Dr. Tony Barresi reports
TRIUMPH GOLD RELEASES UPDATED MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATES FOR NUCLEUS, REVENUE AND TINTA DEPOSITS ON THE FREEGOLD MOUNTAIN PROPERTY, YUKON TERRITORY
Triumph Gold Corp. has released updated mineral resource estimates for the three deposits (Nucleus, Revenue and Tinta) on the company's 100-per-cent-owned, 200-square-kilometre, road-accessible Freegold Mountain property in Yukon.
The new mineral resource estimates were generated by Robert Sim, PGeo, of SIM Geological Inc., an independent qualified person and resource expert with over 35 years of experience. A new National Instrument 43-101 technical report will be available on SEDAR within 45 days. The new mineral resource estimates are effective as of Feb. 11, 2020, and supersede the previous mineral resource estimate (Campbell et al., 2015, technical report on the Freegold Mountain project, Yukon Canada Resource Estimates), which is available on SEDAR.
Triumph Gold president, Dr. Tony Barresi, PhD, PGeo, commented: "We are pleased to present three pit-constrained resources, two of which also have high-grade underground resources. The new pit constraint and other stringent economic parameters applied to the three resource estimates demonstrate that the mineral deposits exhibit reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction as required under NI 43-101. Since 2016 Triumph has been dedicated to bringing shareholder value by first focusing on grassroots exploration with resource definition to follow. This effort resulted in a number of new discoveries, including the high-grade Blue Sky porphyry breccia, and the WAu breccia, both located within the Revenue deposit. While our attention will remain on discovery-focused exploration in the near term, we are pleased to provide updated mineral resource estimates that we believe accurately assess the resources identified to date, which are contained on our 100-per-cent-owned Freegold Mountain property."
Technical highlights of Freegold Mountain property mineral deposits:
- Three deposits host open-pit-constrained mineral resources, two of which also include deeper, high-grade, additional mineral resources that are considered amenable to underground extraction methods.
- Combined indicated mineral resources from Revenue and Nucleus deposits total 42.4 million tonnes at 0.58 gram per tonne (g/t) gold (Au), 0.08 per cent copper (Cu) and 1.2 g/t silver (Ag) for a total of one million contained gold equivalent (AuEq) ounces. Combined inferred mineral resources at Revenue, Nucleus and Tinta total 39 million tonnes at 0.56 g/t gold, 0.10 per cent copper and 4.5 g/t silver for a total of 1.1 million contained gold equivalent ounces.
-
Higher-grade (greater than 1.4 g/t AuEq) mineralization from the newly discovered Blue Sky porphyry breccia is now included in an underground portion of the Revenue resource.
- Inclusion of tungsten (W) in the estimate of mineral resources at the Revenue deposit.
Triumph Gold's Freegold Mountain property hosts three road-accessible mineral deposits. Changes from the 2015 mineral resource estimates, which were unconstrained, are the result of a combination of new drilling and the application of updated technical and economic parameters. The new estimates are either constrained within pit shells or, in the case of underground mineral resources, show favourable geometry and continuity of grade and thickness so as to exhibit reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.
ESTIMATE OF MINERAL RESOURCE FOR THE NUCLEUS DEPOSIT
Average grade Contained metal
Class Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag AuEq Au Cu Ag
(million) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (koz) (koz) (mlb) (koz)
Indicated 31.0 0.75 0.65 0.07 0.70 748 651 44 698
Inferred 9.4 0.63 0.56 0.04 0.72 189 169 9 217
Note: 0.30 g/t AuEq cut-off grade for pit-constrained resources.
Koz: thousands of ounces.
Mlb: millions of pounds.
ESTIMATE OF MINERAL RESOURCES FOR THE REVENUE DEPOSIT
Average grade Contained metal
Type Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W
(million) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (%) (koz) (koz) (Mlb) (koz) (klb) (klb)
Indicated
Pit
constrained 11.4 0.69 0.38 0.12 2.4 0.016 0.008 252 140 30 895 4,089 2,082
Inferred
Pit
constrained 25.0 0.70 0.46 0.11 2.2 0.009 0.005 565 367 61 1,786 4,954 2,807
Underground 2.5 1.40 0.99 0.22 5.2 0.010 0.001 112 79 12 417 525 60
Combined
inferred 27.5 0.77 0.51 0.12 2.5 0.009 0.005 677 446 73 2,203 5,478 2,867
Note: 0.30 g/t AuEq cut-off grade for pit-constrained resources and 1.0 g/t AuEq cut-off grade
for underground resources. Mo: Molybdenum.
ESTIMATE OF INFERRED MINERAL RESOURCE AT THE TINTA DEPOSIT
Average grade Contained metal
Type Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag Pb Zn AuEq Au Cu Ag Pb Zn
(000) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (%) koz koz mlb koz mlb mlb
Pit constrained 908 3.01 1.09 0.18 42.5 0.72 1.47 88 32 4 1,240 14 29
Underground 1,313 3.13 1.43 0.16 46.3 0.56 1.17 132 60 5 1,955 16 34
Combined 2,221 3.08 1.29 0.17 44.7 0.63 1.29 220 92 8 3,195 31 63
Note: 0.35 g/t AuEq cut-off grade for pit-constrained resources and 1.8 g/t AuEq cut-off
for underground resources.
COMBINED ESTIMATE OF MINERAL RESOURCES ON THE FREEGOLD MOUNTAIN PROPERTY
Average grade Contained metal
Deposit Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W Pb Zn AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W Pb Zn
(m) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (%) (%) (%) koz koz mlb koz klb klb mlb mlb
Indicated
Nucleus 31.0 0.75 0.65 0.07 0.7 n/a n/a n/a n/a 748 651 44 698 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Revenue 11.4 0.69 0.38 0.12 2.4 0.016 0.008 n/a n/a 252 140 30 895 4,089 2,082 n/a n/a
Total
indicated 42.4 0.73 0.58 0.08 1.2 1,000 791 74 1,593 4,089 2,082
Inferred
Nucleus 9.4 0.63 0.56 0.04 0.7 n/a n/a n/a n/a 189 169 9 217 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Revenue 27.5 0.77 0.51 0.12 2.5 0.009 0.005 n/a n/a 677 446 73 2,203 5,478 2,867 n/a n/a
Tinta 2.2 3.08 1.29 0.17 44.7 n/a n/a 0.63 1.29 220 92 8 3,195 n/a n/a 31 63
Total
inferred 39.0 0.86 0.56 0.10 4.5 1,085 707 90 5,614 5,499 3,094 31 63
U/G: underground; n/a: non applicable.
Nucleus
The Nucleus deposit is an epithermal-style gold-silver-copper deposit. Indicated mineral resources at Nucleus include 31 million tonnes at 0.65 g/t Au, 0.7 g/t Ag and 0.07 per cent Cu using a 0.3 g/t AuEq cut-off grade. Inferred mineral resources at Nucleus include 9.4 million tonnes at 0.56 g/t Au, 0.7 g/t Ag and 0.04 per cent Cu. The Nucleus deposit is open to the south and at depth.
The Nucleus deposit has been tested with a total of 359 drill holes with a cumulative length of 60,061 m. The mineral resource estimate was generated using drill hole sample assay results and the interpretation of a geological model, which relates to the spatial distribution of gold, copper and silver. Interpolation characteristics are defined based on the geology, drill hole spacing and geostatistical analysis of the data. The effects of potentially anomalous high-grade sample data, composited to 1.5-metre intervals, are controlled using both traditional top cutting as well as limiting the distance of influence during block grade interpolation. Block grades are estimated into a three-dimensional block model with nominal block size measuring 10 by 10 by five m (length by width by height), using ordinary kriging, and have been validated using a combination of visual and statistical methods. Resources in the indicated category are delineated by drilling spaced at maximum 50-metre intervals. Resources in the inferred mineral category are within a maximum distance of 150 metres from a drill hole. The estimate of the indicated and inferred mineral resources is constrained within a limiting pit shell derived using projected technical and economic parameters. The cut-off grade of the base case estimate of mineral resource is projected to be 0.30 g/t AuEq, calculated using the formula AuEq equals Au g/t plus (Ag g/t times 0.012) plus (Cu per cent times 1.371). The sensitivity of the Nucleus mineral resource to cut-off grade, constrained by the $1,500/ounce gold pit shell, is shown in the associated tables.
SENSITIVITY OF INDICATED MINERAL RESOURCE TO CUT-OFF GRADE FOR THE NUCLEUS DEPOSIT
Average grade Contained metal
Cut-off grade Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag AuEq Au Cu Ag
AuEq (g/t) (million) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) koz koz mlb koz
0.2 39.5 0.64 0.55 0.06 0.64 815 701 52 812
0.3 base case 31 .0 0.75 0.65 0.07 0.70 748 651 44 698
0.4 23.2 0.88 0.78 0.07 0.75 661 583 35 560
0.5 17.0 1.04 0.93 0.07 0.82 571 510 28 448
Notes
Resources constrained within $1,500/ounce Au pit shell. Base case cut-off grade is
0.30 g/t AuEq for pit-constrained resources.
SENSITIVITY OF INFERRED MINERAL RESOURCE TO CUT-OFF GRADE FOR THE NUCLEUS DEPOSIT
Average grade Contained metal
Cut-off grade Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag AuEq Au Cu Ag
AuEq (g/t) (million) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) koz koz mlb koz
0.2 11.5 0.56 0.50 0.04 0.66 206 183 10 243
0.3 base case 9.4 0.63 0.56 0.04 0.72 189 169 9 217
0.4 6.5 0.75 0.67 0.05 0.82 156 141 7 171
0.5 4.4 0.89 0.81 0.05 0.91 126 115 5 128
Note
Resources constrained within $1,500/ounce Au pit shell. Base case cut-off grade is
0.30 g/t AuEq for pit-constrained resources.
Revenue
Revenue is a gold-silver-copper-molybdenum-tungsten deposit located approximately four km to the southeast of the Nucleus deposit. The new mineral resource estimate for Revenue improves upon the previous (2015) estimate with:
- New drilling that has better delineated the higher grade WAu breccia domain;
- Expansion of the resource to the northeast to include higher-grade mineralization at the newly discovered Blue Sky porphyry breccia;
- Inclusion of a greater-than-300-metre-deep high-grade (that is, 1.4 g/t AuEq) portion of the Blue Sky porphyry breccia in an underground resource;
- Upgrading a portion of the resource into an indicated category;
- Inclusion of tungsten in the resource estimate.
Indicated mineral resources at Revenue include 11.4 million tonnes at 0.38 g/t Au, 2.4 g/t Ag, 0.12 per cent Cu, 0.016 per cent Mo and 0.008 per cent W. Combined open-pit-constrained and underground inferred resources at Revenue include 27.5 million tonnes at 0.51 g/t Au, 2.5 g/t Ag, 0.12 per cent Cu, 0.009 per cent Mo and 0.005 per cent W. Some of the known zones of mineralization at Revenue remain open in multiple directions and to depth; for example, the Blue Sky porphyry breccia is open to the east, west and to depth, and the WAu breccia is open to depth. Triumph Gold believes there is significant potential in the immediate vicinity of Revenue for new discoveries.
The Revenue deposit has been tested with a total of 324 drill holes with a cumulative length of 55,100 m. The mineral resource estimate was generated using drill hole sample assay results and the interpretation of a geological model, which relates to the spatial distribution of gold, copper, silver, molybdenum and tungsten. Interpolation characteristics are defined based on the geology, drill hole spacing and geostatistical analysis of the data. The effects of potentially anomalous high-grade sample data, composited to 1.5-metre intervals, are controlled using both traditional top cutting as well as limiting the distance of influence during block grade interpolation. Block grades are estimated into the three-dimensional block model with nominal block size measuring 10 by 10 by five m (length by width by height), using ordinary kriging and have been validated using a combination of visual and statistical methods. Resources in the indicated category are delineated by drilling spaced at maximum 50-metre intervals. Resources in the inferred mineral category are within a maximum distance of 150 metres from a drill hole. The estimate of the indicated and inferred mineral resources is constrained within a limiting pit shell derived using projected technical and economic parameters. The base case cut-off grade of the estimate of open-pit-constrained mineral resources is projected to be 0.30 g/t AuEq calculated using the formula AuEq equals Au g/t plus (Ag g/t times 0.012) plus (Cu per cent times 1.371) plus (Mo per cent times 4.114) plus (W per cent times 5.942). Resources below the pit shell that are considered potentially amenable to bulk underground extraction methods are estimated at a cut-off grade of one g/t AuEq. The sensitivity of the Revenue mineral resources to cut-off grade is shown in the associated tables.
SENSITIVITY OF PIT-CONSTRAINED INDICATED MINERAL RESOURCES TO CUT-OFF GRADE FOR THE REVENUE DEPOSIT
Cut-off grade
AuEq Average grade Contained metal
(g/t) Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W
(million) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (%) koz koz mlb koz klb klb
0.2 12.6 0.65 0.36 0.11 2.3 0.015 0.008 262 145 31 928 4,197 2,196
0.3 base case 11.4 0.69 0.38 0.12 2.4 0.016 0.008 252 140 30 895 4,089 2,082
0.4 9.2 0.77 0.43 0.13 2.7 0.019 0.009 228 127 26 809 3,754 1,907
0.5 7.1 0.87 0.48 0.14 3.1 0.021 0.011 197 110 22 701 3,282 1,704
Notes
Resources constrained within $1,500/ounce Au pit shell. Base case cut-off grade is
0.30 g/t AuEq for pit-constrained resources.
SENSITIVITY OF PIT-CONSTRAINED INFERRED MINERAL RESOURCES TO CUT-OFF GRADE FOR THE REVENUE DEPOSIT
AuEq Average grade Contained metal
(g/t) Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W
(million) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (%) koz koz mlb koz klb klb
0.2 36.1 0.56 0.36 0.09 1.8 0.007 0.004 653 419 72.4 2,049 5,807 3,420
0.3 base
case 25.0 0.70 0.46 0.11 2.2 0.009 0.005 565 367 61.1 1,786 4,954 2,807
0.4 17.2 0.86 0.57 0.13 2.7 0.010 0.006 479 318 50.1 1,516 3,836 2,203
0.5 13.2 0.99 0.67 0.15 3.1 0.011 0.006 422 285 43.4 1,314 3,176 1,807
Notes
Resources constrained within $1,500/ounce Au pit shell. Base case cut-off grade is
0.30 g/t AuEq for pit-constrained resources.
SENSITIVITY OF UNDERGROUND INFERRED MINERAL RESOURCES TO CUT-OFF GRADE FOR THE REVENUE DEPOSIT
AuEq Average grade Contained metal
(g/t) Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W AuEq Au Cu Ag Mo W
(million) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (%) koz koz mlb koz klb klb
0.8 3.0 1.32 0.92 0.22 5.0 0.010 0.001 126 88 14 479 626 72
1.0 base
case 2.5 1.40 0.99 0.22 5.2 0.010 0.001 112 79 12 417 525 60
1.2 1.8 1.53 1.09 0.24 5.6 0.010 0.001 86 61 9 313 367 43
1.4 1.1 1.66 1.20 0.25 6.0 0.009 0.001 60 43 6 215 225 27
1.6 0.6 1.81 1.34 0.26 6.4 0.009 0.001 34 25 3 118 108 14
1.8 0.2 1.99 1.51 0.27 7.2 0.007 0.001 15 12 1.4 56 36 6
Tinta
Tinta is a vein-hosted gold-silver-copper-lead-zinc deposit located on the southern portion of Triumph Gold's Freegold Mountain property that extends to depths approaching 400 m below surface. Combined open-pit-constrained and underground inferred resources at Tinta include 2.2 million tonnes at 1.29 g/t Au, 44.7 g/t Ag, 0.17 per cent Cu, 0.63 per cent Pb and 1.29 per cent Zn. The Tinta deposit remains open at depth where a number of gold-rich drill intersections have not yet been followed up on with additional drilling. Grassroots exploration along strike to the northwest of the Tinta vein identified a 1.8 km long coincident soil geochemistry and geophysical anomaly. Seven trenches across the anomaly exposed quartz veins with precious and base metal mineralization similar to the Tinta vein.
The Tinta deposit has been tested with a total of 74 drill holes with a cumulative length of 10,063 m plus a total of 450 m of underground drifting in two locations. The mineral resource estimate was generated using drill hole and drift channel sample assay results and the interpretation of a geological model, which relates to the spatial distribution of gold, copper, silver, lead and zinc. Interpolation characteristics are defined based on the geology, drill hole spacing and geostatistical analysis of the data. The effects of potentially anomalous high-grade sample data, composited to one-metre intervals, are controlled by limiting the distance of influence during block grade interpolation. Block grades are estimated into the three-dimensional block model with nominal block size measuring two by five by five m. The block model is rotated so the short axis (two m blocks) are perpendicular to the strike of the deposit at an azimuth of 305 degrees and the larger block dimensions are oriented along strike and in the vertical dimension. Grade estimates are made using ordinary kriging and have been validated using a combination of visual and statistical methods. Resources in the inferred category are within a maximum distance of 50 m from drilling or underground channel samples. The base case cut-off grade of the open-pit-constrained mineral resource is projected to be 0.35 g/t AuEq calculated using the formula AuEq equals Au g/t plus (Ag g/t times 0.012) plus (Cu per cent times 1.371) plus (Pb per cent times 0.457) plus (Zn per cent times 0.571). Resources below the pit shell that are considered potentially amenable to underground extraction methods are estimated at a cut-off grade of 1.8 g/t AuEq. The sensitivity of the Tinta mineral resources to cut-off grade is shown in the associated table.
SENSITIVITY OF PIT-CONSTRAINED INFERRED MINERAL
RESOURCES TO CUT-OFF GRADE AT THE TINTA DEPOSIT
Cut-off grade Average grade Contained metal
AuEq Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag Pb Zn AuEq Au Cu Ag Pb Zn
(g/t) (000) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (%) koz koz mlb koz mlb mlb
0.25 919 2.98 1.07 0.18 42.0 0.71 1.45 88 32 3.6 1,241 14 29
0.3 913 2.99 1.08 0.18 42.2 0.72 1.46 88 32 3.6 1,240 14 29
0.35 base
case 908 3.01 1.09 0.18 42.5 0.72 1.47 88 32 3.6 1,240 14 29
0.4 906 3.01 1.09 0.18 42.6 0.72 1.47 88 32 3.6 1,240 14 29
0.45 901 3.03 1.09 0.18 42.8 0.73 1.48 88 32 3.6 1,239 14 29
0.5 893 3.05 1.10 0.18 43.1 0.73 1.49 88 32 3.5 1,238 14 29
Note
Resources constrained within $1,500/ounce Au pit shell.
SENSITIVITY OF UNDERGROUND INFERRED MINERAL RESOURCES TO CUT-OFF GRADE AT THE TINTA DEPOSIT
Cut-off grade
AuEq Average grade Contained metal
(g/t) Tonnes AuEq Au Cu Ag Pb Zn AuEq Au Cu Ag Pb Zn
(000) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (%) koz koz mlb koz mlb mlb
1.4 1,646 2.82 1.26 0.15 41.7 0.53 1.07 149 67 5.4 2,204 19 39
1.6 1,466 2.98 1.35 0.16 44.1 0.55 1.12 140 64 5.0 2,080 18 36
1.8 base case 1,313 3.13 1.43 0.16 46.3 0.56 1.17 132 60 4.7 1,955 16 34
2 1,177 3.27 1.49 0.17 48.5 0.58 1.23 124 57 4.3 1,836 15 32
2.2 1,048 3.42 1.56 0.17 50.7 0.61 1.30 115 52 3.9 1,709 14 30
2.4 905 3.59 1.63 0.18 53.8 0.64 1.37 104 47 3.5 1,564 13 27
Note
Resources constrained below the $1,500/ounce Au pit shell.
Notes
The economic viability of the mineral resources at the Freegold property were tested by constraining them within a floating cone pit shells, or evaluating the viability of possible underground extraction using the following technical and economic parameters:
- Mining cost (open pit): $2.50/t;
- Mining cost (underground): $25/t at Revenue, $60/t at Tinta;
- Process: $11/t at Nucleus and Revenue, $12/t at Tinta;
- General and administrative expense: $1.50/t at Nucleus and Revenue, $2.50/t at Tinta;
- Gold price: $1,500/ounce;
- Silver price: $18/ounce;
- Copper price: $3/pound;
- Lead price: $1/pound;
- Zinc price: $1.25/pound;
- Molybdenum price: $9/pound;
- Tungsten price: $13/pound;
- Gold process recovery: 85 per cent;
- Silver process recovery: 60 per cent;
- Copper process recovery: 75 per cent (80 per cent at Tinta);
- Lead process recovery: 75 per cent (Tinta only;
- Zinc process recovery: 75 per cent (Tinta only);
- Mo process recovery: 50 per cent (Revenue only);
- Tungsten process recovery: 50 per cent (Revenue only);
- Pit slope: 45 degrees.
There are no adjustments for mining recoveries or dilution. The open-pit testing indicates that some of the deeper mineralization may not be economic due to the increased waste stripping requirements. Underground mineral resources exhibit continuity of thickness and grade and are considered to exhibit reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction using underground extraction methods at the projected cut-off grades. It is important to recognize that these discussions of surface and underground mining parameters are used solely to test the reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction and that they do not represent an attempt to estimate mineral reserves. There are no mineral reserves calculated for this project. These preliminary evaluations are used to prepare the mineral resource estimates and to select appropriate reporting assumptions.
Quality assurance
All Triumph's sample assay results have been independently monitored through a quality control/quality assurance (QA/QC) program that includes the insertion of blind standards, blanks and pulp and reject duplicate samples. Logging and sampling are completed at Triumph's secure facility located at the Freegold project. Predominantly NTW- and HTW-sized drill core is sawn in half on site and half drill core samples are securely transported to prep laboratories in Whitehorse for crushing and pulverizing and then to geochemical laboratories located in Vancouver, Canada, for analysis. Gold content is determined by fire assay of a 30-gram charge and the additional elements are determined by four-acid, or historically aqua regia, digestion with ICP (inductively coupled plasma) finish. ALS and SGS labs have been used and both are independent from Triumph.
Triumph is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data referred to herein.
Qualified persons
Robert Sim, PGeo, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, is responsible for the estimate of mineral resources presented in this news release and has reviewed, verified and approved the contents of this news release as they relate to the mineral resource estimate, including the sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the mineral resource estimate. Mr. Sim is independent from Triumph and confirms there were no limitations from the company in verifying the drilling and sample data with site visit observations and monitoring of the QA/QC program.
Dr. Barresi verified and approved the contents of this news release as they relate to the continuing exploration and development program at the Freegold Mountain project.
About Triumph Gold Corp.
Triumph Gold is a growth-oriented Canadian-based precious metals exploration and development company. Triumph Gold is focused on creating value through the advancement of the district-scale Freegold Mountain project in Yukon.
We seek Safe Harbor.
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