VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sabina Gold & Silver Corp (SBB.T/SGSVF.OTCQX), (“Sabina” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Goose Camp has been successfully re-opened and work programs have commenced at the Goose Property on its 100%-owned Back River Gold Project (“Back River” or the “Project”) in Nunavut, Canada.
Since de-mobilizing personnel from Goose Camp in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has been working in consultation with external parties to develop camp protocols to ensure the safety of our workforce and the surrounding communities. A COVID-19 Operational Framework has been developed and camp personnel have been safely moved back into site and are ready to recommence the 2020 field programs. Sabina will continue to engage with relevant parties and with the safety and wellbeing of our employees as our focus, will modify protocols based on new information to ensure our measures are protective.
Exploration
A planned 8,500 meter drill program will target additional high grade potential at Umwelt, infill and plunge extension at Llama and other new high potential exploration targets within the 8km Goose Property gold complex. An initial focus will be at Umwelt to test the high-grade underground corridor continuity up plunge from Vault towards the bottom of the planned open pit. Exploration will also commence infill drilling at Llama with the objective of extending resources from the bottom of the current Llama underground resource model, further down plunge and potentially beyond the limits of recently established mineralization intercepts.
“During the 2019 exploration drilling campaign we continued to demonstrate the potential for significant mine life extension at the Goose Project and have now delineated an additional 1.2 km of mineralized strike length at Llama underground, the new discovery at Nuvuyak and the emerging high-grade corridor at Umwelt. This year’s campaign will also enable us to prepare for the significant drilling required to bring these targets into a resource estimate. We are happy to be back in camp and are looking forward to a fruitful field season.”
Umwelt High-Grade Corridor Drilling
Over the past two years, with a focus on structural studies, Sabina has evolved strong exploration opportunities that include the potential for positive resource optimization and discovery growth at Umwelt and elsewhere across the Goose property. As part of this focused approach drilling in 2020 will continue to test and better define the continuity of higher than average grade potential within the Umwelt underground resources over approximately 600 m of plunge length that extends from the north of the Vault zone towards the boundaries of the Umwelt open pit. The initial series of 8 to 10 drill holes are designed to delineate and detail the nature of a modelled secondary structure, which has never been directly targeted. The structure has been intersected in prior drilling throughout the plunge length of Umwelt but its significance has previously not been fully understood with regard to its role in producing a localized thickened iron formation with associated higher than average gold mineralization. Drilling will test this structural control in a series of up plunge tests from last year’s drill hole 19GSE569 which returned 14.97 g/t Au over 21.75m (see press release June 19, 2019).
Llama Extension Infill and Additional Exploration Targeting and Drilling
A secondary focus of the planned drilling program, outside of the Umwelt deposit will focus on infill drilling and plunge extension at Llama. Up to 5000m of drilling will target key sections of the newly defined gold structure that extends and remains open over 500 meters below the current Llama resource. Drilling will focus on expanding and demonstrating continuity in high grade zones as well as across key sections.
An additional focus of drilling will be the testing of a select number of new exploration targets. These targets have been identified through an intensive re-evaluation of the exploration model leading to a target ranking exercise based on potential impact and prospective geological characteristics. The exploration team continues to strongly review and improve its understanding of the gold mineralization system to strengthen the ability to find new gold zones but also to help define and trace high grade structures within known deposits. Exploration targeting will be supported and advanced by a field program that includes an airborne geophysics survey, trenching, rock sampling and mapping.
Qualified Persons
The Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 as pertains to the Back River Project, is James Maxwell, Director of Exploration, for the Company.
Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.
Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is well-financed and is an emerging precious metals company with district scale, advanced, high grade gold assets in one of the world’s newest, politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada.
Sabina released a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned Back River Gold Project which presents a project that has been designed on a fit-for purpose basis, with the potential to produce ~200,000 ounces a year for ~11 years with a rapid payback of 2.9 years (see “Technical Report for the Initial Project Feasibility Study on the Back River Gold Property, Nunavut, Canada” dated October 28, 2015).
The Project received its final Project Certificate on December 19, 2017. The Project received its Type A Water License on November 14, 2018 and is now in receipt of all major authorizations for construction and operations.
In addition to Back River, Sabina also owns a significant silver royalty on Glencore’s Hackett River Project. The silver royalty on Hackett River’s silver production is comprised of 22.5% of the first 190 million ounces produced and 12.5% of all silver produced thereafter.
For further information please contact:
Nicole Hoeller, Vice-President, Communications: 1 888 648-4218 [email protected]
This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.
Bruce McLeod, President & CEO
Suite 1800 – Two Bentall Centre
555 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V7X 1M7
Tel 604 998-4175 Fax 604 998-1051
http://www.sabinagoldsilver.com
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws (the “forward-looking statements”), including our belief as to the extent, results and timing of and various studies relating to engineering studies, infrastructure improvement activities, exploration results and permitting and licensing outcomes. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the future circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated in or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. While we have based these forward-looking statements on our expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee that such future events will occur and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the effects of general economic conditions, commodity prices, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government and regulatory authorities and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Known risk factors include risks associated with exploration and project development; the need for additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources and reserves; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary licenses and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain of our officers or directors; the absence of dividends; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; dilution; the volatility of the our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Back River Project and general risks associated with the mineral exploration and development industry described in our Annual Information Form, financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws.
The infographics accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4823e661-6175-4309-9aa0-6ba6ee165be0
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a7c8b553-5c31-4ea4-838b-c3b85ffa90db
Figure 1
Figure 1: Inclined section of the Umwelt underground mineralization showing gram metre intercepts and proposed optimization drilling targets.
Figure 2
Figure 2: Plan map of the Goose property showing the 1st derivative airborne magnetic survey overlain by the cross axial quadrature 5500 electro-magnetic airborne survey. Selected targets defined by geophysical responses, known gold occurrences and by prospective lithology are shown by yellow-dotted ellipses.