Premier hits additional high grade at Hasaga

New results include 9.19 g/t Au across 50.0 metres & 12.03 g/t Au across 21.0m

THUNDER BAY, ON, Dec. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Premier Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX-PG) is pleased to provide a summary of results from the 2017 exploration program at the Company's 100%-owned Hasaga Project in the Red Lake gold mining district of Northwestern Ontario.  This program is targeting potential higher-grade gold mineralization along the Hasaga Deep Target trend at depth, proximal to historic results and includes new wedged holes from historic drill sites. 

Highlights from the 2017 exploration campaign include:   

• New C-Zone delineation results include HMP 164 with 9.19 g/t Au across 50.0m and HMP 164-W3 with 12.03 g/t Au across 21.0m.
  
  
• Previously reported C-Zone results include HMP 151 with 10.94 g/t Au across 54.0m and HMP 17-88-02-W2 grading 22.56 g/t Au across 7.0m.
  
  
• A mineral resource estimate was released earlier in the year of 1.12M ozs gold Indicated and 0.63M ozs gold Inferred from multiple optimized pit shells, suggesting widespread near surface mineralization having potential for future open pit mining.
  
  
• A new discovery located 500-metres west of the C-Zone includes HMP 162 grading 9.55 g/t Au across 8.0m and highlights some two kilometres of underexplored property (Hasaga Deep Target) west of Hasaga to the Buffalo mine.

Figure 1 below is a 3D-rendering of the Hasaga Property that profiles the multiple locations of the 2017 mineral resources estimate, the C-Zone delineation target and the new discovery some 500m west of the C-Zone.  A comprehensive table of assay highlights from the 2017 Hasaga Deep drill program is summarized in Table 1. 

Abbreviations used in this press release are available by following this link (click here).

Exploration Program Overview
The Hasaga Property is host to the past-producing Hasaga and Buffalo and Goldshore Mines and is being evaluated for both lower grade, open-pit potential as well as higher grade mineralization that may occur at depth.  Premier considers Hasaga to have similar exploration potential to other historic mining camps in Ontario, where gold resources have been discovered at the site of past-producing mines.

The 2017 exploration program was focused on testing the potential for deeper, higher-grade mineralization in the Hasaga porphyry, which occurs along a two-kilometre corridor between the Hasaga and Buffalo mines and is proximal to a major regional unconformity that separates the Balmer and Confederation-aged rock assemblages. This unconformity is an important component thought critical to the formation of the world class gold deposits in Red Lake currently being mined by Goldcorp Inc.

"Our latest results include high grade intercepts with attractive geometries and common visible gold." commented Stephen McGibbon, Premier's Executive Vice-President on the Company's C-Suite Blog (http://www.premiergoldmines.com/news/c-suite-blog). "The large step-out holes drilled with HMP 161 and HMP 162 included extensive alteration similar to the C Zone some 500 metres to the east."

Host rocks containing the mineralized material include the Dome Stock and Hasaga Porphyry units, both of which are well-known as historic hosts of mineable gold deposits.

The 2017 Hasaga exploration program included drilling 21 holes (including wedged holes) with some 22,000 metres of core drilling at a cost of some C$2.9 million. Premier is actively integrating results of the program and has proposed a 2018 program that continues to explore along the Hasaga Deep Target. An updated mineral resource estimate is anticipated in due course.

Table 1 - Summary of drill results from completed 2017 exploration program

Hasaga Deep Target
The shallow-focussed exploration programs beginning in 2015, and historic drill holes with positive results (HRL-88-02, HRL-88-03 and HRL96-02) completed by earlier operators, strongly suggested the potential for the discovery of deeper but higher grade gold mineralization.  The area with greatest potential occurs between the Hasaga and Buffalo mines proximal to the Balmer-Confederation unconformity, and is called the Hasaga Deep Target. 

Premier based initial targeting on its understanding of the Hasaga mine and the likelihood of continuity further to the west. Premier's first hole of the 2017 campaign returned a high grade intercept in hole HMP151 (see press release dated March 1, 2017; click here) that hosted mineralization characteristic of the C-Zone at the Hasaga Mine. 

C-Zone Delineation
Delineation drilling conducted to date at the C-Zone target has resulted in a better understanding of the geometries associated with the mineralization. Some of the early conclusions from this program, which may be adjusted based on proposed work in 2018 include:

• Distribution of individual mineralized shoots appear influenced by two predominant plunge directions including a flatter SW (more regional) component and a steeper NE component locally. The C-Zone appears dominated by the steeper NE direction.
  
  
• In cross-section view the ore is sub-vertical dipping and closely associated with the Hasaga Porphyry.
  
  
• Locally within the C-Zone, the mineralization can have true widths of up to 29 metres, potentially making it amenable to more bulk mineable underground mining methods in future scoping-related work.
  
  
• Additional infill drilling is required for greater confidence in the potential grade and scale of the mineralization.

West Extension Target
Drill results profiled in an earlier press release (See August 30^th, 2017 release "Premier Updates Hasaga Red Lake Drill Results" click here) highlight the potential importance of the West Extension. The West Extension Target area, which remains a priority future exploration target, is a potential 1.6 kilometre southwest extension between the C-Zone target and the Buffalo Zone to the west. Holes HMP161 and HMP162 were 500-metre southwest step-outs along strike from the C-Zone, within the anticipated mineralized Hasaga Deep horizon.  Hole HMP161 intersected 1.21 g/t Au across 181.0m including 19 metres of 2.14 g/t Au and 18 metres of 2.21 g/t Au within a broad low grade halo of the host porphyry. HMP 162 graded 9.55 g/t Au across 8.0 metres.  Gold mineralization in HMP 161 and HMP 162 occurs in association with minor sulphide-bearing sequences and includes visible gold within common quartz veinlet arrays. The predominant mineral alteration includes sericitization and silicification.

In Premier's view, the higher-grade mineralization in HMP 162 is consistent with a repetition of a local, steeper NE plunging shoot within the more regional and flatter SW plunging system. For exploration planning purposes, the West Extension may represent a discovery with potential grade and scale similar to the C-Zone.  If this is correct, the overall Hasaga Deep Target represents an opportunity for multiple C-Zone sized discoveries.  

2017 Mineral Resource Estimate & Metallurgy
In January, Premier confirmed the multi-million ounce potential of the shallower target areas (See January 11^th press release entitled "Premier Confirms Mineral Resources at Hasaga"; click here).  The 2017 mineral resource estimate, completed by MRB and Associates of Val-d'Or, Quebec (with an effective date of December 30^th, 2016) was completed following a two-year exploration and delineation drilling campaign by Premier that focussed on the Central, Hasaga and Buffalo target areas and is summarized in Table 2 below.

Table 2 - Hasaga Mineral Resource Estimate

A technical report entitled "National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report: Hasaga Project, Red Lake Mining District, Ontario, Canada" is available on the Company's website or at www.sedar.com.

Supporting the mineral resource estimate was an initial metallurgical program. Premier reported on a completed metallurgical scoping program on samples from the Hasaga, Central and Buffalo Zones with the intent to characterize the lithological and mineralization domains of the project areas, and to complement the Hasaga mineral resource estimate. Although bottle roll tests utilizing coarser-crush sample composites (¼", ½", ¾" crush sizes) does not support a potential heap leach recovery process, the baseline bottle roll cyanidation study indicated very good recoveries for all grade ranges with metallurgical results of between 94% and 97% when grinding to 80% passing 200 mesh.

Premier will confirm its approved 2018 exploration plan and budget for Hasaga early in the 2018.

Stephen McGibbon, P. Geo., is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.  Assay results are from core samples sent to Activation Labs, an accredited mineral analysis laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario, for preparation and analysis utilizing both fire assay and screen metallic methods.

Premier Gold Mines Ltd. is a gold producer and respected exploration and development company with a high-quality pipeline of precious metal projects in proven, accessible and safe mining jurisdictions in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Premier's team is focused on creating a low-cost, mid-tier gold producer through its two producing gold mines; and two advanced multi-million ounce development projects where permitting and pre-construction initiatives are in progress.

This Press Release contains certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements about the completion of the Financing, strategic plans, including future operations, future work programs, capital expenditures, discovery and production of minerals, price of gold and currency exchange rates, timing of geological reports and corporate and technical objectives.. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the risks inherent to the mining industry, adverse economic and market developments and the risks identified in Premier's annual information form under the heading "Risk Factors". There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information.  Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.  All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof.  Premier disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE Premier Gold Mines Ltd.