Evergold drills 2.8 m of 10.4 g/t Au at Golden Lion

Mr. Kevin Keough reports

EVERGOLD'S GOLDEN LION DRILLING YIELDS THE HIGHEST GRADES YET SEEN ON THE PROPERTY, MULTIPLE HIGH-GRADE INTERCEPTS INCLUDING 2.8 M OF 10.4 G/T GOLD, 651 G/T SILVER, 11% ZINC, 4% LEAD, WITHIN 11.3 M OF 5.4 G/T GOLD, 62 G/T SILVER, 3% ZINC, 1% LEAD

Evergold Corp. has released by far the highest grades of gold, silver, zinc and lead ever achieved in drilling at the GL1 Main target, located on the company's Golden Lion property in the Toodoggone epithermal district, Northern British Columbia, Canada. Assay results for drill section 23-24-25, encompassing the final three holes of the program, definitively establish that the GL1 Main zone carries high grades of gold, silver and base metals within a broader envelope of moderate-grade mineralization, with intercepts commencing just below surface and extending to at least 190 metres down dip to the northeast, the deepest drilled to date. The zone remains open for further expansion and follow-up will be a priority for the 2022 season. The company is well financed and has working capital of $3.1-million.

Drilling highlights-- GL1 Main zone

Hole GL21-025:

40.3 m of two grams per tonne gold, 24 g/t silver, 1.2 per cent zinc, 0.5 per cent lead, including; 11.3 m of 5.4 g/t Au, 62 g/t Ag, 3.2 per cent Zn, 1.3 per cent Pb, including; 2.8 m of 10.4 g/t Au, 651 g/t Ag, 10.9 per cent Zn, 3.7 per cent Pb, including;One m of 26.1 g/t Au, 619 g/t Ag, 10 per cent Zn, 3.5 per cent Pb, including; 0.6 m of 31.7 g/t Au, 924 g/t Ag, 12.6 per cent Zn, 3.7 per cent Pb;One m of 13.4 g/t Au, 26 g/t Ag, 11.3 per cent Zn, 8.4 per cent Pb.

Hole GL21-024:

66 m of 1.36 g/t Au, 11 g/t Ag, 0.3 per cent Zn, 0.2 per cent Pb, including; 3.3 m of 11.30 g/t Au, 12 g/t Ag, 1.9 per cent Zn, 2.3 per cent Pb, including; One m of 29.10 g/t Au, 19 g/t Ag, 2.7 per cent Zn, 1.6 per cent Pb, including; 0.5 m of 44.70 g/t Au, 24 g/t Ag, 4.3 per cent Zn, 2.8 per cent Pb.

Hole GL21-023:

1.2 m of 10.9 g/t Au, 5.5 g/t Ag, 0.2 per cent Zn, 1.4 per cent Pb.

"We were excited to see bands of base metal massive sulphides in our drilling this year at Golden Lion," commented Kevin Keough, president and chief executive officer. "At the time the visuals suggested to us a potential increase in grade, which has been borne out by these results. The grades achieved in this round of drilling at GL1 Main are certainly the highest ever returned for precious and base metals and the latter, at the grades we're seeing, have the potential to contribute in a meaningful way to rock value. The results also point to considerable potential to build high-grade ounces, and high rock value, both near surface and down dip, which historically was completely untested, as well as along adjacent areas of the major fault associated with the zone. Moving forward into 2022, we'll aim to increase our drill hole density to better understand controls on mineralization and expand the high-grade zones, to advance the GL1 Main prospect as quickly as possible."

Discussion of drill results

The company has carried out two programs of drilling on the Golden Lion property. In 2020, 3,017 metres were drilled in 16 holes, principally focused on the GL1 Main zone. This work delivered broad, shallow, low-grade gold-silver intercepts (such as 88.62 metres of 0.71 g/t Au from 4.88 to 93.50 metres in hole GL20-009) very similar to results achieved by mining major Newmont in 1984, which completed 2,475 metres of drilling in 22 holes on the prospect. Importantly, Newmont's drill pads were widely spaced with only a single hole per pad, leaving the depth potential of the GL1 Main zone entirely untested.

With the goal of evaluating the potential for higher grades within and below the broad envelope of near-surface mineralization, in July this year the company returned to the property and drilled 1,811 metres in nine holes, results for all of which are reported in this news release. Induced polarization (IP) surveys carried out by the company in 2020 and 2021 had identified chargeability and resistivity anomalies which were tested during this year's program. Program results demonstrate an association of the best mineralization, and highest metal grades, with IP resistivity highs, and moderate chargeability. Silicification and veining associated with the GL1 Main epithermal-style mineralization is now traceable, with geochemical sampling and induced polarization surveys, along some 1,700 metres of strike.

During the 2021 program eight of the nine holes drilled tested the GL1 Main zone over a strike length of 175 metres, at vertical depths ranging from 20 metres (uppermost high-grade intercepts in hole GL21-024) to 175 metres below surface (lowermost high-grade intercepts in hole GL21-025). In addition to intersecting the highest grades to date, the drill program successfully expanded the GL1 Main zone to approximately 160 metres down dip. The zone remains open to further expansion.

Holes GL21-023, 024 and 025 were drilled from the same pad, stepped somewhat back from the previous drilling. The first two holes were drilled on a southwest (220 degrees) azimuth at inclinations of 85 and 45 degrees respectively. In follow-up to the encouraging visuals delivered by these initial holes, the drill was turned around to drill the final hole of the program, GL21-025, on a northeast azimuth (40 degrees), testing to depth. All three of these holes cut strong hydrothermal alteration in trachyandesitic rocks, encompassing discontinuous quartz-sulphide veins, veinlets, fracture fillings and vein breccias containing sphalerite and galena with subordinate pyrite and rare chalcopyrite, and including local centimetre- to decimetre-scale semi-massive to massive sulphide sections. Strongest overall results were returned from deepest hole GL21-025 and shallowest hole GL21-024 with, however, encouraging broad intercepts, and local high grade, in GL21-023.

Holes GL21-017 and GL21-018 were drilled to the southwest (azimuth 200 degrees) at minus-45 and minus-75 degrees respectively, to evaluate a deeper combined IP chargeability and resistivity anomaly that suggested a potential system strengthening to depth in that direction. At 356 metres in total length, GL21-017 was the longest hole of the program. No truly significant gold or silver intercepts were returned from this hole, and lead and zinc values were only marginally elevated above background. However, its minus-75 degree undercut, hole GL21-018, intersected the GL1 Main zone with elevated values of lead and zinc, and low values of silver and gold over broad widths, including individual gold highs to 6.15 g/t and 6.47 g/t. Over all, results on this section indicate system strengthening to depth, with a dip direction to the northeast.

Holes GL21-020, 021 and 022 were all drilled to the southwest (azimuth 210 degrees) at dips of, respectively, minus-50, 83 and 67 degrees. In the shallowest hole, GL21-020, generally only very low values of gold were returned, to a single high of 2.08 g/t. Silver values were likewise generally low, with the exception of individual sample highs to 148, 310 and 223 g/t Ag. Zinc and lead values were moderately elevated, to individual sample highs of 1.1 per cent Zn and a similar individual high for Pb. Minus-83 undercut hole GL21-021 returned somewhat more elevated values of gold to individual sample highs of 5.27 g/t Au, a relatively shallow, broad intercept of 29.5 metres of 29 g/t silver and a notable deeper, separate individual high value of 997 g/t silver over half a metre, and more strongly and more consistently elevated values of lead and zinc to highs of 4.7 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively. Hole GL21-022, which split the difference between GL21-020 and GL21-021, had in general weaker values of gold, silver, zinc and lead than those seen in its overcut hole GL21-020 and notably less than those in steep hole GL21-021. Over all, results on this section indicate a strengthening to depth.

Hole GL21-019 was drilled at a reconnaissance target 200 metres southwest of GL1 Main, with no significant results.

Geology and geological setting

The GL1 Main zone lies along what has been interpreted as a major, northwesterly striking, northeast-dipping thrust fault juxtaposing the host Lower Jurassic Toodoggone formation volcanic rocks with Upper Triassic and older volcanic and sedimentary rocks that have been intruded by Early to Middle Jurassic granodiorite. Gold and silver are closely associated with zinc and lead within broad low sulphidation epithermal-style mineralized intervals of discontinuous millimetre- to centimetre- and very locally, decimetre-scale veins, veinlets, fracture fillings and local vein-breccias. The extensional vein fillings predominantly contain dark grey to honey-coloured sphalerite, along with galena and subordinate millimetre-scale fine-grained pyrite seams and disseminations. Gangue typically consists of quartz, iron carbonate and lesser jasperoid. Proportions of sulphide mineralization to gangue varies greatly, and short intervals of semi-massive to massive sulphide mineralization occur locally within the zones, where they consist largely of dark grey to honey-coloured sphalerite and galena. Dark grey sphalerite commonly rims the honey-coloured variety. Host rocks to the mineralized zones are commonly bleached to an orange-beige colour that consists largely of iron carbonate, sericite and silica.

The immediate host rocks to the mineralized zones at GL1 Main are part of a gently northeast-dipping sequence of high-K intermediate composition volcanic rocks of the Lower Jurassic Toodoggone formation, chiefly trachyandesite flows and tuff, which are age-equivalent to Hazelton Group rocks elsewhere in the region, such as at Benchmark Metals' nearby Lawyers property (the former Cheni mine) and farther afield, to much of the Hazelton Group in the Golden Triangle of northwest B.C. Of significance on the property is the fault or fault system that juxtaposes the rocks of the Toodoggone formation with the older rocks to the east and northeast. While the fault has long been interpreted as a thrust fault, the extensional style of the mineralization at GL1 Main suggests that the mineralizing event may be related to extension associated with the later stages of Toodoggone formation volcanism, as is interpreted for mineralization elsewhere in the region. Given that, it is possible that the mineralization at GL1 Main may have formed within a fault with original normal sense of displacement, most likely down-to-the-west, that was subsequently inverted through reactivation as a thrust or reverse fault. This could well have occurred in mid-Cretaceous time, during development of the nearby Skeena fold belt, a contractional belt well displayed to the immediate west of the Toodoggone region in the folded and faulted Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous sedimentary rocks of the Bowser Lake and Sustut groups.

Exploration potential at GL1 Main

The results of the company's 2020 and 2021 drilling highlight the strong potential at the GL1 Main zone for further exploration drilling, and for high-grade gold-silver mineralization. Beyond the obvious down-dip potential, another clear focus should be to test along trend to the north and northwest of drill holes GL21-023, 024 and 025, east of drill holes GL21-020, 021 and 022. Encouragement for this approach is evident in the anomalous soil geochemistry in that direction, which has in part been masked by downslope dispersion of talus and scree originating from generally poorly mineralized granodiorite upslope, as well as from the apparently increasing Au:Ag ratio evident in the soil geochemistry. There is also some evidence for the system continuing in that direction from strong values of gold and copper in soil and rock geochemical samples (including highs to 14.95 g/t Au from soils) collected from GL1 North Ridge and areas immediately adjacent. GL1 North Ridge was tested with a single drill hole, GL20-004, in the previous season, and while little encouragement was evident in that drill hole, the trend clearly merits further work. Exploration should also take place to the south-southeast where extensions to the GL1 Main trend were intersected in several of Newmont's 1984 drill holes. Together, all of these drilling results are indicative of a broad and lengthy mineralizing system that is well endowed with both precious and base metals, and remains in the early days of testing and understanding.