Vancouver, BC November 11, 2020 – KORE Mining Ltd. (TSXV: KORE | OTCQX: KOREF) (“KORE” or the “Company”) announces that drill hole FG-20-377 intercepted 31.3 meters of 3.2 g/t gold, including 14.3 meters of 6.4 g/t gold, starting at 369 meters downhole in the Lower Zone of the FG Gold Project (“Project” or “FG Gold”) in the Cariboo Region of British Columbia. This news release reports assays from drill hole FG-20-377, part of the 15-hole, 5,746 meter summer drill program at FG Gold with assays from 14 additional holes pending.
Highlights
- Extends Lower Zone discovery 215 meters down-dip with:
- 31.3 meters of 3.2 g/t gold at 369 meters downhole including:
- 14.3 meters of 6.4 g/t gold at 386 meters downhole including
- 1.0 meters of 61.2 g/t gold at 387 meters downhole
- 5.8 meters of 4.2 g/t gold at 394 meters downhole
- 31.3 meters of 3.2 g/t gold at 369 meters downhole including:
- Opens underground potential for FG Gold with 3.6 kilometers of mineralized strike
- Assays pending for 14 additional holes over 1,780 meters of lateral strike length
- 10 of 14 holes intersect the newly discovered Lower Zone
- 7 of 14 holes intersect quartz veins containing visible gold
- Remains underexplored along a 20-kilometer trend, providing many opportunities for resource expansion and new discoveries on-strike and downdip
KORE CEO Scott Trebilcock comments, “The large downdip step-out announced today in FG Gold’s Lower Zone, 31.3 meters of 3.2 g/t gold including 14.3 meters of 6.4 g/t gold, demonstrates FG Gold’s underground potential. The step-out extends the Lower Zone discovery to 300 meters downdip from the historic drilling. With 3.6 kilometers of shallow mineralized strike, all open at depth, this underground discovery could have a profound impact of the size and grade of the deposit. KORE has ten more holes intersecting this newly discovered Lower Zone with assays pending in the weeks ahead.”
Investor Webinar
KORE is hosting an investor webinar to discuss the results on Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 8:30AM Eastern Time (5:30AM Pacific Time). Click HERE to register for the webinar.
The cross-section in Figure 1 show the 215 meters step-out from the June 10, 2020 Lower Zone discovery intercept of 3.9 g/t over 10 meters at 237 meters, bringing the total downdip extent of the Lower Zone to 300 meters. Assays are pending for 14 holes in which 10 intersected the newly discovered Lower Zone, as shown in the long section in Figure 2. The other four holes in the program were drilled below historic drilling along strike from the main zone, bringing the strike length tested by Kore to date since the beginning of 2020 to ~1,800 meters. All hole locations are shown in Figure 3 in plan map. Drilling continues with 2,000 additional meters planned at FG Gold and Gold Creek through mid-December.
The district scale of the FG Gold project is shown in Figure 4. The 20-kilometer district trend traces the mineralized stratigraphy around the regional syncline. Shallow historic drilling averaged only 93 meters deep, leaving the mineralization open at depth and along almost the entire trend. Figure 5 is a regional cross-section that shows the host rock potential at depth and connection to a potential porphyritic intrusion.
Exploration Program Details
Fifteen large diameter (HQ) oriented core drill holes for a total of 5,746 meters were completed from June to October 2020 as described in the news release disseminated October 22nd, 2020. The drill program was designed to step-out up to 200 meters downdip and continue nearly 2 kilometer along strike. The program is targeting the continuation of known gold-mineralized [orogenic] quartz veins further down-dip and along strike within prospective and un-tested regions of the targeted [phyllite] host rock.
Assays from hole FG-20-377 are reported in this release with all other hole assays pending. A plan map of the drill collars and traces is included in Figure 3 including the location of the cross section, Figure 1, and a long section, Figure 2.
The full table of results are included below. Detailed core logs and photos are available on KORE’s website.
Due to coarse visible gold, metallic screening assays provide a much more representative sample versus conventional fire assays. Historical drilling and assays had limited and sporadic metallic screen analyses which may have underestimated historical gold grades. See below for more details on metallic screens.
Detailed Discussion of Results
Structural analysis and re-interpretation of historical drilling carried out prior to initiation of 2020 drilling by KORE highlighted significant potential for expanding high grade gold zones below the extents of historic drilling. 2020 drilling was designed to test the hypothesis that high grade gold zones correlating to plunge lines within both limb and hinge zones, and are extendable both at depth and along strike. Gold-bearing quartz vein swarms appear to be correlated with high-deformation areas and hinge/limb areas of locally folded strata. The orientation [azimuth] of the drilling was intended to delineate potential continuous ‘mineral-shoots’ within the mineralized zones.
A continuation of the shallowly drilled upper zone is intersected in hole FG-20-377 with 0.71g/t gold from 130.36 to 143.17 meters. This intersection is ~150 meters down-dip from the nearest intersection. The Lower Zone, discovered in hole FG-20-369, appears to be a corridor of quartz-vein hosted gold mineralization below and sub-parallel to the upper zone. While it does appear to extend to surface, at this stage, grade appears to increase with depth. Summer-Fall program drill holes FG-20-376 to FG-20-386 are drilled across four complete cross sections over a strike of ~650 meters designed to cross both upper and lower zones to allow for correlation both down-dip and along strike of both the upper and lower zones. Holes FG-20-387 to FG-20-390 test for lateral and down-dip mineralization in areas below sparse historic drilling. KORE drilling in 2020 tests over 1780 meters of strike length below the limits of historic drilling.
To date, the results from the 2020 drilling program are very encouraging to KORE. Early results indicate that the Company is finding further, high grade mineralized zones well outside of historic drilling, providing greater confidence in the structural interpretation and geologic model of the FG gold deposit.
Detailed Drill Hole Assays Tables for KORE Holes on Figure 1
Hole FG-20-369 (previously reported)
From (meters) | To
(meters) |
Width* (meters) | Gold (g/t) |
Zone |
|
Intercept | 29.0 | 240.0 | 211.0 | 0.9 | Upper and Lower |
including | 22.0 | 54.0 | 32.0 | 3.0 | Upper |
including | 29.0 | 51.5 | 22.5 | 4.0 | |
including | 29.0 | 30.0 | 1.0 | 42.5 | |
including | 102.5 | 118.0 | 15.5 | 0.7 | Upper |
including | 192.5 | 213.5 | 21.0 | 0.9 | Lower |
And | 237.0 | 247.0 | 10.0 | 3.9 | Lower |
and including | 239.0 | 240.0 | 1.0 | 33.9 |
Hole FG-20-371 (previously reported)
From (meters) | To
(meters) |
Width* (meters) | Gold (g/t) | Zone | |
Intercept | 91.0 | 116.0 | 25.0 | 0.6 | Upper |
Hole FG-20-377
From (meters) | To
(meters) |
Width (meters) | Gold (g/t) | Zone | |
Intercept* | 130.36 | 143.17 | 12.81 | 0.71 | Upper |
Intercept** | 369 | 400.35 | 31.35 | 3.22 | Lower |
Including | 386 | 400.35 | 14.35 | 6.44 | Lower |
Including | 387 | 388 | 1.0 | 61.2 | Lower |
Including | 394 | 399.75 | 5.75 | 4.16 | Lower |
* KORE has not been able to determine true width yet due to complexity of the vein structures within the mineralized zones. KORE’s current drill program is designed to better understand the geometry and how the mineralized zones are related. The orientation of individual quartz veins within the mineralized zones are quite variable. Reported widths are drill indicated core length and not true width, for the reasons above. Average grades are calculated with un-capped gold assays, as insufficient drilling has been completed to determine capping levels for higher grade gold intercepts.
** Drilling data on the Lower Zone is currently limited and the true thickness and orientation of the zone is not firmly known. However, based on current data, it is estimated that FG-20-377 intercept represents ~65%-75% of the true thickness of the zone.
Hole FG-20-376
Assays are pending on hole FG-20-376 however, zones of increased vein density occur where predicted. It is anticipated that these zones correlate to the nearby mineralized zones from both holes FG-20-369 and FG-20-377. Visible gold is observed at 238.75 meters in one of these vein corridors.
Hole location data is included at the end of this release.
Details of Metallic Screen Assaying
Metallic screen assays are often used in exploration when coarse or visible gold is present in the core as is the case at the FG Gold Project. Traditionally, fire assays are undertaken on 30-50 grams of pulverised sample. The metallic screen fire assay uses a larger sample (1 kilogram in KORE’s case), with screening (to -106 micron) to separate coarse gold particles from fine material. After screening, two samples of the fine fraction are analysed using the traditional fire assay method. The fine fraction is expected to be reasonably homogenous. The entire coarse fraction is assayed to determine the contribution of the coarse gold. This method helps reduce the erratic assay results often seen in the higher-grade zones found in “nuggety” gold deposits such as the FG Gold Project. All assays are performed at accredited independent commercial assay labs.
Regional Geology
The FG Gold property straddles the boundary between the Omineca and Intermontane tectonics belts of the Canadian Cordillera. The eastward emplacement of the Intermontane Belt onto the Omineca Belt along the Eureka Thrust Fault caused widespread regional metamorphism and structural deformation of both Belts. The regional scale, northwest trending, shallowly plunging, Eureka Syncline is the dominant resulting structure in the project area. Rocks in the core of the Eureka Syncline are comprised of basalt, augite porphyry flows, tuffs and volcanic breccias metamorphosed to a low grade; they are structurally emplaced onto metavolcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Quesnel Terrane. The Quesnel Terrane is recognized for its prevalence of copper, gold and molybdenum mines and showings such as those at Highland Valley, Boss Mountain, QR and Mount Polley.
Property Geology
The FG Gold property is centrally located over the Eureka Syncline, strategically encompassing two limbs and the hinge zone of a gold-bearing meta-sedimentary rock unit of the Quesnel Terrane. The gold-bearing rock, a ‘knotted’ phyllite, is the host rock for gold mineralization over the 3 kilometers strike length of the Resource Area (see Figure 4). Surface mapping and geophysical inversion of airborne electromagnetic (EM) data suggests the knotted phyllite has a strike length of over 20 kilometers with potentially thickened regions occurring in the Eureka Syncline hinge zone (Kusk Zone Target) (see Figure 4).
Gold mineralization occurs in and is associated with development of quartz – Fe carbonate – muscovite – pyrite vein stockwork. The stockwork is best developed in the knotted phyllite unit. Stockwork zones locally concentrate in zones greater than 10 meters wide and are dominantly stratabound. Fe-carbonate alteration and carbonate porphyroblasts development within the knotted phyllite unit is observed to extend well outside immediate areas of veining.
About the FG Gold Project
The FG Gold project consists of 35 claims, totaling 13,008 hectares, in the eastern Cariboo region of central British Columbia, approximately 100 kilometers east of Williams Lake. The project is at low elevation and accessible by forestry roads. FG Gold hosts an orogenic gold deposit on the northeast limb of the Eureka syncline. The southwest limb and hinge zone are underexplored. The Project also hosts copper-gold porphyry mineralization at the Nova Zone, discovered by KORE in 2018. Figure 4 highlights the 20 kilometers trend of host rock expression at surface.
The 20 kilometer trend is defined by gold in soils and geophysics that traces the mineralized rock group around the regional syncline. The Project has only been shallowly drilled where the mineralized rock group comes to surface. Past drilling averages only 93 meters deep into a steeply plunging sedimentary host rock. Mineralization is open at depth and along almost the entire trend. Figure 5 is a regional cross-section that shows the host rock potential at depth and potential connection to the Project’s porphyritic intrusion.
FG Gold is part of KORE’s 1,000 square kilometer South Cariboo Gold District which hosts 110 kilometers of the Eureka thrust structural trend (“Trend”) that drives gold mineralization in the District. The Trend is highly prospective for orogenic gold deposits, some of largest in the world, and includes KORE’s Gold Creek Project. The Cariboo region is accessible with local power, well developed road network and skilled local labour from multiple current and past operating mines.
The previous drilling targeted stratigraphic controls on mineralization and did not penetrate into the bulk of the host-rock structure. Drilling was largely done with reverse circulation (“RC”) drilling and narrow core to generate shallow bulk-disseminated gold intercept models. Within the current resource there appears to be mineralized corridors or chutes that are open at depth in the host rock.
The current resource at the FG Gold project is as follows:
Classification | Size (tonnes) | Grade (g/t) | Au (oz) | Au Cutoff (g/t) |
Measured | 5,600,000 | 0.812 | 145,000 | 0.50 |
Indicated | 9,570,000 | 0.755 | 231,000 | 0.50 |
Inferred | 27,493,000 | 0.718 | 634,900 | 0.50 |
More information on the FG Gold Project and resource is available in the “NI 43-101 Technical Report, Frasergold Exploration Project, Cariboo Mining Division, BC” dated July 20, 2015 by K.V. Campbell of ERSi Earth Resource Surveys Inc. and G.H. Giroux of Giroux Consultants Ltd. technical report filed under Kore’s Profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on KORE’s website at www.koremining.com.
About KORE
KORE is 100% owner of a portfolio of advanced gold exploration and development assets in California and British Columbia. KORE is supported by strategic investors Eric Sprott; and insiders, together with the management and Board, own approximately 64% of the basic shares outstanding.
Further information on KORE and its assets can be found on the Company’s updated website at www.koremining.com and at www.sedar.com, or by contacting us as info@koremining.com or by telephone at (888) 407-5450.
On behalf of KORE Mining Ltd
”Scott Trebilcock”
Chief Executive Officer
(888) 407-5450
QA/QC and Qualified Person
Once the drill core was received from the drill site, individual samples were determined, logged for geological attributes, sawn in half, labelled, and bagged for assay submittal. The remaining drill core was then stored at a secure site in Horsefly, BC. The Company inserted quality control samples at regular intervals within the sample stream which included blanks, preparation duplicates, and standard reference materials with all sample shipments intended to monitor laboratory performance. Sample shipment was conducted under a chain of custody procedure.
Drill core samples were submitted to Bureau Veritas’ analytical facility in Vancouver, British Columbia for preparation and analysis. Sample preparation included drying and weighing the samples, crushing the entire sample, and pulverizing 250 grams. Analysis for gold was by method FA450: 50g fire assay fusion with atomic absorption (AAS) finish with a lower limit of 0.005 ppm and upper limit of 10 ppm. Gold assays greater than 10ppm are automatically analysed by method FA550: 50g fire assay fusion with a gravimetric fusion. Metallic screen techniques were employed to assay gold mineralized zones thought to contain coarse gold. Approximately 1000 grams of coarse reject material are pulverized and screened. Two splits of the fine fraction are assayed, as well as all material that does not pass through the screen (the coarse fraction). The final gold assay reported is a weighted average of the coarse and fine fractions.
Bureau Veritas is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard for gold assays, and all analytical methods include quality control materials at set frequencies with established data acceptance criteria. Parameters for Bureau Veritas’ internal and Kore’s external blind quality control samples were acceptable for the analyses returned.
Technical information with respect to the Project contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael J. Tucker, P.Geo, who is KORE’s VP Exploration and is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the technical matters of this news release.
Neither the 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.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “will”, “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expects” and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business. Management believes that these assumptions are reasonable. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information.
Such factors include, among others: risks related to exploration and development activities at the Company’s projects, and factors relating to whether or not mineralization extraction will be commercially viable; risks related to mining operations and the hazards and risks normally encountered in the exploration, development and production of minerals, such as unusual and unexpected geological formations, rock falls, seismic activity, flooding and other conditions involved in the extraction and removal of materials; uncertainties regarding regulatory matters, including obtaining permits and complying with laws and regulations governing exploration, development, production, taxes, labour standards, occupational health, waste disposal, toxic substances, land use, environmental protection, site safety and other matters, and the potential for existing laws and regulations to be amended or more stringently implemented by the relevant authorities; uncertainties regarding estimating mineral resources, which estimates may require revision (either up or down) based on actual production experience; risks relating to fluctuating metals prices and the ability to operate the Company’s projects at a profit in the event of declining metals prices and the need to reassess feasibility of a particular project that estimated resources will be recovered or that they will be recovered at the rates estimated; risks related to title to the Company’s properties, including the risk that the Company’s title may be challenged or impugned by third parties; the ability of the Company to access necessary resources, including mining equipment and crews, on a timely basis and at reasonable cost; competition within the mining industry for the discovery and acquisition of properties from other mining companies, many of which have greater financial, technical and other resources than the Company, for, among other things, the acquisition of mineral claims, leases and other mineral interests as well as for the recruitment and retention of qualified employees and other personnel; access to suitable infrastructure, such as roads, energy and water supplies in the vicinity of the Company’s properties; and risks related to the stage of the Company’s development, including risks relating to limited financial resources, limited availability of additional financing and potential dilution to existing shareholders; reliance on its management and key personnel; inability to obtain adequate or any insurance; exposure to litigation or similar claims; currently unprofitable operations; risks regarding the ability of the Company and its management to manage growth; and potential conflicts of interest.
In addition to the above summary, additional risks and uncertainties are described in the “Risks” section of the Company’s management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 prepared as of April 27, 2020 available under the Company’s issuer profile on www.sedar.com.
Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resource will be converted into mineral reserve. It is uncertain if further exploration will allow improving the classification of the Indicated or Inferred mineral resource. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Cautionary Note Regarding Mineral Resource Estimates: Information regarding mineral resource estimates has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Canadian securities laws, which differ from the requirements of United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Industry Guide 7. In October 2018, the SEC approved final rules requiring comprehensive and detailed disclosure requirements for issuers with material mining operations. The provisions in Industry Guide 7 and Item 102 of Regulation S-K, have been replaced with a new subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K under the United States Securities Act and will become mandatory for SEC registrants after January 1, 2021. The changes adopted are intended to align the SEC’s disclosure requirements more closely with global standards as embodied by the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO), including Canada’s NI 43-101 and CIM Definition Standards. Under the new SEC rules, SEC registrants will be permitted to disclose “mineral resources” even though they reflect a lower level of certainty than mineral reserves. Additionally, under the New Rules, mineral resources must be classified as “measured”, “indicated”, or “inferred”, terms which are defined in and required to be disclosed by NI 43-101 for Canadian issuers and are not recognized under SEC Industry Guide 7. An “Inferred Mineral Resource” has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an “Indicated Mineral Resource” and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of “Inferred Mineral Resources” could be upgraded to “Indicated Mineral Resources” with continued exploration. Accordingly, the mineral resource estimates and related information may not be comparable to similar information made public by United States companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements under the United States federal laws and the rules and regulations thereunder, including SEC Industry Guide 7.
Figure 1 – Cross Section Showing Hole FG-20-369, FG-20-371, FG-20-376 and FG-20-377
Figure 2 – Long Section of FG Gold Main Zone Showing Lower Zone Intersections and Visible Gold
Figure 3 – Plan Map of 2020 Drilling
Figure 4 – Property Map with Exploration Zones and Projected Trend
Figure 5 – Conceptual Regional Cross Section R – R’
Drill Hole Locations
Location, azimuth, dip and lengths for drill holes in this news release are listed in the following table:
HoleID | East | North | Elevation | Length | Azimuth | Dip |
FG-20-369 | 665196 | 5797758 | 1525 | 250 | 231 | -55 |
FG-20-371 | 665189 | 5797779 | 1525 | 181 | 228 | -68 |
FG-20-376 | 665102 | 5797706 | 1567 | 361.5 | 225 | -75 |
FG-20-377 | 665102 | 5797706 | 1567 | 439.5 | 225 | -55 |