Aug 4 2016
Integra Gold Corp. ("Integra" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the initiation of a 2,000m pilot hole on its Lamaque Deep target, situated on the Lamaque Gold Project ("Lamaque") located in Val-d'Or, Québec. Once the pilot hole has been completed (est. completion Q4 2016) the target will be tested with a minimum of 15 wedged holes originating from the pilot hole at various intervals. The Company is anticipating the entire program including wedges will total 10,000m of drilling.
"We have been looking forward to drill testing this target ever since we took ownership of the ground and historic records as part of our mill acquisition in October of 2014. The target area, defined by a box that's roughly 1 km by 1 km starting at a depth of 1,000 m below surface, represents one of the most exciting drill targets in our exploration program today. For almost 50 years these two mines, less than 500m from one another, were operated by two major company owners, Placer Dome and Teck, who cumulatively produced over 9 million ounce of gold. Over the history of these two deposits, the respective mine management groups were of the view that both gold deposits were related, but could not test this target due to the ownership structure."
Lamaque Deep Exploration Target Concept and Parameters
In 2015, following the acquisition of the Sigma/Lamaque Mine and Mill complex immediately adjacent to its Lamaque South project, Integra commissioned the services of several industry experts to consolidate, validate and evaluate the historic digital data from the two past producing mines, amounting to 6 terabytes in size. This compilation was used to define potential geometric extensions of the Lamaque Main Plug intrusive which hosted over 85% of the 4.5 million ounces of gold produced at the Lamaque Mine over a 50 year period. The depth extension of the Main Plug, with targeting further refined by the Company's in-house knowledge together with information from this year's Gold Rush Challenge submissions, will now be tested by first drilling a master pilot hole located in the structural footwall of the mineralized intrusive plug. The completed master pilot hole will then form the origin for multiple (minimum of 15) wedged off-set holes at various intervals below 1,000m vertical depth, designed to test for gold mineralized extensions below Lamaque.
The Lamaque and Sigma Mines are located 500m from one another and are being interpreted by the Company's exploration and geological team as two different setting of a singular gold deposit and mineralized system. These mines each produced more than 4.5 million ounces of gold respectively; however, the Sigma Mine reached a vertical depth over 700m deeper than Lamaque. The Lamaque Mine ceased operations in 1985 due to falling commodity prices, labor unrest, and development limitations due to insufficient infrastructure; the mine was not closed as a result of the mineralized system being exhausted at depth. Integra's compilations of mine workings from the lowest levels of mining at Lamaque conducted by Teck, showed excellent gold grades often in excess of 15 g/t and vein continuity over hundreds of meters; hence the view that the mine was not shut down due to lack of gold or pinching veins at depth. The Lamaque Mine was the largest gold producer in Québec over a 30 year period, from 1955 until its closure in 1985. The historic data compiled by the Company provides compelling evidence that down-dip extensions of the gold-bearing system of the Lamaque Mine Main Plug, where it intersects shear structures dipping south from the Sigma Mine side of the original property boundary, continues at depth.
As part of the compilation process, a 3D model of the main mineralized structures and geology has been produced and clearly demonstrates the potential for significant gold resource extensions at depth. Integra's technical team, supported by external experts, has identified several instances in the database showing documented proof that gold mineralization, both low and high grade over wide zones in excess of 90m in thickness, exists in conjunction with the depth extensions of the Lamaque Mine itself. The Company's technical team has concluded that the historic results clearly demonstrate proof-of-concept that gold mineralization continuity exists at depth below the two mines and warrant further drill testing.
Geological compilation work has also demonstrated that the Lamaque Deep target area hosts most of the gold bearing structures and favorable host rocks from both mines providing optimal gold discovery conditions: pipe-like intrusive dioritic "plugs," a favorable host rock which dips northeast towards the Sigma mine, and similar quartz-tourmaline-pyrite gold bearing vertical and "flat" veining arrays related to shear zones. The downward projection of most of the gold mineralized shear zones from the Sigma Mine are also dipping southward towards the extension of the Lamaque Main Plug itself, providing an ideal exploration target area below 1,100m depth at the Lamaque Mine. Compilation work shows that this target zone with its optimal set of host conditions was previously intersected in a very limited historic drill-campaign conducted in 1997 by previous operators. Though this limited drilling was not performed at optimal orientations due to its location and limited access, it intersected significant widths of gold mineralization. Follow-up exploration and development was never completed due to financial restraints the company was facing at the time. These limited gold intercepts with the optimal target horizon provided strong evidence of continuity at depth. Aggressive drill campaigns on the Triangle and other deposits over the past 4 years, together with information gathered during the Company's recent Gold Rush Challenge, were also of tremendous value in identifying the ideal target conditions related to the Lamaque Deep concept. The structural and lithological similarities between Triangle/No. 4 Plug and Sigma/Lamaque cannot be ignored, nor can the valuable lessons learned from the Gold Rush Challenge. Both have been pivotal in the structuring of this Lamaque Deep drill campaign.
A summary of some of the historical drill intercepts that have identified extensions of mineralization below the Lamaque Main Plug, representing an extremely limited amount of historic drilling within a large volume of rock, in the down-dip direction and up to 500m away from known past mining activity, are listed below:
Summary of 1997 Historic Drill Results
*Drill hole data and assay results from historic Sigma Mine database (McWatters period); no minimum thickness; intervals selection strictly by gold grade with no cut-off applied; QA/QC procedures and processes have not been audited by Integra.
To view pictures of selected drill core from the McWatters 1997 drill program please click on the following link:
http://www.integragold.com/i/pdf/2016-06-02-fig2.pdf
To view idealized representations of the 3-D model (historic infrastructures, Lamaque Main Plug, mineralized high angle structures) and projection of the proposed pilot hole, please click on the following link:
http://www.integragold.com/i/pdf/2016-08-03-nrm-icg-XdS8us.pdf
On-line Lamaque Deep Presentation
An on-line presentation of the Lamaque Deep concept was prepared in June of 2015.. The presentation highlights the initial findings of the compilation work, and is presented by Hervé Thiboutot, Senior VP of Integra Gold. Also included is a summary of the "proof-of-concept" material which led to the delineation of the exploration target area associated with Lamaque Deep. The presentation can be found by clicking on the following link:
http://www.integragold.com/i/pdf/2016-06-02-fig1.pdf
Project and Company Profile
Integra Gold is a junior gold exploration company exploring advanced stage projects in Val-d'Or, Québec, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Company's primary focus is its high-grade Lamaque South project. In 2014, Integra completed the accretive acquisition of the Sigma Mill and Mine Complex, a fully permitted 2,200-2,400 ton per day mill and tailings facility. With major federal and provincial permits in place, existing infrastructure and significant exploration potential, this acquisition removed major costs and shortened timelines typically associated with developing mine projects. With a current market capitalization of approximately $400 million, Integra has raised over $100 million since 2013, at successively higher share prices, despite depressed gold prices. In August 2015, Eldorado Gold Corporation completed a strategic investment in Integra, acquiring 15% of the outstanding common shares. Integra was recently named to the TSX Venture top 50 performers in 2015 and the OTCQX Best 50 award for 2015.
Qualified Person
The Lamaque project is under the direct supervision of Hervé Thiboutot, Eng., Senior Vice-President of the Company, and Jacques Simoneau, P. Geo., Exploration Manager of the Company. Mr. Thiboutot and Mr. Simoneau are Qualified Persons ("QPs") as defined by the National Instrument 43-101. The Company's QPs have reviewed the technical content of this release.
Quality Assurance -- Quality Control ("QA/QC")
Thorough QA/QC protocols are followed on the project including insertion of duplicate, blank and standard samples in all drill holes. The core samples are submitted directly to the Bourlamaque and ALS-Chemex laboratories in Val-d'Or for preparation and analysis. Analysis is conducted on 1 assay-ton aliquots. Analysis of Au is performed using fire assay method with atomic absorption (AA) finish, with a gravimetric finish completed for samples exceeding 5 g/t Au. Results published are from the gravimetric finish assay if above 5 g/t and from the AA finish assay if lower than 5 g/t.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
Stephen de Jong
CEO & President