Jun 1 2017
Superior Gold Inc. is pleased to announce the commencement of drilling at the Timor Extension target, at the Company's 100% owned Plutonic Gold Mine, located in the Archean Plutonic Marymia Greenstone Belt 800 kilometres north east of Perth, in Western Australia.
The Timor orebody has been previously exploited and is now exhausted. It produced more than 800,000 ounces of gold over an eight-year period at an average grade of 7.5 g Au/t (which is greater than the current underground reserve grade of 4.6 g Au/t). Mineralization occurred over a vertical extent of 400 metres, with an average stope width of approximately 20 metres. Historically, it was the most significant economic zone of the Plutonic Gold Mine. The orebody is associated with intense deformation within the Timor fold structure, which is currently cut off to the north by the ENE-trending 114N Fault Zone. Four historical drill holes to the north of the Fault confirmed the presence of a mafic unit with primary geochemical composition comparable to that of the Plutonic host sequence.
Reinterpretation of an earlier gravity and 2D seismic survey has suggested there is possibly a significant offset to the west when crossing to the north side of the 114N Fault Zone. All available data has now been combined to produce a 3D geological model outlining a target to the northwest of the Timor orebody, which has the potential to host the continuation of the Timor orebody on the north side of the Fault Zone. It is therefore a high priority exploration target for Superior Gold.
The mafic units to the north of the Fault Zone are overlain by granite which has been thrust over it. The current exploration program will be aimed at a "proof of concept" to investigate if the folded mafic unit hosting the Timor orebody exists in the target area. If successful, more detailed follow up drilling will be conducted.
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the location of the Timor orebody in addition to the location of the target area in both plan and sectional view.
Two drill holes will be completed initially, each totalling 1,125 metres in depth. The first 200 metres of each hole will be conducted using reverse circulation drilling, which is the most time and cost effective method. The holes will then be completed by diamond drilling. The Company has a planned budget of approximately $0.5 million and expects to commence drilling in early June with completion by mid-July.
Chris Bradbrook, President and CEO of Superior Gold stated: "We are very pleased to be able to commence exploration for the potential extension of the Timor orebody. Identifying the location of such a potential extension north of the 114N Fault Zone, has long been a priority of previous operators of the Plutonic Gold Mine. Superior Gold is fortunate to be able to benefit from the enhanced interpretation of previously completed geophysical surveys. Exploration of this target is consistent with the Company's goal of creating shareholder value as cost effectively as possible. Should we be able to identify a continuation of the Timor mineralization it would be a transformational event for our shareholders. We also continue to compile data from 26 years of mining and exploration at the Plutonic Gold Mine to identify other high priority targets which we believe exist on the Mines property."
Plutonic Gold Mine
For the two consecutive quarters since acquiring the Plutonic Gold Mine in October 2016, Superior Gold has produced 43,763 ounces of gold and generated $12.8 million in free cash flow. For further information please see Press Release entitled "Superior Gold Inc. Announces First Quarter 2017 Financial and Operating Results" available on the Company's website at www.superior-gold.com.
Development Activities
Initial development and pre-stripping operations at the Company's open-pit development project, Hermes, are scheduled to commence in mid-2017. The Hermes deposit is expected to be mined as a conventional open pit contractor-operated excavator-truck mining operation with ore being trucked for processing to the Plutonic Gold Mine mill.
Outlook and Strategy
In the near term, The Corporation is focused on re-establishing the Plutonic Gold Operations as a stable gold producer capable of producing 100,000 ounces of gold annually. To achieve this goal, the Company intends to focus on its growth strategy which includes:
- Focusing on quality high-grade ounces
- Optimizing recoveries
- Increasing incremental production from underground and open pit sources
- Resource and reserve additions through property wide exploration
- Leveraging the excess mill capacity
With the proceeds raised on the completion of the initial public offering, and the cash being generated by the Plutonic Gold Mine, the Company has the liquidity available to execute on its near-term growth and exploration strategy.
Qualified Person
Scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Simon Lawson who is a member of the AusIMM and a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101. Mr. Lawson is an employee of the Company and serves as the Chief Geologist.
Source: https://www.superior-gold.com/