K92 Announces Record High-Grade Kora Drill Results from Kora Northern Extension including 5.82 m at 486.78 g/t Au, 21 g/t Ag and 0.15% Cu (487.1 g/t AuEq) in hole KMDD0084

 

• Drill Hole KMDD0084 records multiple intersections including 5.82 m at 486.78 g/t Au, 21 g/t Ag and 0.15% Cu (487.1 g/t Au Eq) plus 4.68 m at 73.54 g/t Au, 4 g/t Ag and 0.33% Cu (74.1 g/t AuEq)
• Drill Hole KMDD0082 records multiple intersections including 2.75 m at 21.41 g/t Au, 6 g/t Ag and 1.13% Cu (23.20 g/t AuEq) plus 3.78 m at 32.54 g/t Au, 62 g/t Ag and 2.59% Cu (37.29 g/t AuEq)             

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc. (“K92”) (TSXV:KNT) (OTCQB:KNTNF) is pleased to announce results from the continuing grade control drilling of the Kora North Extension.

Kora North Plan

The results reported are from the first two holes from the new Diamond Drill Cuddy Three (DDC3), with both holes drilled recording intersections of the K1, KL and K2 Lodes.

Results from Hole KMDD0084 included 5.82 m at 486.78 g/t Au, 21 g/t Ag and 0.15% Cu (487.1 g/t Au Eq) plus 4.68 m at 73.54 g/t Au, 4 g/t Ag and 0.33% Cu (74.1 g/t AuEq) plus 4.12 m at 7.59 g/t Au, 21 g/t Ag and 1.92% Cu (10.79 g/t AuEq), while Hole KMDD0082 recorded 2.75 m 21.41 g/t Au, 6 g/t Ag and 1.13% Cu (23.20 g/t AuEq) plus 3.78 m at 32.54 g/t Au, 62 g/t Ag and 2.59% Cu (37.29 g/t AuEq) plus 3.31 m at 8.37 g/t Au, 2 g/t Ag and 0.39% Cu (8.99 g/t AuEq).

The results from DDC3 are now the furthest drilled to the south and continue to confirm the consistency of both the K1 and K2 lodes within this area while also further delineating the KL structure and confirming its continuity. A plan showing the Kora North development, location of the three diamond drill cuddies and of the latest grade control drill holes is provided below.

John Lewins, K92 Chief Executive Officer and Director, states, “The first hole drilled from the new drill cuddy DDC3, KMDD0082 was possibly our best hole to date however this has been totally eclipsed by the results from the second hole, KMDD0084 which included a section of 0.72 metres assaying at over 3,500 g/t Au. These two holes are the furthest south that we have drilled and appear to indicate a general increase in both copper and gold grades as we move further south. Importantly from the perspective of building our confidence in the continuity of the Kora – Irumafimpa system, hole KMDD0084 is just over 200 metres along strike from the deepest hole drilled by Barrick from surface, BKDD0023. This hole reported over 30 metres of continuous mineralization from 920 metres down hole and finished in mineralization as the hole could not be drilled any deeper.

We have already completed the drilling of the next grade control hole from DDC3, which is a further 25 metres to the south, and await the assay results with great anticipation”.

Table 1 below provides a summary of the results from the latest diamond grade control drill holes drilled into the Kora North Vein system from DDC3. Table 2 provides details of collar location and hole orientation.

Table 1.0 Kainantu Gold Mine – Significant Intercepts from Kora Diamond Drill Cuddy 2

Hole_id	From (m)	To (m)	Interval (m)	True width (m)	Gold g/t	Silver g/t	Copper %	Gold equivalent	Comment
KMDD0082	35.55	38.30	2.75	2.67	21.41	6	1.13	23.20	K1E
including	35.55	36.26	0.71	0.69	56.70	14	3.44	62.15
including	36.26	36.59	0.33	0.32	1.07	4	1.04	2.71
including	36.59	37.24	0.65	0.63	0.57	3	0.32	1.09
including	37.24	37.50	0.26	0.25	30.45	6	0.16	30.78
including	37.50	38.10	0.60	0.58	9.50	2	0.03	9.57
including	38.10	38.30	0.20	0.19	21.34	1	0.19	21.65
KMDD0082	38.45	40.48	2.03	1.97	3.74	1	0.02	3.78	K1W
including	38.45	39.58	1.13	1.10	3.01	1	0.01	3.04
including	39.58	39.78	0.20	0.19	6.64	1	0.02	6.69
including	39.78	40.38	0.60	0.58	4.23	1	0.02	4.28
including	40.38	40.48	0.10	0.10	3.18	1	0.04	3.26
KMDD0082	46.09	49.40	3.31	2.62	8.37	2	0.39	8.99	KL1
including	46.09	47.80	1.71	1.35	0.52	3	0.60	1.48
including	47.80	48.14	0.34	0.27	1.50	1	0.06	1.60
including	48.14	49.40	1.26	1.00	20.88	2	0.19	21.19
KMDD0082	64.88	68.66	3.78	3.59	32.54	62	2.59	37.29	K2
including	64.88	65.30	0.42	0.40	4.35	15	0.55	5.38
including	65.30	66.37	1.07	1.02	1.52	25	0.83	3.12
including	66.37	66.93	0.56	0.53	209.70	338	14.92	236.93
including	66.93	68.66	1.73	1.64	1.22	7	0.18	1.59
KMDD0084	38.5	43.18	4.68	4.14	73.54	4	0.33	74.10	K1W
including	38.5	39.57	1.07	0.95	96.96	10	0.83	98.35
including	39.57	40.8	1.23	1.09	0.87	2	0.22	1.23
including	40.8	41.15	0.35	0.31	18.84	3	0.32	19.36
including	41.15	41.8	0.65	0.57	8.96	2	0.22	9.32
including	41.8	42.31	0.51	0.45	36.88	1	0.02	36.93
including	42.31	42.64	0.33	0.29	623.77	6	0.13	624.05
including	42.64	43.18	0.54	0.48	4.24	3	0.15	4.50
KMDD0084	48.3	54.12	5.82	5.46	486.78	6	0.16	487.10	KL1
including	49.61	49.85	0.24	0.23	2.52	5	0.07	2.70
including	49.85	50.61	0.76	0.71	3585.93	21	0.15	3586.43
including	50.61	50.93	0.32	0.30	3.31	2	0.00	3.34
including	50.93	51.28	0.35	0.33	11.39	11	0.32	12.02
including	51.28	52.2	0.92	0.86	0.88	1	0.12	1.07
including	52.2	52.48	0.28	0.26	3.56	4	1.14	5.35
including	52.48	52.78	0.3	0.28	273.33	6	0.19	273.69
including	52.78	53.2	0.42	0.39	2.88	1	0.05	2.97
including	53.2	53.66	0.46	0.43	25.15	6	0.15	25.46
including	53.66	54.12	0.46	0.43	8.36	1	0.11	8.54
KMDD0084	62	66.12	4.12	4.00	7.59	21	1.92	10.79	K2
including	62	62.6	0.6	0.58	2.59	2	0.16	2.85
including	62.6	63	0.4	0.39	0.16	1	0.06	0.26
including	63	63.56	0.56	0.54	16.83	19	2.42	20.77
including	63.56	64.21	0.65	0.63	19.98	14	1.20	21.99
including	64.21	65.1	0.89	0.86	7.22	51	5.19	15.80
including	65.1	66.12	1.02	0.99	0.79	19	1.03	2.60

Notes
Gold Equivalent uses Copper price – US$2.90/lb; Silver price US$16.5/oz and Gold price of US$1300/oz

Table 2.0 Kainantu Gold Mine – Collar Locations for Kora Underground Diamond Drilling

Hole_id	Collar location			Collar orientation		EOH depth (m)	Lode
	Local north	Local East	mRL	Dip	Local azimuth
KMDD0082	58903.06	29868.16	1191.07	18.57	291.0	89.9	Kora
KMDD0084	58901.94	29868.29	1190.97	17.86	265.6	101.1	Kora

The current Kora/Eutompi inferred resource, as defined by previous drilling to date, is 4.36 million tonnes at a grade of 7.3 g/t Au, 35 g/t Ag and 2.23 per cent Cu, or 11.2 g/t gold equivalent (see attached table) and is open for expansion at depth and in both directions along strike.

K92 has filed and made available for download on the company's SEDAR profile a technical report titled "Independent Technical Report, Mineral Resource Update and Preliminary Economic Assessment of Irumafimpa and Kora Gold Deposits, Kainantu Project, Papua New Guinea," with an effective date of March 2, 2017, that provides additional information on the geology of the deposits, drilling and sampling procedures, lab analysis, and quality assurance/quality control for the project, and additional details on the resource estimates.

The PEA estimates for Kora, based on the current resource estimates (4.36 million tonnes of 7.3 g/t Au, 35 g/t Ag and 2.23 per cent Cu):

• Over a nine-year operating life, the plant would treat 3.2 million tonnes averaging 7.1 g/t Au, 25 g/t Ag and 1.7 per cent Cu (9.3 g/t AuEq (1));
• This would generate an estimated positive cash flow of $537-million (U.S.) using current metal prices if 15-metre levels are used in mining; if 25-metre levels are used, then net cash flows are estimated as $558-million (U.S.); this cash flow includes conceptual allowances for capital;
• Production of an estimated average of 108,000 AuEq (1) ounces per annum over an eight-year period from year 2 through to year 9;
• An estimated pretax net present value (NPV) of $415-million (U.S.) for 25-metre levels, or $397-million (U.S.) for 15-metre levels, using current metal prices, exchange rates and a 5-per-cent discount;
• An estimated after-tax NPV of $329-million (U.S.) for 25-metre levels, or $316-million (U.S.) for 15-metre levels, using current metal prices, exchange rates and a 5-per-cent discount;
• Initial capital cost is estimated to be $13.8-million (U.S.), including the $3.3-million (U.S.) for the plant upgrade identified in the Mincore scoping study, but excluding the proposed Kora exploration inclines and diamond drilling; sustaining capital cost is estimated to a further $64-million (U.S.) spent over the life of the Kora mining for 25-metre levels, or $83-million (U.S.) for 15-metre levels;
• Operating cost per tonne is estimated to be $125 (U.S.) per tonne for 25-metre levels, or $126 (U.S.) per tonne for 15-metre mining levels;
• Excluding initial capital expenditure of $14-million (U.S.), cash cost is estimated to be $547 (U.S.) per ounce AuEq (inclusive of a 2.5-per-cent net smelter return (NSR) royalty) and all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $619 (U.S.) per ounce AuEq for 25-metre mining levels, or $549 (U.S.) per ounce (inclusive of a 2.5-per-cent NSR royalty) and AISC of $644 (U.S.) per ounce AuEq for 15-metre mining levels.

Metal prices used were $1,300 per ounce for gold, $18 (U.S.) per ounce for silver and $4,800 per tonne for copper.

(1) Gold equivalent calculated on above metal prices.

Kora remains open for expansion in every direction and strongly mineralized at the extent of all drilling.

The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. The technical report contains a full description of all underlying assumptions relating to the PEA. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Table 3.0 IRUMAFIMPA AND KORA/EUTOMPI RESOURCES  

	Resource by Deposit and Category
Deposit	Resource Category	Tonnes	Gold		Silver		Copper		Gold Equivalent
		Mt	g/t	MOz	g/t	MOz	%	Mlb	g/t	MOz
Irumafimpa	Indicated	0.56	12.8	0.23	9	0.16	0.28	37	13.4	0.24
	Inferred	0.53	10.9	0.19	9	0.16	0.27	74	11.5	0.20
Kora/Eutompi	Inferred	4.36	7.3	1.02	35	4.9	2.23	215	11.2	1.57
Total Indicated		0.56	12.8	0.23	9	0.16	0.3	4	13.4	0.24
Total Inferred		4.89	7.7	1.21	32	5.06	2.0	218	11.2	1.76

M in Table is millions.  Reported tonnage and grade figures are rounded from raw estimates to reflect the order of accuracy of the estimate. Minor variations may occur during the addition of rounded numbers. Gold equivalents are calculated as AuEq = Au g/t + Cu%*1.52+ Ag g/t*0.0141.

K92 Mine Geology Manager and Mine Exploration Manager, Mr. Andrew Kohler, PGeo, a qualified person under the meaning of Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and is responsible for the technical content of this news release. Data verification by Mr. Kohler includes significant time onsite reviewing drill core, face sampling, underground workings and discussing work programs and results with geology and mining personnel.

On Behalf of the Company,

John Lewins, Chief Executive Officer and Director

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

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain “forward-looking statements” under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information, including statements regarding the realization of the preliminary economic analysis for the Project, expectations of future cash flows, the proposed plant expansion, potential expansion of resources and the generation of further drilling results which may or may not occur. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the market price of the Company’s securities, metal prices, exchange rates, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, and regulations and other matters.. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. 

A map accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/ae4178fe-3488-4278-9062-395984d29dba