Thunder Bay – PREMIER GOLD MINES LIMITED (“Premier”, “the Company”) (TSX:PG) (OTCPK: PIRGF) is pleased to announce plans to re-establish exploration on its Red Lake projects in 2020, including a renewed focus at the Company’s 100%-owned Hasaga Project. This program will continue to test the expansion of the Hasaga “C Zone” and “D Zone” target areas. The last drilling delineated significant high-grade mineralization down plunge of the historic Howey and Hasaga Mines that collectively produced more than 640,000 ounces of gold between 1930 and 1957.
Highlights from Premier’s exploration campaigns up to late 2018 include:
- C Zone results include 50.0 m of 9.19 g/t Au (HMP164), and 21.0 m of 12.03 g/t Au (HMP164-W3), 54.0 m of 10.94 g/t Au (HMP151) and 67.0 m of 4.02 g/t Au (HMP176-W3)
- A near-surface mineral resource estimate was completed with 1.12M ounces gold Indicated and 0.63M ounces gold Inferred from multiple optimized pit shells, suggesting the potential for future open-pit mining
- A new discovery located 500 m west of the C Zone with intercepts of 8.0 m of 9.55 g/t Au (HMP162) and 6.0 m of 13.67 g/t Au (HMP172)
The Hasaga Property is host to the past-producing Hasaga, Buffalo and Goldshore Mines and is being evaluated for both near-surface lower-grade for open-pit potential as well as at depth higher-grade mineralization. Premier considers Hasaga to be the most prospective undeveloped gold deposits in the entire Red Lake camp.
“Our previous drilling campaigns have confirmed the substantial potential of this property located in the heart of one of the world’s most respected high-grade gold camps. Numerous intercepts host common visible gold and occur within attractive geometries” commented Stephen McGibbon, Premier’s Executive Vice-President. “The C Zone deposit remains open at depth and down plunge, and the 2017 discovery of the D Zone suggests the opportunity to delineate a significant gold deposit.”
Past and future exploration are aiming to test the structure that hosts the Howey and Hasaga Mines, and continuity of the mineralization to the west. Premier’s first hole of the 2017 campaign returned a high-grade intercept in hole HMP151 grading 54.0 m of 10.94 g/t Au with mineralization characteristic of the Hasaga Mine. Follow-up drilling confirmed the potential of the C Zone deposit, with intercepts including 50.0 m of 9.19 g/t Au (HPM164), 21.0 m of 12.03 g/t Au(HPM164-W3), and 67.0 m of 4.02 g/t Au (HPM173-W3). The deepest hole returned 4.0 m of 3.82 g/t Au (HMP17-88-03-W1), leaving the deposit open at depth.
The C Zone deposit remains wide open for expansion toward the D Zone, deposit found 500 m to the west. The D Zone is a priority for exploration, with a potential southwest extension of the C Zone deposit. HMP161 and HMP162 were initial holes drilled 500 m along strike and intersected respectively 181.0 m of 1.21 g/t Au including narrower higher-grade intervals, and 8.0 m of 9.55 g/t Au. Follow-up drilling returned intervals to 6.0 m of 13.67 g/t Au. Gold mineralization is associated with minor sulphide-bearing sequences and includes visible gold within common quartz veinlet arrays similar to that in the C Zone. The upcoming drill program, that will begin early in 2020, will focus on large untested areas between the C and D Zone horizons in an effort to expand mineralization for future resource estimates.
Supporting the previous near-surface mineral resource estimate was an initial metallurgical program. Premier reported a completed metallurgical scoping program on samples from the Hasaga, Central and Buffalo Zones with the intent to characterize the lithological and mineralization domains and to complement the Hasaga mineral resource estimate. Although bottle roll tests utilizing coarser-crush sample composites (¼”, ½”, ¾” crush sizes) did not support a potential heap leach recovery process, the baseline bottle roll cyanidation study indicated very good recoveries for all grade ranges with metallurgical results of between 94% and 97% when grinding to 80% passing 200 mesh.
Premier Gold Mines Limited is a gold producer and respected exploration and development company with a high-quality pipeline of precious metal projects in proven, accessible and safe mining jurisdictions in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Premier remains focused on creating a low-cost, mid-tier gold producer through its two producing gold mines; South Arturo and Mercedes, and through future mine development opportunities at Hardrock in Ontario (Greenstone Gold JV) where permitting and development initiatives are ongoing and McCoy-Cove in Nevada.
Julie-Anaïs Debreil, Ph.D., P.Geo, is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Assay results are from core samples sent to Activation Labs, an accredited mineral analysis laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario, for preparation and analysis utilizing both fire assay and screen metallic methods. For a complete description of Premier’s sample preparation, analytical methods and QA/QC procedures refer to the technical report for the Hasaga Project dated February 24, 2017 (effective date December 30, 2016), entitled “National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report: Hasaga Project, Red Lake Mining District, Ontario, Canada” located on Premier’s website and at www.sedar.com.
Abbreviations used in this press release are available by following this link (click here).
