SSR MINING ANNOUNCES POSITIVE EXPLORATION RESULTS AT MARIGOLD CREATING PATHWAYS FOR MINE PLAN ENHANCEMENT AND EXTENSION

 

Oxide Intercepts Include 4.2 g/t Au Over 26 Meters and 2.7 g/t Au Over 17 Meters at New Millennium; Updated Technical Report on Track for 2023

DENVER, CO, Nov. 28, 2022 /CNW/ - SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRM) (TSX: SSRM) (ASX: SSR) ("SSR Mining" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from 316 drillholes completed at the Marigold mine in Nevada, USA, for the period from October, 2021 to August, 2022 (Figure 1) at the New Millennium, Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley oxide targets. These results build upon, and are subsequent to, the Marigold 2021 Technical Report Summary. With an existing Mineral Reserve life of 11 years, exploration at Marigold is focused on adding higher-grade oxide ounces to the mine plan to both enhance and extend the current production profile and life of mine free cash flow generation. The continued exploration success at these key exploration targets has the potential to drive Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource growth that can be incorporated into an updated Technical Report Summary for Marigold, which is expected in 2023 (the "2023 Marigold TRS"). The 2023 Marigold TRS will evaluate the potential to add New Millennium to the life of mine plan. Future studies will evaluate mining and processing opportunities at the Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley satellite targets located four and ten kilometers south of New Millennium, respectively.

The potential development of New Millennium was unlocked by recent brownfield strategic land acquisitions and presents an opportunity to add higher-grade oxide Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources proximal to existing Marigold infrastructure. The New Millennium target area is comprised of six distinct zones which include East Basalt, Battle Cry, Antler, Section 6, Lil' Gun and North Antler. These targets are on the periphery of the Antler-Basalt pits that previously produced approximately one million ounces at a grade of 0.75 g/t. Nearly 45,000 meters of drilling was completed at New Millennium across 146 holes, with numerous intercepts significantly above Marigold's existing Mineral Reserve grade and new mineralization encountered more than five hundred meters south of previously defined Mineral Resources. 

New Millennium oxide drilling highlights include (see Figures 2 and 3) (see Table 1):

• MRA7621: 25.9 meters at 4.2 g/t Au from 117.3 meters
• MRA7623: 16.8 meters at 2.7 g/t Au from 120.4 meters
• MRA7629: 22.9 meters at 1.7 g/t Au from 231.6 meters
• MRA7520: 21.3 meters at 1.7 g/t Au from 195.1 meters, and 19.8 meters at 1.9 g/t Au from 225.6 meters

Rod Antal, President and CEO of SSR Mining, said, "These results showcase exceptional oxide grades that have potential to drive Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource growth and complement the existing Marigold production profile. We expect to include some of this higher-grade oxide material in the 2023 Marigold TRS, which we anticipate will demonstrate an optimized and expanded production profile through the incorporation of New Millennium. In addition, with the recent results from both Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley, we believe the future is very bright for Marigold with opportunities to extend the existing 11 year mine life while adding higher grade, lower cost oxide ounces to the near and longer-term mine plan."

Table 1: Significant oxide gold intercepts at New Millennium

In addition to drilling at New Millennium, SSR Mining continues to explore for supplemental oxide ore sources across the broader Marigold land package. At Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley, located approximately four kilometers south and ten kilometers southwest of New Millennium, respectively, drilling has delivered exciting high-grade intercepts of predominantly oxide mineralization. Exploration at these targets aims to define oxide material that leverages existing infrastructure at Marigold to provide an avenue for production growth in the future. Work also continues to delineate and define initial sulfide resources at each target that could represent potential longer-term development opportunities for Marigold.

Trenton Canyon oxide drilling highlights include (see Figures 4 and 5) (see Table 2): 

• MRA7795: 15.2 meters at 11.1 g/t Au from 213.4 meters
• MRA7587: 19.8 meters at 5.5 g/t Au from 181.4 meters
• MRA7518: 6.1 meters at 2.0 g/t Au from 41.1 meters and 25.9 meters at 1.2 g/t Au from 50.3 meters

Buffalo Valley oxide drilling highlights include (see Figures 6, 7 and 8) (see Table 2):

• DDH7705: 18.3 meters at 6.2 g/t Au from 126.5 meters
• MRA7730: 42.7 meters at 1.4 g/t Au from 382.5 meters 
• MRA7598: 6.1 meters at 2.5 g/t Au from 324.6 meters 

Additionally, an infill drill hole from the Valmy pit  located to the northeast of New Millennium included the following oxide intercepts:

• DDH7452: 14.3 meters at 4.7 g/t Au from 209.4 meters and 12.5 meters at 0.8 g/t Au from 246.3 meters

Table 2: Significant oxide gold intercepts at Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley

While the exploration focus is to define and expand oxide inventory across the greater Marigold property, SSR Mining is simultaneously exploring for structurally controlled sulfide mineralization potentially amenable to alternative mining & processing methods than those currently utilized at Marigold. Building on results previously announced in December 2021, exploration efforts at Trenton Canyon have focused on the Tempest zone, a series of high-grade structures proximal to the past-producing South and West pits.

Trenton Canyon sulfide drilling highlights include (see Figures 4 and 5) (see Table 3):

• DDH7525: 6.1 meters at 25.6 g/t Au from 185.8 meters
• Including 3.7m at 41.4 g/t Au from 185.8 meters
• MRA7561: 16.8 meters at 2.6 g/t Au from 144.8 meters
• MRA7708: 12.2 meters at 3.9 g/t Au from 172.2 meters

As the exploration team furthers its understanding of sulfide mineralization at Marigold, it is applying this knowledge to a robust collection of high-quality and underexplored targets throughout the extensive Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley properties. One example is the Spitfire target, located approximately two kilometers northwest of the Buffalo Valley pit.

Highlight intercepts from the Spitfire target include (see Figure 6) (see Table 3):

• MRA7609: 6.1 meters at 20.1 g/t Au from 111.3 meters
• DDH7600: 6.9 meters at 2.0 g/t Au from 292.8 meters, including coarse visible gold

Table 3: Significant sulfide gold intercepts at Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley

Marigold Exploration Figures

Marigold Exploration Overview

SSR Mining's mineral holdings include a 100% owned approximately 20,000-hectare parcel containing the currently producing Marigold mine as well as the past producing Valmy, Trenton Canyon, North Peak, and Buffalo Valley mines. Activity during the Exploration Period (October 2021 to August, 2022) included 316 drillholes (308 reverse circulation and 8 core drillholes) focused on Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource additions at New Millennium, Trenton Canyon, and Buffalo Valley, as well as infill drilling at the Mackay pit that improved confidence in existing Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources.

New Millennium represents a low cost, high probability development opportunity in the Nevada portfolio and drilling at the target will continue with the ultimate goal to enhance and extend operations at Marigold beyond its current 11 year mine life. The New Millennium target area is comprised of six distinct zones which include East Basalt, Battle Cry, Antler, Section 6, Lil' Gun and North Antler, and was enabled by land acquisitions completed in 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Currently, the Company has four drill rigs on-site at Marigold and is undertaking geotechnical, metallurgical and geophysical studies to better understand the multitude of prospective opportunities across the Marigold property. This includes the recent launch of a UAV magnetics survey across the Trenton Canyon, Buffalo Valley and North Peak targets. North Peak is another past producing oxide pit that is located between Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley.

As exploration continues to define opportunities for Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource growth at these targets, the Company is applying a "District Master Plan" approach to future development, permitting and production of these opportunities. This approach, used successfully at Çöpler in the past, ensures Marigold has a well-defined longer-term pipeline of growth projects.

The Company is also continuing a re-assay program of historical drill samples in the New Millennium area with the potential to build on the success of the re-assay program across the greater Marigold property, including re-assaying in 2015-2016 which yielded a 23% increase in estimated tonnage and a 13% increase in gold ounces within the Mackay pits. The goal of this program is to capture low-grade gold assay values not recorded in the historical dataset and integrate the results with the updated resource model. The first phase of this program, which included the re-analysis of drill samples from two drill sections at New Millennium, yielded positive results and was expanded to encompass the entire project area. The second phase of this program, which included approximately 650 samples, is also yielding positive results. The focus of this phase is to add value to ongoing drilling program.

Technical Procedural Information Sampling and Analytical Procedures 

Drill samples from the Marigold mine drilling program were sent for processing and analysis to the offices of American Assay Laboratories, Inc. ("AAL") in Sparks, Nevada which is an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory independent from SSR Mining. Fire assay was completed on a 30-gram sample (AAL method code FA-PB30-ICP) with an Inductively Coupled Plasma finish after a two acid digestion. Samples with assay results greater than 10 g/t gold were fire assayed on a 30-gram sample (AAL method code Grav Au30) with a gravimetric finish. Buffalo Valley samples greater than one gram are subjected to Screen Fire assays. We employ a rigorous Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") program, which includes real-time assay quality monitoring through the regular insertion of blanks, duplicates, and certified reference material, as well as reviewing laboratory-provided QA/QC data and confirming results at umpire labs.

External review of data and processes relating to Marigold exploration data have been completed by an independent consultant F. C. Edmunds, P. Geo., in November 2022. There were no adverse material results detected and the QA/QC indicates the information collected is acceptable, and the database can be used for further studies.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical data contained in this news release relating to the Marigold mine have been reviewed and approved by Richard J. Yancey, Resource Development Manager at Marigold Mine, a Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Registered Member, and a qualified person for purposes of Subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K and National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

You are encouraged to also review the 2021 Marigold TRS, which is available on SSR Mining's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR system (sec.gov) on September 29, 2022.

About SSR Mining

SSR Mining Inc. is a leading, free cash flow focused gold company with four producing assets located in the USA, Türkiye, Canada, and Argentina, combined with a global pipeline of high-quality development and exploration assets. In 2021, the four operating assets produced approximately 794,000 gold-equivalent ounces. SSR Mining is listed under the ticker symbol SSRM on the NASDAQ and the TSX, and SSR on the ASX.

SSR Mining Contacts:

F. Edward Farid, Executive Vice President, Chief Corporate Development Officer
Alex Hunchak, Director, Corporate Development and Investor Relations

SSR Mining Inc.
E-Mail: invest@ssrmining.com
Phone: +1 (888) 338-0046

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Except for statements of historical fact relating to us, certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information, future oriented financial information, or financial outlooks (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information may be contained in this document and our other public filings. Forward-looking information relates to statements concerning our outlook and anticipated events or results and, in some cases, can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "projects", "predict", "potential", "continue" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.

Forward-looking information and statements in this news release are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by us. Although we believe that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information and statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information and statements because we can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this news release. The key risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: local and global political and economic conditions; governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities, including changes in government policy, government ownership requirements, changes in environmental, tax and other laws or regulations and the interpretation thereof; developments with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the duration, severity and scope of the pandemic and potential impacts on mining operations; and other risk factors detailed from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR and the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR.

Forward-looking information and statements in this news release include any statements concerning, among other things: preliminary cost reporting in this document; production, operating, cost, and capital expenditure guidance; our operational and development targets and catalysts and the impact of any suspension on operations; forecasts and outlook, including related to production guidance; timing and expectations regarding the impact of any interruptions caused on our operations; the results of any gold reconciliations; the ability to discover additional oxide gold ore; matters relating to proposed exploration; communications with local stakeholders; maintaining community and government relations; negotiations of joint ventures; negotiation and completion of transactions; commodity prices; Mineral Resources, Mineral Reserves, conversion of Mineral Resources, realization of Mineral Reserves, and the existence or realization of Mineral Resource estimates; the development approach; the timing and amount of future production; the timing of studies, announcements, and analysis; the timing of construction and development of proposed mines and process facilities; capital and operating expenditures; economic conditions; availability of sufficient financing; exploration plans; receipt of regulatory approvals; and any and all other timing, exploration, development, operational, financial, budgetary, economic, legal, social, environmental, regulatory, and political matters that may influence or be influenced by future events or conditions.

Such forward-looking information and statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions, including, but not limited in any manner to, those disclosed in any other of our filings on EDGAR and SEDAR, and include: the inherent speculative nature of exploration results; the ability to explore; communications with local stakeholders; maintaining community and governmental relations; status of negotiations of joint ventures; weather conditions at our operations; commodity prices; the ultimate determination of and realization of Mineral Reserves; existence or realization of Mineral Resources; the development approach; availability and receipt of required approvals, titles, licenses and permits; sufficient working capital to develop and operate the mines and implement development plans; access to adequate services and supplies; foreign currency exchange rates; interest rates; access to capital markets and associated cost of funds; availability of a qualified work force; ability to negotiate, finalize, and execute relevant agreements; lack of social opposition to our mines or facilities; lack of legal challenges with respect to our properties; the timing and amount of future production; the ability to meet production, cost, and capital expenditure targets; timing and ability to produce studies and analyses; capital and operating expenditures; economic conditions; availability of sufficient financing; the ultimate ability to mine, process, and sell mineral products on economically favorable terms; and any and all other timing, exploration, development, operational, financial, budgetary, economic, legal, social, geopolitical, regulatory and political factors that may influence future events or conditions. While we consider these factors and assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to us, they may prove to be incorrect.

The above list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking information. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information and statements. Forward-looking information and statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and our projections about future events. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties disclosed in our filings on our website at www.ssrmining.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov and on the ASX at www.asx.com.au and other unforeseen events or circumstances. Other than as required by law, we do not intend, and undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking information to reflect, among other things, new information or future events. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information concerning our mineral projects in this news release have been reviewed and approved by a "qualified person" under S-K 1300. For details on the "qualified persons" approving such information, a description of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate mineral reserves and mineral resources for SSR Mining Inc.'s material properties included in this news release, as well as data verification procedures and a general discussion of the extent to which the estimates may be affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing or other relevant factors, please review the Technical Report Summaries for each of the Company's material properties which are available at www.sec.gov.

Table 4: All drill holes completed at Marigold between October 31, 2021 to August 30, 2022.

^{Drill intervals reported at a nominal 0.3 g/t gold cut-off and with a maximum 2.5m contiguous dilution are given. All thicknesses are down hole length and true widths are not known at this stage. NSI – No significant intercept} 

Supporting Drilling Information to SSR Mining Announcement

This document provides supporting drill collar locations and composite assay results for the Marigold drilling program referenced in the announcement "SSR Mining Announces Positive Exploration Results at Marigold Creating Pathways for Mine Plan Enhancement and Extension", November 28, 2022.

Drill collar locations are surveyed in UTM Zone 11, NAD27 grid using differential GPS in units of meters. The Hole ID prefix DDH is used for HQ (63.5 mm core diameter) and NQ (47.6 mm core diameter) core drilling, the MR and MRA prefixes designate reverse circulation drill holes.

Table 5: Drill Collar Coordinates

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