Mr. Scott Berdahl reports
SNOWLINE GOLD INTERSECTS 161.0 M OF 1.1 GRAMS PER TONNE GOLD AT ITS VALLEY DISCOVERY AND CONFIRMS A SECOND REDUCED INTRUSION-RELATED GOLD SYSTEM AT ITS ROGUE PROJECT, YUKON
Snowline Gold Corp. has released additional preliminary assay results from the 2022 drilling programs at its Rogue project in Canada's Yukon. Hole V-22-030, drilled on the southeastern margin of Valley's central mineralized zone, returned 1.06 grams per tonne gold over 161 metres, before ending in strong mineralization (see attached tables). The result adds scale and tonnage to the southeastern side of this near-surface, well-mineralized zone. In addition, results from phase 1 drilling at Gracie confirm the existence of a second reduced intrusion-related gold system (RIRGS), with a high correlation between gold, bismuth and tellurium values in sheeted quartz veins. Phase 1 results will be used to guide a targeted phase 2 drill program at Gracie in 2023.
"Today's results continue to highlight and build on the prospectivity of our Rogue project," said Scott Berdahl, chief executive officer and director of Snowline. "A single season of drilling has transformed our Valley zone from an interesting exploration target to a preresource gold project noteworthy on a global scale, redefining the deposit model far beyond what are traditionally low-grade, heap-leach systems. The consistency of strong grades and the size of Valley make it easy to understand, translating to lower exploration costs required for delineation and, in the future, lower costs for any potential economic operation. Our results from Gracie demonstrate that Valley is not a one-off -- Snowline's Rogue project is prospective for multiple gold systems of this scale and intensity. We are excited to resume exploration in 2023, with the dual goals of further advancing Valley and locating additional gold systems just like it."
Hole V-22-030
Hole V-22-030 was collared within the Valley intrusion, to the east of the known near-surface, well-mineralized corridor. It was a 301 m step-back hole along section to the northeast from the collar site for V-22-026 (289.7 m at 0.9 g/t Au, including 189.2 m at 1.25 g/t Au from surface, see Snowline news release dated Jan. 18, 2023) and located 126 m from the nearest hole (V-22-027).
The hole encountered increasingly abundant sheeted quartz veins and trace visible gold as it progressed, returning 1.06 g/t Au over its final 161 m from 246 m down hole within a broader interval averaging 0.73 g/t Au over 282.5 m from 124.5 m down hole (see attached tables). The hole was terminated for technical reasons and ended in mineralization. The final 66 m averaged 1.46 g/t Au, while the final 21 m averaged 1.93 g/t Au.
As with previous holes at Valley, gold grades are carried across broad intervals, and they are not heavily affected by local high-grade (greater than 10 g/t Au) intersections (see an attached table).
Gracie
Gracie is a separate reduced intrusion-related gold system located roughly four to five kilometres east of the Valley discovery. Unlike Valley, where the mineralized intrusion is exposed on surface, the causative intrusion at Gracie does not daylight. This presents an attractive exploration target, as the highest gold grades in RIRGS systems are commonly found near the top of a given intrusion. Thus, at Gracie, the strongest part of the gold system is likely to be intact.
Phase 1 drilling at Gracie successfully confirms the presence of a RIRGS. Of the five holes drilled in 2022 (2,152 m total), four intersected zones of high-temperature alteration known as hornfels, indicative of a nearby intrusion. Each of these four holes also encountered trace instances of visible gold associated with bismuth and tellurium minerals in sheeted quartz veins oriented parallel to those at Valley, albeit at low overall vein densities. Geochemical correlations at Gracie in phase 1 drilling are further diagnostic confirmation of RIRGS mineralization. G-22-004, for example, returned 19.45 g/t Au over 0.9 m down-hole width, with strong bismuth and tellurium values (378 parts per million and 43.1 ppm, respectively) and very low arsenic (3.92 ppm), suggesting proximity to a heat source.
Phase 2 drilling is planned at Gracie for 2023, with the objective of intersecting arrays of high-density, sheeted quartz vein mineralization within the Gracie intrusion. Multielement analytical results from the phase 1 program will be used alongside mineralogical observations to identify possible vectors toward the Gracie intrusion.
Quality assurance/quality control
On receipt from the drill site, Valley's NQ2-sized drill core was systematically logged for geological attributes, photographed and sampled at Snowline's 2022 field camp. Sample lengths as small as 0.5 m were used to isolate features of interest, otherwise a default 1.5 m down-hole sample length was used. Core was cut in half lengthwise along a predetermined line, with one-half (same half, consistently) collected for analysis and one-half stored as a record. Standard reference materials, blanks and duplicate samples were inserted by Snowline personnel at regular intervals into the sample stream. Bagged samples were sealed with security tags to ensure integrity during transport. They were delivered by expeditor and by Snowline personnel to ALS Laboratories' preparatory facility in Whitehorse, Yukon. Sample preparation was completed at different facilities in Whitehorse, Sudbury, Ont., Thunder Bay, Ont., and Langley, B.C., with analyses completed in Vancouver.
ALS is accredited to ISO 17025:2005 UKAS ref 4028 for its laboratory analyses. Samples were crushed by ALS to greater than 70 per cent passing below two millimetres and split using a riffle splitter. ALS pulverized 250 g splits to greater than 85 per cent passing below 75 micrometres. A four-acid digestion with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) finish was used for 48-element analysis on 0.25 g sample pulps (ALS code ME-MS61L). All samples were analyzed for gold content by fire assay with an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish on 30 g samples (ALS code Au-AA23). Any sample returning greater than 10 g/t Au was reanalyzed by fire assay with a gravimetric finish on a 30 g sample (ALS code Au-GRA21).
Samples with visible gold and other samples returning greater than two g/t Au by fire assay, along with a set of randomly selected samples, will undergo further processing, analyzing the screen rejects to determine whether the screening process could introduce a sampling bias in current results by excluding coarse gold from analysis, resulting in an underreporting of true grades. Other biases are also possible.
Results reported herein are considered preliminary following the receipt of a low (but expected) percentage of abnormal assays from standard and blank samples inserted by the company into the Valley sample stream. Reanalysis of samples run along with these reference materials will provide greater certainty in the final assay numbers. These results will be reported if a material difference is identified between the current assays and the rerun sample batches. Based on the widespread and relatively consistent mineralization throughout mineralized zones, however, the company does not believe that the reanalysis of this relatively small group of samples will have a significant impact on the preliminary mineralized intervals reported herein.
About Snowline Gold Corp.
Snowline Gold is a Yukon-focused gold exploration company with a 17-project portfolio covering greater than 280,000 hectares. The company is exploring its flagship, greater than 137,000 ha Rogue and Einarson gold projects in the highly prospective (yet underexplored) Selwyn basin. Snowline's project portfolio sits within the prolific Tintina gold province, host to multiple million-ounce-plus gold mines and deposits, including: Kinross's Fort Knox mine; Newmont's Coffee deposit; and Victoria Gold's Eagle mine. The company's first-mover land position and extensive database provide a unique opportunity for investors to be part of multiple discoveries and the creation of a new gold district.
Qualified person
Information in this release has been prepared under supervision of and approved by Thomas K. Branson, MSc, PGeo, exploration manager at Snowline, a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
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