Dr. Bill Pearson reports
COASTAL GOLD REPORTS POSITIVE ASSAY RESULTS FROM TAILINGS VIBRACORE DRILLING AT HOPE BROOK GOLD PROJECT, NEWFOUNDLAND
Coastal Gold Corp. has received assay results from the recently completed tailings vibracore drilling program at its 100-per-cent-owned Hope Brook gold project in southwestern Newfoundland. Both tailings ponds 1 and 2 were tested.
Highlights
Tailings pond 1 (all widths are true thickness):
- 1.73 grams per tonne gold and 0.12 per cent copper over 2.39 metres from hole P8;
- 1.31 grams per tonne gold and 0.18 per cent copper over 4.20 metres from hole P13;
- 1.20 grams per tonne gold and 0.15 per cent copper over 3.55 metres from hole P6;
- 1.32 grams per tonne gold and 0.13 per cent copper over 1.17 metres from hole P3;
- 1.22 grams per tonne gold and 0.08 per cent copper over 1.21 metres from hole P18;
-
1.21 grams per tonne gold and 0.06 per cent copper over 1.41 metres from hole P28;
- 1.15 grams per tonne gold and 0.13 per cent copper over 4.38 metres from hole P10;
- One gram per tonne gold and 0.18 per cent copper over 4.83 metres from hole P9.
Tailings pond 2:
- 1.40 grams per tonne gold and 0.08 per cent copper over 3.29 metres from hole P47;
- 1.12 grams per tonne gold and 0.08 per cent copper over 3.77 metres from hole P52;
- 1.08 grams per tonne gold and 0.05 per cent copper over 2.73 metres from hole P56;
- 0.98 gram per tonne gold and 0.11 per cent copper over 5.05 metres from hole P64.
Dr. Bill Pearson, PGeo, president and chief executive officer of Coastal Gold, commented: "These results have confirmed the results of the initial piston core sampling program in 2012 (see news releases dated March 29, 2012, and April 24, 2012), and indicate that the tailings contain widespread gold and copper mineralization significantly above the historic reported tailings grade. We are moving forward with a NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for the tailings based on these new drilling results."
Allan Polk, PEng, project manager for the Hope Brook preliminary economic assessment, said: "For the purposes of the PEA, we are now considering the existing tailings material as potential mill feed to either supplement the run of mine material or to provide stand-alone early feed for the project. Both of these options have the secondary benefit of allowing an optimization of the material storage balance for the project. Some metallurgical testwork has been done to investigate the potential of recovering metals from the tailings and more has been initiated as a result of these positive tailings assay results."
As previously reported (see press release dated Oct. 21, 2013) a total of 73 vibracore drill holes totalling 155 metres were completed on an approximate 100-metre square grid over the two tailings ponds, designed to evaluate the full thickness of the tailings and provide sufficient data to support a National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate. Fifty-one of the 73 drill holes successfully sampled tailings with a thickness ranging from 0.3 to six metres and an average thickness of three metres. The remainder of the holes (22) encountered bedrock in areas where the tailings ponds where not filled. The previous shallow piston core sampling program indicated that the tailings contain an average grade of approximately one gram per tonne gold (see news releases dated March 29, 2012, and April 24, 2012).
Drill holes from tailings pond 1 are generally higher grade. This is likely because most of the tailings in pond 1 are reported to be from the earlier years of production when the historic mill lacked a copper flotation circuit for production of a copper concentrate hence had lower reported overall recovery. Most of the tailings in pond 2 are reported to have been from the latter years of production when the plant recovery was higher due to the addition of the copper flotation circuit.
Tailings pond 1
Tailings material with an average thickness of 3.12 metres was recovered from 25 of a total 29 vibracore drill holes at tailings pond 1. Assay results from the drill holes range from 0.57 gram per tonne gold and 0.08 per cent copper over a true thickness of 3.84 metres (hole P21) up to 1.73 grams per tonne gold and 0.12 per cent copper over a true thickness of 2.39 metres (hole P8).
Tailings pond 2
Tailings material with an average thickness of 2.94 metres was recovered from 26 of a total 44 vibracore drill holes at tailings pond 2. Assay results from the drill holes range from 0.44 gram per tonne gold and 0.12 per cent copper over a true thickness of 3.33 metres (hole P73) up to 1.40 grams per tonne gold and 0.08 per cent copper over a true thickness of 3.29 metres (hole P47). Drilling confirmed that the eastern half of this tailings pond has essentially no tailings.
SUMMARY OF ASSAY RESULTS FOR VIBRACORE DRILLING PROGRAM, HOPE BROOK
Drill hole Au g/t Cu % Width (m)
Tailings pond 1
P1 0.77 0.10 3.42
P2 0.78 0.10 4.19
P3 1.32 0.13 1.17
P4 1.04 0.12 2.23
P5 0.61 0.10 3.93
P6 1.20 0.15 3.55
P7 0.73 0.17 4.18
P8 1.73 0.12 2.39
P9 1.00 0.18 4.83
P10 1.15 0.13 4.38
P11 0.97 0.14 3.25
P12 0.75 0.08 0.66
P13 1.31 0.18 4.20
P14 0.99 0.18 3.07
P15 0.71 0.08 0.92
P16 no sample(i)
P17 0.93 0.09 3.76
P18 1.22 0.08 1.21
P19 no sample(i)
P20 0.79 0.08 1.33
P21 0.57 0.08 3.84
P22 1.28 0.07 1.81
P23 no sample(i)
P24 0.81 0.06 5.14
P25 no sample(i)
P26 0.85 0.07 5.97
P27 0.57 0.09 2.31
P28 1.21 0.06 1.41
P29 0.65 0.08 4.87
Tailings pond 2
P30 no sample(i)
P31 no sample(i)
P32 no sample(i)
P33 no sample(i)
P34 no sample(i)
P35 no sample(i)
P36 no sample(i)
P37 no sample(i)
P38 no sample(i)
P39 0.80 0.14 0.56
P40 no sample(i)
P41 no sample(i)
P42 0.97 0.07 ` 1.90
P43 no sample(i)
P44 no sample(i)
P45 no sample(i)
P46 no sample(i)
P47 1.40 0.08 3.29
P48 0.77 0.08 4.53
P49 0.76 0.09 0.62
P50 no sample(i)
P51 no sample(i)
P52 1.12 0.08 3.77
P53 0.63 0.09 3.40
P54 0.63 0.07 1.61
P55 0.49 0.10 3.26
P56 1.08 0.05 2.73
P57 0.68 0.06 4.60
P58 0.64 0.09 1.28
P59 0.62 0.07 3.81
P60 0.64 0.08 2.70
P61 0.81 0.04 3.40
P62 0.92 0.06 1.09
P63 0.81 0.04 2.26
P64 0.98 0.11 5.05
P65 no sample(i)
P66 0.67 0.05 3.60
P67 0.61 0.04 2.87
P68 0.54 0.13 3.12
P69 0.69 0.08 3.61
P70 0.61 0.05 3.34
P71 0.71 0.08 1.50
P72 0.69 0.09 5.32
P73 0.44 0.12 3.33
(i) No sample. Hole for which no sample is reported were
drill locations where no or very little tailings were
present and no sample could be recovered.
Sampling, assaying and quality control
The vibracore drilling program is a low-impact coring method that allows for recovery of unconsolidated sediments using a four-inch-diameter aluminum core tube. The tailings core were logged, photographed and then split in half with one-half sent to the laboratory for analysis and the other half retained and stored on site. All core samples were prepared and assayed at ALS Minerals, with sample preparation done in Sudbury and analytical work done in North Vancouver. All locations of ALS Minerals are ISO 9001:2000 certified. The entire sample received was dried, weighed and crushed to 70 per cent passing one millimetre. A sample split of up to 1,000 grams is then pulverized to 85 per cent passing 75 microns (200 mesh) to produce a homogenized sample. A 50-gram aliquot is used for fire assaying with an atomic absorption finish to determine gold concentration. Copper was analyzed using a four-acid digestion ICP (inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry) method. Internal quality control includes the use of blanks, duplicates and standards in every batch of samples. The company also conducts internal check assaying using certified external reference standards and blanks. Regular external check assays are performed at a second certified Canadian commercial laboratory. Coastal Gold also inserts external reference standards as a further external check.
Qualified persons
Dr. John Gale, PEng, president of Fracflow Consultants Inc., supervised the vibracore drilling program. Dr. Gale is an independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. David Copeland, PGeo, chief geologist, and Dr. Bill Pearson, PGeo, president and chief executive officer of Coastal Gold, both qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101, have reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content of this news release.
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