- 12 m grading 17.5 g/t gold
(starting at 15 m)
- 12 m grading 15.3 g/t gold
(starting at 3 m)
- 45 m grading 5.6 g/t gold
(starting at 18 m)
- 33 m grading 10.4 g/t gold
(starting at 33 m)
- 21 m grading 12.4 g/t gold
(starting at 18 m)
- 39 m grading 6.5 g/t gold
(starting at 21 m)
- 27 m grading 12.5 g/t gold
(starting at 24 m)
VANCOUVER, BC, June 23, 2021 /CNW/ - Artemis Gold Inc. (TSXV:
ARTG) ("Artemis" or the "Company") is pleased to
provide a final report on the results of its Grade Control drilling
program (the "Program") targeting the planned high- grade starter
pit at the Company's Blackwater Gold project in Central British Columbia, Canada ("Blackwater"
or the "Project").
With all of the final assay results now completed and interpreted, the Program has significantly increased confidence in the
elevated gold grades within the wide, near surface mineralization
in the target area earmarked for the first year of operations
at Blackwater. Based on the results, the Program supports the
elevated gold grades at the beginning of the mine life as
outlined in the 2020 Pre-Feasibility Study for Blackwater
("Blackwater Gold Project British Columbia NI 43- 101
Technical Report on Pre-Feasibility Study" with an effective date
of August 26, 2020, available on the
Company's website and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com ("2020 PFS")).
Grade Control Drilling Program
The Program consisted
of 561 holes and 33,216 m of reverse
circulation ("RC") drilling, which commenced in mid- November 2020 and concluded at the end of
March 2021, one month ahead of
schedule.
The Program was designed to bring the drill density from up to 50 x 50m diamond drill hole ("DDH") spacing down to
12.5 x 12.5m spacing, generating up
to 16 times the data when compared to the reserve definition drill
program conducted by the Project's previous owner, New Gold Inc.
The Program targeted a zone within the first 60 m (six mining benches) from surface containing
in excess of five million tonnes of high-grade ore to improve
short-term mine planning at the start of production.
The other primary
objectives of the Program were to:
- Optimize the grade selectivity and mine schedule for managing
the ore tonnes and grade to be processed in the first year of
operations;
- More accurately delineate ore and waste boundaries to mitigate
dilution;
- Optimize drill and blast designs;
- Provide a larger sample size to reduce grade variability.
In production, Artemis plans a continuous grade control drilling
program targeting mine blocks 9-12 months ahead of ore production
to the mill to maintain this discipline throughout the life of mine
operations.
Summary of Selected Grade Control Drilling Results
Assay results from the full Program of 10,258 samples have now
been returned, confirming the planned high-grade early mining phase
for Blackwater (see attached Figure 1). Selected results from the
last batch of assay results from the Program are highlighted
below:
Table 1: Near-Surface Intercepts
from Grade Control Drilling Program1
|
Hole ID*
|
East
|
North
|
From (m)
|
To (m)
|
Interval
|
Au (g/t)**
|
Ag (g/t)**
|
***
|
BWRC00088
|
375612.5
|
5892750.0
|
21
|
39
|
18
|
9.3
|
23.8
|
***
|
BWRC00101
|
375450.0
|
5892750.0
|
24
|
39
|
15
|
6.7
|
12.8
|
***
|
BWRC00110
|
375600.0
|
5892762.5
|
18
|
63
|
45
|
5.6
|
11.1
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
18
|
21
|
3
|
30.5
|
18.7
|
***
|
BWRC00119
|
375487.5
|
5892762.5
|
3
|
42
|
39
|
4.0
|
10.5
|
***
|
BWRC00122
|
375450.0
|
5892762.5
|
3
|
45
|
42
|
3.7
|
12.7
|
***
|
BWRC00147
|
375400.0
|
5892775.0
|
3
|
33
|
30
|
3.5
|
5.6
|
***
|
BWRC00157
|
375537.5
|
5892787.5
|
33
|
66
|
33
|
10.4
|
12.7
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
45
|
51
|
6
|
39.4
|
36.3
|
***
|
BWRC00179
|
375575.0
|
5892800.0
|
21
|
45
|
24
|
5.9
|
9.3
|
***
|
BWRC00180
|
375562.5
|
5892800.0
|
27
|
54
|
27
|
5.8
|
9.5
|
***
|
BWRC00190
|
375437.5
|
5892800.0
|
18
|
39
|
21
|
12.4
|
12.2
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
21
|
24
|
3
|
43.2
|
29.2
|
***
|
BWRC00193
|
375400.0
|
5892800.0
|
9
|
18
|
9
|
11.4
|
11.5
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
9
|
12
|
3
|
22.5
|
11.9
|
***
|
BWRC00250
|
375250.0
|
5892812.5
|
6
|
60
|
54
|
3.2
|
7.1
|
***
|
BWRC00251
|
375237.5
|
5892812.5
|
21
|
60
|
39
|
6.5
|
10.8
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
51
|
54
|
3
|
26.4
|
12.3
|
***
|
BWRC00259
|
375700.0
|
5892825.0
|
6
|
36
|
30
|
4.0
|
4.2
|
***
|
BWRC00265
|
375625.0
|
5892825.0
|
45
|
54
|
9
|
12.1
|
31.5
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
48
|
51
|
3
|
21.5
|
57.2
|
***
|
BWRC00267
|
375600.0
|
5892825.0
|
21
|
48
|
27
|
6.8
|
14.8
|
***
|
BWRC00280
|
375437.5
|
5892825.0
|
48
|
60
|
12
|
12.6
|
15.5
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
51
|
54
|
3
|
24.9
|
25.8
|
***
|
BWRC00297
|
375225.0
|
5892825.0
|
45
|
60
|
15
|
11.9
|
36.4
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
54
|
57
|
3
|
30.8
|
72.3
|
***
|
BWRC00298
|
375212.5
|
5892825.0
|
42
|
60
|
18
|
48.7
|
12.0
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
57
|
60
|
3
|
21.9
|
21.4
|
***
|
BWRC00319
|
375512.5
|
5892837.5
|
24
|
51
|
27
|
12.5
|
16.7
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
39
|
42
|
3
|
58.5
|
54.3
|
***
|
BWRC00344
|
375200.0
|
5892837.5
|
33
|
57
|
24
|
7.9
|
6.3
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
45
|
48
|
3
|
21.2
|
15.1
|
***
|
BWRC00357
|
375600.0
|
5892850.0
|
30
|
42
|
12
|
9.9
|
68.7
|
***
|
BWRC00389
|
375200.0
|
5892850.0
|
45
|
57
|
12
|
13.8
|
12.2
|
***
|
incl.
|
|
|
51
|
54
|
3
|
27.5
|
13.9
|
|
BWRC00435
|
375450.0
|
5892875.0
|
3
|
15
|
12
|
15.3
|
24.6
|
|
incl.
|
|
|
6
|
9
|
3
|
50.7
|
81.3
|
|
BWRC00463
|
375512.5
|
5892887.5
|
33
|
57
|
24
|
5.7
|
10.2
|
|
BWRC00520
|
375212.5
|
5892900.0
|
24
|
54
|
30
|
3.5
|
13.0
|
|
BWRC00532
|
375225.0
|
5892912.5
|
21
|
54
|
33
|
3.7
|
8.5
|
|
BWRC00538
|
375262.5
|
5892925.0
|
15
|
27
|
12
|
17.5
|
25.8
|
|
incl.
|
|
|
18
|
24
|
6
|
29.4
|
43.0
|
|
|
* All holes were drilled with a dip of -90º (vertical). Drill hole intercepts reflect minimum 70% of the true widths of the orebody. Only intercepts greater than
9 m of
length and width x grade greater than
100 g–m of gold are reflected
in this news release.
|
|
|
** Assay results are based on the leached Au and Ag after 5-hour LeachWELLTM accelerated leach, and exclude Au and Ag remaining in residue solids.
|
|
|
***Previously released grade control intercepts
|
______________________
|
1 Refer to notes 1, 2, and 3 within the
section entitled "Technical Disclosure" at the end of this press
release
|
The LeachWELLTM assay method was selected to increase
the sample size from a more standard 50g to 1,000g sample, which
reduces variability and increases repeatability of assay results.
Additionally, the LeachWELLTM method increases the
understanding of leachability of the orebody with the information
feeding directly into the process design. Extensive duplicate
analyses highlight excellent LeachWELLTM repeatability
of assay results and recoverable gold and silver.
Of the total samples assayed, 1,207 samples were also assayed for residue gold and silver concentration in the LeachWELLTM
residues, resulting in a calculated overall
recovery of 96.5% for gold and 69.3% for silver.
Including the previously released results, the Program has also
confirmed excellent continuity of mineralization, as illustrated in
the sections provided in Figures 3-7. The location of these
sections is provided in Figure 2.
Steven Dean, Chairman and CEO,
commented "The final results of the grade control drilling program
continue to indicate the potential for more tonnage and more
contained ounces within the high-grade starter zone, with the
potential to reduce the strip ratio at the beginning of the mine
life. This program confirms the strong continuity of high-grade
mineralization at the start of the mine life and provides a higher
confidence level in the Phase 1 mining schedule outlined in the
Company's 2020 Pre-Feasibility Study, further derisking the start
up of operations."
Technical Disclosure
Drill sampling consisted of reverse circulation drill cuttings
being collected at a drill mounted Metzke rotating cone splitter by
Artemis personnel on 3 m intervals.
Samples were placed into bags and further split at the Blackwater
sampling facility to ~3 kg sample size using a jones riffle
splitter. Samples were tagged with barcodes, placed in a sample
crate and a laboratory dispatch form was completed. Samples were
stored in a secure location prior to shipping. Chain-of-custody
procedures consisted of filling out sample submittal forms that
were sent to the laboratory with sample shipments to make certain
that all samples were received by the laboratory.
Sample preparation and analysis were performed by SGS Canada Inc.
("SGS"), located in Burnaby,
British Columbia, Canada. SGS holds ISO/IEC accreditation
for selected sample preparation and analytical techniques and is
independent of the Company. Sample preparation consisted of drying,
crushing and pulverizing to 75% passing 75 µm. Gold and silver
analyses were performed using a 5-hour 1,000 g
LeachWELLTM method with an inductively coupled plasma
mass spectrometry finish (ICP-MS).
The representativeness of the LeachWELLTM analytical
technique to a mineral deposit is dependent on the leaching
characteristics of the material submitted. As no certified standard
reference material had been prepared from the same material that
was to be leached, no standard reference materials were inserted in
the grade control sample stream to directly monitor analytical
precision. Precision checks consisted of comparisons to results
from split samples using 50 g fire assay methods, comparison of
data to existing diamond drill holes and review of SGS laboratory
standards. Additionally, LeachWELLTM tails solids were
consistently checked for non leachable gold and silver using 50 g
fire assay for gold and 2 g 4-acid digestion for silver. The
Company randomly inserted blank and duplicate samples into the
sample stream as part of the quality assurance and quality control
(QA/QC) monitoring for the Program at an insertion rate of ~14%.
These samples had closely monitored contamination, splitter
functionality and analytical repeatability, respectively.
Mr. Klaus Popelka (Qualified Person)
reviewed the available Program data, and considers that the sample
preparation, security, and analytical procedures are
acceptable. There are no drilling, sampling or recovery factors
known to the QP that could materially impact the
accuracy and reliability
of the results presented in this news release.
Qualified Persons
Klaus Popelka, P. Geo., Manager
Resource Geology for Artemis, and a QP as defined by National
Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the scientific and
technical information in this news release.
ARTEMIS GOLD INC.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
"Steven Dean"
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
+1 604 558 1107
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains certain "forward looking
statements" and certain "forward-looking information" as defined
under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking
statements and information can generally be identified by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect",
"intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans",
"potential" or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements and
information are not historical facts, are made as of the date of
this news release, and include, but are not limited to, statements
regarding the Program; the planned next steps of the Company with
respect to the Project, including permitting, drilling programs,
awarding EPC Contracts, arranging debt and equity financing,
consultation with indigenous groups and work on the Definitive
Feasibility Study; and other plans and expectations of the Company
with respect to the Project. These forward- looking statements
involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results may
vary. Important factors that may cause actual results to vary
include without limitation, risks related to the ability of the
Company to accomplish its plans and objectives with respect to the
development of the Project within the expected timing or at all,
the timing and receipt of certain required approvals, changes in
commodity prices, changes in interest and currency exchange rates,
risks inherent in exploration and development activities, changes
in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical,
technical or other factors, unanticipated operational difficulties
(including failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate in
accordance with specifications, cost escalation, unavailability of
materials, equipment or third party contractors, delays in the
receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances, job
action, and unanticipated events related to heath, safety and
environmental matters), the COVID-19 pandemic, political risk,
social unrest, changes in general economic conditions or conditions
in the financial markets, and other risks related to the ability of
the Company to proceed with its plans for the Project and other
risks set out in the Company's most recent MD&A. In making the
forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has
applied several material assumptions, including without limitation,
the assumptions that: (1) market fundamentals will result in
sustained mineral demand and prices; (2) the receipt of any
necessary approvals and consents in connection with the development
of the Project; (3) the availability of financing on suitable terms
for the development, construction and continued operation of the
Project; (4) sustained commodity prices such that the Project
remains economically viable; and (5) that the COVID-19 pandemic and
restrictions related thereto will not materially impact the Company
or prevent the Company from operating its business as planned. The
actual results or performance by the Company could differ
materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any
forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurances can be given
that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking
statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what
impact they will have on the results of operations or financial
condition of the Company. Except as required by law, the Company is
under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to
update, alter or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement,
whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
SOURCE Artemis Gold Inc.