Triumph Gold Announces Drill Results Demonstrating Porphyry Mineralization over 2.85 km Strike Length

1. High-grade gold-rich porphyry mineralization in multiple drill holes in the Blue Sky Zone (Figure 1, Table 1, Table 2), east of the Revenue diatreme, including identification of visible gold in RVD17-01, and 57m of 1.72 grams/tonne (g/t) AuEq* at 1.08 g/t gold and 0.285% copper in RVD17-13.
2. A corridor of high-grade, gold-rich, porphyry style mineralization over a strike length of 450m (including RVD1-13, previous bullet point) that extends from the eastern edge of the Revenue diatreme northeast into the Blue Sky Zone. Mineralization is open to depth and to the northeast where it appears to increase in grade.
3. Identification of a robust porphyry related hydrothermal system responsible for dense stockwork veining, phyllic and potassic alteration and copper-gold mineralization from surface to 603m depth in a single drill hole collared 1.4 km west of the Revenue diatreme in the Keirsten Zone.
4. Discovery of a new gold showing (Happy Creek showing) on the far eastern side of the Revenue/Nucleus 5.5 X 2.0 km soil/geophysical anomaly, 400m east of any historical drilling and over 1 km east of the Revenue diatreme.  The showing is defined with surface grab samples that grade up to 5.77 g/t gold and a 236m drill intersection with a length*** weighted average gold grade of 0.238 g/t.

Triumph Gold completed 12,904m of diamond drilling in 35 holes during 2017.  Results from 17 holes totalling 7,632m have been released to date.  The remaining results will be released in the coming weeks.

Table 1: Location and Orientation of 2017 Diamond Drill Holes Testing the Blue Sky and Keirsten Zones

Motivation for Step Out Drilling

A primary objective of the 2017 drill program near Revenue was to demonstrate through systematic step outs that the Revenue diatreme is part of a larger porphyry system.  The idea was tested with drilling at the Blue Sky and Keirsten Zones which extend approximately 1 km to the east and west of the Revenue diatreme, respectively (Figure 1).  The motivation for the broad expansion of the exploration target at Revenue was identification of porphyry style high-grade copper-gold-silver and molybdenum mineralization that predates diatreme emplacement, in drill holes adjacent to the Revenue diatreme (noted below and Figure 1). 

• RVD11-019: 70.48m (179.25 – 249.73m) 1.489 g/t Au, 0.219% Cu
• RVD11-022: 55.45m (86.75 – 142.20m) 0.418 g/t Au, 0.191% Cu
• RVD11-028: 162.36m (84.79 – 247.15m) 0.446 g/t Au, 0.218% Cu, 0.085% Mo.

While the diatreme is recognized as an exploration target itself, the possibility that it is surrounded by a porphyry with significant gold and copper grades remained largely untested until the 2017 drill program.

Porphyry Mineralization in the Blue Sky Zone

The Blue Sky Zone encompasses a multi-element soil anomaly that extends up to 1.5 km east of the Revenue diatreme (Figure 1).  Relogging of core from RVD11-019, 022 and 028 in 2016 identified two stages of mineralization, including an early stage of classic porphyry related stockwork veining with potassic alteration with good gold-copper-molybdenum grades (see above). Step out drilling in 2017 was designed to test for eastward extensions of that mineralization within the Blue Sky Zone soil anomaly.  Three drill holes that tested the Blue Sky Zone intersected significant porphyry style mineralization (Figure 1, Table 1, 2).

• RVD17-013 was collared 350 metres northeast of drill holes RVD11-019, 22 and 28, and intersected 119m of copper-molybdenum-gold-silver porphyry style mineralization grading 0.60% CuEq*, with a 57m thick high-grade, gold-rich core grading 1.09% CuEq* at 1.083 g/t gold and 0.285% copper (Table 2).
• RVD17-01 was collared 100 metres east of drill holes RVD11-19, 22 and 28 and intersected 148.58m of copper-molybdenum-gold-silver porphyry style mineralization. Average grades within the intersection include 39.58m of 0.40% CuEq* and 94.38m of 0.48% CuEq* (Table 2).
• RVD17-03 was drilled from the same setup as RVD17-13 but in the opposite direction. It is interpreted to have just skimmed the edge of the mineralized zone, intersecting multiple short domains of porphyry style mineralization and alteration including 18.60m of 0.423 g/t gold and 0.105% copper (Table 2, 4).

Together with results from RVD17-12 (PR#17-12, October 19, 2017: 245m of 0.37 CuEq* with a 58.65 metre high-grade core grading 0.971 g/t Au and 0.218% Cu), and historical drill holes RVD11-19, 22 and 28, a corridor of high-grade, gold-rich, porphyry style mineralization is now demonstrated over a strike length of 450m. The geometry of the mineralized zone is not well understood, but at minimum it is open at depth and to the northeast where, based on results from RVD17-13, it appears to be increasing in grade.

Table 2: Length*** Weighted Drill Intercepts - Highlights from 2017 drilling of porphyry related mineralization in the Blue Sky Zone

Porphyry Mineralization in the Keirsten Zone

The Keirsten Zone is a newly identified target area within the roughly 5.5 X 2.0 km soil and geophysical anomaly that encompasses the Revenue and Nucleus areas (Figure 1). The area was targeted for exploration in 2017 to test an intense chargeability and resistivity high at depth. KZ17-01 was drilled near the center of the chargeability high. The top 193 metres of bedrock are phyllic altered quartz-feldspar porphyry, with textures identical to the dykes that are responsible for high-grade gold mineralization at the Nucleus deposit 1 km to the west.  Beneath the quartz-feldspar-porphyry, to the end of hole at 603.50 metres, strongly veined and altered granite with complex overprinting propylitic, phyllic and potassic alteration assemblages was intersected. The granite is identical in texture and composition to granite in RVD17-12 and RVD17-13 up to 2.85 km to the east, and despite the lower grades of copper and gold in KZ17-01 (Table 4) compared to RVD17-12 and RVD17-13, the stockwork veining is more intense. It is of particular note in KZ17-01 that mineralization extends from the bedrock surface to the bottom of the hole at 603.50m depth.  This is indicative of a large mineralized system, yet the Keirsten Zone is virtually unexplored in every direction.  Encouraging results from surface samples collected from a new drill road within the zone are suggestive of nearby higher grade gold-rich domains (Table 3).

Table 3: Surface grab samples with significant Gold from the Keirsten Zone

Tony Barresi, Triumph's VP Exploration, comments: "Geological results from drilling in the Keirsten Zone are encouraging. While the copper and gold grades in KZ17-01 are low, the continuity of mineralization and alteration and intensity of the veining are suggestive of a large and vigorous hydrothermal system that we are eager to continue to explore in 2018."

Table 4: Length*** Weighted Drill Intercepts – Table of Significant results (See below for RVD17-09) – Mo only reported where composite average is > 15ppm

Discovery of New Gold Showing – The Happy Creek Showing

A new zone of gold mineralization was discovered during reconnaissance prospecting and drilling within the Blue Sky Zone soil anomaly.  RVD17-09, which represents a 1.1 km eastward step out into the Blue Sky Zone (Figure 1), intersected a broad zone of gold mineralization associated with a swarm of aplite, pegmatite and lesser quartz-feldspar-porphyry dykes.  The upper 29 metres of core in RVD17-09 is strongly fractured and oxidized and grades 0.510 g/t gold; it is contained within a 269m intersection of 0.238 g/t gold, with ten longer than 1-meter samples grading over 1 g/t gold (Table 5).  Two surface grab samples of bull quartz collected from regolith returned gold grades of 5.77 and 3.76 g/t (Table 6).  The location of the Happy Creek showing, and the collar of RVD17-09 represents the farthest step out east of the Revenue diatreme to date.  The showing is 1.1 km east of the Revenue diatreme and 400 metres east of any other drill holes.  It is the only drill hole that has ever tested the Happy Creek drainage and mineralization is considered open in every direction.

Table 5: Length*** Weighted Drill Intercepts – Happy Creek Showing

Table 6: Surface grab samples from the Happy Creek Showing

Tony Barresi, Triumph's VP Exploration, comments: "This new showing, which lies in the completely untested-by-drilling catchment of Happy Creek, a known placer creek, represents an exciting new exploration target.  The tenor of gold mineralization encountered so far is similar to what was seen in some of the early drill holes and surface samples at Nucleus."

Summary of Revenue Geology

Porphyry mineralization at Revenue extends from at least the Keirsten Zone to the Blue Sky Zone, and was encountered in the farthest step out holes both east and west of the Revenue diatreme.  The mineralizing system is composed of a large porphyry, at least 2.85 km in strike length, with a mineralized diatreme in its center and the Nucleus gold deposit off its western flank. If gold mineralization encountered in the newly discovered Happy Creek showing is also porphyry related then the strike length of porphyry mineralization is increased to 3.6 km.  Within the diatreme and surrounding granite there are numerous drill intersections of good copper-gold, silver and molybdenum grades, however, now with the results of 2017 drilling, there is a demonstrated zone of high-grade, gold-rich, porphyry style mineralization that extends at least 450 meters from the eastern margin of the Revenue diatreme eastward into the Blue Sky Zone, where it appears to be increasing in grade, and remains open to the northeast and depth.

President's Comment

Paul Reynolds, Triumph's President & CEO, comments: "New drilling in 2017 has demonstrated a vast area of porphyry style mineralization extending at least 2.8 km from the Keirsten Zone to the Blue Sky Zone, both of which are new discoveries this year. In addition to defining a very large porphyry footprint we have also made numerous intersections of gold-rich high-grade porphyry mineralization (see this NR and NR17-12 dated October 19, 2017).  The elements of size and grade are beginning to stack in our favour and the possibility that a very large porphyry deposit underlies what had previously appeared to be separate showings, is becoming more and more compelling as we continue to explore."

Notes:

* Copper and Gold Equivalent [CuEq*, AuEq] are used for illustrative purposes, to express the combined value of copper, gold, silver and molybdenum as a percentage of either copper or gold.  No allowances have been made for recovery losses that would occur in a mining scenario.  CuEq and AuEq are calculated on the basis of US$3.10 per pound of copper, US$1,305 per troy ounce of gold, US$17.40 per troy ounce of silver and US$7.00 per pound of molybdenum oxide.

** Coordinates are given in North American Datum 83 (NAD83), Zone 8.

*** Length refers to drill hole intercept.  True widths have not been determined.

Methods and Qualified Person

Drill core samples ranged between 1 and 2m length and were cut at Triumph's core logging facility on the Freegold Mountain Property (Revenue Camp; Figure 1).  The samples were analyzed by ALS Global of North Vancouver, British Columbia.  They were prepared for analysis according to ALS method PREP35: each sample was crushed to 70% passing 2mm and a 250g split was pulverized to better than 95% passing 106 micron mesh.  Gold was tested by fire assay with atomic absorption finish on a 30g nominal sample (method Au-AA23), and samples that tested over 10 g/t Au were retested using fire assay with a gravimetric finish (method Au-GRA21).  An additional 35 elements were tested by ICP-AES using an Aqua Regia digestion (method ME-ICP41), over limit samples for copper were retested using the same technique but with assay grade Aqua Regia digestion and a higher range of detection (method ME-OG46).  Quality assurance and control (QAQC) is maintained at the lab through rigorous use of internal standards, blanks and duplicates.  An additional QAQC program was administered by Triumph Gold: at minimum one in ten samples submitted by Triumph Gold was a blank or certified reference standard.  QAQC samples that returned unacceptable values triggered investigations into the results and reanalyses of the samples that were tested in the batch with the failed QAQC sample.

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Tony Barresi, Ph.D., P.Geo., VP Exploration for the company, and qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Triumph Gold Corp.

Triumph Gold Corp. is a growth oriented Canadian-based precious metals exploration and development company.  Triumph Gold Corp. is focused on creating value through the advancement of the district scale Freegold Mountain project in Yukon.  For maps and more information, please visit our website www.triumphgoldcorp.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Signed "Paul Reynolds"
Paul Reynolds, President & CEO

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SOURCE Triumph Gold Corp.