Nighthawk intersects 22.40 metres of 5.40 gpt gold (uncut), including 10.20 metres of 8.48 gpt gold, and 5.80 metres of 13.68 gpt gold at Colomac's Goldcrest sill

TSX:NHK

TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2017 /CNW/ - Nighthawk Gold Corp. ("Nighthawk" or the "Company") (TSX: NHK; OTCQX: MIMZF) is pleased to report drill results from its 100% owned Colomac Gold Project located within its Indin Lake Gold Property, Northwest Territories, Canada. The Company recently completed a 26,168 metre drill program primarily focused on resource expansion opportunities within the Colomac Main and Goldcrest sills, with continued delineation of high-grade gold Zone 1.5, and ongoing exploration for additional higher-grade domains within the Colomac area sills.

Drill results are reported for thirteen holes testing the Goldcrest sill ("Goldcrest"), totaling 3,308 metres, (Table 1, Figure 1) to follow-up on Nighthawk's successful 2014 and 2016 drill programs, including the further evaluation and definition of a higher-grade zone discovered in 2014. Several new occurrences of strong mineralization over significant widths were intercepted. Highlights include intersections of 22.40 metres of 5.40 grams per tonne gold ("gpt" "Au"), including 10.20 metres of 8.48 gpt Au, and 5.80 metres of 13.68 gpt Au; and 9.50 metres of 22.41 gpt Au, including 5.35 metres of 39.42 gpt Au.  Drilling to date has broadened Goldcrest mineralization along strike and to new depths, highlighting its burgeoning capacity for growth.

Goldcrest Drilling Highlights:

• Hole G17-09 intersected 22.40 metres of 5.40 gpt Au, including 10.20 metres of 8.48 gpt Au, and 5.80 metres of 13.68 gpt Au;
  
  
• Hole G17-02B intersected 9.50 metres (5.50 metre true width) of 22.41 gpt Au, including 5.35 metres of 39.42 gpt Au;
  
  
• Hole G17-01B intersected 13.60 metres (9.00 metre true width) of 2.88 gpt Au, including 9.70 metres of 3.95 gpt Au, and 4.60 metres of 5.54 gpt Au;
  
  
• Current drilling has confirmed and expanded on the high-grade gold zone discovered in 2014 (holes G14-04, 04B and G14-05, 05B, see press releases dated September 25, 2014);
  
  
• Holes G17-01, 01B and G17-02, 02B infilled sections within the high-grade zone and have established an internal continuity of mineralization for the zone that now extends for 125 metres in strike to a depth of 180 metres.

Note: All assays are uncut (see Table 1)

Dr. Michael Byron, President and CEO commented, "The Goldcrest sill is identical to the Colomac Main sill except for having a smaller mineralized strike length of 2.5 kilometres, however there are several exciting unexplored areas that may ultimately lead to its expansion. Although Goldcrest North appears separated from the main Goldcrest intrusion, we have not ruled out that a connection between the two exists, and are now developing targets to address this opportunity. In addition, we have only just begun to explore the 1.5-kilometre section of the sill to the south of the main Goldcrest body.  Both areas represent high priority prospects for new discovery and resource expansion. The exploration model recently developed for the localization of high-grade zones within the Colomac Main sill, such as Zone 1.5, is being applied to all Colomac area sills.  With target definition currently underway, we anxiously await initiation of our 2018 drill program."

Table 1. Colomac Drill Results (uncut)

Goldcrest

Goldcrest is a 2.5-kilometre-long mineralized differentiated igneous intrusion that includes an additional 1.5 kilometre long relatively unexplored southern extension. It is parallel to, and believed to be co-magmatic to the Colomac Main sill located 400 metres to the east. Both sills intruded the host mafic volcanic sequence and were subsequently folded with tops steeply facing east. Better gold mineralization is limited to the more silica-rich upper portions of the sills, an area that is a primary exploration focus for the Company. Goldcrest hosts the highest average grade in the current resource estimate at 2.19 gpt gold (see press release dated June 17, 2013), yet is largely underexplored off its flanks and to depth, and unlike the Colomac Main sill, has never been mined, leaving its near-surface mineralization under-explored. Because of the limited historical drilling at Goldcrest in comparison with the Colomac Main sill, substantial opportunities exist for resource growth.

In 2014, Nighthawk carried out its initial drill program at Goldcrest, highlighted by the intersection of the first documented higher-grade gold shoot, as hole G14-04 intersected 19.60 metres of 4.19 gpt gold, including 7.90 metres of 7.85 gpt gold. At a similar depth, hole G14-05 intersected 20.25 metres of 4.83 gpt gold, including 5.21 metres of 10.21 gpt gold (see press release dated September 25, 2014).  This drilling extended known mineralization an additional 125 metres north (see press release November 26, 2014), where it appears to have a similar northern plunge as was recently defined for high-grade gold Zone 1.5 within the Colomac Main sill (see press release dated August 24, 2017).

Resumption of drilling at Goldcrest in 2016 excluded areas originally tested in 2014 and continued exploring for broad, near surface, potential high-grade gold zones, within relatively unexplored areas both north and south of areas tested by the 2014 drilling, as well as within Goldcrest North (October 12, 2016; November 24, 2016 news releases). The latter is a detached portion of the main Goldcrest sill located 600 metres to the northeast. Prior to 2016, Goldcrest North had never been drilled by Nighthawk, yet it contains near surface mineralization captured in the present resource.

In the current program, holes were laid out over the central 700-metre portion of the Goldcrest Main sill (Figure 1), exploring higher-grade mineralization to depth and along strike, or infilling gaps in drill coverage.  Holes G17-01 and G17-01B were drilled beneath mineralization intersected by a shallow historical hole, and 50 metres north of Nighthawk's previously drilled holes G14-05 and G14-05B, testing the shallow northward plunge of newly discovered high-grade mineralization intersected by the two 2014 holes (see press release dated September 25, 2014).  Hole G17-01, the shallower of the two, intersected 20.00 metres of 1.61 gpt gold, including 7.10 metres of 2.86 gpt gold within 100 metres of surface, while the steeper hole (50 metres deeper), G17-01B, intersected 13.60 metres of 2.88 gpt Au, including 9.70 metres of 3.95 gpt Au, and 4.60 metres of 5.54 gpt Au (Figure 2), effectively infilling mineralization on this section and establishing continuity of higher grades an additional 50 metres northward and down plunge of the G14-05, 05B holes.

Holes G17-02 and G17-02B were drilled from a common setup 65 metres south of holes G17-01,01B (Figure 1) to test the area between high-grade intercepts reported in holes G14-05,05B and G14-04,04B (see press release dated September 25, 2014), and below near-surface historical intercepts. The shallow hole, G17-02, intercepted 14.30 metres of 1.64 gpt gold, including 4.90 metres of 2.54 gpt gold within 120 metres of surface, while the steeper hole (50 metres deeper), G17-02B, intersected an up-hole interval of 12.30 metres of 1.59 gpt Au, including 3.20 metres of 3.45 gpt Au, and a deeper downhole cut of 9.50 metres of 22.41 gpt Au, including 5.35 metres of 39.42 gpt Au (Figure 3), infilling the drill section and confirming continuity of mineralization between the 2014 sections.

G17-09 was drilled as a vertical hole along a section of the sill that was drilled by holes G14-05 and G14-05B.  At this location the sill had yet to be fully tested closer to surface where some high-grade mineralization was reported in historical drilling.  G17-09 was drilled to explore this shallow region above mineralization intersected by G14-05 and G14-05B.  Although it recorded near surface narrow intercepts of lower grade material, at depth, starting at 81.80 metres vertical, it intersected better mineralization of 22.40 metres of 5.40 gpt Au, including 10.20 metres of 8.48 gpt Au, and 5.80 metres of 13.68 gpt Au (Figure 4).

Drilling to date has been very successful in advancing Goldcrest mineralization along strike and to greater depths, confirming its potential to host new discoveries and for ongoing resource expansion. All drill results for the Colomac Main sill and Goldcrest sill have now been released (24,473 metres).  The remaining results are forthcoming and will include Nighthawk's first drilling at its Grizzly Bear deposit (part of the current Colomac resource), and at its North Inca gold deposit located within the Leta Arm mineralized corridor, 15 kilometres south-southwest of Colomac.

Technical Information

Nighthawk has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the sampling and analysis of drill core.  Drill core samples were transported in security-sealed bags for analyses at ALS Chemex Assay Laboratory in Vancouver, BC ("ALS Chemex").  ALS Chemex is an ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory. Pulp and metallics assaying for gold was conducted on the entire pulverized sample.

As part of its QA/QC program, Nighthawk inserts external gold standards (low to high grade) and blanks every 20 samples in addition to the standards, blanks, and pulp duplicates inserted by ALS Chemex.

Qualified Person

Dr. Michael J. Byron, Ph.D., P.Geo., President & Chief Executive Officer of Nighthawk, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 for this project, has reviewed and approved of the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Please refer to NI 43-101 technical report "Technical Report and mineral resource estimate update on the Colomac Property of the Indin Lake Project", dated June 17, 2013, as filed under the company's profile on www.sedar.com.

About Nighthawk

Nighthawk is a Canadian-based gold exploration company with 100% ownership of a district-scale land position within the Indin Lake Greenstone Belt, located approximately 200 kilometres north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Nighthawk is focused on advancing the Colomac Gold Project with a current inferred resource of 2.1 million ounces of gold (39.8 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.64 grams per tonne), as well as advancing its other regional gold deposits and showings within this Archean gold camp.

The Company has an experienced and dedicated team and is well funded to complete its goals and objectives over the next 18-24 months.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange has neither reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to the Company's drilling program, exploration plans, and the timing and results thereof. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved".

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Nighthawk to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with the exploration, development and mining such as economic factors as they effect exploration, future commodity prices, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, actual results of current exploration activities, government regulation, political or economic developments, environmental risks, permitting timelines, capital expenditures, operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities, employee relations, the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves, contests over title to properties, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as those risk factors discussed in Nighthawk's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2016, available on www.sedar.com.  Although Nighthawk has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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. Nighthawk does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Nighthawk Gold Corp.