A gold-focused emerging gold producer with a clear pathway to production growth, Brightstar Resources presents a compelling investment case driven by its mining and development hubs strategy and a district-scale resource opportunity.
The price of gold stays strong. In April 2024, the yellow metal’s price passed US$2,400 per ounce for the first time. The reason is multifaceted. The world teeters on the brink of a severe recession while some markets attribute the increase to safe haven rush. Amidst ballooning interest rates, bank failures and falling bond yields, demand for gold continues to rise. At this precise moment, gold is simultaneously an excellent portfolio diversifier and a compelling hedge against ongoing inflation — particularly if one invests in the right company.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) aims to be that company. An emerging mining and development company, Brightstar occupies a strategic land position of roughly 1,200 square kilometers in the Sandstone Greenstone Belt, 300 square kilometers in the Laverton Tectonic Belt and 80 square kilometers of the Menzies Shear Zone.
The company also owns an existing processing facility that can potentially provide tremendous shareholder value in a low-capital cost restart scenario.
That plant, once fully refurbished and operational, could prove a key differentiator for the company, enabling fast gold production at a low capital cost. This is especially noteworthy given that many other gold companies trading on the ASX are largely focused on greenfield exploration and development. Even once those companies discover a promising resource, mining and processing facilities would still need to be built, undertakings which can incur significant upfront capital costs and take several years.
Brightstar's Laverton gold assets are all centered on a 100 percent-owned 300-square-kilometer tenure in the Laverton Tectonic Zone and all within 70 kilometers of the Laverton Processing Plant. Additionally, all resources within this zone are open along strike and at depth. Only minor drilling programs have been conducted in recent years, paving the way for significant exploration upside with the potential for further regional and greenfields discoveries.
Brightstar also owns 100 percent of the Menzies Gold Project, a contiguous land package of granted mining leases over a strike length of roughly 20 kilometers along the Menzies Shear Zone and adjacent to the Goldfields Highway.
In 2023 and 2024, the company announced a mineral resource upgrade to the Cork Tree Well deposit (Laverton gold project) and also delivered two maiden mineral resource estimates at the Link Zone and Aspacia deposits (Menzies gold project). This has grown the total group MRE by approximately 150 koz gold through organic exploration.
The company has also acquired 100 percent of the shares and options of Linden Gold Alliance, a gold producer, developer and explorer with existing mineral resources of 350 koz @ 2.1 g/t gold near Brightstar in the Laverton district. Brightstar’s MRE has reached 1.1 Moz gold across the Menzies and Laverton projects, with an additional 0.35 Moz gold in resources added after the successful acquisition of Linden Gold Alliance.
In August 2024, Brightstar entered into a scheme implementation deed to acquire 100 percent of Alto Metals (ASX:AME), which owns the Sandstone gold project located in East Murchison. The project has a current mineral resource of 1.05 Moz of gold at 1.5 g/t.
Brightstar also completed the acquisition of the gold rights at the Montague East gold project (MEGP) from Gateway Mining Limited (ASX:GML). The project is located 70 km from the Sandstone gold project. The acquisition adds a further 9.6 Mt @ 1.6 g/t gold for 0.5 Moz gold to Brightstar’s JORC Mineral Resource Estimate, giving the company a total mineral endowment of 38.3 Mt @ 1.6 g/t gold for 2.0 Moz gold.
The acquisition of the MGEP from Gateway Mining and 100 percent of Alto’s shares creates a third district-scale resource base for the company called the Sandstone Hub. Upon consolidation of the Laverton, Menzies and Sandstone hubs, Brightstar’s mineral resources would reach 3 Moz at 1.5g/t gold.
Subsequent to the deal with Alto Metals, Brightstar entered into a $4 million drill-for-equity agreement with Topdrill to aggressively advance the consolidated Sandstone gold project. The deal strengthens Brightstar's financial capacity to fulfill its multi-hub exploration and development strategy, which includes the Menzies, Laverton and Sandstone hubs.
Brightstar’s Laverton hub is comprised of the Cork Tree Well, Beta and Alpha project areas with the addition of the Second Fortune gold mine and the Jasper Hills projects.
The Menzies Hub comprises a tenement holding of a contiguous land package of granted mining leases over a strike length of more than 20 km. The majority of deposits hosted along the Menzies Shear Zone are located adjacent to Goldfields Highway in Menzies (130km north of Kalgoorlie).
The consolidated Sandstone project is over 100 km from existing third-party milling operations in the Murchison. This third processing hub boasts Alto’s Sandstone project with a mineral resource of 1.05 Moz at 1.4 g/t gold and Gateway’s Montague gold project with a mineral resource of 0.5 Moz @ 1.6 g/t gold.
Brightstar aims to fast-track the development timetable through:
Situated close to Brightstar's existing mineral assets at Laverton, the Brightstar Processing Plant provides the company with a considerable operational head start over its peers.
Gold doré bars (BTR005 – BTR016) poured on 9 March 2024
Alex Rovira is a qualified geologist and an experienced investment banker having focused on the metals and mining sector since 2013. Rovira has experience in ASX equity capital markets activities, including capital raisings, IPOs and merger and acquisitions.
Richard Crookes has over 35 years’ experience in the resources and investments industries. He is a geologist by training having previously worked as the chief geologist and mining manager of Ernest Henry Mining in Australia.
Crookes is managing partner of Lionhead Resources, a critical minerals investment fund and formerly an investment director at EMR Capital. Prior to that he was an executive director in Macquarie Bank’s Metals Energy Capital (MEC) division where he managed all aspects of the bank’s principal investments in mining and metals companies.
Andrew Rich is a degree qualified mining engineer from the WA School of Mines and has obtained a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Rich has a strong background in underground gold mining with experience predominantly in the development of underground mines at Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) and Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX).
Ashley Fraser is an accomplished mining professional with over 30 years experience across gold and bulk commodities. Fraser was a founder of Orionstone (which merged with Emeco in a $660-million consolidation) and is a founder/owner of Blue Cap Mining and Blue Cap Equities.
Jonathan Downes has over 30 years’ experience in the minerals industry and has worked in various geological and corporate capacities. Experienced with gold and base metals, he has been intimately involved with the exploration process through to production. Downes is currently the managing director of Kaiser Reef, a high grade gold producer, and non-executive director of Cazaly Resources.
Matthew Bowles is a senior corporate finance executive with extensive public corporate advisory, private equity and capital markets experience in the resources sector. Bowles has successfully negotiated domestic and cross border corporate funding, joint venture and M&A transactions for a number of ASX listed companies in Africa, the Americas and Australia. He was previously chief development officer for a West African focused ASX listed company. He commenced his career with Rio Tinto, working in corporate and commercial roles for nine years, before moving to London to work in banking and finance. Since his return to Australia, Bowles has held senior roles with global advisory firms, focusing on the resources sector. Bowles holds a Bachelor of Business, is a member of CPA Australia and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia.
Dean Vallve holds technical qualifications in geology & mining engineering from the WA School of Mines, an MBA, and a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Vallve was previously in senior mining and study roles at ASX listed mid-cap resources companies Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) and Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI).
(TheNewswire)
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February 4 th 2025 Vancouver, B.C. TheNewswire - Opawica Explorations Inc. (TSXV: OPW) (FSE: A2PEAD) (OTCQB: OPWEF) (the "Company" or "Opawica"), a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on precious and base metal projects in the Abitibi gold belt in Quebec. Opawica Explorations Inc. has received a two-year drill permit on its 20 high-priority gold targets at the Bazooka Property.
The 20 drill targets were done in collaboration with ALS Geoanalytics (formally ALS GoldSpot Discoveries Ltd). and Opawica. The team integrated various drill hole recent and legacy data sets, including geological, structural, alteration, mineralogical, and geochemistry. The interpretation of this updated drill hole database led to a cohesive three-dimensional model/geological model, fault network and orebody model, which have provided the foundation for a drilling exploration strategy at Bazooka Property.
The Bazooka Property occurs along one of the most prolific auriferous structures in the world, the Cadillac-Larder Lake Break/Fault. The Cadillac-Larder Lake Break/Fault, in part, marks the boundary between the Archean Abitibi sub-province in the north and the predominantly metasedimentary Pontiac sub-province south of the fault.
Gold mineralization on the Property occurs within mixed, up to 60m wide (estimated true width), strong quartz-carbonate-sericite and talc-chlorite schists of sedimentary and ultramafic to mafic volcanic protoliths, respectively, and is referred to as the Main Zone. The alteration and mineralization are spatially associated with the Cadillac-Larder Lake
The 20 drill targets identified at Bazooka total approximately 10,000 meters of drilling data. Using the Televiewer data the Company was able to identify four possible mineralized vein and schistosity structures that are striking northeast, west northwest, southwest and north-northwest. This resulted in the identification of two main families of mineralized veins, Family A and Family B. Family A veins predominantly strike at N042º and dip at 35º-40º, while Family B veins strike at N230º and dip at approximately 63º.
In one scenario, Family A and Family B represent an extension of veins and shear veins, respectively, in a shear-hosted gold mineralization setting. In another scenario, late northeast-striking brittle deformation is responsible for the northeast orientation of Family A, possibly indicating that the Family A and Family B veins were rotated along the northeast-striking deformation corridor.
The newly collected data was organized into thirteen wireframes, modeled using selected gold values over 0.2 g/t Au composites across four meters. This resulted in a structural model and trend that serves as the basis for the 2025 drill targets.
"CEO Blake Morgan States, The Opawica team is thrilled to now have the Bazooka drill permits in hand. With the large amount of geological data we have obtained over the past few years. The team feels very strongly about our high priority drill targets. We will now move aggressively to finalize our upcoming 2025 drill campaign."
ALS Geoanalytics . is a Canadian company recognized as a global leader in artificial intelligence and data science who are using AI to transform the mineral discovery process. Staffed by Geoscience and Data Science experts, ALS Geoanalytics provides geological consulting services and software augmented by AI.
Mr. Yvan Bussieres, P.Eng., is the Qualified Person for Opawica Explorations Inc. and approves the technical content of this news release. The qualified person has not verified the information on the Abitibi greenstone belt. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby and/or geologically similar properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the company's properties.
About Opawica Explorations Inc.
Opawica Explorations Inc. is a junior Canadian exploration company with a strong portfolio of precious and base metal properties within the Rouyn-Noranda region of the Abitibi Gold Belt in Québec. The Company's management has a great track record in discovering and developing successful exploration projects. The Company's objective is to increase shareholder value through the development of exploration properties using cost effective exploration practices, acquiring further exploration properties, and seeking partnerships by either joint venture or sale with industry leaders.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Blake Morgan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: 236-878-4938
Fax: 604-681-3552
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this news release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, actual results of the Company's exploration and other activities, environmental risks, future metal prices, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by applicable law.
Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
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Rua Gold Inc. (TSXV: RUA) (OTCQB: NZAUF) (WKN: A40QYC) ("Rua Gold" or the "Company") executives attended the launch event for the Minerals Strategy for New Zealand to 2040 and Critical Minerals List event hosted by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals in Waihi on January 31, 2025. Honorable Shane Jones, Resource Minster for New Zealand, presented the critical minerals list that included both gold and antimony.
Furthermore, Rua Gold is pleased to provide an update from the exploration campaign underway at the Reefton Project on the South Island of New Zealand with significant added potential of antimony within the project.
Highlights:
Robert Eckford, CEO of Rua Gold commented: "Having New Zealand's largest known antimony presence on our property is extremely encouraging, especially with it trading at all time high's and with it being announced on New Zealand's first ever critical minerals list.
We commenced drilling on Auld Creek antimony-gold prospect which already has an antimony resource. Rock chips across the other projects on the property increase our confidence this gold-antimony occurrence is consistent across the Reefton Goldfield. We are focused on expanding the Auld Creek resource and we will have assay results from the latest holes coming out in February.
This all comes on the back of the government's launch event for the Minerals Strategy for New Zealand to 2040 and Critical Minerals List, where both gold and antimony in Reefton Goldfield was called out as being one of the key focus points of the critical minerals strategy for New Zealand."
Figure 1: Overview of the Reefton Goldfield.
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GLOBAL SUPPLY AND VALUE OF ANTIMONY
Antimony, is a critical metalloid primarily sourced from the mineral, stibnite. It is highly valuable and increasing in demand due to its versatility and has essential applications across renewable energy, liquid battery metals, defence and technological sectors.
Due to its limited supply, predominantly controlled by China, Russia & Tajikistan, antimony is considered a strategic material essential for supply chain security, particularly during periods of geopolitical instability. This was heightened in August 2024, when China announced export controls on processed antimony products. In response to these controls, nations have accelerated their efforts to secure alternative sources of antimony to mitigate the risk of significant supply chain vulnerabilities.
The US, EU, UK, Japan, Canada and Australia all designate antimony as a critical mineral. On January 31, 2025, New Zealand also announced their Critical Mineral List which included antimony.
Reflecting heightened demand, the price of antimony has reached new highs, currently trading over US$40,000 per tonne, a significant increase from US$11,350 per tonne at the start of 2024. This market shift has intensified interest in the strategic antimony potential held by Rua Gold.
EXPLORATION POTENTIAL
Auld Creek Focus
Rua Gold commenced drilling at Auld Creek in December 2024. It has a targeted program to drill four mineralised shoots identified from historical surface exploration work interpreted by the Rua Gold team over the past 3 months.
Auld Creek is situated between two past producing mines, Globe Progress mine, and the Crushington Group of mines which collectively produced 933,000oz at 14.0g/t Au (Barry 1993). Auld Creek has three historic adits but no commercial production from the reefs.
Rua Gold has an inferred resource indicating 700,000 tonnes at 3.1g/t Au and 1.1% Sb for 67,000oz of gold and 8,000 tonnes of antimony1 (AuEq 110,000oz2). The resource is restricted to two of the four known shoots. Soil geochemistry indicates the potential for discovery of additional mineralised shoots over a strike length of 2.5km.
Two of the four holes completed to date intersected 4-5m of strong visible stibnite (antimony sulfide) mineralization in the Fraternal-Bonanza structure. Logging and assaying are in progress.
Previous diamond drilling by Siren Gold Limited ("Siren") confirmed the presence of significant antimony, with notable drill holes including:
Full table of results in Table 1 in the appendix below.
Figure 2: Extent of drilling and mapping at Auld Creek with four main reef tracks overlain on arsenic soil geochemistry.
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Other Reefton Prospects
With the increased interest in antimony over 2024, the exploration team widened its focus to include testing for stibnite (antimony) mineralization across other known targets of the Reefton Goldfield.
In the early 1900's, the Fiery Cross lode, within Capleston, reported significant antimony mineralisation associated with the gold-bearing quartz reef, but at the time, in common with many other Reefton Goldfield mines, mining this posed a problem for gold recovery and the material was discarded on the tip head. Re-sampling of this mined material from the tip head (float), and from an insitu quartz reef of the old mine at surface has returned exceptionally high results including:
Refer to Table 2 in the appendix below for a complete list of rock samples.
Murray Creek hosts the Golden Treasure mine, 350m south south-west of the Victoria-Inglewood mines. Gold recovery at the Golden Treasure was also hindered by the presence of stibnite. In parts of the mine where the shoot consisted of 30-40 % antimony the ore was stacked in the workings for future sale (Downey, 1928a).
Rua Gold conducted both channel samples on surface and assayed a suite of rocks from the tip head of the mine workings. This has provided firsthand evidence of the tenor of the antimony has returned exceptionally high results including:
Refer to Table 3 and 4, respectively, in the appendix below, for a complete list of trench and rock samples.
With results from this surface exploration work, the exploration team are encouraged that the stibnite mineralization is demonstrated throughout the Reefton Goldfield and further work will form part of the surface exploration campaign in 2025.
Figure 3: Location of known antimony locations.
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ABOUT Rua Gold
Rua Gold is an exploration company, strategically focused on New Zealand. With decades of expertise, our team has successfully taken major discoveries into producing world-class mines across multiple continents. The team is now focused on maximizing the asset potential of Rua Gold's two highly prospective high-grade gold projects.
The Company controls the Reefton Gold District as the dominant landholder in the Reefton Goldfield on New Zealand's South Island with over 120,000 hectares of tenements, in a district that historically produced over 2Moz of gold grading between 9 and 50g/t.
The Company's Glamorgan Project solidifies Rua Gold's position as a leading high-grade gold explorer on New Zealand's North Island. This highly prospective project is located within the North Islands' Hauraki district, a region that has produced an impressive 15Moz of gold and 60Moz of silver. Glamorgan is adjacent to OceanaGold Corporation's biggest gold mining project, Wharekirauponga.
For further information, please refer to the Company's disclosure record on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Simon Henderson CP, AUSIMM, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and Chief Operating Officer and a director of Rua Gold, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained herein. Mr. Henderson has participated in the geochemical sampling, and mapping programs to verify that they have been conducted in accordance with standard operating procedures. Mr. Henderson has verified the data disclosed by running checks on the location, analytical, and test data underlying the information in the technical disclosure herein.
QA/QC ROCK SAMPLES AND CHANNEL SAMPLES
Veins were sampled in 1 m intervals. Before sampling, outcrops were cleared of debris and alluvial sediments with shovels and hammers to uncover the full extent of the veins. 1m intervals were measure with a tape and marked with flagging tape or spray paint. A line was made along the outcrop, then chips were taken continuously along that line. Each 1m interval sample is 1.5kgs of material.
Rock samples were sent to SGS Laboratories, Westport for sample preparation. Samples were crushed and pulverized to 85% passing 75 µm. The pulverized rock-chips were split into two samples: a ~50 g sent for laboratory analysis, and the reject returned to RGL for pXRF analysis and storage. Pulverized rock-chip samples were analyzed for gold (Au) by 50-g fire assay with AAS finish at SGS Waihi (SGS Code FAA505); and for antimony (Sb) by Sodium Peroxide Fusion Analysis by ICP-MS at SGS Waihi.
Rua Gold Contact
Robert Eckford
Chief Executive Officer
Email: reckford@RUAGOLD.com
Website: www.RUAGOLD.com
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur and specifically include statements regarding: the Company's strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions, including but not limited to exploration programs at its Reefton and Glamorgan projects and the results thereof. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company and its business, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors include: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; risks related to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war; risks related to climate change; operational risks in exploration, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration projects or capital expenditures; the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; changes in labour costs and other costs and expenses or equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, including but not limited to environmental hazards, flooding or unfavorable operating conditions and losses, insurrection or war, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing, and commodity prices. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements and reference should also be made to the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated July 11, 2024, and the documents incorporated by reference therein, filed under its SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca for a description of additional risk factors.
Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
Table 1: Significant drilling intercepts for Auld Creek, full mineralized zone composites (1.5 g/t Au cut-off)1.
| Hole ID | Azimuth | Dip (⁰) | Easting (NZTM) | Northing (NZTM) | From (m) | To (m) | Downhole Interval (m) | Au (g/t) | Sb (%) |
| ACDDH004 | 45 | -60 | 1507194 | 5332976 | 51.72 | 57.9 | 6.18 | 1.59 | 0,01 |
| ACDDH004 | 45 | -60 | 1507194 | 5332976 | 116.19 | 136.84 | 20.65 | 5.41 | 2.17 |
| ACDDH005 | 100 | -60 | 1507194 | 5332976 | 57.66 | 64.41 | 6.75 | 1.64 | 0.06 |
| ACDDH005 | 100 | -60 | 1507194 | 5332976 | 65.8 | 80.35 | 14.55 | 2.07 | 0.10 |
| ACDDH007 | 40 | -58 | 1507185 | 5332881 | 123.22 | 148.45 | 25.23 | 3.14 | 0.07 |
| ACDDH008 | 100 | -58 | 1507186 | 5332881 | 72.14 | 76.35 | 4.21 | 1.55 | 0.02 |
| ACDDH011 | 130 | -81 | 1507212 | 5333051 | 75.3 | 83.4 | 8.1 | 2.73 | 4.33 |
| ACDDH015 | 158 | -58 | 1507204 | 5333139 | 69.6 | 82 | 12.4 | 5.19 | 13.65 |
| ACDDH015 | 158 | -58 | 1507204 | 5333139 | 105 | 132.4 | 27.4 | 3.67 | 0.2 |
| ACDDH016 | 330 | -55 | 1507202 | 5333141 | 65 | 90 | 25 | 6.55 | 0.29 |
Table 2: Fiery Cross Rock Sampling
| Sample ID | Easting | Northing | Au (g/t) | Sb % |
| GERS3721 | 1511843 | 5341564 | 23.5 | 20.60 |
| GERS3722 | 1511843 | 5341575 | 3.99 | 3.37 |
| GERS3723 | 1511837 | 5341573 | 1.6 | 8.16 |
| GERS3724 | 1511850 | 5341579 | 0.75 | 16.80 |
| GERS3725 | 1511870 | 5341609 | 7.53 | 16.70 |
| GERS3726 | 1511865 | 5341607 | 52.3 | 16.00 |
| GERS3727 | 1511853 | 5341608 | 3.85 | 2.08 |
| GERS3728 | 1511855 | 5341611 | 9.22 | 4.50 |
| GERS3729 | 1512081 | 5341681 | 74.3 | 0.02 |
Table 3: Golden Treasure trench results outcropping Antimony lode
| Trench | Sample ID | Easting | Northing | From | To | Interval | Au (g/t) | Sb% |
| GT01 | GERS6024 | 1510018 | 5335275 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.92 | 0.0168 |
| GT01 | GERS6025 | 1510018 | 5335275 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4.87 | 0.0158 |
| GT01 | GERS6026 | 1510018 | 5335275 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0.6 | 0.0172 |
| GT02 | GERS6027 | 1510016 | 5335266 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10.8 | 1.7212 |
| GT02 | GERS6028 | 1510016 | 5335266 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.66 | 3.8173 |
| GT02 | GERS6029 | 1510016 | 5335266 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0.3 | 0.213 |
| GT02 | GERS6030 | 1510016 | 5335266 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10.8 | 0.0223 |
| GT02 | GERS5651 | 1510016 | 5335266 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0.0124 |
| GT02 | GERS5652 | 1510016 | 5335266 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1.53 | 0.0123 |
| GT02 | GERS5653 | 1510016 | 5335266 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 19.8 | 0.0161 |
Table 4: Golden Treasure rock chip sampling from tip head and creek float adjacent to level 1.
| Sample | Easting | Northing | Au (g/t) | Sb % |
| GERS3711 | 1510018 | 5335275 | 12.4 | 1.07 |
| GERS3712 | 1510016 | 5335266 | 4.33 | 3.71 |
| GERS3713 | 1510020 | 5335249 | 1.74 | 0.371 |
| GERS3714 | 1510096 | 5335170 | 2.29 | 40.3 |
| GERS3715 | 1510097 | 5335170 | 13.3 | 7.46 |
| GERS3716 | 1510096 | 5335171 | 6.72 | 26.91 |
| GERS3717 | 1510095 | 5335171 | 7.03 | 9.88 |
| GERS3718 | 1510094 | 5335173 | 0.05 | 24.7 |
| GERS3719 | 1510098 | 5335173 | 1.85 | 30.3 |
| GERS3720 | 1510096 | 5335176 | 4.77 | 23.3 |
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Radisson Mining Resources Inc. (TSXV: RDS) (OTCQB: RMRDF) ("Radisson" or the "Corporation") is pleased to provide the results of a recent metallurgical study at the Company's 100%-owned O'Brien Gold Project ("O'Brien" or the "Project") located in the Abitibi region of Québec. The study was undertaken in conjunction with a milling assessment under the auspices of a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with IAMGOLD Corporation ("IAMGOLD") to assess the design criteria for processing mined material from Radisson's O'Brien Gold Project ("O'Brien" or the "Project") at the nearby Doyon gold mill, part of IAMGOLD's Doyon-Westwood mine complex. The Doyon mill is located 21 kilometres west of O'Brien and directly accessible along Trans-Canada Highway 117.
Gold recoveries of between 86% and 96% were obtained based on a series of flow sheet options, all of which are compatible with the Doyon mill with minimal or modest additional capital. The metallurgical program was undertaken at the Lakefield, Ontario facilities of SGS Canada Inc. ("SGS-Lakefield") under the supervision of Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC. ("Ausenco"). Highlights are as follows:
Gold recovery of 90% based on a Gravity-Flotation-Regrind-Leach flow sheet;
Gold recoveries of between 94% and 96% based on the sale of a flotation concentrate in a Gravity-Flotation-Concentrate Sale flow sheet after consideration for payability factors of 90% to 95% respectively; and
Average arsenic values of 0.4% to 0.5% in whole rock and 4.6% in flotation concentrate, consistent with precedent projects in Québec's Abitibi and offtake threshold limits for concentrates of high-grade gold projects.
Matt Manson, President and CEO, commented: "We are very happy with the results of this metallurgical study at O'Brien, undertaken within the context of our milling assessment MOU with IAMGOLD. This is the first metallurgical program at O'Brien based on a comprehensive suite of representative samples and with a specific mill in mind. We see multiple flow sheet options for O'Brien, each of which gives gold recoveries above the 85% assumed in our March 2023 Mineral Resource Estimate. We estimate 86% recovery with only minimal adjustment to the existing Doyon mill configuration at very low cost. We see recoveries of 90% with the re-introduction of a flotation circuit and on-site leaching, and we see a very attractive outcome of up to 96% should the sale of a flotation concentrate be arranged. In this context, we are reporting a metallurgy consistent with precedent Abitibi mining projects, giving us optionality for both onsite tailings deposition after leach and a concentrate sale."
Matt Manson continued: "This is a landmark study for Radisson that addresses long-standing questions on the metallurgy, processing and environmental characteristics of O'Brien's high-grade gold mineralization. The milling assessment indicates that IAMGOLD's Doyon mill is a feasible processing option for O'Brien, fulfilling the objective of our MOU. We are grateful to Ausenco and SGS for the timely completion of the analytical work and IAMGOLD's Westwood-Doyon team for their constructive collaboration during this assessment."
The results presented today demonstrate processing optionality for the O'Brien Gold Project, including at the Doyon mill. Radisson now intends to complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment for O'Brien assuming offsite milling and utilizing the current 2023 Mineral Resource Estimate for mine planning. To this end, Radisson has retained Ausenco for processing design, infrastructure and financial modelling, InnovExplo (part of Norda-Stelo Inc.) for mine design and mine scheduling, and BBA Inc. for water management, surface facilities, and a review of the Project's environmental assessment and permitting requirements.
Metallurgical Program and Doyon Milling Assessment
The metallurgical program was based on 35 samples of mineralized core with average gold grades ranging from 0.8 g/t to 49.1 g/t which were crushed to a -10 mesh sieve and rotary split into separate 1 kilogram charges. These were used to create four composite samples representing the principal Piché Group lithologies that host O'Brien vein mineralization, and a fifth master composite representing the proportion of host rocks in the 2023 O'Brien Mineral Resource Estimate (Table 1). Head assays of gold by both fire assay and metallic screen, as well as ICP-MS analysis for other elements, were determined separately for each of the four lithological composites and the master composite. Analytical tests were conducted in a two-phase program at SGS-Lakefield for recovery by gravity concentrator, whole rock cyanide leach, flotation, regrind, flotation concentrate cyanide leach, and flotation tails cyanide leach.
Table 1: Composite Samples
| Unit | Sample Size (kg) | Au (g/t) | S (%) | As (%) | Cu (%) | Ag (g/t) |
| V3 | 54 | 8.73 | 1.25 | 0.57 | ||
| CONG | 8 | 4.97 | 1.10 | 0.42 | ||
| POR | 28 | 5.46 | 0.80 | 0.42 | ||
| S3 | 13 | 8.91 | 1.22 | 0.39 | 0.5 | |
| Master Composite | 81, from above | 6.27 | 1.12 | 0.51 |
Lithology Codes: V3: Basalt-South, North, Central; CONG: Conglomerate; POR: Porphyry South, North; S3: Sediments (Greywacke).
The Doyon mill currently operates at approximately 3,000 tonnes per day with a conventional cyanidation process. Mined material is processed with a primary crusher and a two-stage semi-autogenous SAG mill/Ball mill grinding at 75 µm (P80). Leaching is by way of two stage Carbon-in-Leach and Carbon-in-Pulp circuits. The Doyon mill was most recently refurbished in 2013 and has a history of treating a variety of custom materials from multiple deposits, in continuous or batch mode. Gravity and Flotation circuits have been used previously at Doyon but are currently inactive.
The MOU under which the milling assessment at Doyon was under-taken was signed by Radisson and IAMGOLD (the "Parties") in September 2024. The MOU facilitates the exchange of technical data between the Parties on: Radisson's metallurgical program; Doyon's flow-sheet configuration, operating parameters and capacity for modification; and tailings management planning at the Doyon-Westwood mining complex. The exchange of technical data included a site visit to the Doyon facility.
Each Party was responsible for its own costs associated with the work. The MOU is non-binding and non-exclusive and contains no specific terms around potential commercial arrangements between the Parties. There is no certainty that any arrangement between the Parties will result from their dealings pursuant to the MOU.
Gravity-Leach Results
Each of the four lithological composites underwent a Knelson/Mozley gravity test after grinding to 150 µm (P80) with recoveries of 25% to 46%, averaging 36%. Four separate tests of the master composite sample were performed at grind sizes of 154 to 85 µm (P80) with recoveries of 35% up to 52% at the finest grind size.
Twelve cyanidation bottle roll leach tests were conducted on the gravity tails of the four lithological composite samples at different grind sizes (40 µm and 60 µm, P80), with and without pre-aeration, and with leach residence times up to 56 hours. Overall, cumulative Gravity-Leach recoveries under this flow sheet option ranged from 81% to 89% and averaged 86%.
Doyon mill modifications to facilitate this flow-sheet are limited to the re-installation of a gravity circuit at minimal capital cost.
Gravity-Flotation-Regrind-Leach Results
Rougher kinetic flotation tests were performed on the four gravity tails sub-samples of the master composite with mass-pulls of between 6% and 11%. Overall, Gravity-Flotation recoveries, after assay, were measured at 91% to 94%, averaging 92%. A cyanidation bottle roll test was performed on the flotation concentrate sub-sample of the master composite that had been ground to 85 µm (P80), had yielded a 52% gravity recovery, and had been measured at a 94% gold content after flotation with a 10% mass-pull. 81% of the gold in this flotation concentrate was recovered after regrinding to 15 µm (P80) with a leach residence time of up to 72 hours, for an overall recovery of 86%. An additional 4% recovery was estimated from the leach of the flotation tails, yielding a cumulative Gravity-Flotation-Regrind-Leach recovery under this flow sheet option of 90%.
Additional Doyon mill modifications to facilitate this flow-sheet comprise the re-installation of a flotation circuit and a regrind mill.
Gravity-Flotation-Concentrate Sale Results
An alternative to on-site leaching is the sale of the flotation concentrate. Under this scenario, and based on the flotation data presented above, the total content of gold recovered by gravity, by leach of the flotation tails, and in flotation concentrate would be 98%. Flotation concentrate payability factors would apply in any sale, reducing the effective overall cumulative Gravity-Flotation-Concentrate Sale recovery to an estimated 94% to 96% assuming payability factors of 90% to 95%.
Doyon mill modifications to facilitate this flow-sheet comprise the re-installation of the gravity and flotation circuits but without the requirement for a regrind mill.
The potential sale of a flotation concentrate for the O'Brien Gold Project is conceptual, and no commercial arrangements exist for such a sale. Any payability factor would be dependent upon several factors, including the metallurgical characterisation of the concentrate and its sulphide and gold content. Arsenic content measured in the flotation concentrate obtained in the current testing was 4.6%. Radisson considers this consistent with precedent projects within Québec's Abitibi that possess a gold-arsenopyrite sulphide association, and within offtake threshold limits for high grade gold projects.
Summary and Next Steps
Overall conclusions of the metallurgical program and milling assessment are provided in Table 2. Radisson considers all three flow sheet options presented to be viable options for the processing of O'Brien mined material. Gold recoveries in each of the three flow sheet options assessed are higher than the 85% recovery assumed in the Project's 2023 Mineral Resource Estimate. All three are also consistent with the current configuration and capacity of the Doyon mill. Capital investments required for mill modifications, and the incremental processing costs, are estimated to be minimal to modest.
Table 2: Summary of Results Under Three Flow Sheet Options
| Flow Sheet Scenario | Overall Recovery | Test Conditions |
| Gravity-Leach | 86% | Knelson/Mozley gravity tests at 150 µm grind on separate lithological composites. Bottle roll cyanide tests at 40 to 60 µm, with/without pre-aeration, leach residence up to 56 hours |
| Gravity-Flotation-Regrind-Leach | 90% | Knelson/Mozley gravity tests on master composite sub-sample at 85 µm grind. Flotation with 10% mass-pull. Regrind of flotation concentrate at 15 µm. Leach residence of float concentrate up to 72 hours, leach of flotation tails. |
| Gravity-Flotation-Concentrate Sale note 1 | 94%-96% | Knelson/Mozley gravity tests on master composite sub-sample at 85 µm grind. Flotation with 10% mass-pull. Leach of flotation tails. Sale of flotation concentrate. |
Note 1: assumes flotation concentrate payability factors of 90% to 95% respectively
The metallurgical results presented are preliminary and additional work, including a comminution study, is required. In addition, while the samples analysed have been selected to be representative of O'Brien mineralization and the Project's mineral resources in general, a metallurgical block model that would allow gold and sulphide relationships to be assessed more comprehensively has not yet been developed. A resampling program to complete a full set of data is ongoing. Additional work on process water treatment and tailings management planning is also required.
Qualified Person
Disclosure of a scientific or technical nature in this news release was prepared under the supervision of Mr. Richard Nieminen, P.Geo, (QC), a geological consultant for Radisson and a Qualified Person for purposes of NI 43-101. Mr. Nieminen is independent of Radisson and the O'Brien Gold Project. Additionally, Renee Barrette, ing., an independent Qualified Person with Ausenco has reviewed and verified the metallurgical testwork and results in this news release.
About Ausenco
Ausenco is a global company redefining what's possible. The team is based across 26 offices in 15 countries delivering services worldwide. Combining deep technical expertise with a 30-year track record, Ausenco delivers innovative, value-add consulting studies, project delivery, asset operations and maintenance solutions to the minerals and metals and industrial sectors (www.ausenco.com).
Radisson Mining Resources Inc.
Radisson is a gold exploration company focused on its 100%-owned O'Brien Gold Project, located in the Bousquet-Cadillac mining camp along the world-renowned Larder-Lake-Cadillac Break in Abitibi, Québec. The Bousquet-Cadillac mining camp has produced over 25 million ounces of gold over the last 100 years. The Project hosts the former O'Brien Mine, considered to have been Québec's highest-grade gold producer during its production. Indicated Mineral Resources are estimated at 0.50 million ounces (1.52 million tonnes at 10.26 g/t Au), with additional Inferred Mineral Resources estimated at 0.45 million ounces (1.60 million tonnes at 8.66 g/t Au). Please see the NI 43-101 "Technical Report on the O'Brien Project, Northwestern Québec, Canada" effective March 2, 2023, Radisson's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2023 and other filings made with Canadian securities regulatory authorities available at www.sedar.com for further details and assumptions relating to the O'Brien Gold Project.
For more information on Radisson, visit our website at www.radissonmining.com or contact:
Matt Manson
President and CEO
416.618.5885
mmanson@radissonmining.com
Kristina Pillon
Manager, Investor Relations
604.908.1695
kpillon@radissonmining.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates, projections, and interpretations as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements including, but are not limited to, statements with respect to planned and ongoing drilling, the significance of drill results, the ability to continue drilling, the impact of drilling on the definition of any resource, the ability to incorporate new drilling in an updated technical report and resource modelling, the Company's ability to grow the O'Brien project and the ability to convert inferred mineral resources to indicated mineral resources. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "interpreted", "management's view", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements Forward-looking information is based on estimates of management of the Company, at the time it was made, involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the companies to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, risks relating to the drill results at O'Brien; the significance of drill results; the ability of drill results to accurately predict mineralization; the ability of any material to be mined in a matter that is economic. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the parties cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward-looking information. The Company believes that this forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. The Company does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
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