The Conversation (0)
Cross River Ventures Corp. (CSE: CRVC) (OTCQB: CSRVF) (FSE: C6R) (the "Company") is pleased to announce results from the Bear Head Zone maiden drill program at the McVicar Project, located 150km northeast of Red Lake Ontario. Highlights include:
- Discovery drill hole BH-02 intersected 0.5m of 41.1 g/t gold with visible gold in core at 153.75 m downhole (See Table 1 for complete results).
- Maiden 8-hole diamond drill program tested a new gold trend (the "Bear Head Zone") that was discovered in 2021 with surface samples grading up to 19.75 g/t Au (Press Release October 5, 2021).
- All 8 holes intercepted anomalous gold mineralization greater than 0.25 g/t Au (See Table 1).
- Planned follow-up work includes geophysics and step-out drill holes
In the summer of 2021, Cross River completed extensive targeted prospecting work on the McVicar Property located in the Archaean Lang Lake greenstone belt, which resulted in the discovery of a new surface gold trend, the "Bear Head Zone", which was drill tested by the company in winter 2022. The Bear Head Zone is a +700-meter long gold trend with surface samples returning up to 19.75 grams-per-tonne (g/t) gold over coincident LiDAR and magnetic features (Press Release October 5, 2021). No previous drilling has ever been completed at the Bear Head Zone target.
Figure 1 shows a map of drillhole locations at the Bear Head Zone.
Figure 1: Bear Head Zone drillholes and high-grade surface samples
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Eight diamond drillholes tested the Bear Head Zone during the winter 2022 program, and all holes intercepted anomalous gold mineralization greater than 0.25 g/t Au. Drilling identified an altered and mineralized corridor >710 m long, open to the east and west along strike.
Notable Drilling Intercepts (>0.5 g/t Au) at Bear Head Zone include:
BH-02:
- 5.23 meters at 0.51 g/t gold from 72.37 m downhole
- including 1.0 meters at 1.17 g/t gold
- 1.0 meters at 0.61 g/t gold from 90.0 m downhole
- 1.2 meters at 0.74 g/t gold from 117.0 m downhole
- 0.5 meters at 0.70 g/t gold from 150.1 m downhole
- 0.5 meters at 41.1 g/t gold (with visible gold in core) from 153.75 m downhole
BH-03:
- 1.0 meters at 0.97 g/t gold from 22 m downhole
- 0.47 meters at 3.23 g/t gold from 43.36 m downhole
- 1.15 meters at 0.97 g/t gold from 47.85 m downhole
BH-04:
- 1.0 meters at 0.90 g/t gold from 125 m downhole
- 1.0 meters at 0.81 g/t gold from 155 m downhole
BH-08:
- 1.0 meters at 1.1 g/t gold from 133 m downhole
Discovery Drillhole: BH-02
Hole BH-02 intersected 0.5m of 41.1 g/t gold in a smoky grey quartz vein with visible gold, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite at 153.75m downhole (117m vertical depth). The quartz vein cross-cuts a locally sheared mafic metavolcanic succession, with a feldspar-porphyry dyke cutting host rocks proximal to the vein footwall. The gold interval is located near the east-west trending contact between volcano-sedimentary host rocks and a tonalite intrusive body. The contact area is characterized by damage zones and abundant shearing, various styles of alteration and veining, as well as feldspar porphyry dikes.
Figure 2: a) BH-02 smoky-grey quartz vein (41.1 g/t Au over 0.50m), b) visible gold, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite in brecciated grey-black quartz
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Geological mapping and 3-D modelling work indicates that this high-grade gold intercept projects to the surface along strike with the 19.75 g/t Au surface sample collected in 2021, as well as the 0.47m sample grading 3.23 g/t Au and 1.185% Cu from BH-03. (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Interpreted projection of high-grade intercepts from surface through BH-03 and BH-02
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Additional smoky grey quartz +/- sulfide veins up to 20 cm wide were intercepted in BH-02 and all other Bear Head Zone drillholes, contributing to a broad, low-grade gold envelope as indicated by the assays. The presence of high-grade mineralization, with visible gold, within a broad low-grade mineralized envelope, is typical in environments where gold is concentrated in plunging chutes. Table 1 shows the significant gold intercepts (>0.25 g/t) in each drill hole.
Table 1: Significant Gold Intercepts >0.25 g/t
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Drillhole Descriptions
BH-01 (Az: 180°, Dip: -50°)
BH-01 is the westernmost hole drilled at the Bear Head Zone and is designed to test an east-west trending quartz vein zone beneath the 1.415 g/t Au sample collected on surface in 2021. BH-01 cut 16 meters of overburden before intersecting chlorite-carbonate altered mafic metavolcanic rocks containing instances of moderate shearing with minor intervals of sericite-silica alteration, with up to 5% grey to white quartz veinlets. The best gold intercept occurs between 16-19 meters downhole and averages 0.356 g/t Au. Pyrite and pyrrhotite are present as fine disseminations and as a stringer veinlet network. At 78m, the hole intersected an intrusive tonalite body to EOH at 185.5m.
BH-02 (Az: 180°, Dip: -50°)
BH-02 was drilled 300m east of BH-01 and targeted an east-west oriented magnetic high feature located north of the quartz-veined topographic ridge system tested by BH-01. After 25 meters of overburden, the hole intersected an intensely sheared clastic sedimentary rock (argillite) that contains smokey quartz veins, disseminated pyrite and pyrrhotite. From 44 -163m downhole, chlorite-calcite altered mafic metavolcanic rocks were intersected, with locally strong shearing, and intermittent zones of moderate sericite and silica alteration. From 62-67m interbedded banded-iron-formations were noted, often with up to 8% banded pyrite and pyrrhotite. The mafic metavolcanic unit (72 to 155 meters downhole) contains narrow smoky grey and white quartz veinlets creating a broad low-grade gold halo (samples up to 1.17 g/t Au, 0.23% Cu over 1m), as well as a 0.5m meter sample with 41.1 g/t Au, where a 20cm (true width unknown) smoky quartz vein contains visible gold, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite. At 163m the hole intersected tonalite intrusion to EOH at 206 meters.
BH-03 (Az: 180°, Dip: -50°)
BH-03 was drilled 100m east of BH-02 and targeted the quartz-veined ridge topographic high, specifically below the 19.75 g/t Au sample collected in 2021. After 15 meters of overburden the hole intersected chlorite altered mafic metavolcanic rocks to 117 meters downhole. The metavolcanic rocks are moderately sheared (locally) and contain smoky-grey and white quartz veins, quartz breccia, and sulfide stringers with sericite halos. From 20m to 105m downhole, a low-grade gold envelope is present (similar to BH-02). The highest grade sample was taken from a moderately veined interval with foliation-hosted pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite, grading 3.23 g/t Au and 1.185% Cu over 0.47m. From 117m to 192m (EOH), the tonalite intrusion was intersected and intermittently cut by fine-grained mafic dykes.
BH-04 (Az: 180°, Dip: -50°)
BH-04 was drilled 100m east of BH-03 and targeted a quartz-vein topographic high ridge with a coincident magnetic anomaly (high). Below 28 meters of overburden the hole cut interbedded clastic metasedimentary rocks (argillite), mafic metavolcanic rocks, and banded iron-formations (locally enriched in arsenopyrite and pyrite) to 97m depth. From 97m to 181m, mafic metavolcanic rocks are present cut locally by fine-grained mafic intrusions (dykes). The mafic metavolcanic rocks are cut by 2-3% smoky-grey to white quartz veinlets which ran up to 0.895 g/t Au & 0.243% Cu over 1m. From 181m to 290m (EOH) the hole intersected tonalite intrusion cut by mafic dykes.
BH-05 (Az: 0°, Dip: -50°)
BH-05 was drilled toward the north and cut a topographic/magnetic low situated between the Bear Head Zone surface exposure and the Chellow Vein (600m to the north). After 26 meters of overburden, the hole intersected sheared argillite to 224m depth. The argillite is locally pyrite +/- pyrrhotite bearing in foliation parallel layering with occasional course arsenopyrite. From 224m to EOH at 449m, the hole intersected foliated chlorite-calcite altered mafic metavolcanic rocks (local argillite interbeds) with narrow zones of sulfides, and minor quartz-carbonate veining. The highest grade gold sample occurred at 63.4m in the sheared argillite, with 0.256 g/t Au, 32.6 g/t Ag, 0.483% Zn, and 0.476% As over 0.5m.
BH-06 (Az: 180°, dip: -50)
BH-06 was drilled 100m east of BH-04 and targeted a quartz-veined topographic high ridge system and coincident magnetic high anomaly. After 20 meters of overburden the hole cut the sheared argillite unit down to 59m, followed by banded iron formation interbedded with mafic metavolcanic rocks down to 67m downhole. From 67-165m, chlorite altered mafic metavolcanic rocks were cut by sparse intermediate to mafic dykes, and local zone of sericite + silica alteration. The mafic metavolcanic unit contains 2-5% smoky-grey to white quartz veins, with increasing sulfide abundance (pyrite + pyrrhotite + chalcopyrite) moving downhole, grading up to 0.42 g/t Au over 2m, and up to 0.16% Cu over 1m. From 165m to 225m the tonalite intrusion was intersected and intermittently cut by fine-grained mafic dykes.
BH-07 (Az: 0°, Dip: -50°)
BH-07 was drilled towards the north to test the topographic/ magnetic low situated between the Bear Head Zone surface exposure and the Chellow Vein (600m to the north). After 21 meters of overburden, the hole intersected the same lithologic sequence as BH-05, with strongly sheared argillite down to 234m, followed by chlorite-altered mafic metavolcanic rocks down to EOH at 489m. Within the mafic metavolcanic unit from 454-488m downhole, quartz + carbonate breccia veins up to 50cm wide with trace chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pyrite were intersected. The highest grade gold sample occurred at 429m downhole in the mafic metavolcanic rocks, with 0.267g/t Au over 2m.
BH-08 (Az: 180°, dip: -50)
BH-08 is the easternmost hole drilled at the Bear Head Zone and is designed to test an east-west trending quartz veined topographic ridge system. BH-08 cut 12 meters of overburden before intersecting sheared argillite containing local concentrations of banded sulfides (pyrite, pyrrhotite, and arsenopyrite), with samples in this unit grading up to 0.328% Zn and 0.471% As over 1m. At 74m, the hole intersected mafic metavolcanic rocks, cut by narrow smoky grey-white quartz veinlets and trace sulfides which ran up to 1.1 g/t Au over 1m, and 0.403% Cu and 0.269 g/t over 0.51m. From 185-245m (EOH) the hole intersected tonalite intrusion cut by minor mafic dykes.
Geologic Setting
The geology and mineralization encountered in the drill program are similar to that described at the historic Golden Patricia Mine, located along strike 30km to the SE along the Bear Head Fault Zone. The Golden Patricia Mine produced 619,796 oz at 15.2 g/t Aui, and is hosted in a continuous 40 cm wide smoky quartz vein with visible gold, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite. Like the Bear Head Zone (McVicar Project), veining at Golden Patricia is also hosted in mafic metavolcanic rocks with feldspar porphyry intrusions, iron formations, and shearing. The Golden Patricia shear zone is interpreted as a splay of the Bear Head Fault.v
Cross River CEO, Alex Klenman stated: "We are pleased with the results of the company's initial drill test on the Bear Head trend. The Cross River technical team identified this area as a priority target for gold mineralization and drilling has now confirmed discovery in this highly prospective zone. We look forward to next steps on the large prospective McVicar property and to follow up drilling at Bear Head. We're also eager to see the results from drilling at the Altered Zone and anticipate receiving those sometime over the next few weeks."
"The discovery of high grade gold during the company's initial drill test at the Bear Head Zone represents a significant step forward for Cross River," said Dan MacNeil, P.Geo, of the Cross River Technical Team. "The Bear Head Zone is on trend with the Golden Patricia Mine, which produced more than half a million ounces of gold at an average grade of 15 grams per ton. The McVicar project is a flagship gold endowed exploration asset, and the presence of high grade gold increases our confidence in the potential of the project," continued Mr. MacNeil.
In addition to drill testing the Bear Head Zone during the winter 2022 drill program, 6 holes were drilled at the Altered Zone target to test strike and plunge continuity of known mineralization. Assays are pending and will be released once received, reviewed, and verified by the technical team.
Table 2: Bear Head Zone Collars
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About The Bear Head Trend
The Bear Head Trend was discovered in summer 2021 by Cross River Ventures field crews. The target is defined by a +700m strike of high-grade surface samples (up to 19.75 g/t Au - see News Release October 5th, 2021) following a prominent WNW trending topographic ridge system with mapped iron formation, sheared mafic meta-volcanics, and mineralized quartz veins. The Bear Head zone is located 600 meters south of the historic Chellow Vein near the southern contact between mafic volcanics and granite along the Bear Head Fault Zone. Drillholes were positioned to target the mineralized ridge system and coincident magnetic anomaly, as well as the topographic low situated between the Bear Head Trend and the Chellow Vein.
The Bear Head Trend is a previously undrilled high-grade gold corridor that is nested within a WNW trending multi-km braided damage zone structure. This geological environment is considered prospective for Archean greenstone gold deposits and contains favorable structural and lithological sites for gold deposition.
About The Altered Zone
The Altered Zone is a complex zone of deformation and intense alteration composed of sheared mafic volcanics, abundant green mica, intermediate intrusive rocks, massive to semi-massive quartz, and a quartz-carbonate-sericite schist.
New geologic modelling by Cross River in 2021 utilizes historic drilling data and suggests that the high-grade gold bearing structure continues at depth, coincident with lithologic breaks and a broader damage zone corridor characterized by an intense hydrothermal alteration overprint. The gold bearing structure at the Altered Zone is open in all directions. 2022 drillholes were positioned to target down-plunge extensions of known mineralization based on 3D modelling, as well as track the continuity of the structure to the south.
About the McVicar Project
Cross River's McVicar gold project is situated in the Superior Province of northern Ontario, Canada. The greenstone belts within the Superior Province contain some of the largest economic gold deposits in the world. McVicar encompasses the geologically significant structural components of the Lang Lake greenstone belt, an underexplored belt located approximately 40 km north of the historic Golden Patricia Mine (619,796 oz at 15.2 g/t Au)*.
The McVicar Gold Project is a district-scale (approximately 12,000 hectares) gold exploration project that contains gold prospective structure and host rocks that transect the entire Lang Lake greenstone belt, located in the Patricia Mining Division, approximately 150 km east of Red Lake, and 80 km west of Pickle Lake, in NW Ontario, Canada.
The property covers all the major fertile structural and lithostratigraphic elements of the greenstone belt, which is bound to the south by the major NW trending Bear Head Fault zone (within which the historic Golden Patricia Mine is situated).
Historic drilling at McVicar Lake in the Altered and North Flexure Zones include:
- 6.46 g/t Au over 10.09 m including 29.86 g/t Au over 1.86 metersii
- 5.5 g/t Au over 3.6 m including 12.2 g/t Au over 0.98 metersiii
The McVicar property also host the Chellow Vein zone, which is a narrow quartz vein that consists of smoky grey to white quartz mineralized with minor pyrite and visible gold. The vein system yielded high grade gold at surface including grab samplesiv that assayed 827.4 g/t Au and 578.1 g/t Auv.
Figure 4: McVicar Gold Project, location of nearby deposits and historical mines, NW Ontario
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Quality Assessment, Quality Control Protocols
Cross River has deployed an industry-standard quality-assurance/quality-control program during the 2022 drill program. This included the insertion of a sequence of standards, blanks, and duplicates into the sample string every tenth sample, in addition to industry standard chain of custody protocols for the samples. Core cutting was completed in Thunder Bay and samples were taken to ALS Global for multi-element analysis in addition to fire-assay of gold using analytical codes ME-MS61 and Au-ICP22. Overlimit analyses of gold (>10 g/t Au) was performed using Au-GRAV22.
Qualified Person
Daniel MacNeil, P.Geo., M.Sc., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, reviewed, and approved the technical content disclosed in this press release. Historical assay results contained in this press release were not verified by the Company. However, the historical reports referenced were authored by experienced geoscientists and copies of laboratory assay sheets were commonly inserted in the reports.
About Cross River Ventures
Cross River is a gold exploration company focused on the development of top tier exploration properties located in emerging Greenstone Districts of NW Ontario, Canada. The Company controls a 28,000-ha, multiple project portfolio with highly prospective ground in and among prolific, gold bearing greenstone belts. Cross River's common shares trade in Canada under the symbol "CRVC" on the CSE, and in the US under the symbol "CSRVF" on the OTCQB. Please visit www.crossriverventures.com for more information.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of
CROSS RIVER VENTURES CORP.
Alex Klenman
CEO
604-227-6610
aklenman@crossriverventures.com
www.crossriverventures.com
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the Canadian Securities Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.
____________________________________________
ihttps://thediggings.com/mines/usgs10255075
*https://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/mdi/data/records/MDI52O06SE00005.html
ii McKay D.B, 2004. Report on the 2003 Overburden Stripping, Geologic Mapping and Sampling Program conducted on the McVicar Lake Property: Continuum Resources Ltd and Prospector Consolidated Resources Inc. www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/afri/data/imaging/52O11SW2003/52O11SW2003.pdf
iii McKay D.B, 2004. Report on the 2003 Overburden Stripping, Geologic Mapping and Sampling Program conducted on the McVicar Lake Property: Continuum Resources Ltd and Prospector Consolidated Resources Inc. www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/afri/data/imaging/52O11SW2003/52O11SW2003.pdf
iv Grab samples are selective by nature and may not represent the true grade or style of mineralization across the property. Dr. Rob Carpenter, P.Geo., Ph.D., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, reviewed, and approved the technical content disclosed in this press release. Historical assay results contained in this press release were not verified by the Company. However, the historical reports referenced were authored by experienced geoscientists and copies of laboratory assay sheets were commonly inserted in the reports.
v Waldie C.J. Report of Diamond Drilling McVicar Lake Area Patricia Mining Division: BHP Minerals Canada Ltd.
vhttps://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/mdi/data/records/MDI52O06SE00005.html
Lahontan Gold Announces Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for Santa Fe
Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSXV:LG)(OTCQB:LGCXF)(the "Company" or "Lahontan") is pleased to announce results from a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment(" PEA") on its flagship Santa Fe Mine gold-silver project located in Nevada's prolific Walker Lane Trend. The PEA was prepared by Kappes, Cassiday & Associates ("KCA") of Reno, Nevada with mine planning and production scheduling contributions from RESPEC Company LLC ("Respec"), Reno, Nevada and mineral resource estimation by Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. ("Equity"), of Vancouver, British Columbia, in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").
PEA Highlights:
- Pre-tax Net Present Value at a 5% discount rate ("NPV5") of US$265.1 M with a 41.0% IRRwith an After-tax NPV5 of US$200.0 M with a 34.2% IRR utilizing a $2,705/oz gold price and a $32.60/oz silver price ("spot metal prices") (see spot metal price to base case metal price comparison in Table 1).
- Total Life-of-Mine ("LOM") Pre-tax net cash flow of US$373.3 M and After-tax net cash flow of US$288.9 M over a nine-year project life using spot metal prices.
- Total projected LOM revenue of US$930.8 M over a nine-year project life using spot metal prices.
- LOM strip ratio of only 1.54 (waste to mineralized material ratio).
- Estimated pre-production capital costs of US$135.1 M including a 20% contingency, with a payback of 2.9 years using spot metal prices.
Kimberly Ann, Lahontan Gold Corp Executive Chair, CEO, President, and Founder commented: "Lahontan is very excited about the results of the PEA: a low-capex, highly profitable mining project with a quick payback certainly bodes well for the future of Lahontan and all stakeholders. There is considerable potential to expand gold and silver resources, therefore this is just the first step in restarting mining operations at Santa Fe. With mine permitting well under-way, targeting a 2026 mine ground-breaking, the potential for the Company to realize the economic outcomes outlined in the PEA is very real, especially given current trends in gold and silver prices. Continued optimization of the mine plan, resource expansion drilling, and refining the metallurgical flow sheet are planned for 2025, in parallel with our permitting activities."
The PEA is preliminary in nature, includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Company has not defined any Mineral Reserves at the Santa Fe Mine project.
Economic Sensitivities
Sensitivity of the project economics to metals prices is shown in Table 1, showing the base case metal prices used for the PEA, as well as a low case, a high case and the spot case.
Table 1: Santa Fe Project 2024 PEA Economics
Low Case | Base Case | High Case | Spot Case (1) | |
Gold Price (US$/oz) | 1,800 | 2,025 | 2,200 | 2,705 |
Silver Price (US$/oz) | 21.50 | 24.20 | 26.3 | 32.60 |
Net Revenue (US$) | 618.6 M | 696.2 M | 756.5 M | 930.8 M |
Pre-Tax NCF(2) (US$) | 65.0 M | 141.6 M | 201.2 M | 373.3 M |
Pre-Tax NPV5(3) (US$) | 21.7 M | 82.2 M | 129.2 M | 265.1 M |
Pre-Tax IRR(4) | 8.5% | 17.4% | 23.9% | 41.0% |
After-Tax NCF(2) (US$) | 47.8 M | 107.7 M | 154.1 M | 288.9 M |
After-Tax NPV5(3) (US$) | 8.7 M | 56.5 M | 93.3 M | 200.0 M |
After-Tax IRR(4) | 6.4% | 14.0% | 19.5% | 34.2% |
Payback Period(5) (years) | 5.1 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 2.9 |
(1) As of December 10, 2024
(2) NCF means net cash flow
(3) NPV5 refers to net present value at 5% discount rate
(4) IRR means internal rate of return
(5) Pre-production capital, excluding sustaining capital
Capital Costs
Capital costs for the project are summarized in Table 2. Capital costs associated with the mining operation were estimated by RESPEC and based on mining by contractor. Pre-stripping costs were based on the operating costs discussed below. Capital costs associated with processing such as crushing, heap leaching and metal recovery, along with support and infrastructure costs associated with laboratory, water and power distribution and general site services were estimated by KCA. Reclamation and closure costs of $12.5 M were estimated by KCA.
Table 2: Project Capital Costs
Pre-Production (US$ M) | LOM Sustaining (US$ M) | |
Mining | 2.5 | 0.8 |
Processing, Support & Infrastructure | 116.0 | 17.0 |
Owner's Costs | 5.3 | 0.0 |
Initial Fills | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Working Capital(1) | 10.7 | 0.0 |
TOTAL(2) | 135.1 | 17.8 |
- Working capital is credited in Year 9
- Values are rounded and may not sum perfectly
Operating Costs
Operating costs for the project are summarized in Table 3. Mining operating costs were estimated by RESPEC and based on estimated anticipated equipment hours and personnel requirements at a 25% markup for contractor rates. The off-road red-dye diesel fuel price in this estimate was assumed to be $0.74/L. All other operating costs were estimated by KCA and based on first principles on certain components where possible, such as reagent and power consumption, along with benchmarking with similar operations for other components, such as labor, maintenance and discretionary expenses
Table 3: Project Operating Costs
LOM Total (US$ M) | Per Tonne Processed ($/t) | |
Mining | 204.2 | 7.36 |
Processing | 138.7 | 5.00 |
Support & Infrastructure | 17.3 | 0.62 |
G&A | 35.8 | 1.29 |
TOTAL(1) | 402.5 | 14.28 |
(1) Values are rounded and may not sum perfectly
Mine Production Schedule
The PEA mine production schedule includes mining of leach material and waste for the Santa Fe, Calvada, Slab, and York deposits. Leach material was assumed to be sent to a centralized crushing plant and then stacked on a leach pad and the waste material was sent to designed waste rock storage facilities (WRSF) or used as partial backfill into the Calvada pit.
Because the Santa Fe Mine is a brown-field project, minimal pre-stripping is required to develop sufficient stockpiles to feed the crusher. The mine production schedule requires 2 months of preproduction which begins in the Santa Fe deposit. The Calvada deposit is started in year 2 and mined concurrently with Santa Fe. Calvada mining is followed by mining of Slab and York deposits.
The process schedule was developed with a ramp up of production from year 1 through year 3 to a full 4.56 million tonnes per year. Table 4 shows the process production schedule.
Table 4: Projected Production Summary
Year | Tonnes Processed (kt) | Gold Grade (g/t) | Silver Grade (g/t) | Gold Produced (koz) | Silver Produced (koz) | Gold Equivalent Produced(1) (koz) |
1 | 3,468 | 0.47 | 4.1 | 30.3 | 88.1 | 31.4 |
2 | 4,517 | 0.58 | 4.6 | 51.4 | 168.9 | 53.4 |
3 | 4,563 | 0.66 | 3.7 | 60.2 | 155.7 | 62.0 |
4 | 4,563 | 0.70 | 3.0 | 60.5 | 124.2 | 62.0 |
5 | 4,563 | 0.73 | 2.5 | 62.0 | 93.5 | 63.1 |
6 | 4,563 | 0.61 | 2.2 | 49.9 | 56.9 | 50.5 |
7 | 1,497 | 0.58 | 2.1 | 20.1 | 23.1 | 20.4 |
8(2) | 0 | 2.3 | 4.2 | 2.3 | ||
TOTAL(3) | 27,731 | 0.63 | 3.3 | 336.7 | 714.7 | 345.2 |
- Equivalent gold calculation is based on base case metal prices
- Residual leaching production only
- Values are rounded and may not sum perfectly
Table 5 shows the key production parameters for the mine and processing units used in the generation of the production and cash flow profiles.
Table 5: Key Mining and Processing Production Parameters
LOM | |
Mining | |
Total Waste Tonnes Mined (Mt) | 42.9 |
Total Processed Tonnes Mined (Mt) | 27.7 |
Total Tonnes Mined (Mt) | 70.6 |
Heap Recovery - Gold | |
Santa Fe Oxide | 71% |
Santa Fe Transition | 49% |
Calvada Oxide | 71% |
Calvada Transition | 45% |
Slab Oxide | 50% |
York Oxide | 60% |
York Transition | 45% |
Heap Recovery - Silver | |
Santa Fe Oxide | 30% |
Santa Fe Transition | 30% |
Calvada Oxide | 13% |
Calvada Transition | 0% |
Slab Oxide | 12% |
York Oxide | 0% |
York Transition | 0% |
Mining and Processing
The mineralized material will be mined by standard open-pit mining methods using a contractor-owned and operated mining fleet consisting of 92-tonne haul trucks and 11.5-m3 loading units and transported to the crushing circuit for processing.
Mineralized material from the Santa Fe, Calvada, Slab and York deposits will be processed by conventional heap leaching methods. The nominal processing rate will be 4.6 million tonnes per annum or 12,500 tonnes per day. Three-stage crushing of the material to 12.7 mm, will be followed by conveyor stacking on to a multi-lift heap leach pad. Dilute sodium cyanide solution will be applied to the heap, with the pregnant gold and silver-bearing solution effluent from the heap being processed in a carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR) plant. Gold and silver will be produced in the form of doré bars from the on-site smelting process.
Mineral Resource Estimation
The mineral resource estimate ("MRE") was prepared in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards and Canadian National Instrument NI-43-101. The effective date of the MRE prepared by Equity is October 9, 2024. The MRE is shown in Table 6.
Table 6: Project-wide Resources, Santa Fe Mine, Mineral County, Nevada
Notes to Table 6:
- Mineral Resources have an effective date of October 9, 2024. The Mineral Resource Estimate for the Santa Fe Mine was prepared by Trevor Rabb, P.Geo., of Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd., an independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.
- Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred Resources are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be classified as Mineral Reserves. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that most of the Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration.
- Resources are reported in accordance with NI43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (BCSC, 2016) and the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (CIM, 2014).
- Mineral Resources were estimated for gold, silver, and gold equivalent (Au Eq) using a combination of ordinary kriging and inverse distance cubed within grade shell domains.
- Mineral resources are reported using a cut-off grade of 0.15 g/t Au Eq for oxide resources and 0.60 g/t Au Eq for non-oxide resources. Au Eq for the purpose of cut-off grade and reporting the Mineral Resources is based on the following assumptions gold price of US$1,950/oz gold, silver price of US$23.50/oz silver, and oxide gold recoveries ranging from 45% to 79%, oxide silver recoveries ranging from 10% to 30%, and non-oxide gold and silver recoveries of 71%, mining costs for resource and waste of US$2.50/t, processing cost (oxide) US$3.49/t, processing cost (non-oxide) US$25/t.
- An optimized open-pit shell was used to constrain the Mineral Resource and was generated using Lerchs-Grossman algorithm utilizing the following parameters: gold price of US$1,950/oz gold, silver price of US$23.50/oz silver, and selling costs of US$29.25/oz gold. Mining costs for resource and waste of US$2.50/t, processing cost (oxide) US$3.49/t, processing cost (non-oxide) US$25/t, G&A cost US$1.06/t. Royalties for the Slab, York and Calvada deposits are 1.25%, and maximum pit slope angles of 50 degrees.
- Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Estimation Approach: Lithology and gold and silver bearing domains were modelled using Leapfrog 2024. These domains are mainly defined by logged jasperoid and limestone-breccia lithologies and continuity of gold grades above 0.1 g/t gold. Metallurgical domains for oxide, transition and non-oxide were modelled based on ratio of cyanide leachable gold assay values to fire assay gold values in addition to drillhole logs recording abundance of pyrite and oxidation intensity. Transition material represents approximately 35% of oxide tonnes and comes almost entirely from the Santa Fe deposit. Transition domain material is included in the oxide resource. Domains representing lithology, weathering and mineralization models were assigned to a block model with a block size of 5 m x 5 m x 6 m. Average bulk densities representative of the mineralization and lithology models were assigned to the block model and vary from 2.4 t/m3 to 2.6 t/m3.
Grade capping and outlier restrictions were applied to gold and silver values and interpolation parameters respectively. Top cut values for gold and silver were evaluated for each domain independently prior to compositing to 1.52 m lengths that honor domain boundaries. Estimation was completed using Micromine Origin with Ordinary Kriging (OK) and Inverse Distance cubed (ID3) interpolants. Blocks were classified in accordance with the 2014 CIM Definition Standards. The nominal drillhole spacing for Indicated Mineral Resources is 50 m or less. The nominal drillhole spacing for Inferred Mineral Resources is 100 m or less.
Prospects for eventual economic extraction were evaluated by performing pit optimization using Lerchs-Grossman algorithm with the following parameters: gold price of US$1,950/oz gold, silver price of US$23.50/oz silver, selling costs of US$29.25/oz gold. Mining costs for resource and waste of US$2.50/t, processing cost (oxide) US$3.49/t, processing cost (non-oxide) US$25/t, G&A cost US$1.06/t. Royalties for the Slab, York and Calvada deposits are 1.25%. Maximum pit slope is 50 degrees. Processing recoveries range from 45% to 79% for oxide, silver recoveries range from 10% to 30% for oxide and non-oxide gold and silver recoveries are 71%.
More information regarding the Santa Fe Mine project's MRE update is included in the NI 43-101 Technical Report titled Santa Fe Project Technical Report with an effective date of October 9, 2024, Report Date: November 27, 2024*.
Qualified Persons
The qualified persons are Kenji Umeno, P.Eng. of Kappes, Cassiday & Associates; Thomas Dyer, P.E. of RESPEC; Trevor Rabb, P.Geo. and Darcy Baker, P.Geo. of Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. each of whom is an independent "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101. A technical report supporting the results disclosed herein will be published within 45 days. The effective date of the technical report will be December 10, 2024.
About Lahontan Gold Corp.
Lahontan Gold Corp. is a Canadian mine development and mineral exploration company that holds, through its US subsidiaries, four top-tier gold and silver exploration properties in the Walker Lane of mining friendly Nevada. Lahontan's flagship property, the 26.4km2 Santa Fe Mine project, had past production of 356,000 ounces of gold and 784,000 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995 from open pit mines utilizing heap-leach processing (Nevada Division of Minerals, www.ndomdata.com). The Santa Fe Mine has a Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,539,000 oz Au Eq(grading 0.99 g/t Au Eq) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 411,000 oz Au Eq (grading 0.76 g/t Au Eq), all pit constrained (Au Eq is inclusive of recovery, please see Santa Fe Project Technical Report*). For more information, please visit our website: www.lahontangoldcorp.com
* Please see the Santa Fe Project Technical Report, Authors: Trevor Rabb, P. Geo, Darcy Baker, PhD, P. Geo., and Kenji Umeno, P. Eng., Effective Date: October 9, 2024, Report Date: November 27, 2024. The Technical Report is available on the Company's website and SEDAR+.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Kimberly Ann
Founder, CEO, President, and Director
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Lahontan Gold Corp.
Kimberly Ann
Founder, Chief Executive Officer, President, Director
Phone: 1-530-414-4400
Email: Kimberly.ann@lahontangoldcorp.com
Website: www.lahontangoldcorp.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian and United States securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-Looking statements in this news release relate to, among other things: the Company's strategic plans; the results of the PEA; the economic potential and merits of the Project; the estimated amount and grade of mineral resources at the Project; precious metals prices; the PEA representing a viable development option for the Santa Fe Mine project ("the Project"); the timing and particulars of the development phases as identified in the PEA; estimates with respect to LOM, operating costs, sustaining capital costs, capex, AISC, cash costs, LOM production, processing plant throughput, NPV and after-tax IRR, payback period, production capacity and other metrics; the estimated economic returns from the Project; mining methods and extraction techniques; the exploration potential of the Project and its inclusion in future mining studies.
These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon several assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include, among other things: conditions in general economic and financial markets; tonnage to be mined and processed; grades and recoveries; prices for silver and gold remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; reclamation estimates; reliability of the updated MRE and the assumptions upon which it is based; future operating costs; prices for energy inputs, labor, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); the availability of skilled labor and no labor related disruptions at any of the Company's operations; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled production; performance of available laboratory and other related services; availability of funds; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals for operations are received in a timely manner; the ability to secure and maintain title and ownership to properties and the surface rights necessary for operations; and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the TSXV. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com
Gold Price 2024 Year-End Review
Read on for more on what factors moved the gold price in Q4, followed by a look back at the entire year.
Gold price in Q4
The gold price began Q4 at US$2,660.30, but quickly saw a retraction to US$2,608.40 on October 9. However, the decline didn't last, and gold again rose, setting a new record high of US$2,785.40 on October 30.
The surge upward was fueled by a weaker-than-expected September US consumer price index report, which showed annual inflation of 2.4 percent and monthly inflation of 0.2 percent. These numbers were higher than analysts' forecasts of 2.3 and 0.1 percent, raising expectations that the Fed would cut rates at its November meeting.
Gold was in retreat to start November, dropping to US$2,664 on November 6 after Trump’s victory. The next day, it briefly surged above the US$2,700 mark as the Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points on November 7.
By November 15, the price of gold had fallen to its quarterly low of US$2,562.50.
The end of the month saw gold leap to US$2,715.80 on November 22. Following this peak, gold entered December below the US$2,700 mark, closing at US$2,660.50 on December 9.
Gold price, Q4 2024.
Chart via Trading Economics.
Geopolitical impacts have been important to gold in Q4.
In addition to Trump's re-election, which has caused turmoil in various forms, on November 17 the US authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS long-range missiles to attack targets deeper into Russian territory. The UK and France mirrored this move, giving Ukraine the green light to use long-range missiles in the ongoing conflict.
Tensions continued to ratchet up in the days following as Russia announced it was lowering the threshold for nuclear retaliation to include conventional attacks from countries backed by nuclear nations. In a demonstration of its capabilities, Russia launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile for the first time on November 21. While the missile appeared only to carry inert warheads, it is capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear armaments.
The threat of a significant escalation has bolstered gold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset and store of value.
How did gold perform for the rest of the year?
Gold price in Q1
Gold set its first record price of the year at US$2,251.37 on March 31.
Central bank buying, notably China's purchase of 22 metric tons of gold in the first two months of the year, supported the price. Turkey, Kazakhstan and India also significantly increased their holdings at the start of the year.
Further momentum came from Chinese wholesale demand, which jumped to 271 metric tons in January, the strongest ever recorded. Investors were turning to the yellow metal as a defense against falling real estate and stock prices. At that time, the country's stocks had lost nearly US$5 trillion in value over the past three years.
Gold price, Q1 2024.
Chart via Trading Economics.
“As central banks continue to be significant buyers and geopolitical risks and global uncertainties drive investors towards the perceived safety of gold, the current environment underscores gold’s importance as a strategic asset for portfolio diversification and risk mitigation. Therefore, while there may have been a perception of western disinterest in gold, recent developments indicate a sustained and broad-based demand for the precious metal,” Joe Cavatoni, market strategist, Americas, told the Investing News Network (INN) in an email at the time.
Gold price in Q2
The gold price saw increasing momentum in Q2, setting a new all-time of US$2,450.05 on May 20.
Gains through the quarter were influenced by strong central bank demand. Investor sentiment toward the yellow metal also shifted, with outflows from western exchange-traded funds starting to slow.
Although European funds still saw significant declines, it wasn’t all bad news — the US-based SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD), the Sprott Physical Gold Trust (NYSE:PHYS), Ireland’s Royal Mint Responsibly Sourced Physical Gold ETC (LSE:RMAU) and Switzerland’s UBS ETF Gold (SWX:AUUSI) all saw increases.
Gold price, Q2 2024.
Chart via Trading Economics.
In a May interview with INN, Jeff Clark, editor of Paydirt Prospector, noted several other market dynamics that caused the price of gold to rise dramatically. He said the real starting point for the precious metal's gains was the end of February, when the Fed indicated it was expecting three or four rate cuts in 2024.
“All of a sudden, gold was off to the races. It jumped so high that suddenly, you had some short covering that needed to happen then as well. So you had short covering, which means they’re buying. And then you had momentum chasers and traders jumping all in. That was a pretty good spike ... that's what kind of started all of this,” he said.
Gold price in Q3
Gold set another record price during the third quarter, reaching US$2,672.51 on September 26.
The high came just a week after the conclusion of the Fed's September meeting, when it announced a jumbo 50 basis point cut to the federal funds rate. While the People’s Bank of China maintained its pause on gold purchases in the third quarter, it granted several regional banks new import quotas in August.
Gold price, Q3 2024.
Chart via Trading Economics.
David Barrett, CEO of the UK division of global brokerage firm EBC Financial Group, suggested at the time that Fed rate cuts were less of a factor for gold than central bank buying. “I still see the global central bank buying as the main driver — as it has been over the last 15 years. This demand removes supply from the market. They are the ultimate buy-and-hold participants and have been buying massive amounts,” he told INN via email.
The quarter also saw significant merger and acquisition activity, with South Africa-based Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI,JSE:GFI) announcing plans to acquire Canada’s Osisko Mining (TSX:OSK) for C$2.16 billion, and South African gold miner AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) agreeing to purchase UK-based Centamin (TSX:CEE,LSE:CEY) for US$2.5 billion.
Investor takeaway
Overall, uncertainty has been a key driver for gold in 2024.
Central banks have continued to increase their physical holdings against an increasingly polarized political landscape. The most recent data from the World Gold Council shows that they added 186 metric tons of gold to their coffers during the third quarter, with the National Bank of Poland leading the way with 42 metric tons.
The World Gold Council notes that on a rolling four-quarter basis, central bank buying has slowed to 909 metric tons — that's compared to 1,215 metric tons one year ago.
Investors also began returning to the precious metal throughout 2024 as geopolitical tensions and fragile economies pushed them toward gold as a safe haven to help shield their portfolios from volatility.
With the world’s largest economy set to welcome Trump back to the White House in 2025, there are many unknowns. His economic policies could cause inflation to begin creeping up. In contrast, his foreign policies could create new ripples through global trade and financial markets given that he campaigned on more protectionist policies.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.