Mr. Darwin Green reports
HIGHGOLD MINING INTERSECTS 18.7 G/T AU OVER 56.6 METERS AT JT DEPOSIT, ALASKA
Highgold Mining Inc. has released assay results from the continuing 2021 drill program at its 750,000-ounce indicated 10.9-gram-per-tonne-gold-equivalent (AuEq) Johnson Tract polymetallic gold project in south-central Alaska.
Hole JT21-125 is an infill hole designed with the dual purpose of collecting material to support a phase 1 metallurgical testing program and to provide better definition of the deeper, higher-grade portion of the JT deposit. The hole successfully intersected a long interval of gold-dominant mineralization with significantly higher gold grade than the average of the JT deposit resource. True thickness of the JT deposit typically ranges from 20 to 50 metres and in the JT21-125 intersection is over 35 metres.
Drill highlights hole JT21-125:
18.69 grams per tonne gold, 2.43 per cent zinc and 0.47 per cent copper over 56.6 metres, including: 31.69 g/t Au, 1.82 per cent Zn and 0.58 per cent Cu over 32.9 m, including two high-grade intervals of: 64.74 g/t Au, 1.49 per cent Zn and 0.53 per cent Cu over 5.0 m;114.37 g/t Au, 3.51 per cent Zn and 0.33 per cent Cu over 4.9 m.
"We are very pleased to report this new intercept from the deeper reaches of the JT deposit that confirms the strength of the mineralizing system," commented president and chief executive officer Darwin Green. "In combination with the recent drill results from the DC prospect four km to the northeast, the Johnson Tract project continues to establish itself as one of the pre-eminent high-grade gold exploration projects located in the USA."
Discussion of JT deposit infill results
Assay results reported today include an intersection from infill drilling at the JT deposit from hole JT21-125. The hole was designed as a dual-purpose infill and metallurgical test hole to gather sample material through the JT deposit for the 2021 phase 1 metallurgical testing program. The hole successfully intersected typical JT-style mineralization in silicified, veined and brecciated dacite tuff over 56.6 metres from 236.7 to 293.3 m in the deeper portion of the JT deposit. The drill hole was collared on the northwest side of the deposit at an azimuth/dip of 130 degrees/minus 46 degrees, oriented to cut across the mineralized zone in the opposite direction to most previous holes with the objective of better defining the continuity and orientation of high-grade gold mineralization. Details on the metallurgical testwork program are presented below.
The location of infill hole JT21-125 in relation to the JT deposit is presented on a longitudinal section in an image on the company's website with details on assay composites presented in the associated table. The Au-Cu-Zn-Ag-Pb (gold-copper-zinc-silver-lead) mineralization associated with the JT deposit has been defined over a total strike length of 600 metres and remains open along strike to the northeast and southwest, and at depth.
JOHNSON TRACT PROJECT -- ASSAY COMPOSITES FOR DRILL HOLE JT21-125Drill holeFromTo WidthAuAgZnCuPb (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (%)JT21-125 236.7 293.356.6 18.69 3.92.430.470.36including260.4 293.332.9 31.69 5.11.820.580.47including273.4 278.4 5.0 64.74 7.41.490.530.88lessthanand incl.288.4 293.3 4.9114.3710.53.510.330.01True thickness for the intersection in hole JT21-125 is estimated at 65 per cent to 75per cent of drilled width.
2021 phase 1 metallurgical testing program
Blue Coast Metallurgy & Research has been engaged to carry out a phase 1 metallurgical testwork program on the JT deposit using selected drill core from the 2021 drill program. The program will: (a) complete testwork to confirm historic metallurgical results reported by previous operators and identify possible opportunities for improvement; and (b) advance the metallurgy to support potential future PEA-level (preliminary economic assessment) process design. The program will include QEMSCAN mineralogical studies, identification of potential geometallurgical domains, grindability/gravity/flotation testwork and the development of a flowsheet for recovery of pay metals to marketable end-products. Two composites are currently being considered from the upper and lower JT deposit domains, and potentially a third composite from the Footwall copper zone (FWCZ). Drill hole JT21-125 reported in this news release is from the lower JT deposit domain, located at a deeper level within the deposit.
Current exploration activities
Three diamond drill rigs are currently operating on the project in concert with a regional geological mapping and geochemical sampling program, air and ground-based geophysical surveying, and a phase 1 metallurgical sampling program. The current phase of drilling is scheduled to conclude on or before month-end. Assays results will be released on a continuing basis pending review and meeting Company quality assurance/quality control protocols. An updated mineral resource estimate is planned for the JT deposit in early 2022, following the completion and receipt of all assays from the 2021 drill program. The new resource estimate will incorporate new drilling completed in 2020 and 2021. Over 30,000 metres have been drilled on the project since the maiden resource.
About the Johnson Tract gold project
Johnson Tract is a polymetallic (gold, copper, zinc, silver and lead) project located near tidewater, 125 miles (200 kilometres) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The 21,000-acre property includes the high-grade Johnson Tract deposit and at least nine other mineral prospects over a 12-kilometre strike length. Highgold acquired the project through a lease agreement with Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI), one of 12 land-based Alaska native regional corporations created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. CIRI is owned by more than 9,100 shareholders who are primarily of Alaskan native descent.
Mineralization at Johnson Tract occurs in Jurassic-age intermediate volcaniclastic rocks and is characterized as epithermal-type with submarine volcanogenic attributes. The JT deposit is a thick, steeply dipping silicified body (20 m to 50 m average true thickness) that contains a stockwork of quartz-sulphide veinlets and brecciation, cutting through and surrounded by a widespread zone of anhydrite alteration. The Footwall copper zone is located structurally and stratigraphically below JT deposit, and is characterized by copper-silver-rich mineralization. The Au-Cu-Zn-Ag-Pb mineralization associated with the JT deposit has now been defined over a total strike length of 600 metres and to a depth of 350 metres and remains open along strike to the northeast and southwest and at depth.
The JT deposit hosts an indicated resource of 2.14 million tonnes grading 10.93 g/t AuEq comprising 6.07 g/t Au, 5.8 g/t Ag, 0.57 per cent Cu, 0.80 per cent Pb and 5.85 per cent Zn. The inferred resource of 580,000 tonnes grading 7.16 g/t AuEq comprises 2.05 g/t Au, 8.7 g/t Ag, 0.54 per cent Cu, 0.33 per cent Pb and 6.67 per cent Zn. For additional details see National Instrument 43-101 technical report titled "Initial Mineral Resource Estimate for the Johnson Tract project, Alaska," dated June 15, 2020, authored by James N. Gray, PGeo, of Advantage Geoservices Ltd., and Brodie A. Sutherland, PGeo. Gold equivalent is based on assumed metal prices and 100-per-cent recovery and payabilities for Au, Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn. Assumed metal prices for the resource are $1,350 (U.S.)/ounce for gold, $16 (U.S.)/oz for silver, $2.80 (U.S.)/pound for copper, $1 (U.S.)/lb for lead and $1.20 (U.S.)/lb for zinc, and are based on nominal three-year trailing averages as of April 1, 2020. Historical metallurgical testing on drill core samples has indicated that good gold and base metal recoveries, and marketable concentrates can be expected.
Prior to Highgold, the project was last explored in the mid-1990s by a mid-tier mining company that evaluated direct shipping material from Johnson to the Premier mill near Stewart, B.C.
About Highgold Mining Inc.
Highgold is a mineral exploration company focused on high-grade gold projects located in North America. Highgold's flagship asset is the high-grade Johnson Tract gold (Zn-Cu) project located in accessible south-central Alaska, United States. The company also controls one of the largest junior gold miner land positions in the Timmins, Ont., gold camp that includes the Munro-Croesus gold property, which is renowned for its high-grade mineralization, and the large Golden Mile and Golden Perimeter properties. Highgold's experienced board and senior management team are committed to creating shareholder value through the discovery process, careful allocation of capital and environmentally/socially responsible mineral exploration.
Ian Cunningham-Dunlop, PEng, vice-president, exploration, for Highgold Mining and a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release.
Additional notes
The starting azimuth and dip for drill hole DC21-010 are 220 degrees and 45 degrees, respectively. Samples of drill core were cut by a diamond-blade rock saw, with half of the cut core placed in individually sealed polyurethane bags and half placed back in the original core box for permanent storage. Sample lengths typically vary from a minimum 0.5-metre interval to a maximum 2.0-metre interval, with an average 1.0- to 1.5-metre sample length. Drill core samples are shipped by air and transport truck in sealed woven plastic bags to the ALS geochemistry analytical lab in Reno, Nev., for sample preparation and analysis. ALS operates according to the guidelines set out in International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission Guide 25. Gold is determined by fire assay fusion of a 50-gram subsample with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Samples that return values greater than 10 parts per million gold from fire assay and AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy) are determined by using fire assay and a gravimetric finish. Various metals including silver, gold, copper, lead and zinc are analyzed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) atomic emission spectroscopy, following multiacid digestion. The elements copper, lead and zinc are determined by ore-grade assay for samples that return values greater than 10,000 ppm by ICP (inductively coupled plasma) analysis. Silver is determined by ore-grade assay for samples that return greater than 100 ppm.
The company has a robust quality assurance/quality control program that includes the insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates.
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