Jan 20 2015
Castle Mountain Mining Company Limited is pleased to announce results from the Company's fall 2014 Phase 2 drill campaign at the Castle Mountain Mine. Results from the campaign appear to have significantly expanded the unmined, very high-grade Lucky John Zone along strike, and discovered a possible high-grade extension at depth.
Additionally, drilling around the margins of the proposed JSLA pit continues to intersect broad intervals of gold mineralization increasing the likelihood that the strip ratio around this pit can be substantially reduced from that initially outlined in the Company's preliminary economic assessment entitled "Technical Report on the Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Castle Mountain Project, San Bernardino County, California" dated May 30, 2014 (the "PEA"). As well, initial testing of the backfill material in the previously mined out portions of the JSLA pit indicated broad intervals of backfill which are above the cut-off grades contemplated in the PEA, including 56.4 metres grading 0.65 g/t gold in hole CMM-048, which may allow portions of the backfill to be leached, and again decrease the strip ratio for the project.
Highlights from most recent Phase of the 2014 Drill Campaign include:
- 74.4 m of 9.11 g/t including 35.1 m of 18.97 g/t in hole CMM-060
- 33.3 m of 30.31 g/t including 10.6 m of 94.04 g/t in hole CMM-054
- 137.8 m of 1.5 g/t including 16.8 m of 3.07 g/t in hole CMM-018
- 79.2 m of 0.89 g/t including 23.8 m of 1.48 g/t in hole CMM-040
President and CEO, Gordon McCreary commented, "Holes 54 and 60 are amongst the very best of more than 1,800 drilled on the Castle Mountain property to date. Both holes were drilled in previously untested areas of the project. The holes, and a series of others from the current program, clearly indicate the exploration upside beyond the substantial gold resource currently defined on the property. The Company is planning a drill program to immediately follow up on these exciting and potentially game changing results."
Mr. McCreary continued, "Hole 60 bottomed in 2+ g/t gold mineralization, is open in multiple directions and mineralized at much greater depths than previously encountered. This strongly indicates to us the potential for a larger and deeper system than previously known. Our expectation is that further positive drill results will show the growth potential of the project, and validate our theory that the strip ratio will be driven lower through ongoing drilling, and our associated metallurgical test program."
All samples were tested for cyanide solubility, which is summarized in the Appendix. This work continues to indicate that even at depth the gold bearing sequence remains oxidized and readily leachable. The very high grade sections in holes CMM-060 and CMM-054 have cyanide solubility results of 78.3% and 80.3% respectively. This bodes well for leachability of the high-grade material, and for the overall recoveries of the operation.
The Phase 2 drill program included 37 total holes drilled for 10,136 metres split between Core (3,336 metres) and RC (6,800 metres) drilling. The larger PQ and a few of the HQ holes were drilled for metallurgical purposes while the remainder of the holes were laid out to test previously un-drilled areas or sparsely drilled areas within the existing pit shells. A majority of the holes encountered resource grade mineralization. The results of this program will be incorporated into the existing mineral resource and block models.