Golden Predator Mining Corp. (TSX.V:GPY) (OTCQX:NTGSF) (the “Company”) announces it has commenced a 1,500 m diamond drilling program at its 100% owned, past-producing Brewery Creek Project in Canada’s Yukon to evaluate the potential for: 1) economic enhancement of this former producer; and 2) expansion of the current resource package.
The drill program will generate large diameter core (PQ) for metallurgical testing to assess alternate processing technology. In addition, 1,000 m of exploration drilling will be completed on recently identified high priority targets designed to extend known mineralization. The Brewery Creek 2018 program will be approximately 15% of the Company’s overall 2018 exploration budget with the remainder focused on its primary ongoing exploration of the high-grade gold 3 Aces Project in southeast Yukon.
The metallurgical tests will assess the suitability of Continuous Vat Leaching (CVL) for both the oxide and sulfide resources evaluated in the 2014 Brewery Creek NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The PEA resource estimation includes Indicated oxide resources of 577,000 troy ounces of gold in 14.2 million tonnes at 1.27 g/t gold and Inferred oxide resources of 279,000 troy ounces of gold in 9.3 million tonnes at 0.93 g/t gold. In addition, the resource estimate contains Indicated sulfide resources of 142,000 troy ounces of gold in 3.5 million tonnes at 1.28 g/t gold and Inferred sulfide resources totaling 546,000 troy ounces of gold in 12.4 million tonnes at 1.37 g/t gold (1).
The drilling will twin metallurgical holes that were tested in 2016(2), as well as, holes used in previous column leach testing reported in the 2014 PEA. Whole core will be submitted to SGS Canada for assay and pulse column testing as part of the Company’s ongoing effort to improve operational parameters and assumptions used in the 2014 PEA.
Please see Brewery Creek Project maps here:
http://www.goldenpredator.com/_resources/images/GPY_NR18-13_Maps_20180710.pdf
Continuous Vat Leaching (CVL)
CVL is a process developed by INNOVAT Mineral Process Solutions that utilizes large volume containers, described as vats, located in an enclosed temperature-controlled building, as opposed to heap leach technology. This technology affords the potential for gold recovery from some sulfide classified materials not amenable to heap leaching, greater saturation levels, potentially improved oxide recovery rates, dramatically shorter processing times, full year-round operations, and improved environmental considerations.
Incorporating a CVL process flow-sheet indicates the potential to provide improved recoveries, expand the resource base and improve environmental controls and could produce more robust project economics.
2018 Exploration Drilling Program
Updated analysis of the Brewery Creek Project has identified several new high priority exploration targets not previously drilled. The drill program will test potential extension of mineralization outside of previously drill tested or mined areas including:
- A 400m gap between the Golden and Lucky pits with favorable rock type and geochemistry;
- Follow up drilling on a higher-grade zone from the Lucky pit through the Bohemian Zone where there are several 10.0 g/t gold or higher intervals aligned along an east-west trend;
- Extension of the Sleeman Zone as suggested by geochemistry;
- Sparsely tested soil anomaly extending northeast from the Schooner Zone;
- Apparent 3 km long northwest structural zone linking Schooner Zone to Sleeman Zone with sparse drilling to date; and,
- Up-dip, near surface projections of the deeper Lone Star Zone mineralization.
Summary of 2014 PEA (all dollars US)(1)
The 2014 PEA evaluated the potential viability of resuming mining and heap leaching at Brewery Creek through a combination of open pit mining and reprocessing former heap leach material. The PEA targeted 10.2 million tonnes of open pit material from eight deposits at an average grade of 1.35 g/t and reprocessing of 4.1 million tonnes of material from the old heap leach pad at an average grade of 0.77 g/t. Mining and crushing would occur for 230 days per year.
In the PEA, approximately 372,000 ounces of gold were recovered over a nine year mine life at an average cash cost of $788 per ounce. Life-of-mine capital expenditures were estimated at $89.4 million. The pre-tax NPV at $1150 gold and a 5% discount rate was $18.1 million with an IRR of 12%. At $1500 gold, the pre-tax NPV at 5% rose to $114.5 million with an IRR of 45%. It is anticipated that the PEA’s projected economics would benefit from updating fuel costs, exchange rates and revised mine scheduling in addition to the current focus on improving recoveries and increasing the resource base.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred resources that are considered too speculative to be used in an economic analysis except as allowed for by Canadian Securities Administrator’s National Instrument 43-101 in PEA studies. There is no guarantee that the Inferred mineral resources can be converted to Measured or Indicated mineral resources, and as such, there is no guarantee the project economics described in the PEA will be achieved.
Brewery Creek, Yukon
The Brewery Creek Project is a past producing (1996-2002) heap leach gold mining operation, operated by Viceroy Resource Corporation which shut down primarily due to low gold prices. The 180 km2 property is accessed by an all-weather gravel road 55 km east of Dawson City, Yukon. All necessary permits required to conduct additional exploration are in place. The Brewery Creek Project holds a Type A Water License with an expiry date of December 31, 2021, subject to the restrictions and conditions contained in the Yukon Water Act and Regulations and a Quartz Mining License (QML) with an expiry date of December 31, 2021. The Brewery Creek project has a Socio Economic Accord with the Tr’ondek Hwech’in.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mark Shutty, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and an employee of the Company.
Golden Predator Mining Corp.
Golden Predator Mining Corp. is a gold exploration company focused on advancing key projects with significant exploration upside, good infrastructure and community support. The Company is actively exploring on its high-grade gold 3 Aces Project in Canada’s Yukon, holds 100% of the advanced Brewery Creek Project, Yukon, a past-producer with a 2014 Preliminary Economic Assessment prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The Company also holds the Marg Project, Yukon, which has a 2013 NI 43-101 Indicated Resource of 3.96 million tonnes of 1.57% copper, 1.92% lead, 3.90% zinc, 49.40 g/t silver, and 0.79 g/t gold and an Inferred Resource of 7.78 million tonnes of 1.12% copper, 1.36% lead, 2.89% zinc, 34.88 g/t silver, and 0.52 g/t gold filed on SEDAR(3).
For additional information:
Janet Lee-Sheriff
Chief Executive Officer
(604) 260-5029
info@goldenpredator.com
www.goldenpredator.com
(1) NI 43-101 Technical Report “Preliminary Economic Assessment For The Brewery Creek Property Yukon Territory, Canada” Release Date of November 19, 2014.
(2) Oct 13,2016 GPY press release
(3) Burgoyne, 2013: Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate on Marg Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide Deposit, dated November 30, 2013
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. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This press release contains forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations that the private placement will complete as described herein, that the Project will advance through permitting and feasibility. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions change.