Snowline Gold Drills 6.0 Grams Per Tonne Gold Over 101.0 M In Broader Interval Of 4.1 Grams Per Tonne Gold Over 244.9 M From Surface At Its Valley Deposit, And Identifies Two New Gold Targets
Hole V-24-078 returned 4.05 g/t Au over 244.9 m from surface, including 5.99 g/t Au over 101.0 m, emphasizing strong continuity of high-grade, near-surface gold mineralization at Snowline's Valley deposit, Rogue Project
"Charlotte" target is a newly discovered reduced intrusion-related gold system on the Rogue Project in and around an elongate 1.6 x 0.3 km intrusion, with selective grab samples up to 28.4 g/t Au
"Galatea" target hosts a 1.3 km quartz-carbonate boulder train found along 12 km structural corridor between Jupiter and Avalanche Creek, Einarson Project, with grab samples to 6.11 g/t Au
Assays pending for >22,500 m across 7 targets, with drilling ongoing.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 10, 2024 / SNOWLINE GOLD CORP (TSX-V:SGD)(OTCQB:SNWGF) (the "Company" or "Snowline") is pleased to announce additional analytical results from its 2024 Valley deposit drilling campaign on the Rogue Project in Canada's Yukon Territory alongside updates on its regional exploration campaign. Hole V-24-078 returned some of the highest sustained grades seen at the deposit to date (Table 1). Additional holes from Valley carry long intervals from surface in the southeastern part of the Valley deposit. Outside of Valley, Snowline's regional exploration team has discovered two promising new grassroots gold targets, Charlotte and Galatea, on the Rogue and Einarson Projects respectively. Drilling is ongoing at Valley and on the Jupiter target, Einarson Project, with assays pending for an additional 22,500 m drilled to date.
Table 1 -Highlight summary of Snowline's latest assay results; see Table 2 for details. *Interval widths reported; true widths of the system at Valley are not yet known.
"The breadth, consistency and grade of near-surface gold mineralization at Valley continue to impress us," said Scott Berdahl, CEO & Director of Snowline. "V-24-078 has set another very high bar, carrying an average grade of over 4 grams per tonne gold over 244.9 metres from surface, with a sustained run of 101.0 m averaging 6.0 g/t Au, while holes from the southeast and northwest parts of the deposit show good near-surface continuity and grades.
"In addition, our regional exploration team continues to turn up exciting new prospects on our underexplored, >3,600 km2 tenure, including a new reduced-intrusion related gold system. That we are still finding potentially significant new mineralized systems on surface in our fourth exploration season in this area is a testament to the scale and the fertility of the district."
VALLEY DRILLING, ROGUE PROJECT
Drilling at the Rogue Project's Valley deposit is ongoing, with four drills now active on the deposit. To date, roughly 20,400 m have been drilled at Valley in 46 holes in 2024 (Figure 1). Trace instances of visible gold and widespread sheeted quartz vein arrays have been observed both within and beyond the confines of the current, initial MRE for Valley. The Company awaits full assay results from the ongoing drill campaign to assess the significance of these observations and their impact on the MRE.
Figure 1 - Plan map of drill results and progress on the Rogue Project's Valley deposit, highlighting current results in drill holes V-24-078 through V-24-080. Past analytical results are faded, while instances of visible gold in holes awaiting assay are marked by yellow spheres. Drill holes with assays pending are labelled in blue.
Hole V-24-078
Hole V-24-078 is collared within the Valley intrusion, from the pad site of V-24-076 (212.4 m @ 1.11 g/t Au, including 66.9 m @ 2.02 g/t Au from surface, see Snowline news release dated August 29, 2024) but drilled in the opposite direction to test a void in drill data within the Valley deposit (Figure 1). The nearest previous holes are V-23-048 (265.2 m @ 2.20 g/t Au, including 100.2 m @ 3.28 g/t Au from surface, see Snowline news release dated September 11, 2023), collared roughly 50 m to the north-northeast, and V-22-014 (285.2 m @ 1.45 g/t Au, including 128.2 m @ 2.48 g/t Au from surface, see Snowline news release dated November 15, 2022), collared roughly 65 m to the east-southeast, with both previous holes drilled to the southwest and ending outside of the intrusion.
V-24-078 runs predominantly in the main, coarse-grained granodioritic phase of the Valley intrusion throughout its length. Quart vein densities are consistently moderate to high for the top of the hole, dropping off to low (<4 v/m) for the remainder of the hole after a series of faults at approximately 230 m downhole.
Figure 2 - Cross-section A-A', showing V-24-078 in the context of the initial Valley MRE block model and MRE-constraining revenue factor 0.72 pit shell. The block model has not been updated to reflect the current results, nor any results to date from 2024 (recent results from V-24-076 and 077 highlighted for context), and blocks shown outside of the current pit shell constraint are not included in the initial MRE for Valley. Instances of visible gold in holes still awaiting assay results are marked by yellow spheres. The released holes are projected onto the same plane from a total width of roughly 100 m-relative positions can be seen in the plan map in Figure 1.
The hole begins with a strong intersection of gold mineralization, averaging 4.05 g/t over the top 244.9 m from bedrock surface at 8.2 m downhole. Grades increase somewhat from 80.5 m downhole, averaging 5.99 g/t Au over the next 101.0 m, marking highest gold grade over a >100 m interval seen at Valley to date (including when assays are capped at 10.0 g/t Au, for a capped interval grade of 5.49 g/t Au-see Table 2). Below this highlight section, three separate but proximal intervals carry grades averaging between 0.28 and 0.39 g/t Au to the end of the hole at 407.0 m.
The results of this hole are expected to help upgrade and de-risk relevant areas of the initial mineral resource estimate for Valley. The ultimate effect of this result will be quantified along with analytical results of all subsequent holes in an updated mineral resource estimate at a later time.
Table 2 - Summary of significant mineralization returned from current holes on the Rogue Project. The consistency of strong mineralization in the deposit is reinforced by the capped values in the rightmost column, wherein any assay result >10 g/t Au is replaced by 10.0 g/t Au to calculate the average interval grades. Holes with a "CU" prefix are from the Cujo target, roughly 30 km west of Valley (Figure 6) *Interval widths reported; true widths of the system are not yet known, with different vein generations, orientations, and grade distributions present within various intervals through the bulk tonnage gold target at Valley.
Figure 3 - Instances of relatively coarse visible gold in quartz veins intersected in V-24-078 at 59.5 m and 219.7 m downhole. With visible gold noted in 269 separate quartz veins along the hole (first instance at 5.5 m downhole, last instance at 405.1 m downhole), V-24-078 has more instances of visible gold than any other hole drilled to date at Valley. Gold is present in at least three distinct quartz vein generations in the hole.
EXPLORATION UPDATES
Snowline currently has one drill rig active on the Jupiter target, and regional field teams advancing multiple additional targets. More than 8,900 m have been completed in regional drilling to date across 6 targets outside of Valley. Assays are still pending for roughly 7,000 m from these regional targets, namely: Aurelius (5 holes) and Reid (1 hole) on the Rogue Project, Sydney (3 holes) on the Cynthia Project, and Jupiter (8 holes) and Avalanche Creek (2 holes) on the Einarson Project.
Charlotte Target, Rogue Project
"Charlotte" is a newly discovered reduced intrusion-related gold system (RIRGS) on the Rogue Project, roughly 15 km southeast of Valley. The target covers a multiphase, elongate granodiorite pluton exposed across roughly 1.6 km x 300 m, roughly corresponding to a kilometre-scale resistive feature identified by aerial electromagnetic surveying (Figure 4), similar in scale and nature to the geophysical anomaly previously identified at Valley.
Figure 4 - Selective grab samples from the Charlotte target, along with the main intrusive body and an adjacent dike shown in yellow. Background colours show the results of an aerial electromagnetic survey, with cooler colours denoting zones of higher resistivity commonly associated with units of the Rogue Plutonic Complex, including the Valley intrusion.
Multiple generations of quartz veins, including sheeted quartz-arsenopyrite veins, are present within and proximal to the intrusion at Charlotte. Of 95 rock grab samples collected from the target area, 25 returned > 1 g/t Au, averaging 4.49 g/t Au up to a maximum of 28.4 g/t Au. Such samples are selective in nature, but they nonetheless demonstrate gold fertility of this RIRGS across a large area. A program of soil and talus fine samples in contour soil lines has been completed in the target area, which will assist in future targeting. Analysitcal results for these samples are still pending.
Galatea Target, Einarson Project
"Galatea" is a new epizonal orogenic target on Snowline's 100% owned Einarson Project, located along the N-S structural corridor between the Jupiter target (roughly 7 km north) and Avalanche Creek (roughly 5 km south). At Galatea, a 1.3 km long float train of quartz carbonate vein material was observed along a stream drainage (Figure 5). Of 12 rock grab samples taken, 6 returned >1 g/t Au, averaging 3.34 g/t Au with a maximum of 6.11 g/t Au. A follow-up soil sampling program consisting of seven contour lines totalling 8 km will be completed to further delineate the mineralization. This new target demonstrates the fertility of this >12 km structural corridor and the prospectivity of adjacent, parallel structures in the area.
Figure 5 - The Galatea float train in the context of surrounding geology, with rock samples shown as golden triangles. Certain rock samples peripheral to the mineralized float train were sampled by previous property operators in 2012 in search of Carlin-style mineralization. Inset photos show mineralization texture (middle, 4.31 g/t Au), with arsenopyrite and pyrite hosted in bulky quartz with ankerite, and float train appearance (bottom right, 6.11 g/t Au), with large boulders of vein material present, consistent with the surface discoveries at Jupiter and Avalanche Creek, both of which lie along the same >12 km structural corridor.
QA/QC
On receipt from the drill site NQ2-sized drill core was systematically logged for geological attributes, photographed and sampled at Snowline's "Forks" Camp. Sample lengths as small as 0.5 m were used to isolate features of interest, but most samples within moderate to strong mineralization were 1.0 m in length; otherwise, a default 1.5 m downhole sample length was used. Core was cut in half lengthwise along a pre-determined line, with one half (same half, consistently, dictated by orientation line where present or by dominant vein orientation where absent) collected for analysis and one half stored as a record. Field duplicates were collected at regular intervals as ? core samples by splitting the ? core sent for sampling, leaving a consistent record of half core material from duplicate and non-duplicate samples alike. Standard reference materials and blanks 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 to Bureau Veritas' preparatory facility in Whitehorse, Yukon. Sample preparation was completed in Whitehorse, with analyses completed in Vancouver.
Bureau Veritas is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO9001 for quality management. Samples were crushed by BV to >85% passing below 2 mm and split using a riffle splitter. 250 g splits were pulverized to >85% passing below 75 microns. A four-acid digest with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) finish was used for 59-element analysis on 0.25 g sample pulps (BV code: MA250). All samples were analysed for gold content by fire assay with an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish on 30 g samples (BV code: FA430). Any sample returning >10 g/t Au was reanalysed by fire assay with a gravimetric finish on a 30 g sample (BV code: FA530).
For the purposes of this release, contiguous mineralized intervals at Valley are defined as runs of mineralization with no break >5.0 m assaying <0.1 g/t Au and may include any highlight subsections thereof.
ABOUT ROGUE
Snowline Gold's 100%-owned, flagship Rogue Project, in Canada's Yukon Territory, covers a 60 x 30 km cluster of intrusions in the eastern Tombstone Gold Belt known as the Rogue Plutonic Complex.
Since its launch in 2021, Snowline has progressed the Rogue Project's Valley target from a greenfield prospecting discovery to a significant bulk tonnage gold resource, with 4.05 Moz gold indicated mineral resource at 1.66 g/t Au and an additional 3.26 Moz inferred mineral resource at 1.25 g/t Au within a pit-shell constraint. The resource estimate numbers are supported by the recent technical report for Rogue, prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 standards, entitled "Rogue Gold Project: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate," authored by Heather Burrell, P. Geo., Daniel J. Redmond, P. Geo., and Steven C. Haggarty, P. Eng., with an effective date of May 15, 2024.
Exploration of the open Valley system is ongoing. Valley is a reduced intrusion-related gold system (RIRGS), geologically similar to multi-million-ounce RIRGS deposits currently in production, like Kinross's Fort Knox Mine in Alaska, but with substantially higher gold grades. Gold is associated with bismuthinite and telluride minerals hosted in sheeted quartz vein arrays within and along the margins of a one-kilometer-scale, mid-Cretaceous aged Mayo-series intrusion.
The Rogue Project area hosts multiple intrusions similar to Valley along with widespread gold anomalism in stream sediment, soil and rock samples. Elsewhere, RIRGS deposits are known to occur in clusters. For these reasons, Snowline considers the Rogue Project to have district-scale potential to host additional reduced intrusion-related gold systems.
ABOUT SNOWLINE GOLD CORP.
Snowline Gold Corp. is a Yukon Territory focused gold exploration company with an eight-project portfolio covering roughly 360,000 ha (3,600 km2). The Company is exploring its flagship 111,000 ha (1,110 km2) Rogue gold project 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. The Company's first-mover position and extensive exploration database provide a unique opportunity for investors to be part of multiple discoveries and the creation of a new gold district.
Figure 6 - Project location map for Snowline Gold's eastern Selwyn Basin properties: Rogue, Einarson, Ursa, Cynthia and Olympus. The Valley target is one of several prospective reduced intrusion-related gold targets on the broader 30 x 60 km Rogue Project.
QUALIFIED PERSON
Information in this release has been prepared under supervision of and approved by Thomas K. Branson, M.Sc., P. Geo., VP Exploration of Snowline Gold Corp, as Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Scott Berdahl CEO & Director
For further information, please contact: Snowline Gold Corp. +1 778 650 5485 [email protected]
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the significance of analytical results, the significance of visual drill core observations and visible gold, the potential effects of current analytical results on future mineral resource estimates including expansion of the pit shell and de-risking of the current estimate, the discovery potential within the Valley intrusion and on other exploration targets, the potential for investors to participate in multiple future discoveries, the Rogue project having district-scale prospectivity, the creation of a new gold district and the Company's future plans and intentions. Wherever possible, words such as "may", "will", "should", "could", "expect", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict" or "potential" or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof.
Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things: risks related to uncertainties inherent in drill results and the estimation of mineral resources; and risks associated with executing the Company's plans and intentions. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.
