Niogold Mining Updates Resource Estimate for Marban Block
Val-d'Or, Quebec - July 3, 2013 - NioGold Mining Corporation (TSX-V: NOX) (OTCQX: NOXGF) ("NioGold") is pleased to announce an updated mineral resource estimate for the Marban deposit. The Marban deposit, together with the Norlartic and Kierens deposits, are all located on NioGold's Marban Block property in the Malartic gold camp, Abitibi region of Quebec, and collectively host an estimated measured and indicated resource of 32,127,000 tonnes grading 1.48 g/t gold totalling 1,531,000 oz gold, plus an estimated Inferred resource of 16,478,000 tonnes grading 1.13 g/t gold totalling 599,000 oz gold. The Marban Block property is currently under option to Aurizon Mines Ltd. ("Aurizon"), now a wholly owned subsidiary of Hecla Mining Company ("Hecla"), who can earn up to a 65% interest. The updated mineral resource estimate was prepared by Mine Development Associates ("MDA") based in Reno, Nevada. MDA previously estimated the Marban deposit resources in 2010; the 2010 resource estimate has been updated to include the results of the Phase 1 and 2 drilling campaigns completed since under the Aurizon option, which comprised an aggregate 68,860 meters of core drilling.
The following table summarizes the June 1, 2013 updated total mineral resource estimate for the Marban Block property.
Table 1: Marban Block property - Mineral Resource Summary
--------------------------------------------------------------
|Deposit |Cut-off Grade|Category |Tonnes 1 |Grade|Gold 1 |
| |? ? ? ? | | |(g/t |?Ounces |
| |? ? ?(Au | | |Au) | |
| |g/t) | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|------------------------------------------------------------|
|Marban 2 |0.35 / In-pit|Measured |24,617,000|1.31 |1,035,000|
| | |and | | | |
| | |Indicated| | | |
| | |------------------------------------|
| | |Inferred |10,921,000|0.81 |284,000 |
| |--------------------------------------------------|
| |2.0 / |Measured |656,000 |3.73 |79,000 |
| |Out-of-pit |and | | | |
| | |Indicated| | | |
| | |------------------------------------|
| | |Inferred |578,000 |3.69 |68,000 |
|------------------------------------------------------------|
|Norlartic|0.5 / 2.5 4 |Measured |5,417,000 |1.82 |316,000 |
|3 | |and | | | |
| | |Indicated| | | |
| | |------------------------------------|
| | |Inferred |3,199,000 |1.44 |148,000 |
|------------------------------------------------------------|
|Kierens 3|0.5 / 2.5 4 |Measured |1,437,000 |2.19 |101,000 |
| | |and | | | |
| | |Indicated| | | |
| | |------------------------------------|
| | |Inferred |1,780,000 |1.73 |99,000 |
|------------------------------------------------------------|
|Total |? |Measured |32,127,000|1.48 |1,531,000|
| | |and | | | |
| | |Indicated| | | |
| | |------------------------------------|
| | |Inferred |16,478,000|1.13 |599,000 |
--------------------------------------------------------------
The mineral resource estimate
has been calculated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Definitions Standards for mineral resources in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
1: Rounded to nearest
1 thousand, which may cause apparent discrepancies.
2: Updated mineral
resource estimate by MDA June 1, 2013.
3: Mineral resource estimate reported by MDA March 11, 2010.
4: 0.5 g/t Au cut-off on
resources from surface to 200 metres vertically and 2.5 g/t Au cut-off
below 200 metres.
Mike Iverson, NioGold's President and CEO, states "We are pleased with the growth in the resource base and especially pleased with the new model, which has given us a stronger understanding of the Marban deposit's characteristics. Since we started assembling the Marban Block in 2006, we have established a strong resource estimate and the possibility of open pit development. The Marban deposit, along with the Norlartic and Kierens deposits and the satellite zones near them, make the Marban Block a very attractive property. The property's central location in the active Malartic/Val-d'Or gold camps, with established infrastructure, suppliers and personnel, is another plus. We look forward to continuing our efforts to grow the currently defined zones, test new prospective targets and progressing to economic studies based on our currently defined resource base."
Marban Deposit Updated Resource Estimate Details
This updated mineral resource estimate integrates the results of NioGold's Phase 1 and 2 drill programs at the Marban deposit, conducted under the earn-in option funded by Aurizon, into the previous mineral resource estimate published by MDA on March 11, 2010. During Phase 1 (from August 30, 2010 to August 9, 2011) drilling at the Marban deposit totalled 41,270 metres distributed in 131 new holes and 8 extensions of previous holes. During Phase 2 (from December 13, 2011 to May 31, 2012) drilling on the deposit totalled 27,590 metres distributed in 77 new holes and 9 extensions of previous holes. The main focus of the two drilling campaigns was to increase the gold content in the first 250 vertical metres, but also to add resources at depth.
Based on a cut-off grade of 0.35 grams of gold per tonne, the in-pit fully block-diluted mineral resource is estimated at 24,617,000 tonnes at 1.31 grams of gold per tonne (1,035,000 ounces of gold) in the measured and indicated category, plus 10,921,000 tonnes at 0.81 grams of gold per tonne (284,000 ounces of gold) in the inferred category. The undiluted resource outside of the pit shell, tabulated using a cut-off grade of 2.0 grams of gold per tonne, is estimated at 656,000 tonnes at 3.73 grams of gold per tonne (79,000 ounces of gold) in the measured and indicated category plus 578,000 tonnes at 3.69 grams of gold per tonne (68,000 ounces of gold) in the inferred category.
Table 2: Marban Deposit Updated Gold Resources (MDA June 1, 2013)
-------------------------------------------------------------
|? |Cutoff |Category |Tonnes 1 |Grade (g|Gold 1 |
| |(g Au/t)| | |Au/t) |(oz Au) |
| | | | | | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|In-Pit |0.35 |Measured |24,617,000|1.31 |1,035,000|
| | |and | | | |
| | |Indicated| | | |
| | |---------------------------------------|
| | |Inferred |10,921,000|0.81 |284,000 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|Out-of-Pit|2.00 |Measured |656,000 |3.73 |79,000 |
| | |and | | | |
| | |Indicated| | | |
| | |---------------------------------------|
| | |Inferred |578,000 |3.69 |68,000 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|Total |? |Measured |25,273,000|1.37 |1,114,000|
| | |and | | | |
| | |Indicated| | | |
| | |---------------------------------------|
| | |Inferred |11,499,000|0.95 |352,000 |
-------------------------------------------------------------
The mineral resource estimate
has been calculated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy
and Petroleum ("CIM") Definitions Standards for mineral
resources in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mineral resources are not mineral
reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
1: Rounded to nearest
1 thousand, which may cause apparent discrepancies.
The in-pit and out-of-pit resources have
been estimated based on the following parameters:
-Two distinct scenarios were considered in
reporting the resources: open pit and underground;
-The in-pit resource is based on a Whittle
pit shell calculated at a gold price of US$1,540 per ounce of gold,
which is the approximate three-year moving average gold price;
-The resource model is controlled
explicitly by three gold mineral domains that were interpreted on a
set of 6-metre spaced vertical cross sections;
-The mineral domains were interpreted so as
to respect geological interpretations, including lithologies, folds
and mineralized shears, from cross-sections at 12.5-metre
intervals;
-Three mineral domains were interpreted,
including a low-grade domain (~0.3 to ~0.8 g/t), a medium-grade domain
(~0.8 to ~4.0 g/t), and a high-grade domain (above ~4.0 g/t);
-Assays lying within each of the domains
were capped, with a cap of 15 g/t for the low-grade domain, 25 g/t for
the medium-grade domain, and 135 g/t for the high-grade
domain;
-The capped assays were composited at
2-metre intervals;
-Interpolation was done by inverse distance
to the third power into model blocks that are 3 metres wide, 3 metres
high and 6 metres long along the strike of the deposit;
-In addition to the assay capping,
restrictions were placed during grade interpolation on the influence
of high-grade composites in each of the three mineral domains;
-The densities used for tonnage are 2.80
t/m3 for the basalt (the principal ore host), 2.85 t/m3 for
ultramafic rocks, and 2.75 t/m3 for granodiorite;
-The ounces estimated into the modeled
workings of the past-producing Marban mine were removed from the
mineral resources, and
-The modeling and estimation of the mineral
resources was done using Gemcom Surpac(R) mining software.
The sensitivity of the in-pit and
out-of-pit resources to cut-off grade is show in the two following
tables.
Table3: Marban Deposit -
Sensitivity of In-Pit Mineral Resource
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Cutoff|?|Measured |?|Indicated
|?|Inferred |
|(g | | | | | |
|
|Au/t) | | | | | |
|
|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |?|Tonnes |g |oz Au |?|Tonnes |g |oz Au
|?|Tonnes |g |oz Au |
| | | |Au/t| | | |Au/t| | |
|Au/t| |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|0.35
|?|6,404,000|1.33|275,000|?|18,213,000|1.30|760,000|?|10,921,000|0.81|284,000|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|0.50
|?|5,045,000|1.58|256,000|?|14,924,000|1.49|715,000|?|6,362,000
|1.09|223,000|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|0.70
|?|3,745,000|1.92|231,000|?|11,717,000|1.74|654,000|?|3,531,000
|1.50|170,000|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|1.00 |?|2,495,000|2.46|198,000|?|8,234,000
|2.11|560,000|?|2,011,000 |2.00|129,000|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|2.00 |?|912,000 |4.36|128,000|?|2,462,000
|3.81|301,000|?|495,000 |3.99|63,000 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|2.50 |?|635,000 |5.29|108,000|?|1,545,000
|4.75|236,000|?|311,000 |5.03|50,000 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|5.00 |?|208,000 |9.26|62,000 |?|385,000 |8.95|111,000|?|? ?
? |9.38|27,000 |
| | | | | | | | | | |?
88,000 | | |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 4: Marban Deposit -
Sensitivity of Out-of-Pit Shell Resource
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Cutoff|?|Measured |?|Indicated |?|Inferred
|
|(g | | | | | |
|
|Au/t) | | | | | |
|
|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |?|Tonnes |g |oz Au |?|Tonnes |g |oz Au |?|Tonnes
|g |oz Au |
| | | |Au/t| | | |Au/t| | |
|Au/t | |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|0.35
|?|941,000|1.43|43,000|?|3,650,000|1.28|150,000|?|9,187,000|0.890|264,000|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|0.50
|?|785,000|1.63|41,000|?|3,003,000|1.46|141,000|?|6,036,000|1.140|221,000|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|0.70
|?|590,000|1.97|37,000|?|2,342,000|1.70|128,000|?|3,403,000|1.560|171,000|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|1.00
|?|407,000|2.48|32,000|?|1,681,000|2.04|110,000|?|2,110,000|2.010|136,000|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|2.00 |?|156,000|4.20|21,000|?|500,000 |3.59|58,000 |?|578,000
|3.690|68,000 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|2.50 |?|113,000|4.96|18,000|?|309,000 |4.43|44,000 |?|375,000
|4.480|54,000 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|5.00 |?|33,000 |8.76|9,000 |?|71,000 |8.16|19,000 |?|85,000
|8.240|23,000 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aurizon (Hecla)
Option
Aurizon can earn up to a 65% interest the Marban Block property under
the terms of an option and joint venture agreement dated July 5, 2010,
between NioGold and Aurizon. The initial 50% interest can be earned
by incurring expenditures of $20 million over three years, completing
an updated NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate, and by
making a resource payment for 50% of the total gold ounces defined by
the mineral resource estimate. NioGold remains the project operator
during the initial earn-in period (see news release dated July 6,
2010).
Approximately $9.0 million in expenditures remain to be incurred as
part of Aurizon's earn-in for the initial 50% interest.
Scientific/Technical Info,
Qualified Persons and QA/QC
This news release was prepared by and under the supervision of Yan
Ducharme, M.Sc, P. Geo (OGQ), NioGold's Vice-president Exploration and
a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The
current mineral resource estimate on the Marban deposit was completed
under the supervision of Michael Gustin, Ph.D., CPG of Mine
Development Associates of Reno Nevada, an independent Qualified Person
under NI 43-101 guidelines, using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)
Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and
Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve
Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council on June 30, 2011. The
effective date of the estimate is June 1, 2013.
Additional Information
Below are hyper-links (right-click then open hyperlink, or cut and
paste the URL below) to 2 sketches showing the Marban Block plan and
the longitudinal sections view of the Marban Gold deposit with the
outline of the in-pit and underground resources:
http://www.niogold.com/news/2013/july03/Marban-Block-Geology.jpg
Marban Deposit
Longitudinal Section
http://www.niogold.com/news/2013/july03/Marban-Deposit-Longitudinal-Section.jpg
All other information previously released on Marban is also available
on NioGold's website at www.niogold.com
NioGold Mining Corporation - << On Canada's Golden Highway
>>
NioGold Mining Corporation is a mineral exploration company focused on
gold. The Company's flagship projects are located in the Cadillac -
Malartic - Val-d'Or region of the prolific Abitibi gold mining
district, Quebec. The Cadillac, Malartic and Val-d'Or mining camps
have produced over 45 million ounces of gold since the 1930's and
presently encompasses six producing gold mines including Osisko
Mining's new Canadian Malartic operations. NioGold's land holdings
within the Abitibi presently cover 130km2 and
encompass four former gold producers, namely the Norlartic, Kierens
(First Canadian), Marban and Malartic Hygrade mines that collectively
produced 640,000 ounces of gold.
NioGold's experienced and qualified technical team are overseeing the
advancement of these projects, targeting expansion of the resource
base.
NioGold invites you to visit the company website at www.niogold.com.
For information on NioGold Mining Corporation contact:
Michael A. Iverson, Chairman & CEODale Paruk,
Vice-President
miverson@niogold.com
dparuk@niogold.com
Tel: (604) 856-9887Tel: (604) 662-4505
Toll-free: (877) 642-6200
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news
release.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news
release includes "forward looking statements", as that term
is defined in Section 27A of the Unites States Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, that are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties.
Statements in this news release which are not purely historical are
forward looking statements, including without limitation any
statements concerning the Company's intentions, plans, estimates,
expectations or beliefs regarding the future. Although the Company
believes that any forward looking statements in this news release are
reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such forward looking
statements will prove to be accurate. The Company cautions readers
that all forward looking statements, including without limitation
those relating to the Company's future operations and business
prospects, are based on assumptions none of which can be
assured, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from
those indicated in the forward looking statements. Readers are
advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and
uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on forward looking
statements.
Any forward
looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and
the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward looking
statements, or to update the reasons why actual events or results
could or do differ from those projected in the forward looking
statements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no
obligation to update any forward looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS
The United States Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC") permits U.S. mining
companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those
mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract
or produce. We may use certain terms in this news release, such as
'measured resources', 'indicated resources' and 'inferred resources',
which the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies
from including in their filings with the SEC. The news release may
contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no
right to explore or mine. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral
deposits on adjacent properties may not be indicative of mineral
deposits on our properties.
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