The Board of Directors of SolGold (LSE & TSX code: SOLG) is pleased to provide an update on its Tandayama-Ameríca (“TAM”) porphyry copper-gold deposit which lies approximately 3km north of the Alpala deposit that comprises 2,663 Mt at 0.53% CuEq [1] in the Measured plus Indicated categories and contained metal content of 9.9 Mt Cu, 21.7 Moz Au and 92.2 Moz Ag [2], at the Company’s Cascabel project, held by Exploraciones Novomining S.A. (“ENSA”), an 85% owned subsidiary of SolGold.
HIGHLIGHTS
Ø Drill hole assays from Hole 13 comprise the best drilling intersections achieved at the TAM deposit to date. Highlights include:
● 1,010m @ 0.55% CuEq, including:
o 824m @ 0.63% CuEq
o 736m @ 0.69% CuEq
o 392m @ 0.93% CuEq
o 132m @ 1.09% CuEq
Ø Hole 13 results enhance potential for significant depth extensions amenable to bulk underground mining methods at TAM. Mineralisation forms a northwest trending corridor, occupying an area approximately 1,200m long, up to 750m wide, and extending from surface to a depth of over 1,200m. The TAM deposit remains open to the south and east and at depth.
Ø Highlights of drill hole assays received from Holes 8-12 at TAM include:
● Hole 11: 234m @ 0.48% CuEq, including 96m @ 0.87% CuEq and 54m @ 1.18% CuEq
● Hole 12: 566m @ 0.32% CuEq, including 228m @ 0.53% CuEq
Ø Assay results from drill holes 14-23 are pending and drilling of Holes 24-27 is currently underway. Over 18,500m of drilling has been completed to date at TAM, and a further c.9,200m is planned through the end of the year utilising the existing four diamond drill rigs.
Ø Hole 24 has encountered intense mineralisation within an early quartz-diorite intrusion from 507m depth. This zone is interpreted as an extension of the strong mineralisation encountered in Hole 13 and includes up to 85% B-type quartz-chalcopyrite veining with approximately 2% visible chalcopyrite and trace visible gold mineralisation.
Ø The geological character of the porphyry stocks / dykes encountered through drilling to date indicate a well-preserved porphyry system and the full size and strength of the TAM system has not yet been tested. Further surface geochemical anomalies to the east of the current drilling area require drill testing.
Ø An NI 43-101 compliant Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate is being prepared and is planned for release later in 2021.
SolGold Executive Board Member, Head of Exploration and ENSA President, Mr Jason Ward, commented on the work being advanced at Cascabel:
“The TAM target at Cascabel is just 3km north of Alpala, and additional copper and gold mineralisation at TAM will add to the already impressive metal inventory at Cascabel. Drilling results at TAM to date, and preliminary work utilising Leapfrog GEO and EDGE software is revealing a prospective bi-modal resource that appears amenable to both bulk surface mining methods as well as bulk underground mining methods. The potential upside of higher-grade depth extensions beneath TAM is also adding exciting possibilities to the still growing Cascabel project.
Geotechnical, hydrogeological and metallurgical data is already being prepared to facilitate the conversion of future resources to reserves, and this seems likely to have a major beneficial impact on the development of the Cascabel property as a whole as studies progress in 2022.”
[1] Copper Equivalent (CuEq) is currently calculated (assuming 100% recovery of copper and gold) using a Gold Conversion Factor of 0.751 (CuEq = Cu + Au x 0.751), calculated from a current nominal copper price of US$3.30/lb and a gold price of US$1,700/oz. [2] See “Cascabel Property NI 43-101 Technical Report, Alpala Porphyry Copper-Gold-Silver Deposit – Mineral Resource Estimation, January 2021” with an Effective date: 18 March 2020 and Amended Date: 15 January 2021 (the “Amended Technical Report”), filed at www.Sedar.com on January 29, 2021.References to figures relate to the version visible in PDF format by clicking the link below:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3032L_1-2021-9-9.pdf
FURTHER INFORMATION
The TAM target lies approximately 3km north of the Alpala deposit, at the Cascabel project, held by ENSA, an 85% owned subsidiary of SolGold . The project area lies within the Imbabura province of northern Ecuador approximately 100 km north of the capital city of Quito and approximately 50 km north-northwest of the provincial capital, Ibarra (Figure 1).
Drilling from the TAM porphyry copper-gold deposit at Cascabel has intersected highly significant copper and gold mineralisation with Hole 13 returning intercepts of over 500m% CuEq. Final assay results from drill holes 8-13 are provided in Table 1 .
Assay results from drill holes 14-23 are pending and drilling of Holes 24-27 is currently underway. Over 18,500m of drilling has been completed to date at TAM ( Figure 2 ) and a further c.9,200m is planned through the end of the year utilising the existing four diamond drill rigs.
The geological character of the porphyry stocks / dykes encountered through drilling to date indicate a well-preserved porphyry system and the full size and strength of the TAM system has not yet been tested. Additional surface geochemical anomalies (“A1” and “A2”) to the east of the current drilling area require drill testing for deeper portions of the system ( Figure 2 ).
Previous drilling and surface rock-saw channel sampling results at TAM to date revealed near-surface mineralisation amenable to bulk surface mining methods. Hole 13 results enhance potential for significant depth extensions amenable to bulk underground mining methods ( Figure 3 ).
Mineralisation at TAM forms a northwest trending corridor, occupying an area approximately 1,200m long, up to 750m wide, and extending from surface to a depth of over 1,200m. The TAM deposit remains open to the south and east and at depth.
Hole 24 is currently drilling approximately 160m northwest and 160m deeper than Hole 13 and has encountered intense mineralisation within an early quartz-diorite intrusion from 507m depth. This zone is interpreted as an extension of the strong mineralisation encountered in Hole 13 and includes up to 85% B-type quartz-chalcopyrite veining with approximately 2% visible chalcopyrite and trace visible gold mineralisation ( Figure 4 ).
An NI 43-101 compliant Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate is being prepared and is planned for release later in 2021.
Figure 1: Location of the TAM, Alpala and Aguinaga deposits at the Cascabel project.
Table 1: Selected significant intercepts achieved in drill holes 8-13 at the TAM deposit, Cascabel.
Figure 2: Drill Plan at the TAM target, looking down, showing current drill holes 24-27 in red, and planned drill holes in green, over soil Cu/Zn geochemical anomalism. Holes 1-13 display downhole CuEq assay grades. Drill holes 14-23 (black) have assays pending. Surface geochemical anomalies (“A1” and “A2”) to the east of the current drilling area require drill testing for deeper portions of the system. Section line A-B corresponds to the centreline of the drill sections provided in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Drill Section A-B, looking northwest, with a window thickness of 150m, showing modelled geology and modelled grade shells at the TAM target where Low-, Medium- and High-Grade shells are modelled utilising CuEq cut-off grades of 0.15, 0.3 and 0.45 respectively. Limits of drilling data are indicated by black outline.
Figure 4: Selected drill core examples from Hole 24 including visible gold (TOP).
Qualified Person:
Information in this report relating to the exploration results is based on data reviewed by Mr Jason Ward ((CP) B.Sc. Geol.), the Chief Geologist of the Company. Mr Ward is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, holds the designation FAusIMM (CP), and has in excess of 20 years’ experience in mineral exploration and is a Qualified Person for the purposes of the relevant LSE and TSX Rules. Mr Ward consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears.
By order of the Board
Dennis Wilkins
Company Secretary
CONTACTS
Dennis Wilkins
SolGold Plc (Company Secretary)
Tel: +61 (0) 7 3303 0660
Ingo Hofmaier
SolGold Plc (GM – Project & Corporate Finance) [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3823 2130
Fawzi Hanano
SolGold Plc (Investors / Media)
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3823 2130
ABOUT SOLGOLD
SolGold is a leading resources company focussed on the discovery, definition and development of world-class copper and gold deposits. In 2018, SolGold’s management team was recognised by the “Mines and Money” Forum as an example of excellence in the industry and continues to strive to deliver objectives efficiently and in the interests of shareholders. SolGold is aggressively exploring the length and breadth of this highly prospective and gold-rich section of the Andean Copper Belt which is currently responsible for c40% of global mined copper production.
The Company operates with transparency and in accordance with international best practices. SolGold is committed to delivering value to its shareholders, while simultaneously providing economic and social benefits to impacted communities, fostering a healthy and safe workplace and minimizing the environmental impact.
