Mr. Marc Prefontaine reports
ORLA INTERSECTS 147.7 METRES GRADING 1.25 % COPPER AND 0.28 G/T GOLD IN CABALLITO COPPER-GOLD ZONE AT THE CERRO QUEMA PROJECT, PANAMA
Drilling in the Caballito copper-gold zone at Orla Mining Ltd.'s wholly owned Cerro Quema project in Panama continues to intersect near-surface mineralization with greater than 1 per cent copper and associated gold values.
Diamond drill hole CQDH18-163 intersected 147.7 metres at 1.25 per cent copper and 0.28 gram per tonne gold from 42.5 to 190.2 metres.This includes a 42.0-metre interval at 3.12 per cent copper and 0.36 g/t gold within a structural zone that is thought to be steep dipping and north-south striking.The wider intercept is lithologically controlled by a shallow west-dipping zone of breccia.In the same hole, a near-surface oxide intercept graded 0.45 g/t gold over 13.5 metres from 4.5 to 18.0 metres.
Hole CQDH18-164 had several intercepts.The upper 33.0 metres averaged 0.81 g/t gold in oxide.A 69.5-metre intersection starting at 52.5 metres comprises 43.8 metres averaging 0.36 g/t gold in oxide and 25.7 metres at 1.96 per cent copper and 0.52 g/t gold in sulphide.This was followed by 7.5 metres of low-grade material and an additional 14.5 metres at 0.72 per cent copper and 0.35 g/t gold.This intercept is the farthest northwest intercept to date on the Caballito zone.
The third hole reported, CQDH18-162, intersected 4.6 metres at 1.38 per cent copper and 0.17 g/t gold from 170.2 to 174.8 metres. Based on the geophysical model, it is interpreted that the hole might have been drilled on the edge of the main area of mineralization.
Assay results for holes drilled in the central and northeastern part of the Caballito zone are pending.Additional holes are planned to test the full potential for higher-grade copper-gold mineralization within the approximately 700-metre-northwest-southeast-by-400-metre-northeast-southwest geophysical anomaly that defines the overall area of the zone.
Drilling will start soon to test for the potential extension of mineralization on the northwest side of a fault that is interpreted to offset the Caballito zone north of the intersection in hole CQDH18-164. Initial holes will be targeted on a geophysical signature similar to Caballito, outlined by an induced polarization (IP) survey completed earlier this year.Crews have just arrived on site to continue the IP coverage northward through the area of the Quemita oxide zone.Similar Caballito-style copper-gold mineralization was observed while relogging 2017 and historical holes drilled one km and more north of the Caballito zone.The lower arsenic copper-gold mineralization postdates high arsenic mineralization that is more typical of high-sulphidation systems.As the potential for Caballito-style mineralization was not realized previously, copper-gold intercepts at Quemita were not followed up.IP has been instrumental in outlining areas of high grades at Caballito and will help target new drilling at Quemita.
"Drilling at Caballito has returned numerous intercepts with greater than 1 per cent copper and 0.2 to 0.6 g/t gold in a 400-by-700-metre area.Further drilling is in progress to determine the full potential of this area.Our excitement now is getting to test the potential for additional Caballito magnitude widths and grades over the next kilometre of strike.Since hole CQDH18-116, when we first recognized the potential of the Caballito zone last September, this zone has evolved into a potential discovery that we are very excited about," stated Marc Prefontaine, president and chief executive officer."We look forward to advancing this discovery over the next months."
Mineralization is controlled by both high-angle structures and shallow-dipping lithology.Therefore, the true widths of intersections are difficult to determine.
Quality control protocols
All gold results were obtained by ALS Minerals (Au-AA23) using fire assay fusion and an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish. All samples are also analyzed for multielements, including silver and copper, using an aqua regia (ME-ICP41) method at ALS Laboratories in Peru. Samples with copper values in excess of 1 per cent by ICP analysis are rerun with Cu AA46 aqua regia and atomic absorption analysis. Drill program design, quality assurance/quality control and interpretation of results are performed by qualified persons employing a quality assurance/quality control program consistent with National Instrument 43-101 and industry best practices. Standards, blanks and duplicates are included approximately one every 25 samples for quality assurance/quality control purposes by the company as well as the lab. Approximately 5 per cent of sample pulps are sent to a secondary laboratory for check assays. The HQ diameter core is halved with a diamond saw.
Qualified person
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Hans Smit, PGeo, chief operating officer of Orla Mining, who is the qualified person for the technical information in this news release under NI 43-101 standards.
About Orla Mining Ltd.
The 100-per-cent-owned Cerro Quema project in Panama includes a near-term gold production scenario and significant exploration upside. Cerro Quema's 14,800-hectare concession boasts paved road access, a supportive local population and private land ownership. The Cerro Quema project is currently in the last stage of the permitting process for a proposed open-pit mine and gold heap-leach operation.
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