Superior Gold Reports Sustained Production in Third Quarter of 19,379 Ounces and Cash Position Up 18% to $20.5 Million

COMMENCMENT OF OPEN PIT MINING AT PERCH ON SCHEDULE

(In US Dollars unless otherwise stated)

TORONTO, Oct. 12, 2021 /CNW/ - Superior Gold Inc. ("Superior Gold" or the "Company") (TSXV:S GI) (OTCQX: SUPGF) announced detailed production results for the third quarter of 2021 for the Company's 100%-owned Plutonic Gold operations, located in Western Australia.  

Third Quarter Highlights

• Recorded zero incidences of COVID-19 infection for a seventh consecutive quarter
• Production of 19,379 ounces, a marginal increase over the prior quarter and 23% increase over the prior year period
• Stope grade of 2.95 g/t gold in the third quarter and 3.23 g/t year to date as the Company continues to target an average stope grade of 3.0 g/t gold
• Commenced open pit mining at Perch on schedule
• Mill throughput for the quarter increased by 13% to 405,315 tonnes relative to the second quarter
• Continued exploration success including 42.2 g/t over 5.6 metres and 17.7 g/t over 6.4 metres as the 1.6km long Western Mining Front is opened at Plutonic¹
• Improved financial position with cash and cash equivalents increasing by $3.1 million to $20.5 million at the end of the third quarter

Chris Jordaan, President and CEO of Superior Gold stated: "We are pleased that the actions we have taken on the operational front have led to a fifth consecutive quarter of improving production at our Plutonic Gold Operations.  Our third quarter production of 19,379 ounces, represents a slight increase quarter-over-quarter and 23% year-over-year increase (Figure 1).  Year to date production is 56,338 ounces and we are tracking towards the upper end of our 2021 production guidance.  The strategic projects and operational initiatives that we put in place last year have resulted in a steady improvement in our performance as we continue to target and sustain an average underground stope grade of 3.0 g/t gold as well as increase our surface grades by optimizing and mining our open pits. In addition, the Company is also reaping benefits from the block model improvements in progress to better predict the spatial positioning of the ore. As a result, larger more productive stopes are now being identified and mined. This is evidenced by the increased tonnage production from underground stopes, up 12.3% on the previous quarter augmenting feed to the mill and combined with additional open pit feed being available, mill throughput increased 12.8% quarter over quarter.

An operational review of a number of growth projects is ongoing in order to enhance Plutonic's sustainable, long-term success. These projects include, in part, a continued focus on our open pit operations with the mining at Plutonic East and the commencement of mining at Perch.  The higher-grade open pit feed replacing low grade legacy stockpiles in conjunction with opening new high-grade and more productive underground mining fronts are expected to result in a continued improvement in our ounce profile moving forward. Over the course of the year, we have provided a number of important exploration updates that continue to point towards the identification of higher-grade stopes on the operational front in the near future. Ongoing geological initiatives have improved our understanding of the mineralization at Plutonic and specifically the northwest trending faults that control the concentration of higher-grade gold mineralization.

The operational improvements implemented plus our improved understanding of the mineralization at Plutonic, combined with the full repayment of our gold loan in the second quarter, has resulted in a significant improvement in our ability to generate free cash flow in the third quarter. It is expected that increased production from higher-grade underground mining areas, continued feed from the Perch open pit as well as increased milling rates will enable an increase in cash flow over the course of 2021 and beyond."  

The Company expects to release its complete financial and operating results for the third quarter in November 2021.

Third Quarter Production Details

Preliminary production details are summarized in the table below.

Commencement of Open Pit Production on Schedule

As part of the Company's strategy to expand production and fully utilize the existing infrastructure at the Plutonic Gold Operations, work continued during the third quarter of 2021 on optimizing several potential future open pit sources and finalizing resources and scheduling for Perch and Hermes South. The Company commenced mining of the Plutonic East open pit in the second quarter as scheduled and continued mining activities through the third quarter. The Company aims to utilize the production from these open pits plus the potential Main Pit push-back, along with operational improvements from the underground, to maximize the Plutonic Gold Operations' ability to generate significant free cash flow.  

Expanding into New Mining Fronts

During the third quarter of 2021, the Company continued with its underground exploration drilling program.  It provided an exploration update for the Western Mining Front containing important high-grade drill results from its underground drill program which is a key component of the Company's strategy to expand into new underground mining fronts, improve mining grades and productivity, and reduce reliance on remnant mining.

The drill results released on August 17, 2021, showed continued extensions of the Western Mining Front from the Caspian zone, down through the Indian and Baltic zones to the Baltic extension - covering up to a 1.6 kilometre long northwest extension of the Western Mining Front. The results support the hypothesis that the highest grades at Plutonic are controlled by the northwest trending faults. In addition, the results are adjacent to existing underground infrastructure, thus requiring minimal capital expenditures to infill drill and develop the area. Key results such as drill hole UDD23656, which intersected 13.7 g/t gold over 8.8 metres, drill hole UDD24342, which intersected 14.8 g/t gold over 13.4 metres, and drill hole UDD24141, which intersected 42.2 g/t gold over 5.6 metres, give the Company further confidence in mining higher grades at Plutonic in the future.² These results announced in each of the past 3 quarters support our view that the Western Mining Front is potentially an important new area for future production at Plutonic. The Company expects to provide additional exploration updates over the coming months.

Upcoming Corporate Presentation

Chris Jordaan, President and CEO of Superior Gold will provide a corporate update during a live seminar hosted by 6ix on Monday, October 25 at 12:00pm ET.
Registration link https://my.6ix.com/vCZiENzZ

Qualified Person

Scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ettienne Du Plessis, who is a "qualified person" as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Du Plessis is not independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101.

About Superior Gold

Superior Gold is a Canadian based gold producer that owns 100% of the Plutonic Gold Operations located in Western Australia. The Plutonic Gold Operations include the Plutonic underground gold mine and central mill, numerous open pit projects including the Plutonic Main Pit push-back project, the Hermes open pit projects and an interest in the Bryah Basin joint venture. Superior Gold is focused on expanding production at the Plutonic Gold Operations and building an intermediate gold producer with superior returns for shareholders.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward-looking information includes information with respect to guidance as to projections, outlook, guidance, forecasts, estimates, and other statements regarding future or estimated financial and operational performance, gold production and sales, revenues and cash flows, and capital costs (sustaining and non-sustaining), including projected cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs) as well as statements with respect to the mine-plan, exploration, drilling, operating and organizational matters and activities relating to the Plutonic Gold Operations and the Company generally, including its liquidity and capital requirements and financial results. Such Forward-looking information also includes information related to the Company's previously announced strategic review process, the potential outcome of such process and the intended maximization of shareholder value that the Company believes may result from such process. By identifying such information in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Annual Information Form of the Company for a discussion of other risks including outbreaks or threats of outbreaks of viruses, other infectious diseases or other similar health threats, such as the novel coronavirus outbreak, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company by causing operational and supply chain delays and disruptions, labour shortages, shutdowns, the inability to sell gold, capital markets volatility or other unknown but potentially significant impacts. The Company cannot accurately predict what effects these conditions will have on the Plutonic Gold Operations or the financial results of the Company, including uncertainties relating to travel restrictions to the Plutonic Gold Operations or otherwise and business closures that have been or may be imposed by governments. If an outbreak or threat of an outbreak of a virus or other infectious disease or other public health emergency occurs, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information as no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, and if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive therefrom. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange not its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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SOURCE Superior Gold

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