La Ronge Gold Corp.: Increased Resources Defined at Preview SW Deposit
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Oct 1, 2013) - La Ronge Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:LAR) -
HIGHLIGHTS
- Indicated resources containing 158,300 ounces of gold grading 1.89 g/t Au
- Inferred resources containing 270,800 ounces of gold grading 1.48 g/t Au
- Uncapped grades would likely result in a 20%-25% increase in average grade overall
- The centre of the deposit is drilled at 15 m line spacing, remainder at 30 m centres
- Preliminary metallurgical test work indicates total gold recovery in concentrates ranged from 90% to 93%
- Gravity processes can recover significant portion of 'free' gold in the Preview SW Deposit; Gravity recovery was observed to be in the range of 52% to 72% of contained gold
- High-grade flotation-concentrates can be produced from the gravity tailings
- An internal preliminary Project Description initiated to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the project going forward
La Ronge Gold Corp. ("the Company") is pleased to report an updated mineral resource for the Preview SW deposit located in north-central Saskatchewan. The resource estimate outlines indicated resources containing 158,300 ounces of gold (2.61 million tonnes grading 1.89 g/t Au) and inferred resources containing 270,800 ounces (5.70 million tonnes grading 1.48 g/t Au) based on a 0.50 g/t Au cut-off grade. This estimate updates the resource estimate released on December 3, 2012 and includes the results of the 2013 drilling program, which consisted of 20 diamond-drill holes totalling 4,113 m. The core of the deposit was drilled on a line spacing of 15 m, and the remainder of the zone was drilled at 30 m line spacing. Drill holes were collared at 5 to 20 m spacing along these lines. The indicated and inferred mineral resource estimates reported herein are contained within a resource-limiting open-pit shell (based on a $1300/oz gold price) along 500 metres of strike and to a depth of 200 m.
Rasool Mohammad, the Company's President and CEO comments, "This updated resource calculation shows a 20%-25% increase in total gold ounces (uncut) when compared to the initial resource calculation released December 3, 2012. The deposit remains open in all directions. Drill hole PR13-163 about 2600 m away from the deposit grading 17.98 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 5.71 m starting at 10 m offers more near surface ounces to be found."
Mineral resources are summarized in the table below, which presents the base case estimate at a gold cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t, and sensitivity estimates around this base case to show the sensitivity of the mineral resource estimate to changes in cut-off grades.
COG g/t Au | Preview SW Gold Resources | CATEGORY | |||
Tonnes | Au g/t | Contained oz Au | |||
0.3 | 2,967,900 | 1.71 | 162,900 | INDICATED | |
0.3 | 7,343,800 | 1.24 | 291,800 | INFERRED | |
0.4 | 2,784,500 | 1.80 | 160,800 | INDICATED | |
0.4 | 6,473,400 | 1.36 | 282,000 | INFERRED | |
0.5 | 2,607,900 | 1.89 | 158,300 | INDICATED | |
0.5 | 5,697,100 | 1.48 | 270,800 | INFERRED | |
0.6 | 2,424,700 | 1.99 | 155,000 | INDICATED | |
0.6 | 4,999,600 | 1.61 | 258,500 | INFERRED | |
0.7 | 2,239,900 | 2.10 | 151,200 | INDICATED | |
0.7 | 4,396,800 | 1.74 | 246,000 | INFERRED |
Mineral resources are constrained by 3D wireframes representing zones of high shear intensity and grade continuity. An indicator kriging interpolation was used to identify blocks with >50% probability of containing significant Au mineralization exceeding an indicator threshold of 0.25 g/t. All other blocks were excluded from the final grade estimation and assigned a 0 grade.
Drill hole data was composited on 1 m downhole intervals, and composites were capped at levels of 50 g/t within the mineral zones and at 8 g/t within the surrounding diorite. Blocks that were not entirely within the mineral zones were estimated for the portion outside the zone using composites outside the zone domains. The final grade assigned was the weighted average by block volume between the grade estimated within the zone and outside the zone. Final gold grades were estimated using the inverse distance method to the 3rd power (ID3).
Mineral resources are amenable to open pit mining methods and have been constrained using a Lerchs-Grossmann optimized pit. Assumptions used in the pit optimization include US$1,300/oz Au, 90% Au recovery, $2.50/tonne mining cost, $15.50/tonne process and G&A cost. No allowances have been made for mining losses and dilution. A pit slope angle of 45° was used.
Analyzed samples consisting of sawn drill core were analyzed by TSL Laboratories in Saskatoon with fire assay techniques. A representative suite of historical drill core was re-logged and re-sampled using identical sample preparation and assay techniques at TSL Laboratories in order that historical data could be reliably used in the estimation of this resource. La Ronge Gold has implemented an industry standard QA/QC program consisting of randomly inserted standards, blanks, and duplicates into the sample stream to ensure assay accuracy and repeatability. Two samples of mineralized drill core from the Preview SW deposit were submitted to ALS Metallurgy for preliminary metallurgical test work. Excellent gold recoveries were observed in this test work and indicate total gold recovery in concentrates ranged from 90% to 93%. Test work was focused on the production of a gravity concentrate and a flotation concentrate.
A significant portion of the gold in the Preview SW Deposit occurs as free gold and can be recovered using gravity processes. Gravity recovery was observed to be in the range of 52% to 72% of contained gold.
High-grade flotation concentrates can be produced from the gravity tailings. These concentrates ranged from 75 to 100 g/t gold, and this may present several options for gold recovery from a flotation concentrate including on-site leaching or off-site sale. Metallurgical test results were previously discussed in the press release of June 3, 2013.
La Ronge Gold has initiated an internal preliminary Project Description. The focus is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the project going forward. La Ronge Gold is already gathering the required baseline data on the project site.
The Preview SW deposit was discovered by SMDC, the predecessor company of Cameco Corp., in the late 1980's. Structurally controlled mesothermal lode gold is hosted in silicified zones spatially related to quartz veins in a sheared dioritic-gabbroic intrusion and is associated with sulphides. The zone of sheared diorite-gabbro sills extends for 5200 m in a northeast-southwest direction across the property and reaches approximately 200 m in width, and a number of zones of gold mineralization including the Preview SW deposit are hosted in this setting. Several sub-parallel northeast-trending shear zones, totalling 150 m in width, make up the Preview SW deposit, and these zones contain swarms of narrow quartz veins that bifurcate and merge. The en echelon 1 to 10 m-wide shear structures are persistent at depth and often merge in that direction too. The results of Cameco's and the most recent drilling indicate that gold mineralization is open in both directions along strike and down dip. The Company's recent drilling also indicates that high grade gold mineralization is also locally present in felsic volcanic rocks that surround the diorite intrusion.
Mineral resources have been classified using the definitions set out in CIM (2010). Mineral resources have an effective date of August 31, 2013.
This resource estimate was conducted by GeoSim Services Inc. Ronald G. Simpson, P. Geo., of GeoSim, is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the resource estimates. Gordon Davidson, P. Geol., VP Exploration for La Ronge Gold, is a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has verified the non-resource information disclosed in this News Release. The technical report discussing this resource estimation will be filed with SEDAR shortly and will be available for viewing.
About La Ronge Gold Corp.
La Ronge Gold is a Vancouver-based rapidly advancing gold-resource growth and development company, focused on the expansion of high-grade gold deposits in one of Canada's emerging gold producing regions, the La Ronge Gold Belt, northern Saskatchewan. The Company has significant land positions (52,932 Ha. or 131,000 acres) in the region. The Company also holds other gold projects located in Ontario, Canada.
Neither 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.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This News Release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Information and statements which are not purely historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein, or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward-looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.
Contact
La Ronge Gold Corp.
Rasool Mohammad, B.Sc. (Mining)
President & CEO
(604) 639-4533
info@larongegold.com
www.larongegold.com