- Published: 19 April 2016
- Written by Editor
Integra drills 12.79 m of 16.08 g/t Au at Lamaque South
2016-04-19 06:20 ET - News Release
Mr. Stephen de Jong reports
INTEGRA GOLD REPORTS WIDE, GOLD BEARING INTERCEPTS INCLUDING 16.08 G/T GOLD OVER 12.79 M (INCL. 180.13 G/T AU OVER 1.05M) AND 4.21 G/T GOLD OVER 27.55 M (INCL. 97.6 G/T AU OVER 0.60M) AT NO. 4 PLUG, 500 METRES NORTH OF TRIANGLE DEPOSIT
Integra Gold Corp. has released a first round of assay results from its late fall 2015 and 2016 infill drill program on the No. 4 plug deposit situated at the Lamaque South gold project located in Val d'Or, Que.
Press release highlights:
- Gold mineralization at No. 4 plug deposit consists of thick clusters of flat-lying tension veins and high-grade/subvertical quartz-tourmaline C-type structures, hosted within a dioritic/gabbroic intrusive similar to the Lamaque mine and Goldex mine host rocks;
- Results announced today are from 2,708 metres in five holes of a 12,035 m program completed in 2015 and 2016 at No. 4 plug;
- Five drill rigs currently active on the Lamaque South gold project, approximately 52,500 m in assay results pending;
- Reinterpretation of the No. 4 plug approaching completion using insights from the Triangle deposit and comparisons with the Lamaque and Goldex mineralization styles; an updated resource estimate to follow later in 2016;
- The company is expanding efforts on multiple targets outside of Triangle;
- The company has elected to accelerate the expiry date of warrants set to expire on June 27, 2016, to May 23, 2016, for gross proceeds of $4,732,762.
"We believe now is the right time to evolve our growth strategy and expand our exploration efforts. As we continue to prove up Triangle we are finalizing an exploration plan that will focus on other targets on the property that we feel have the potential to increase both the feed to the mill and the total annual production profile at Lamaque," commented company president and chief executive officer Stephen de Jong. "The continued success at Triangle and our latest drill results from No. 4 plug confirm our beliefs that multiple deposits across our property can add substantial value to Integra."
No. 4 plug showing potential for bulk mining, C structures present along with abundance of flat-lying tension veins
"Gold mineralization at No. 4 plug, located 500 m north of Triangle is, in part, hosted within a series of steeply dipping stacked shear zones similar to C-type structures found at Triangle," commented company senior vice-president Herve Thiboutot. "What makes these zones different is the abundance of flat-lying tension veins which form large clusters of veins that are potentially amenable to bulk mining methods. These large gold-bearing vein clusters have striking similarities to bulk zones mined historically at the Lamaque mine and present close resemblance to the nearby Agnico-Eagle Goldex deposit, which is found in similar hosts rocks and vein arrays."
The results disclosed today are from the company's late 2015 and 2016 infill drill program completed at No. 4 plug in areas that required 25 m drill spacing for the reinterpreted geological model and subsequent resource estimate. These results are significant given that high-grade gold mineralization is still being identified within high-angle structures, similar to those found within Triangle, while wider zones forming vein clusters are now being recognized and are enhancing the company's modelling and resource estimation approach at No. 4 plug. These enhancements are likely to further refine and enhance the company's approach with respect to future mining optimization on the deposit. As the gold distribution in the thicker sequences of brittle, shallow-dipping tension veins has the tendency to portray a higher nugget effect relative to the high-angle C-type structures, the selection of disclosed intervals is largely controlled by the visual occurrence of veins in drill core logging rather than strictly on gold grade, providing a further layer of control for the spatial constraining of these thick vein clusters.
The table highlights the selected results from this first tranche of the 2015 and 2016 No. 4 plug infill drill program. The summary results are presented uncapped and, when applicable, with high-grade individual values capped at 34.3 grams per tonne gold (results are also available with high grade values capped at 20.0 g/t Au in the full assay table available at the company's website).
LAMAQUE SOUTH DRILL RESULTS
Drill hole From To Interval Gold
(m) (m) (m)(1) (g/t)(2)
P4-15-022 235.29 246.10 10.81 1.91
P4-15-025 229.62 260.67 31.05 1.31
Capped 1.26
P4-15-028 86.20 135.15 48.95 0.76
143.55 167.00 23.45 0.87
237.25 261.90 24.65 1.79
358.55 400.90 42.35 1.44
421.85 449.40 27.55 4.21
Capped 2.83
466.83 479.08 12.25 4.27
487.15 491.80 4.65 26.17
Capped 6.05
508.40 521.19 12.79 16.08
Capped 4.11
525.50 543.32 17.82 1.16
(1) Downhole thickness; true width varies
depending on drill hole dip and on general
orientation of the vein clusters; most 2015 drill
holes were aimed at intersecting the generally
flat-lying vein clusters close to perpendicular,
therefore true widths are close to downhole
widths.
(2) Minimum one g/t cut-off over 10 m interval,
allowing up to five m of below-cut-off material
internally -- individual assays cut to 34.3 g/t
and 20.0 g/t Au when applicable -- no minimum
thickness considered.
Geological setting at No. 4 plug
No. 4 plug is a subvertical dioritic/gabbroic intrusive, similar to the Lamaque mine plug, located two kilometres to the northwest, which produced over 3.7 million gold ounces from surface to a depth of 1,100 m vertical. The No. 4 plug intrusive is located 500 metres from Triangle and can be traced on surface for 200 m east-west by 150 m north-south, extending to a depth of over 1,000 m vertical. Gold mineralization within the intrusive host is hosted within quartz-carbonates-tourmaline veins within subvertical shear zones (similar to Triangle C-type structures) in addition to flat-lying quartz-carbonate-tourmaline veins that are present as dense vein clusters. The No. 4 plug also presents similarities to the nearby Agnico-Eagle Goldex mine host rocks and vein arrays, located 10 kilometres to the west of the Lamaque property. For comparison purposes, with data taken from disclosed public information (see Agnico-Eagle's website), the average grade of the Goldex deposit is 1.8 grams per tonne gold with a cut-off set at 0.9 g/t Au; the direct mining costs at Goldex are at $34 per tonne, with ore mined using bulk mining methods.
Preliminary interpretation of the intersected gold-bearing zones at No. 4 plug indicates that these dense vein clusters can be tens of metres thick vertically, are geometrically staked within the intrusive in the downdip direction and can also extend roughly 150 m to 200 m laterally. The mineralized vein clusters appear to be more abundant below a vertical depth of 200 m, remaining confined to within the intrusive plug. The intrusive host and the vein clusters remain open at depth as indicated by previously disclosed results from the drilling completed in 2012 (see tables). Similar vein mineralogy and alteration assemblages consisting of carbonate, sericite, albite alteration are associated with these dense veins clusters but vary in intensity and distribution, being more pronounced when crosscut by high-angle shear zones. Where these subvertical shear zones crosscut the intrusive, brittle and shallower-dipping tension veins appear to be more dominant.
In consideration of this new evidence regarding the distribution and controls of gold mineralization at the No. 4 plug, a complete geological remodelling program was initiated in early 2016 and is approaching completion. Once the new geological model is available an updated resource estimate will be completed and disclosed later in 2016.
Historic mining in the late 1960s was performed by Teck in the upper part of the No. 4 plug (above 200 m vertical). New 3-D modelling of historic stoping indicates both high-angle veins and vein clusters were mined, which provides additional certainty in the modelling at the No. 4 plug. Approximately 50,000 ounces of gold were recovered by Teck from the No. 4 plug.
Results from previous drilling
In light of the new geological understanding at the No. 4 plug, results from 21 holes drilled on the No. 4 plug during the 2012 drill campaign (20,500 m) were also recompiled, reevaluated and reinterpreted. The table highlights selected results from the 2012 No. 4 plug drill program in the context of the new vein cluster interpretation. Due to the abundance of intervals reported from 2012 drilling, only a few intervals are presented in the table. Results are presented uncapped and, when applicable, with high-grade individual values capped at 34.3 g/t Au (results are also available with high-grade values capped at 20.0 g/t Au in the full assay table available at the company's website). In general, these results show that capping of higher-grade values has a limited effect on most of the reported mineralized intervals which tend to confirm the widespread nature of gold mineralization at the No. 4 plug.
2012 DRILL RESULTS
Drill hole From To Interval Gold
(m) (m) (m)(1) (g/t)(2)
P4-12-02B 726.50 746.50 20.00 2.87
Capped 2.87
P4-12-04 805.00 826.00 21.00 6.73
Capped 2.54
P4-12-05 420.00 455.00 35.00 3.45
Capped 3.45
P4-12-06 154.00 171.00 17.00 55.75
Capped 2.18
P4-12-07B 670.00 684.50 14.50 7.62
Capped 5.40
P4-12-08 635.50 656.00 20.50 2.82
Capped 2.59
520.00 548.00 28.00 4.30
Capped 4.30
P4-12-11A 558.00 576.00 18.00 5.64
Capped 5.64
P4-12-12C 441.00 478.00 37.00 4.34
Capped 3.97
P4-12-14A 517.00 529.00 12.00 10.76
Capped 7.88
P4-12-16 810.00 828.00 18.00 2.74
Capped 2.74
P4-12-20 909.00 926.00 15.00 9.52
Capped 8.06
P4-12-21A 838.00 860.00 22.00 3.48
(1) Downhole thickness; true width varies
depending on drill hole dip and on general
orientation of the vein clusters; most 2015 drill
holes were aimed at intersecting the generally
flat-lying vein clusters close to perpendicular,
therefore true widths are close to downhole
widths.
(2) Minimum one g/t cut-off over 10 m interval,
allowing up to five m of below-cut-off material
internally -- individual assays cut to 34.3 g/t
and 20.0 g/t Au when applicable -- no minimum
thickness considered.
Exploration summary -- 2016
To date in 2016, a total of 52,000 metres in 93 holes have thus far been completed at the Lamaque South project; drilling is continuing with five drill rigs currently in operation. The results announced today are from five holes drilled at the No. 4 plug representing 2,700 m of the 12,000 m 2015 to 2016 drill program. Including the fall 2015 drilling, as of April 15, drill results are still pending from an additional 140 drill holes representing 52,460 m of core. Results from continuing infill and extensional drilling at Triangle, No. 4 Plug and other targets will be disclosed as they become available during the year.
Drilling program -- 2016
The company anticipates drilling approximately 90,000 to 100,000 m in 2016, with the majority of this drilling aimed at defining and expanding the gold resource at Triangle and the No. 4 plug. The bulk of the drill program will be completed during the winter and spring months, from January to June, 2016. The spring breakup is anticipated to commence soon; however, following the construction of new surface access roads, the company expects that it will be able to continue drilling throughout the spring with three to five drill rigs in operation. Integra's planned 2016 drill campaign remains one of the largest drill programs currently under way in the Canadian mining industry.
The continuing winter drill program includes exploration, extensional and definition type drilling on key targets such as Triangle and the No. 4 plug gold deposits. The program will also include exploration drilling of promising new targets outlined by geophysical surveys, geological mapping, surface sampling and reconnaissance drilling conducted in 2015; additional information on these new targets will be provided by the company in follow-up 2016 news releases.
Warrant acceleration
The company is pleased to announce that it has elected to accelerate the expiry date of the remaining 15,263,757 warrants issued as part of the June 27, 2014, private placement, set to expire on June 27, 2016. Each warrant may be exercised to acquire one common share of Integra at 30 cents for gross proceeds of up to $4,579,127. The company is also accelerating the expiry date of the remaining 590,905 compensation warrants issued in respect of the June, 2014, private placement. Each compensation warrant may be exercised to acquire one common share of Integra at 26 cents for gross proceeds of $153,635. Each warrant or compensation warrant must be exercised on or before May 23, 2016.
Under the terms of the warrants, Integra is permitted to accelerate the expiry date of the warrants if the volume-weighted average trading price (VWAP) of the company's common shares listed on the TSX Venture Exchange remains at or above 50 cents for 10 consecutive days.
On April 8, 2016, Integra met the conditions of the acceleration event. As a result, the company has chosen to accelerate the expiry date of the warrants to 5 p.m. PT on Monday, May 23, 2016.
Qualified person
The Lamaque South exploration project and Sigma-Lamaque mill and mine complex, jointly known as the Lamaque project, are under the direct supervision of Herve Thiboutot, Eng, senior vice-president of the company, and Jacques Simoneau, PGeo, exploration manager of the company. Mr. Thiboutot and Mr. Simoneau are qualified persons as defined by the National Instrument 43-101. The company's QPs have reviewed the technical content of this release.
Quality assurance/quality control
Thorough QA/QC protocols are followed on the project, including insertion of duplicate, blank and standard samples in all drill holes. The core samples are submitted directly to the Bourlamaque Laboratory in Val d'Or for preparation and analysis. Analysis is conducted on one-assay-ton aliquots. Analysis of gold is performed using fire assay method with atomic absorption (AA) finish, with a gravimetric finish completed for samples exceeding five g/t Au. Metallic sieve assay is conducted, additional to the regular fire assay methods, for all samples containing visible gold. Results published are from the metallic sieve assay results if available, if not they are from the gravimetric finish if above five g/t and from the AA finish if lower than five g/t.
