SSR MINING ANNOUNCES POSITIVE EXPLORATION RESULTS FOR THE ??AKMAKTEPE EXTENSION PROJECT (ARDICH), INCLUDING 28.3 METERS AT 8.23 G/T AU

 

DENVER, Oct. 5, 2022 /CNW/ - SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRM) (TSX: SSRM) (ASX: SSR) ("SSR Mining" or the "Company") is pleased to announce positive results from 151 diamond drill holes for the Çakmaktepe Extension (Ardich) for the period from May 2021 to June 2022. These results build upon, and are subsequent to, the Çakmaktepe Extension Mineral Reserves reported in the Çöpler Technical Report Summary ("TRS") effective as of December 31, 2021, in which the Çakmaktepe Extension deposit contributed 1.2 million ounces of gold production to the Çöpler life of mine production profile beginning in 2023 for total development capital of $69 million. As outlined in the TRS, the Çakmaktepe Extension currently hosts 1.7 million ounces of Mineral Reserves, along with an additional 0.6 million ounces of Measured & Indicated Mineral Resources and 0.8 million ounces of Inferred Mineral Resources. Of the 151 diamond drill holes included in this news release, 34 were infill within the current Mineral Reserve pit, 82 targeted Mineral Reserve conversion within the existing Mineral Resource block model, and 35 were step-out intercepts identifying new mineralization outside of existing Mineral Resources.

The drilling program aimed to both upgrade and expand the existing Mineral Reserves and Resources at Çakmaktepe Extension (see Figure 2 and 3) (Table 1), with highlight drill intercepts including:

• AR461: 8.23 g/t Au over 28.3 meters from 138.0 meters,
• including: 21.09 g/t Au over 4.0 meters from 154.0 meters,
• including: 24.95 g/t Au over 3.0 meters from 162.0 meters.
• AR514: 2.46 g/t Au over 53.0 meters from 160.0 meters.
• AR536: 2.38 g/t Au over 55.8 meters from 110.6 meters.
• AR544: 5.24 g/t Au over 27.1 meters from 130.3 meters.
• AR558: 5.20 g/t Au over 27.6 meters from 149.1 meters,
• including: 13.66 g/t Au over 4.2 meters from 160.4 meters.

Rod Antal, President and CEO of SSR Mining said, "Çöpler has evolved significantly over its more than 10-year operating life, and the Çakmaktepe Extension project represents the next phase of growth for the asset. As highlighted in the 2021 TRS, the Çakmaktepe Extension will add 1.2 million ounces over 15+ years of production for an expected $69M in development capital, representing one of the highest return growth projects in the entire sector. These drill holes provide both improved confidence for the Çakmaktepe Extension mine plan and set the stage for additional growth at the project. We will incorporate these results into an updated Mineral Reserve and Resource statement for the deposit in an updated Technical Report Summary for Çöpler expected in 2023.

In addition to the positive drill results, we have continued to de-risk the Çakmaktepe Extension project startup during the third quarter of 2022 with the receipt of the Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") for the first phase of the project. Clearly, Çöpler's best days lie ahead, with value accretive growth opportunities like our C2 project on the horizon and a wealth of exploration targets to advance across the district in the years to come."

The Çakmaktepe Extension was discovered in 2017 and is located 1.5km north of the Çakmaktepe mine and 6km from the Çöpler operations, enabling both oxide and sulfide ore to be processed with existing Çöpler Mine processing infrastructure (see Figure 1). The 2022 drilling plan aims to deliver additional Mineral Reserve and Resource growth at Çakmaktepe Extension beyond the mine plan incorporated into the 2021 TRS. The deposit remains open to the southwest and at depth, and the site team has also advanced additional metallurgical testing at the project with the focus on improving oxide recoveries.

The Çakmaktepe Extension deposit is a listwanite-dolomite hosted gold replacement mineralization occurring along thrust fault zones between listwanite, ophiolite, dolomite, cataclastite, hornfels, and limestone. Mineralization and alteration extend in a NW-SE direction, parallel to major high angle fault structures controlling both mineralization and block rotations. Gold grades increase at dolomite-listwanite contacts and within silica-rich (jasperoid) listwanites. The mineralization is predominantly oxide (67% of existing Mineral Reserves) with sulfide mineralization confined to pyrite-rich jasperoid zones. Based on available drill data, the main mineralized zone appears tabular and almost flat lying.

As exploration advances and the geological understanding of the Çakmaktepe and Çakmaktepe Extension deposits increases, it appears that there is probable structural connectivity between the areas, potentially creating an expanded "Greater Çakmaktepe" development pathway.

SSR Mining has drilled 578 diamond core holes at the Çakmaktepe Extension between August 2017 and June 2022, totaling 121,536 meters. The majority of these drill holes were drilled within SSR Mining's 80% owned and managed licenses and approximately 88% of the existing Çakmaktepe Extension Mineral Reserves are located on ground held 80% by SSR Mining, with the remainder located on ground 50% held by SSR Mining.¹

The 151 holes announced in this news release total 34,496m of drilling that was completed between May 2021 and June 2022 (hole IDs AR428-AR578). These holes targeted Mineral Reserve conversion and potential Mineral Reserve and Resource growth at the Çakmaktepe Extension. The Çakmaktepe Extension mineralization dips gently towards the southeast and is interpreted to become deeper due to faulting and topography.

The Çakmaktepe Extension drilling program started in 2017. Diamond drill core is sampled as half core at 1m intervals or geological contacts. Sampling interval varies between 0.5 meters and 3.3 meters with an average of 1.37 meters length. The samples were submitted to ALS Global laboratories in Izmir, Türkiye for sample preparation and analysis which is an ISO/IEC 7025:2005 certified and accredited laboratory. Bureau Veritas (Acme) laboratory, in Ankara, Türkiye was used for umpire check sample analysis. Gold was analyzed by fire assay with an AAS finish, and the multi-element analyses were determined by four acid digestion and ICP-AES and MS finish. For gold assays greater than or equal to 10 g/t, the fire assay process was repeated with a gravimetric finish for coarse gold. The drill and geochemical samples were collected in accordance with accepted industry standards. SSR Mining conducts routine QA/QC analysis on all assay results, including the systematic utilization of certified reference materials, blanks, field duplicates, and umpire laboratory check assays. External review of data and processes relating to Çakmaktepe Extension was completed by independent consultant Dr. Erdem Yetkin, P.Geo. in September 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.

Metallurgical test work and recovery assumptions are reported in the 2021 TRS and include heap leach for oxide ores and flotation and pressure oxidation of sulfide ore.

The exploration results disclosed in this news release were prepared under the supervision and approved by Dr. Cengiz Y. Demirci, AIPG Registered Member and a CPG (Certified Professional Geologist), and VP Exploration at SSR Mining. Dr. Demirci has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and is a qualified person for purposes of Subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K ("S-K 1300") and National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101").

External review of data and processes relating to the Çakmaktepe Extension was completed in September 2022 by independent consultant Dr. Erdem Yetkin, P.Geo. a qualified person for purposes of S-K 1300 and NI 43-101. There were no adverse material results detected and Dr. Yetkin is of the opinion that the QA/QC indicates the information collected is acceptable, and the database can be used for announcing the exploration results.

You are encouraged to also review the 2021 Çöpler 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.

End Notes

1. The Çöpler gold mine is owned and operated by Anagold Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi (Anagold). SSR Mining controls 80% of the shares of Anagold, Lidya Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. ("Lidya"), controls 18.5%, and a bank wholly owned by Çalık Holdings A.Ş., holds the remaining 1.5%. Exploration tenures surrounding the project area and mining at Çakmaktepe are subject to joint venture agreements between SSR Mining and Lidya that have varying interest proportions. SSR Mining controls 50% of the shares of Kartaltepe Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi and 50% of Tunçpinar Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi. The other 50% is controlled by Lidya.

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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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.

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.

This document provides supporting drill collar locations and composite assay results for the Çakmaktepe Extension drilling program referenced in the announcement "SSR Mining Announces Positive Exploration Results for the Çakmaktepe Extension Project (Ardich), including 28.3 meters at 8.23 g/t Au", October 5, 2022.

Drill collar locations are surveyed in UTM Zone 37N, ED50 grid using differential GPS in units of meters. All drilling was diamond core drilling with HQ and PQ core sizes. HQ is 63.5mm and PQ is 85 mm in diameter.

 

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