Integra Resources Outlines $10 Million Exploration Program to Be Completed in 2018
TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - November 28, 2017) - Integra Resources Corp. (TSX VENTURE: ITR) (the "Company" or "Integra") is pleased to announce plans for the 2018 exploration program on its 100%-owned DeLamar Gold-Silver Project ("DeLamar", or the "Project") situated on the north end of the Northern-Nevada Rift in southwestern Idaho. The $10 million program includes approximately 20,000 m of drilling, and signifies the first of many steps Integra will undergo to advance its brownfields exploration project and enhance shareholder value. The primary objective of the 2018 drill program is to test the down-dip and on-strike extensions to the historic high-grade veins, mined between 1889 and 1914. Historic records report that these veins produced approximately 700,000 ounces of gold and 50 million ounces of silver at a cut-off of plus 15 g/t Au. Many of the proposed drill holes will pass through the near-surface lower-grade mineralization which was not mined by NERCO-Kinross in the 1977-1999 open pit operation, as it closed due to low gold and silver prices, leaving a substantial resource at DeLamar, (to view the Oct 10, 2017 news release re: maiden 43-101 resource estimate on DeLamar, click on this link: http://integraresources.com/17-10-10-NR.pdf ). The drilling through this lower-grade, near-surface material will provide both confirmation of previous drilling to be used to upgrade the existing resource, as well as providing material for additional metallurgical test work, adding to the prior metallurgical studies and production data from the NERCO and Kinross era of mining.
Key Exploration Program Highlights and Objectives
- Aggressive Drill Program, the first in over 25 years: Over 20,000 meters of drilling, consisting of 18,000 meters of reverse circulation ("RC") and 2,000 meters of diamond drilling, is planned for 2018. Drilling will target both potentially-bulk-mineable low-grade gold-silver mineralization as well as historically mined high grade gold-silver mineralization located beneath the low-grade cap.
- Metallurgical Test-work: Bench-scale metallurgical test work designed to further support Management's views that unoxidized to partially-oxidized lower-grade near-surface mineralization is potentially amenable to milling and lower cost heap-leaching in the case of lower-grade mineralized material. In addition, bench-scale gravity, flotation and leaching test work will be undertaken on any higher-grade intercepts resulting from the targeting of deeper high-grade veins which were mined historically.
- Geophysical Surveys: An Induced Polarization ("IP") / Resistivity survey was completed last week at DeLamar, designed to detect the structures and the clay-pyrite alteration halos surrounding the depth extensions to the higher-grade vein zones which were mined underground between 1889 and 1914. The IP / Resistivity survey is also expected to highlight potential areas of near-surface lower-grade mineralization which would have not already been delineated by shallow, past production focussed drilling.
- Field Reconnaissance Sampling, Mapping and Prospect Evaluation Program: Field reconnaissance, to be conducted during the summer of 2018, will evaluate and generate drill targets on known areas of gold-silver mineralization, many of which were identified in the 1970's and remain only partially tested.
- Modern Technology Approach to Targeting: Integra is currently commissioning a 3rd party study, conducted by Goldspot Discoveries Inc, employing the latest in machine learning/algorithm driven approaches to exploration target identification, using the extensive exploration database that exists from a long history of mining and exploration in the district. The influence of the IP/Resistivity and LIDAR surveys currently being completed at DeLamar, in addition to the updating of the digital drill hole database that was used in recent resource modeling, is anticipated to add additional fidelity to this data set.
- Resource Estimation: Resource estimate updates are expected for the end of 2018, following the completion of drilling and re-interpretation of the geological and structural controls on mineralization at DeLamar and Florida Mountain.
- Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"): A PEA study covering DeLamar will be designed to look at the future development options, and will include a selective mining and milling scenario where the higher-grade core zones would be milled in a conventional milling complex, and the surrounding lower-grade halo material would be treated by heap-leaching. Subject to the delineation of high-grade resources beneath the open pits in zones where high grade veins were previously mined between 1889 and 1914, a component of high grade underground mining could potentially be added as an option to the study. This study is expected to be conducted in 2019, subject to the findings of the exploration program.
George Salamis, President and CEO of Integra, commented, "the DeLamar and Florida Mountain areas form a district-scale exploration target hosting the optionality of low grade and high-grade gold-silver mineralization. With this exploration program we are excited to begin pushing and testing the limits of the gold and silver systems that attracted us to acquire this project. Our goal is to aggressively advance and de-risk the project, delivering shareholders a steady news flow that will combine a balance of expanding existing resources, testing known shallow and deeper high-grade targets outside of the resource boundaries, and defining the new exploration targets that will be tested in years to come. We are excited by the prospects and potential outcomes for the coming year."
E. Max Baker, Integra's Vice President of Exploration, stated, "this aggressive 2018 exploration program seeks to follow up on known open extensions of near-surface gold mineralization identified in the recent 43-101 resource estimate, as well as target deeper zones, testing the grade and extents of the high-grade gold-silver veins which were mined over a hundred years ago. These high-grade veins have never been subject to a modern exploration program, and the numerous relatively narrow high-grade intercepts encountered in the shallow drilling lead us to be very optimistic. In testing the deeper high-grade potential, we will continue to characterize and expand our database on the overlying oxide and transitional gold-silver resources. The extensive field reconnaissance work planned for the outlying areas of DeLamar will begin to provide great context and insight for these areas with limited shallow historic drilling and untested depth potential. With this well-funded, aggressive exploration program now in place, we believe Integra to be on course to increase the already healthy resource base of the Project."
Drilling
In the 43-101 Resource Estimate published by Integra in October 2017, Mine Development Associates ("MDA") stated, "exploration potential for additional bulk-tonnage mineralization on the DeLamar project is significant. Essentially all of the modeled mineralization is open at depth, and, considering the shallow extents of a high percentage of the historical holes, the ability to expand mineralization that is potentially minable by open-pit methods exists. While it is likely that deeper drilling will encounter a higher proportion of mixed oxidized/unoxidized and unoxidized mineralization than was produced to-date, historical records indicate that some of these materials were mined and processed in the past."
With respect to the potential for high-grade gold on the project, MDA reported "in addition to the bulk-tonnage potential, there is also excellent potential for the discovery of high-grade vein-type mineralization similar to that mined in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The historic mining, including the open-pit operations, exploited high-grade veins in the Sommercamp and North DeLamar areas over a strike length of less than 500 meters of a 2.9 kilometer long zone of continuously mineralized northwest striking zone of modeled mineralization. While it is very unlikely that the entire mineralized footprint is underlain by high-grade veins, and it is possible that no additional high-grade mineralization exists that could potentially be mined by underground methods, the potential for such additional mineralization is real and warrants serious evaluation."
In keeping with a two-pronged exploration approach aimed at both high grade and low-grade gold-silver on the project, Integra plans to begin drilling in Q1 of 2018 with an initial 4,000 meter RC program. This initial program is designed primarily to test the deeper, potentially higher-grade extensions of the currently defined limits to the Ohio and Sullivan Gulch Areas along the southeast margin of the DeLamar mineralized system. It is within these areas where some of the very highest grades of gold and silver were intercepted in very limited past drilling conducted by Kinross. Several holes will also test under the Sommercamp and DeLamar open-pits to investigate the nature of the preliminary IP anomaly located under these pits, and test the potential for underlying high-grade veins in relation to this anomaly. As the first drilling on site in over 20 years, the initial 4000 meter program will give Integra's technical staff the opportunity to implement logging, interpretation and QA/QC systems before embarking on the ensuing 16,000+ meter drilling program expected to commence in late May 2018. The second program will aim to continue characterizing high-grade vein mineralisation, while continuing to quantify the extents of the near surface lower-grade mineralization and define metallurgical characteristics of the zones.
Metallurgical Test Work
As outlined in the recent 43-101 Technical Report, MDA states, "it is possible that some portion of the current resources (at DeLamar), perhaps a large portion, could be amenable to heap-leach processing. The historic open-pit processing facilities at DeLamar were originally constructed prior to the advent of commercial heap-leach operations in the United States."
Based on historic production numbers (NERCO and Kinross, 1977 to 1999) along with an abundance of previous bench-scale metallurgical testing conducted on the deposit, management wishes to test the hypothesis that typical mixed oxide-sulfide ore at DeLamar could present conventional milling recoveries of better than 80% Au and 70% Ag, while +2-inch crush low-grade heap-leach recoveries could be+75% Au and +30% Ag, as documented in the recent 43-101 report. This metallurgical test-work is expected to be carried out on selected intervals of RC chips and diamond drill core in Q4 2018 and will be designed to quantify the likely recoveries for both processes and demonstrate variations in recoveries between various ore types and degrees of oxidation.
This test-work will then form the basis for the metallurgical input into a PEA study expected to be conducted in 2019. This PEA study will look at various mining and processing options relative to the resources defined at DeLamar.
Geophysical Surveys and LIDAR
A six-line IP/Resistivity survey (totalling 18km) was completed last week. The survey is designed to assist with better defining the structure which appears to control the mineralization along the eastern margin of the rhyolite filled vent complex which hosts the DeLamar gold-silver mineralization. The mineralization in the upper levels is clearly associated with a broad clay-pyrite alteration halo, and it is intended that the IP response from this alteration at depth, along with resistivity breaks which may delineate coincident structures, will enable us to refine our drilling to more effectively test the deeper high-grade vein zones which were partially mined between 1889 and 1914.
A LIDAR and digital photography survey covering the DeLamar, Florida Mountain and surrounding areas with a survey resolution of 5 cm. was flown in early November to provide a detailed topographic base for ongoing exploration. An initial review of the data shows that the northwest structures that control the mineralization in both areas is well delineated, and it is thus anticipated that the high-resolution Digital Terrain Model will prove useful in delineating potentially mineralized structures outside of the existing resource areas.
Field Reconnaissance
Outside of the main DeLamar zones, limited shallow drilling was carried out by previous owners in the last 30 years on a number of prospects which the Company considers warrant further exploration. A considerable amount of field mapping, sampling and reviewing of historic data will be undertaken in 2018 to advance these zones to a drill ready-status.
New Technology in Exploration Targeting
Integra is commissioning Toronto, Canada based Goldspot Discoveries Inc ("Goldspot") to conduct a study on DeLamar designed to optimize targeting on the extensive historical database of information present by employing the latest in machine learning and algorithm driven approaches. As part of the process, Goldspot will incorporate all the digital resource data used to support the recent DeLamar resource estimate, together with other large, recently generated digital datasets (IP resistivity, LIDAR surveys, aeromagnetic surveys, surface geochemical sampling, etc) and will then employ machine learning to identify areas of high prospectivity for new ore deposits using an interdisciplinary approach. The technical team that formed the basis for Goldspot (Team "Data Miners"), were presented as one of the top new ideas during Integra Gold's GoldRush Challenge in March 2016. The Goldspot team then went on to become a finalist in Goldcorp and Integra's #DISRUPTMINING event held in early 2017.
Resource Estimation Updates & PEA Studies
Over the course of 2018, Integra intends to continue methodically validating all existing historic drill data to the extent that it can be used in conjunction with the new 2018 drill data to be used in a revised resource estimate for DeLamar, scheduled for completion towards the end of Q4 2018. The outcomes of the proposed drill program will provide insight for the potential inclusion of deeper and narrower higher-grade gold-silver vein mineralization in the updated resource estimate.
Encompassing the findings of the proposed 2018 drilling, resource estimation updates, and metallurgical test work, Integra anticipates to initiate a PEA study in the first half of 2019. The study will evaluate several development options on selective mining and milling scenarios where higher-grade core zones are potentially processed in a conventional mill, and surrounding lower-grade halo material is potentially treated by heap-leaching. Subject to the findings of exploration conducted in 2018 on the deeper high-grade gold-silver veins, a high-grade option study may also form part of the PEA focus.
About Integra Resources
Integra Resources Corp., formerly, Mag Copper Limited, is a development-stage company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in the Americas. Its flagship asset, the DeLamar Gold and Silver project, lies in the heart of the historic Owyhee County mining district in south western Idaho. The management team comprises the former executive team from Integra Gold Corp.
A maiden inferred resource for DeLamar was made public by Integra on October 10th, 2017 (see http://www.integraresources.com/17-10-10-NR.pdf). At a 0.3 g/t AuEq cut-off grade, a resource of 117,934,000 tonnes grading 0.41 g/t gold and 24.34 g/t silver, for a total of 1,592,000 oz of gold and 91,876,000 oz of silver, or 2,673,000 oz of gold equivalent ("AuEq") averaging 0.7 g/t AuEq. The AuEq grade has been estimated using an Au Equivalent = Au g/t + (Ag g/t ÷ 85).
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Gary Edmondo of Reno, Nevada who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and is independent of Integra.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
George Salamis
CEO & President
Or visit the company website: www.integraresources.com
This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: anticipated use of proceeds from the Offering; the completion of the Acquisition; the anticipated benefits of Acquisition to the Company and their respective shareholders; the timing and receipt of the required stock exchange, regulatory and other approvals for the Acquisition; the timing and ability of the Company to satisfy the Escrow Release Conditions and the conditions precedent to completing the Acquisition; completion of the acquisition of the Florida Mountain claims; anticipated advancement of mineral properties or programs; future operations; future exploration prospects; future growth potential of Integra; future development plans; and the future growth potential of the Company.
These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of Integra at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Integra to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: satisfaction or waiver of all applicable conditions to the completion of the Acquisition and the Escrow Release Conditions (including receipt of all necessary stock exchange and regulatory approvals or consents, and the absence of material changes with respect to the parties and their respective businesses, all as more particularly set forth in the Stock Purchase Agreement); possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of current exploration activities; actual results of reclamation activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; the synergies expected from the Acquisition not being realized; business integration risks; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of Integra believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Integra cannot assure its shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.
Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, Integra assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
Contact
CONTACT INFORMATION
Corporate Inquiries:
Chris Gordon
chris@integraresources.com