DELAMAR GOLD-SILVER PROJECT
OVERVIEW
The DeLamar project is located in southwestern Idaho approximately 100 miles (160 km) from Boise. The project includes the historic Kinross’ DeLamar Mine that closed in 1998 due to low precious metal prices. The historic DeLamar Mine produced 1.6 million ounces of gold and 100 million ounces of silver1.
The DeLamar Project constitutes roughly 5,300 acres of patented and unpatented claims, and a further 4,100 acres of leased lands with approximately 1,575 historic drill holes and 145,940 meters of drilling outlined in historic databases. The DeLamar site includes all necessary infrastructure and existing on-site facilities, including all-season road access, grid power, a lined water treatment pond, workshop, and an office building.
The 100% owned DeLamar Project was acquired from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corporation (“Kinross”) in November 2017.
The Delamar Project key highlights include:
- Established production history: Over 100 years of prior open pit and underground mining operations, with total historic production of 1.6 million ounces of gold and 100 million ounces of silver. Typical recoveries for dominantly oxidized ores processed through the DeLamar agitated leach mill between 1990 and 1998 ranged between 85% to 95% for gold and 70% to 80% for silver. Recoveries for mixed oxide ore typically ranged between 77% to 90% for gold and 65% to 75% for silver1.
- “Under the radar” opportunity with multiple untested targets:The mine has remained relatively unknown since it was put on care and maintenance in 1998 following low metal prices, and no exploration work has taken place on multiple high conviction targets in over two decades.
- Robust resource potential: As a result of limited exploration work during DeLamar’s operating mine life and no exploration post closure, the potential to expand existing mineralization and outline further near-surface bulk tonnage resources is high, as well as the opportunity to employ modern techniques to explore high grade underground targets.
- Excellent infrastructure and existing on-site facilities: All-season road access, grid power, a lined water treatment pond, workshop, and an office building.
The DeLamar project is subject to a retained variable net smelter return (“NSR”) royalty payable to Maverix Metals Inc.
- NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the DeLamar and Florida Mountain Gold – Silver Project, Owyhee County, Idaho, USA. The effective date of the DeLamar and Florida Mountain mineral resource estimate is May 1, 2019. The Technical Report is dated October 22, 2019.
Summary of the DeLamar Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate
DeLamar Deposit Gold and Silver Resources
| Classification | Tonnes | g/t Au | oz Au | g/t Ag | oz Ag | g/t AuEq | oz AuEq |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 14,481,000 | 0.51 | 238,000 | 36.4 | 16,942,000 | 0.98 | 456,000 |
| Indicated | 105,140,000 | 0.39 | 1,334,000 | 23.4 | 79,241,000 | 0.69 | 2,354,000 |
| M&I | 119,621,000 | 0.41 | 1,572,000 | 25.1 | 96,183,000 | 0.73 | 2,810,000 |
| Inferred | 21,291,000 | 0.39 | 266,000 | 15.2 | 10,418,000 | 0.59 | 401,000 |
- Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
- Oxidized and Transitional Mineral Resources are reported at a 0.2 g AuEq/t cut-off in consideration of potential open-pit mining and heap-leach processing. Unoxidized Mineral Resources are reported at a 0.3 g AuEq/t cut-off in consideration of potential open pit mining a milling / agitated leaching or flotation processing. The Mineral Resources are constrained by pit optimizations.
- Gold equivalent grades were calculated using the metal prices and recoveries presented elsewhere in this press release.
- Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent discrepancies between tonnes, grades, and contained metal content.
- The Effective Date of the Mineral Resources is May 1, 2019.
- The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by geology, environment, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues
The terms “mineral resource”, “measured mineral resource”, “indicated mineral resource”, “inferred mineral resource” used herein are Canadian mining terms used in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) under the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Petroleum (the “CIM”) Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council, as may be amended from time to time (the “CIM Definition Standards”). Inferred mineral resources’ have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. These definitions differ from the definitions in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) Industry Guide 7 (“Industry Guide 7”). United Statesinvestors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.
Under Industry Guide 7, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made. While the terms “mineral resource”, “measured mineral resource”, “indicated mineral resource”, and “inferred mineral resource” are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, they are not defined terms under Industry Guide 7 and historically they have not been permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. As such, information contained herein concerning descriptions of mineralization and resources under Canadian standards may not be comparable to similar information made public under Industry Guide 7 by U.S. companies in SEC filings.