Mr. Matt Manson reports
MARATHON GOLD REPORTS FIRST SUMMER DRILL RESULTS FROM BERRY ZONE AT THE VALENTINE GOLD PROJECT
Marathon Gold Corp. has released drill results from recent exploration drilling at the Valentine gold project, central Newfoundland. These latest results represent fire assay data from the initial 10 drill holes completed in the new Berry zone following the restart of drilling operations on June 9, 2020.
Highlights include:
- VL-20-823 intersected 3.33 grams per tonne gold over 120.0 metres, including 11.83 g/t Au over 10.0 metres, 13.03 g/t Au over 2.0 metres and 4.97 g/t Au over 28.0 metres.
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VL-20-824 intersected 3.37 g/t Au over 36.0 metres, including 36.14 g/t Au over one metre, and 5.69 g/t Au over 7.0 metres, and 51.52 g/t Au over four metres including 203.65 g/t Au over one metre, and 37.56 g/t Au over one metre.
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VL-20-822 intersected 2.33 g/t Au over 32.0 metres including 10.49 g/t Au over 4.0 metres, and 7.84 g/t Au over 5.0 metres including 29.20 g/t Au over one metre.
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VL-20-821 intersected 2.12 g/t Au over 13.0 metres.
All quoted intersections comprise uncut gold assays in core lengths. All significant assay intervals are reported in the associated table.
The 10 drill holes released today represent stepout drilling to both the southwest and northeast of the new Berry zone, located within the six-kilometre-long Sprite corridor between the Leprechaun and Marathon deposits. Previous drilling in this area has outlined Main zone-style mineralization characteristic of the Valentine gold project, with shallowly southwest-dipping, en echelon stacked quartz-tourmaline-pyrite-gold (QTP-Au) veins contained within steeply northwest-plunging envelopes in the hangingwall of the Valentine Lake shear zone. Drill holes VL-20-823 and 824 returned exceptional results at sections 13690E and 13720E, respectively, drilling down plunge of the stacking and confirming the extension of the Berry zone to the northeast.
Matt Manson, president and chief executive officer, commented: "Our 2020 exploration drill program is focused on new discovery, with broad stepout drilling into areas previously untested. We are particularly encouraged by these continued good results. When we returned to drilling in early June, we picked up where we had left off with a 32,000-metre drill plan extending northeastwards from the Berry zone towards the Frozen Ear Pond Road area and ultimately to the limit of the Marathon deposit, which remains open on the southwestern side. This is a total strike length of approximately three kilometres of high exploration potential. Moving along this trend systematically will remain the goal of our exploration efforts in 2020, with results reported as they become available."
The latest 10 drill holes at the Berry zone represent oblique drilling across the Main zone envelope of QTP-Au veining toward the southeast (such as VL-20-819, 820, 821, 822, 825, 826 and 827) or steeply down through the stacking of the Main zone envelope toward the northwest (such as VL-20-818, 823 and 824). Nine of the 10 holes returned significant drill intersections of greater than 0.7 g/t Au, and each of the 10 drill holes returned drill intersections with gold grades above the 0.3 g/t Au cut-off used in the January, 2020, mineral resource estimate for the project.
The scale of QTP-Au mineralization developed in the Berry zone appears closely controlled by the size and frequency of sheared mafic dikes, which extend northeast-southwest parallel to the Valentine Lake shear zone. Main zone mineralization is contained within a 30-to-100-metre-wide interval between dikes intruding quartz-eye porphyry on the hangingwall (northwest) side and the main shear zone contact with sedimentary rocks on the footwall (southeast) side. This mineralized envelope extends from surface to a depth of over 250 metres, where it remains open. Two drill holes (VL-20-819 and 820) on sections 13340E and 13290Em, respectively, returned only intermittent or low-grade mineralization. QTP-Au mineralization is developed over a broad interval in the area of sections 13400E and 13600E, and then appears to narrow to the northeast where it becomes concentrated between the contact and a particularly large mafic dike in the area of section 13800E. This implies a drill-confirmed strike extent for the Berry zone of approximately 450 metres based on current data to date.
SIGNIFICANT ASSAY INTERVALS, SPRITE CORRIDOR, VALENTINE GOLD PROJECT
DDH From To Core length True thickness Gold Gold (cut)
(m) (m) (g/t) (g/t)
VL-20-818 45 47 2 1.9 1.47
93 94 1 1.0 4.39
107 110 3 2.9 0.77
132 134 2 1.9 3.67
149 151 2 1.9 0.72
204 210 6 5.7 2.26
VL-20-820 6 7 1 0.7 0.85
130 132 2 1.4 1.76
VL-20-821 40 41 1 0.8 0.72
51 52 1 0.8 1.79
72 73 1 0.8 3.59
78 91 13 9.8 2.12
152 154 2 1.5 0.96
171 175 4 3.0 0.77
195 196 1 0.8 1.36
205 206 1 0.8 1.36
220 223 3 2.3 0.93
VL-20-822 67 99 32 24.0 2.33
including 90 94 4 3.0 10.49
106 107 1 0.8 3.81
113 118 5 3.8 7.84
including 114 115 1 0.8 29.20
128 132 4 3.0 3.50
VL-20-823 79 80 1 1.0 3.94
87 207 120 114.0 3.33 3.31
including 119 129 10 9.5 11.83 11.57
including 144 146 2 1.9 13.03
including 161 189 28 26.6 4.97
228 232 4 3.8 1.23
234 235 1 1.0 1.23
253 254 1 1.0 0.83
272 273 1 1.0 1.34
332 334 2 1.9 1.17
VL-20-824 19 23 4 3.8 51.52 8.18
including 21 22 1 1.0 203.36 30.00
38 39 1 1.0 2.83
43 44 1 1.0 37.56 30.00
49 56 7 6.7 5.69
64 65 1 1.0 15.97
72 73 1 1.0 0.97
77 81 4 3.8 1.87
107 143 36 34.2 3.37 3.20
including 119 120 1 1.0 36.14 30.00
149 152 3 2.9 1.49
169 171 2 1.9 1.86
181 185 4 3.8 1.05
VL-20-825 23 25 2 1.4 9.09
124 125 1 0.7 1.18
141 142 1 0.7 0.79
VL-20-826 130 131 1 0.7 2.47
VL-20-827 86 87 1 0.7 0.80
90 92 2 1.4 3.01
Notes on the calculation of assay intervals
(1) Significant assay intervals are defined as one m core length or more of mineralization with an average fire assay result of greater than 0.7 g/t Au, representing the bottom cut-off for high-grade mill feed in the Marathon April, 2020, prefeasibility study mine plan (see technical report dated April 21, 2020). Assay intervals with an average fire assay result of between 0.3 g/t Au and 0.7 g/t Au are above the cut-off used in the January, 2020, mineral resource estimate for the project but are not considered significant for the purposes of this news release.
(2) No significant assays were returned in drill hole VL-20-819.
Qualified person
Disclosure of a scientific or technical nature in this news release was prepared under the supervision of Nicholas Capps, PGeo (Newfoundland), project manager for exploration at the Valentine gold project. Exploration data quality assurance and control for Marathon are under the supervision of Jessica Borysenko, PGeo (Newfoundland), GIS manager for Marathon Gold. Both Mr. Capps and Ms. Borysenko are qualified persons under National Instrument 43-101.
Quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC)
QA/QC protocols followed at the Valentine gold project include the insertion of blanks and standards at regular intervals in each sample batch. Drill core is cut in half with one-half retained at site, the other half tagged and sent to Eastern Analytical Ltd. in Springdale, Nfld. All reported core samples are analyzed for Au by fire assay (30 g) with atomic absorption finish. All samples above 0.30 g/t Au in economically interesting intervals are further assayed using metallic screen to mitigate the presence of coarse gold. Significant mineralized intervals are reported in the associated table as core lengths and estimated true thickness (70 to 95 per cent of core length), and reported with and without a top cut of 30 g/t Au applied.
Acknowledgments
Marathon acknowledges the financial support of the junior exploration assistance program, Department of Natural Resources, government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
About Marathon Gold Corp.
Marathon is a Toronto-based gold company advancing its 100-per-cent-owned Valentine gold project located in central Newfoundland, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world.
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