Ms. Susie Bell reports
LIBERTY GOLD ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF DRILL TESTING OF LEACH PADS, BACKFILL AND UNDERLAYING BEDROCK, GOLDSTRIKE OXIDE GOLD PROJECT, GREAT BASIN, USA
Liberty Gold Corp. has released results from initial reverse circulation (RC) drill testing of the historic heap leach pads and one area of historic mine waste backfill at the Goldstrike project, the flagship of its three principal gold projects located in the prolific Great basin of the United States.
Results confirm that the historical leach pads, the backfill below the pad linings and bedrock to depth contain areas of gold mineralization above the cut-off grade used in the Goldstrike preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
On July 10, 2018, Liberty Gold released a PEA for Goldstrike, confirming a low-capital-intensity, low-operating-cost, open-pit, run-of-mine, heap-leach operation, with a 7.5-year mine life and highly attractive economics, including a posttax net present value (5-per-cent discount rate) of $129.5-million (U.S.), internal rate of return of 29.4 per cent, and initial capex of $113.2-million (U.S.).
To aid in further advancement and derisking of the Goldstrike property, drill testing of the historic heap leach pads, stockpiles, waste dumps and pit backfill is under way. Most of the areas currently being tested lie within the PEA pit and are classified as waste in the model. Conversion of any of these areas to mineralized leach material would potentially add low-cost ounces to the resource, consisting of gold in material previously drilled, blasted and placed on surface.
GOLDSTRIKE 2018 SURFICIAL TARGETS DRILL RESULTS
Hole ID From To Intercept Au Au cut-off Hole length G/t by m
(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (m)
PGS508 no significant results 68.6
PGS509 no significant results 19.8
PGS510 24.4 35.1 10.7 0.72 0.2 105.2 7.6
PGS511 3.0 33.5 30.5 0.40 0.2 121.9 12.3
PGS512 13.7 30.5 16.8 0.43 0.2 121.9 7.2
PGS513 0.0 7.6 7.6 0.56 0.2 111.3 15.5
and 15.2 30.5 15.2 0.73
PGS526 0.0 32.0 32.0 0.57 0.2 62.5 22.1
and 35.1 47.2 12.2 0.32
PGS529 0.0 13.7 13.7 0.64 0.2 121.9 30.6
and 15.2 19.8 4.6 0.20
and 41.1 44.2 3.0 0.41
and 53.3 59.4 6.1 0.31
and 82.3 106.7 24.4 0.73
PGS531 0.0 30.5 30.5 0.27 0.2 118.9 42.6
and 38.1 48.8 10.7 0.37
and 48.8 89.9 41.1 0.55
and 105.2 112.8 7.6 1.05
PGS533 0.0 10.7 10.7 0.55 0.2 178.3 43.5
and 13.7 29.0 15.2 0.27
and 131.1 170.7 39.6 0.85
PGS535 0.0 22.9 22.9 0.22 0.2 29.0 5.1
PGS536 0.0 15.2 15.2 0.62 0.2 80.8 15.1
and 15.2 50.3 35.1 0.16 0.15
PGS538 0.0 16.8 16.8 0.23 0.2 41.1 13.6
16.8 33.5 16.7 0.58
PGS539 0.0 22.9 22.9 0.20 0.2 29.0 4.6
PGS540 0.0 24.4 24.4 0.17 0.15 53.3 9.4
and 24.4 48.8 24.4 0.21 0.2
PGS541 0.0 33.5 33.5 0.32 0.2 93.0 14.1
and 47.2 62.5 15.2 0.22
PGS542 0.0 35.1 35.1 0.52 0.2 56.4 24.5
and 35.1 53.3 18.2 0.35
PGS543 0.0 15.2 15.2 0.32 0.2 53.3 8.2
and 15.2 28.6 13.4 0.25 0.2
PGS544 0.0 29.0 29.0 0.19 0.15 68.6 8.3
and 29.0 36.6 7.6 0.36 0.2
PGS546 0.0 41.1 41.1 0.23 0.2 44.2 9.4
PGS547 0.0 30.5 30.5 0.39 0.2 56.4 12.0
PGS548 0.0 21.3 21.3 0.31 0.2 80.8 19.5
and 21.3 48.8 27.5 0.28
and 48.8 61.0 12.2 0.42
PGS550 0.0 24.4 24.4 0.34 0.2 61.0 10.2
and 44.2 50.3 6.1 0.32
PGS551 0.0 36.6 36.6 0.49 0.2 61.0 22.1
and 47.2 53.3 6.1 0.69
PGS553 0.0 42.7 42.7 0.34 0.2 91.4 17.5
and 42.7 51.8 9.1 0.36
PGS554 0.0 45.7 45.7 0.25 0.2 61.0 11.4
PGS556 0.0 25.9 25.9 0.21 0.15 99.1 24.9
and 76.2 89.9 13.7 1.42 0.2
Key points:
-
The results to date support Liberty Gold's thesis that considerable gold remains in surficial deposits created during the historic mining operation, which operated during a period of very low gold prices and much higher ore-to-waste cut-off grades. Heap leach technology has advanced considerably in the last 20 years, with recovery of gold possible from previously leached material.
- The heap leach pads are underlain by considerable thicknesses of mineralized backfill material.
-
Drill holes encountered areas of unmined mineralization in the pit floors and walls under backfilled areas.
-
Cyanide solubility tests carried out in conjunction with fire assaying of the drill samples from the heap leaches show moderate cyanide solubility. Additional testing will be carried out to determine potential recovery and the best methods to achieve it.
-
Cyanide solubility of backfill material averages 86 per cent.
-
Additional drilling in these areas is warranted, as well as testing of other areas designated as historic stockpiles, waste dumps and pit backfill.
- Drone lidar (light detection and ranging) surveying is being utilized to accurately estimate the volume of material stacked on the heap leach pads, currently estimated at approximately eight million tons.
- Results will be included in the next resource estimate.
An RC drill program is currently under way with two drills, with over 16,000 metres drilled to date. In addition to testing of the historic heap leach, stockpile and waste dump areas, infill and stepout drilling around the existing resource, and testing of new targets property wide is also under way. An amendment to the current plan of operations to grant access to an additional greater than 878 acres in and adjacent to the resource area is expected in in the final quarter of 2018.
Goldstrike is located in the eastern Great basin, immediately adjacent to the Utah/Nevada border, and is a Carlin-style gold system, similar in many ways to the prolific deposits located along Nevada's Carlin trend. Like Kinsley Mountain and Newmont's Long Canyon deposit, Goldstrike represents part of a growing number of Carlin-style gold systems located off the main Carlin and Cortez trends in underexplored parts of the Great basin. The historic Goldstrike mine operated from 1988 to 1994, with 209,000 ounces of gold produced from 12 shallow pits, at an average grade of 1.2 g/t Au and an average recovery of approximately 75 per cent.
Dr. Moira Smith, PhD, PGeo, vice-president, exploration and geoscience, Liberty Gold, is the company's designated qualified person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 -- standards of disclosure for mineral projects -- and has reviewed and validated that the information contained in the release is accurate. Drill composites were calculated using a cut-off of 0.20 g/t. Drill intersections are reported as drilled thicknesses. True widths of the mineralized intervals vary between 30 and 100 per cent of the reported lengths due to varying drill hole orientations, but are typically in the range of 60 to 80 per cent of true width. Drill samples were assayed by ALS Ltd. in Reno, Nev., for gold by fire assay of a 30-gram charge (one assay ton) with an atomic absorption finish, or if over five g/t were reassayed and completed with a gravimetric finish. For these samples, the gravimetric data were utilized in calculating gold intersections. For any samples assaying over 0.200 part per million an additional cyanide leach analysis is done where the sample is treated with a 0.25-per-cent-NaCN (sodium cyanide) solution and rolled for an hour. An aliquot of the final leach solution is then centrifuged and analyzed by AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy). Metallic screen techniques may be employed where the presence of coarse free gold is suspected. Approximately 1,000 grams of coarse reject material are pulverized and screened. Two splits of the fine fraction are assayed, as well as all material that does not pass through the screen (the coarse fraction). The final gold assay reported is a weighted average of the coarse and fine fractions. Quality assurance/quality control for all drill samples consists of the insertion and continual monitoring of numerous standards and blanks into the sample stream, and the collection of duplicate samples at random intervals within each batch. Selected holes are also analyzed for a 51-multielement geochemical suite by ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). ALS Geochemistry-Reno is ISO 17025:2005 accredited, with the Elko prep lab listed on the scope of accreditation.
About Liberty Gold Corp.
Liberty Gold is led by a proven technical and capital markets team that continues to discover and define high-quality assets. Its flagship property is the Goldstrike oxide gold project in Utah. Liberty also has a pipeline of projects, including Black Pine in Idaho and Kinsley Mountain in Nevada, providing a solid platform for future growth. Over the past five years, there have been eight new open-pit, heap leach gold mines built around the world and the management team and/or directors of Liberty Gold are responsible for discovering, developing and/or building, two of them.
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.