HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Business Wire) -- Brigus Gold Corp. (“Brigus” or the “Company”) (NYSE MKT: BRD; TSX: BRD) is pleased to announce a new National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) mineral resource estimate for the 147 and Contact zones on the Grey Fox property of the Black Fox Complex, which covers approximately 18 square kilometres within the Timmins Mining District. Highlights of the updated resource estimate include:
| Zone | Indicated Ounces | Inferred Ounces | |||||||
| 147 | 279,244 | 51,261 | |||||||
| Contact | 201,606 | 39,800 | |||||||
| Total | 480,850 | 91,061 |
“We have increased the Indicated gold resource at Grey Fox from 116,710 to 480,850 ounces. This is a material increase in the Company's total Indicated resource and adds substantial value to the Black Fox Complex,” said Howard Bird, Brigus Gold's Senior Vice President of Exploration. “Both the 147 and Contact zones remain open at depth and the Contact Zone remains open along strike to the north. We are excited about the near term potential to further increase this resource with on-going drilling.”
Approximately 84 percent of the new resource occurs within 200 m from surface where most of the drilling has taken place and therefore has open pit mining potential. Over the next year Brigus will focus on extending and expanding both the 147 and Contact zones through systematic drilling below the 200m level and along strike to build a resource suitable for underground mining.
“Exploration drilling over the last year has converted a large portion of our Inferred gold resource to Indicated,” said Wade Dawe, Brigus Gold's President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are confident that the Grey Fox property has the potential to host in excess of one million ounces of gold.”
This new resource does not include results from Brigus' newly discovered Grey Fox South Zone.
This multiple horizon gold zone is located approximately 400 metres to the east and running sub-parallel to the 147 Zone. Drilling is on-going at Grey Fox South and has intersected the gold mineralized trend over a 275 metre strike length. The zone remains open in all directions. Two drilling rigs are focused on defining the orientation and size of gold mineralized shoots and extending the mineralization along strike.
All three zones occur within close proximity of each other and provide Brigus with near term production growth opportunities because of their proximity to the Black Fox Mine infrastructure.
Summary of New Mineral Resource Estimate – 147 and Contact Zones
The new mineral resource estimates are reported to reflect potential open pit and underground resource values for both the 147 and Contact Zones which include calculated cut-off grades of 0.65 g/t gold for potential open pit mining and 2.63 g/t gold for potential underground mining based on parameters from the Black Fox Mine. The reported potential open pit resource was based on the resources above a plane approximately 200 m below surface level and the potential underground resource estimate was based on the remaining resources below the 200 m level plane.
 |
|||||||||||
| Resource
Class
|
Cut-off Grade
(g/t Au) |
Potential
Material |
Tonnes |
Capped
Au (g/t) |
Contained
Au (oz) |
||||||
| Indicated | 2.63 | Underground | 231,478 | 5.4 | 40,506 | ||||||
| 0.65 | Open Pit | 6,873,900 | 2.0 | 440,342 | |||||||
| Total Indicated | 7,105,378 | 2.1 | 480,849 | ||||||||
| Inferred | 2.63 | Underground | 143,852 | 3.7 | 17,219 | ||||||
| 0.65 | Open Pit | 1,548,415 | 1.5 | 73,843 | |||||||
| Total Inferred | 1,692,267 | 1.7 | 91,061 | ||||||||
1) The effective date of this resource estimate is 14 August, 2012.
2) The quantity and grade of reported Inferred resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred resources as an Indicated or Measured mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured mineral resource category.
3) CIM definitions and guidelines were followed for Mineral Resources.
4) The resource was estimated using version Gemcom GEMS 6.4.1 . The database used for the estimate comprised diamond drill core composites and assays. All samples were collected by Company personnel. A top cut of 100 g/t was applied to assay grades prior to compositing grades for interpolation into model blocks using Ordinary Kriging and Inverse Distance Weighting Squared methods, and was based on 1.5 m composites within a 3m long x 3m wide x 3m high block model. Nearest neighbor interpolation was also used for grade estimation and validation. The ordinary kriged grade model for the Contact and 147 Zones was felt to best represent the continuity and distribution of the gold grade based on the current geological model.
5) Bulk densities were assigned to the five of the six interpreted lithological domains based on 1,162 density measurements. The average of the bulk density measurements, 2.88 t/m3, was used for all other lithologies.
6) No recoveries were applied to the estimated grades.
7) A gold price of US$1,250/oz and an exchange rate of US$1.00=C$1.00 was utilized in the gold cut-off grade calculations of 2.63 g/t for potential underground and 0.65 g/t for potential open-pit Mineral Resources. Underground and open-pit mining costs, process costs and G&A costs were estimated using experience gained from Brigus' Black Fox mine. Process recovery was assumed at 95%.
The 147 Zone mineral resource estimate is based on 266 core holes. The core area of the zone is approximately 275 m in a north-south direction dipping at approximately 80 degrees to the east. The gold mineralization primarily occurs within multiple quartz carbonate brecciated zones within bleached units of variolitic mafic volcanics and other parallel hanging wall and foot wall gold mineralized zones. The 147 Zone remains open at depth. Most recently, targeted drilling has intersected the 147 Zone at a vertical depth of approximately 435 m below surface.
The Contact Zone resource is based on 222 core holes. The gold mineral resource estimate lies within approximately 450 m of strike length and mineralization remains open along strike to the north and down dip. The Contact Zone consists of a steeply dipping mineralized fault contact between the north-south trending metasediments and mafic volcanic rocks, and includes parallel foot wall and hanging wall gold mineralized zones.
All potential future mining on the 147 and Contact zones in the Grey Fox area will be supported by the nearby Black Fox mine infrastructure. This area falls within the ongoing environmental monitoring program associated with the Black Fox mine operation. Initial hydrogeological test work and Acid Base Accounting (ABA) testing of various rock types is complete. Good progress is being made with Baseline Terrestrial Studies, Closure Plan, Mine Water Ponds, and Preliminary Review for Air Emissions and Metallurgical test work. A preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) for Grey Fox will be released in Q4, and will incorporate the new resource.
Qualified Persons and Technical Report
The new mineral resource estimate announced in this release was prepared by Mr. Paul Daigle, P.Geo., an employee of Tetra Tech (Tetra Tech), and an Independent Qualified Person ("QP"), as defined by Section 1.5 of NI 43-101. Mr. Paul Daigle and Senior Exploration Project Manager Mr. John A. Dixon, P. Geo., have reviewed and approved the technical exploration information in this release. Mr. Dixon is the Qualified Person for the Company.
Tetra Tech is preparing a NI 43-101 Technical Report to support disclosure of the new mineral resource estimate. This report will be filed by Brigus in its entirety on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ) within 45 days of the date of this news release, and the report will also be available on Brigus' website at www.brigusgold.com
All sample analyses were performed by Polymet Labs of Cobalt, Ontario, SGS Laboratories of Sudbury, Ontario and Swastika Laboratories of Swastika, Ontario using standard fire assay procedures. Brigus Gold's quality control checks include insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates to ensure laboratory accuracy.
About Brigus Gold
Brigus is a growing gold producer committed to maximizing shareholder value through a strategy of efficient production, targeted exploration and select acquisitions. The Company operates the wholly owned Black Fox Mine and Mill in the Timmins Gold District of Ontario, Canada. The Black Fox Complex encompasses the Black Fox Mine and adjoining properties in the Township of Black River-Matheson, Ontario, Canada. Brigus is also advancing the Goldfields Project located near Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Canada, which hosts the Box and Athona gold deposits. In Mexico, Brigus has granted Cangold Limited the option to acquire a 75% interest in the Company's Ixhuatan Project located in the state of Chiapas. In the Dominican Republic, Brigus has signed an agreement to sell its remaining interests in three mineral exploration projects.
Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements that involve risk, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements regarding the Company's ability to successfully expand the Black Fox Complex gold resource, add to Black Fox resources, advance new discoveries to production, convert resource estimates into near-term production, release of an updated mineral resource estimate in 2012 and the Black Fox underground mine exploration drilling program and continue to obtain positive down dip continuity of significant gold mineralization are forward-looking statements and estimates that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include environmental risks and other factors disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Brigus Gold's most recent Annual Information Form and Management Discussion and Analysis filed under the company's name at www.sedar.com and annual report on Form 40-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and elsewhere in Brigus Gold's documents filed from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the NYSE Amex, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. All forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.
Brigus Gold Corp.Jennifer Nicholson, CA
Executive Vice President
(902) 442-7186
Email: jnicholson@brigusgold.com
or
Katherine Burgess
Manager, Stakeholder Relations
(902) 442-7184
Email: kburgess@brigusgold.com
