Toronto – MINING – Harte Gold Corp. (“Harte Gold” or the “Company”) (TSX: HRT / OTC: HRTFF / Frankfurt: H4O) is pleased to provide the following operational update at the Sugar Zone mine and processing facility in Ontario, Canada (see Harte Gold news releases dated July 29 and August 12, 2020). The following information is based on preliminary unreconciled numbers. A more detailed operational update will be provided at the end of the quarter.
Highlights:
- Record average daily throughput at the Sugar Zone mill: The Company is pleased to announce the mill has been successfully restarted and has operated at a processing throughput rate of 800 tonnes per day (“tpd”) or greater for several contiguous days following the restart on August 5. For the month of August, a total of 19,685 tonnes were processed representing a record average daily throughput rate of approximately 760 tonnes per day (“tpd”), factoring in planned downtime for the month.
- Gold production growth: Gold production for August was approximately 3,200 ounces, consistent with record monthly production results prior to the mine entering temporary care-and-maintenance due to COVID-19.
- Mine development ahead of plan: The Company’s focus on development continues to return positive results. Waste development and ore development metres exceeded plan for August by 32% and 59%, respectively. The Company has completed approximately two-thirds of the ramp development to the Middle Zone.
- Expansion Study ongoing: The Company continues to advance its Feasibility Study examining the expansion to a 1,200 tpd throughput rate at the Sugar Zone mine and expects to announce the results of the Feasibility Study in Q4 2020.
- The surface prospecting campaign at TT8 Zone remains encouraging: Harte Gold’s summer exploration program has identified three new showings at the TT8 Zone, extending the potential of the overall mineralized extent 2.5 km to the northeast of the initial TT8 discovery. The geologic settings of these new showings are similar to the initial TT8 discovery. The completed surface prospecting will be used in conjunction with geophysics to identify high- priority drill targets planned to be drilled in Q4 of this year. The Company will provide a more detailed update on exploration as TT8 drilling continues.
- Near-mine drilling continues: Grade control drilling is underway to de-risk planning and better define the geometry of the orebody. To date, 15 holes totaling 2,600 metres have been drilled. A second drill rig is targeted to be mobilized in September to test the extension of known mineralization at the Middle Zone and complete infill drilling at both the Middle Zone and Sugar Zone South areas.
Sam Coetzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harte Gold, commented:
“I am really pleased to see how rapidly the team gained momentum during the month of August. This demonstrates that good planning, strong communications and a focus on continuous improvement can result in better-than-expected results. The mine has not skipped a beat from where we ended prior to temporary shutdown and I am confident we can build on this performance going forward. With the recently announced financing now complete, the owner-operator transition in full swing, the Feasibility Study advanced and exciting exploration to come, I believe Harte Gold is well-positioned for a stronger future.”
ABOUT HARTE GOLD CORP.
Harte Gold holds a 100% interest in the Sugar Zone mine located in White River, Canada. The Sugar Zone Mine entered commercial production in 2019. Production guidance is 20,000 to 24,000 oz Au for 2020 and 60,000 to 65,000 oz Au for 2021. The Company has further potential through exploration at the Sugar Zone Property, which encompasses 79,335 hectares covering a significant greenstone belt. Harte Gold trades on the TSX under the symbol “HRT”, on the OTC under the symbol “HRTFF” and on the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol “H4O”.
