surface, with intercepts including:

• 0.87 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 36.32 metres (m) from 75.78 m, including 1.29 g/t Au over 19.90 m, and 0.64 grams g/t Au over 13.45 m from 51.45 m in drill hole IKK21004, located approximately 250 m northwest of drill hole IKK21003.
• 0.71 g/t Au over 36.00 m from 32.10 m, including 3.08 g/t Au over 3.85 m, and 1.62 g/t Au over 9.66 m from 220.04 m in drill hole KUE21008, located approximately 800 m west of drill hole IKK21003. 5.50 m of core loss within the upper mineralized zone was assigned a value of zero.

Figures associated with this release can be viewed on the Company's website: https://aurionresources.com/site/assets/files/1417/nr_21-23figures.pdf.

Comments
"The Helmi discovery is already showing the potential to be a significant gold occurrence," Commented Aurion CEO, Matti Talikka. "The nine holes drilled in the program were the first ever drilled in this area. The holes were broadly spaced, up to 350 m apart, and were drilled without reference to surface exposure or meaningful base-of-till sampling. Given the scant evidence available, we consider the success rate of this program to be exceptional." "Recent discoveries in the region, such as Rupert Resource's nearby 3.95 Moz Ikkari, have yielded a high return on capital invested. We're excited to have the opportunity to retain 30% interest in the JV."

Additional broad zones of gold mineralization at Kutuvuoma-Ikkari Corridor
Six holes (total 1,434.6 m) of the 20 drill hole (total 5,201.5 m) program were drilled along an approximately 1 km long section of the Kutuvuoma-Ikkari structural corridor, to the west of hole IKK21003 (Helmi Discovery), which returned 1.84 g/t Au over 52.40 m. These holes were widely spaced, commencing approximately 270 m west of hole IKK21003 and 1.8 km west of Rupert Resources' 3.95 Moz Ikkari Discovery. The drill program was planned to test selected geological, geochemical and geophysical targets along the Kutuvuoma-Ikkari structural corridor within the metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Savukoski group near the contact with the sedimentary rocks of the Kumpu group within the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. 

The Kutuvuoma-Ikkari corridor is an approximately 8 km long sequence of prospective geology along a domain boundary in the eastern part of the JV property extending from the Ikkari Discovery to the Kutuvuoma test pit.

The drill holes intersected metavolcanic and metasedimentary sequences and gabbro intrusions or sills. The mineralized intervals are mainly hosted in altered and sheared and/or brecciated mafic and ultramafic tuffs and tuffites with fine-grained pyrite as disseminations, interfolial sulphide or within narrow quartz-magnetite veins. The gold grades within the broader mineralized zones are relatively consistent.

Table 1: Aurion-B2Gold JV Drilling Summary

IKK21004 was collared approximately 270 m northwest from drill hole IKK21003 that returned 1.84 g/t Au over 52.40 m. The hole intersected various lithologies of the Savukoski group including gabbro, talc-chlorite schist, mafic and ultramafic volcanics and sandstone of the Kumpu group. Foliated and altered (biotite, magnetite, sericite, carbonate, chlorite) mafic and ultramafic rocks contain broad zones of gold mineralization such as 0.64 g/t Au over 13.45 m from 51.45 and 0.87 g/t Au over 36.62 m from 75.78 m including 1.29 g/t Au over 19.90 m from 89.30 m.

IKK21005 was collared approximately 110 m west from IKK21004. The hole intersected various lithologies of the Savukoski group including gabbro, talc-chlorite schist, mafic and ultramafic volcanics and sandstone of the Kumpu group. Foliated and altered (biotite, magnetite, sericite, carbonate, chlorite) mafic and ultramafic rocks contain broad zones of gold mineralization such as 1.33 g/t Au over 9.15 m from 31.05 m including 2.89 g/t Au over 2.33 m, 0.62 g/t Au over 7.20 m from 43.00 m, 2.40 g/t Au over 0.96 m from 62.70 m, 1.70 g/t Au over 0.67 m from 104.53 m, 1.78 g/t Au over 0.93 m from 134.62 m and other zones with elevated (>0.1 g/t) gold values.

KUE21006 was collared approximately 360 m west-northwest from IKK21005. The hole intersected various lithologies of the Savukoski group including gabbro, diorite, talc-chlorite schist, mafic and ultramafic volcanics. The drill hole intersected intervals with anomalous (>0.1 g/t) gold values.

KUE21007 was collared approximately 70 m northwest from KUE21006. The hole intersected various lithologies of the Savukoski group including gabbro, diorite, intermediate volcanics and graphite bearing mudstones. Albite and sericite altered and brecciated zones of intermediate volcanics contain elevated gold values including 0.89 g/t Au over 3.20 m from 65.10 m. Elevated copper values up to 0.76% occur within the brecciated unit. Graphite bearing mudstones also contain elevated gold values in places including 0.90 g/t Au over 1.88 m from 179.65 m.

KUE21008 was collared approximately 200 m south from KUE21007 and 800 m west from IKK21003. The hole intersected various lithologies of the Savukoski group including talc-chlorite schist, mafic and ultramafic volcanics. Foliated or brecciated and altered (silicification, albite, sericite, carbonate) mafic and ultramafic rocks contain broad zones of gold mineralization such as 0.71 g/t Au over 36.00 m (5.50 of core loss assigned zero gold value) from 32.10 m including 3.08 g/t Au over 3.85 m (1.30 m of core loss assigned zero gold value) and 1.62 g/t Au over 9.66 m from 220.04 m.

KUE21009 was collared approximately 150 m west from KUE21008. The hole intersected various lithologies of the Savukoski group including talc-chlorite schist, mafic and ultramafic volcanics and sandstone of the Kumpu group. Foliated or brecciated and altered (silicification, biotite, chlorite, albite, sericite, carbonate) mafic and ultramafic rocks contain broad zones of gold mineralization such as 2.18 g/t Au over 1.77 m from 133.58 m, 2.55 g/t Au over 1.27 m from 161.30 m, 1.00 g/t Au over 4.24 m from 248.50 m and 2.29 g/t Au over 1.42 m from 259.00 m.

Broad zones of consistent gold mineralization have been identified in several holes over 1.3 km strike length along the prospective geological sequence between the Kutuvuoma test pit and the Ikkari Discovery highlighting the potential for the existence of gold mineralized system of scale along the 8 km long Kutuvuoma-Ikkari structural corridor of which the majority remains unexplored.

Aurion To Retain 30% Interest in the Joint Venture
B2Gold has provided notice of its intention to terminate the third option to solely fund all programs and budgets until completion of a Feasibility Study as required under the remaining option to acquire an additional 5% ownership interest. As a result, Aurion will retain a 30% interest in the Joint Venture and will commence funding its proportionate share of all exploration on the properties under JV with B2Gold.

Exploration activities in 2021
B2Gold has completed their fall 2021 drill program for a total of 5,201.5 m of drilling in 20 holes. The drill program commenced in August and was completed at the end of November. Assay results for 11 holes (approximately 2,900 m) are pending.

The JV is currently in the process of planning the 2022 exploration program.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control
All samples were delivered to ALS preparation facility in Sodankylä, Finland where sample preparation work was completed. Analytical work for these samples was completed at ALS facilities in Loughrea, Co. Galway, Ireland. ALS is an internationally accredited lab and are ISO compliant (ISO 9001:2008, ISO/IEC 17025:2017). Samples were analyzed for gold using the Au-AA24 procedure (50 g fire assay with AAS finish: Lower Detection Limit ("LDL") 0.005 g/t gold; Upper Detection Limit ("UDL") – 10 g/t gold). B2Gold has an internal QA/QC program involving the insertion of certified standards and blanks into the sample stream. ALS has its own QA/QC protocol using standards, blanks and duplicates.

Select samples were delivered to Eurofins Labtium Oy's facility in Sodankylä, Finland. Eurofins Labtium is an accredited lab according to ISO/IEC 17025 by FINAS (Finnish accreditation service). These samples were analysed for rush analysis gold using procedure 705P (50 g fire assay with ICP-OES finish: LDL – 0.02 g/t gold; UDL – 100 g/t gold). Eurofins Labtium has its own QA/QC protocol using standards, blanks and duplicates.

This news release has been reviewed by Andrew Hussey, P.Geo., GIS Geologist and Database Manager for Aurion Resources, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. For more information on these projects please visit our website at www.aurionresources.com.

About Aurion Resources Ltd. Aurion Resources Ltd. (Aurion) is a well-funded, Canadian exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V: AU) and the OTCQX Best Market (OTCQX: AIRRF). Aurion's strategy is to generate or acquire early-stage precious metals exploration opportunities and advance them through direct exploration by our experienced team or by business partnerships and joint venture arrangements. Aurion's current focus is exploring on its Flagship Risti and Launi projects, as well as advancing its joint venture properties with B2Gold and Kinross in Finland.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Matti Talikka, CEO

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 release. 

SOURCE Aurion Resources Ltd.

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