TSXV:OIII | OTCQX:OIIIF - O3 Mining
TORONTO, June 20,
2023 /CNW/ - O3 Mining Inc. (TSXV: OIII)
(OTCQX: OIIIF) ("O3 Mining" or the "Corporation") is
pleased to announce the results of the maiden mineral resource
estimate ("MRE") on our-100% owned Malartic H gold deposit at
Marban, Val-d'Or Quebec, Canada:
342,000 ounces ("oz") grading 1.04 grams per tonne ("g/t") of gold
("Au") in the inferred mineral resource category.
Highlights:
- Open-pit inferred mineral resource estimate of 342,000
oz Au grading 1.04 g/t. Malartic H is located within five
kilometres of the proposed processing plant described in the Marban
PFS (as defined herein)
- The MRE is based on approximately 29,000 metres of
drilling in 103 holes, including 8,036 metres in 25 holes
completed by O3 Mining in March 2022
and from January to March 2023
- Significant exploration potential as Malartic H is
located between the northwestern extensions of the Marbenite and
Norbenite shears, which host most of the mineral resource estimate
on the Marban Engineering Project described in the Marban PFS
- The Malartic H deposit remains partially open laterally
and completely open at depth
O3 Mining President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. José
Vizquerra, commented: "The positive results of this maiden
MRE on Malartic H is an exciting milestone for O3 Mining, as it
shows the potential for the Malartic H deposit to grow both
laterally and at depth. We are excited about the results of our
winter drilling campaign and remain hopeful that additional infill
drilling could allow us to grow the deposit and demonstrate the
robustness of the Marban Engineering Project."
Table 1: Malartic H – Mineral Resource
Estimate
Category
|
Deposit
|
Tonnage
|
Gold
Grade
|
Gold
Content
|
kt
|
g/t
|
koz
|
Inferred
|
Malartic H –
Open-Pit
|
10,203
|
1.04
|
342
|
Total
|
10,203
|
1.04
|
342
|
Notes:
|
1. The MRE described
above has been prepared in accordance with the CIM Standards
(Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, 2014) and
follow Best Practices outlined by the CIM (2019).
|
2. The "qualified
person" (for purposes of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101")) for this MRE is
Christian Beaulieu, P.Geo., consultant for G Mining Services Inc.
("G Mining"). Mr. Beaulieu is a member of l'Ordre des géologues du
Québec (#1072) and is considered to be "independent" of the
Corporation within the meaning of Section 1.5 of NI
43-101.
|
3. The effective
date of the MRE is June 7, 2023.
|
4. The lowest
cut-off grade used to report open-pit mineral resources is 0.30 g/t
Au.
|
5. This MRE on
Malartic H has been classified as an inferred mineral resource
estimate according to drilling spacing and confidence in the
geological interpretation. No measured mineral resource or
indicated mineral resources have been estimated on Malartic
H.
|
6. The density in
this MRE has been applied based on measurements taken on drill core
and assigned in the block model by lithology.
|
7. A minimum
thickness of 3 metres was used when interpreting the mineralized
bodies.
|
8. This MRE is based
on subblock models with a main block size of 5 metres x 5 metres x
5 metres, with subblocks of 2.5 metres x 2.5 metres x 2.5 metres,
and has been reported inside an optimized pit shell using a gold
price of US$1,900/oz and claim boundaries held by O3
Mining
|
9. Tonnage has been
expressed in the metric system, and gold metal content has been
expressed in troy ounces.
|
10. The tonnages
have been rounded to the nearest
thousandth tonne and the metal content has been
rounded to the nearest thousandth ounce. Totals
may not sum due to rounding errors.
|
11. Mineral
resources are not mineral reserves as they have not demonstrated
economic viability. The quantity and grade of reported inferred
mineral resources in this news release are uncertain in nature and
there has been insufficient exploration to define these resources
as indicated mineral resources or measured mineral resources. There
is a reasonable basis for determining that inferred mineral
resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with
continued exploration.
|
Table 2: Malartic H – Mineral Resource Sensitivity to Cut-Off
Grade
Category
|
Cut-off
|
Tonnage
|
Gold
Grade
|
Gold
Content
|
|
g/t
|
Kt
|
g/t
|
Koz
|
Inferred
|
0.25
|
11,096
|
0.98
|
349
|
0.30
|
10,203
|
1.04
|
342
|
0.40
|
8,568
|
1.17
|
323
|
0.50
|
7,356
|
1.29
|
306
|
* Constrained by the
optimized pit shell.
|
The tonnages and grades at differing cut-offs shown above are
for comparison purposes only and do not constitute an official
mineral resource estimate.
New In-Pit Resources in addition
to the 2022 PFS Resources of Marban
The MRE on Malartic H shown in Table 1 includes
approximately 29,000 metres of drilling in 103 holes, including
8,036 metres in 25 holes completed by O3 Mining in March 2022 and from January to March 2023. The MRE was independently prepared by
G Mining in accordance with NI 43-101, with an effective date of
June 7, 2023, and using a database
current as of May 31, 2023.
The Malartic H deposit is a separate asset from our Marban
Engineering Project. To that end, the Corporation does not consider
Malartic H to be a material project of O3 Mining for purposes of NI
43-101 and, consequently, the Corporation will not be publishing a
technical report in respect of the MRE on Malartic H in accordance
with NI 43-101.
The mineral reserve estimate on the Marban Engineering Project,
as summarized in the Table 3, remains current in accordance
with the technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Pre-feasibility
Study of the Marban Engineering Project" and dated October 7, 2022 (with an effective date of
August 17, 2022), prepared for O3
Mining by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. with the assistance of G
Mining and WSP Canada (the "Marban PFS"). The mineral reserve
estimate for the Marban Engineering Project is included within the
mineral resource estimate for the Marban Engineering Project, with
such mineral resource estimate for the Marban Engineering Project
summarized in the Table 4, which also includes the results
of the MRE on Malartic H described in this news release.
Table 3: Marban Engineering Project – Mineral Reserve
Estimate
Category
|
Tonnage
(kt)
|
Grade
(Au g/t)
|
Contained Gold
(Koz)
|
Proven
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Probable
|
56,437
|
0.91
|
1,647
|
Proven and
Probable
|
56,437
|
0.91
|
1,647
|
Notes:
|
1.
|
The mineral reserve
estimate described above has been prepared in accordance with the
CIM Standards (Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and
Petroleum, 2014) and follow Best Practices outlined by the CIM
(2019).
|
2.
|
The "qualified
person" (for purposes of NI 43-101) for this mineral reserve
estimate is Mr. Carl Michaud, Eng. M.B.A., Vice President of Mining
Engineering for GMS. Mr. Michaud is considered to be "independent"
of the Corporation within the meaning of Section 1.5 of NI
43-101.
|
3.
|
The effective date
for the Marban PFS is August 17, 2022.
|
4.
|
Mineral reserve
estimate calculated using a long-term gold price of
US$ 1,600/oz.
|
5.
|
Mineral reserve
estimate calculated using a cut-off grade is 0.3 g Au/t
for all materials.
|
6.
|
A dilution skin
width of 1 metre was considered resulting in an average mining
dilution of 5.4%.
|
7.
|
The average strip
ratio is 5.07:1.
|
8.
|
Numbers may not sum
due to rounding.
|
9.
|
The mineral reserve
estimate is included within the mineral resource
estimate.
|
Table 4: Updated Mineral Resource Estimate by Deposit
DEPOSIT
|
INDICATED
|
INFERRED
|
Tonnes
(kt)
|
Gold
(g/t)
|
Ounces
(koz)
|
Tonnes
(kt)
|
Gold
(g/t)
|
Ounces
(koz)
|
Marban –
Open-Pit(*)
|
52,437
|
1.03
|
1,736
|
1,038
|
0.97
|
32
|
Kierens-Norlartic –
Open-
Pit(*)
|
14,795
|
1.22
|
582
|
1,068
|
1.42
|
49
|
Malartic H
Open-Pit(**)
|
0
|
-
|
0
|
10,203
|
1.04
|
342
|
Total
Open-Pit
|
67,232
|
1.07
|
2,318
|
12,309
|
1.07
|
422
|
Marban –
UG(*)
|
162
|
4.47
|
23
|
860
|
4.43
|
123
|
Kierens-Norlartic –
UG(*)
|
297
|
3.36
|
32
|
182
|
3.36
|
20
|
Total –
UG
|
460
|
3.75
|
55
|
1,043
|
4.25
|
142
|
Total – Open-Pit and
UG
|
67,692
|
1.09
|
2,374
|
13,352
|
1.56
|
565
|
The
tonnages have been rounded to the nearest thousandth
tonne and the metal content has been rounded to the nearest
thousandth ounce.
|
(*)
Notes about the Marban and Kierens-Norlartic
resources:
|
1.
|
The mineral resource
estimates described above have been prepared in accordance with the
CIM Standards (Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and
Petroleum, 2014) and follow Best Practices outlined by the CIM
(2019).
|
2.
|
The "qualified
person" (for purposes of NI 43-101) for this mineral resource
estimate is James Purchase, P. Geo of G Mining. Mr. Purchase is a
member of L'Ordre des Géologues du Québec (#2082) and is considered
to be "independent" of the Corporation within the meaning of
Section 1.5 of NI 43-101.
|
3.
|
The effective date
of the mineral resource estimate is February 27,
2022.
|
4.
|
The lowest cut-off
grade used to report open-pit mineral resources is 0.30 g/t Au.
Underground mineral resources have been reported using a 3.0 g/t
lower cut-off at Marban, and a 2.5 g/t lower cut-off at
Kierens-Norlartic.
|
5.
|
The Marban and
Kierens-Norlartic deposits have indicated mineral resources and
inferred mineral resources, but no measured mineral resources have
been estimated in respect of such deposits. Underground mineral
resources have been categorized manually to remove isolated areas
and have been reported using a 3 metre minimum
thickness.
|
6.
|
Known underground
work has been incorporated into the block model, and zero density
has been assigned to the blocks located within the
voids.
|
7.
|
The density has been
applied based on measurements taken on drill core and assigned in
the block model by lithology.
|
8.
|
In general, a
minimum thickness of 3 metres was used when interpreting the
mineralized bodies.
|
9.
|
The MRE is based on
subblock models with a main block size of 5 metres x 5 metres x 5
metres, with subblocks of 2.5 metres x 2.5 metres x 2.5
metres.
|
10.
|
Tonnage have been
expressed in the metric system, and gold metal content has been
expressed in troy ounces.
|
(**)
Notes about the Malartic H resources:
|
1. Please
refer to the notes under the Table 1: Malartic H Deposit Mineral
Resource Estimate for the Malartic H resources.
|
A significant portion of the MRE on Malartic H (approximately
80%) is contained in eight stacked zones within a 225-meter-wide
corridor starting at surface and covering an area of approximately
240 meters vertical by 500 meters wide. These zones have a true
thickness from 3 to 6 meters in average, and locally up to 10
meters.
The qualified person for the MRE on Malartic H is not aware of
any factors or issues that could materially affect such MRE other
than normal risks faced by mining projects in the province in terms
of environmental, permitting, taxation, socio-economic, marketing,
and political factors, and additional risk factors regarding
inferred resources.
The mineral resource was prepared using assays sourced from
diamond drilling samples with interval lengths varying between
0.5 metres to 1.5 metres. Wireframes representing
mineralization were produced using a nominal cut-off of
0.3 g/t, with a minimum thickness of 3 metres. Assay
capping thresholds were chosen based on cumulative probability
plots, coefficient of variations and 3D inspection of high-grades.
Cut-off grades were applied by zone and vary between 6 g/t Au and
15 g/t Au. The block model was constructed using
5 metre x 5 metre x 5 metre parent blocks, with
2.5 metre x 2.5 metre x 2.5 metre subblocks. Gold
grades were interpolated with 1.5 metre composites using
Inverse Distance Cubed (ID3) using a three-pass strategy. Where
warranted, an additional capping of 4 g/t Au or 5 g/t Au was
applied during the interpolation of later estimation passes to
restrict the influence of high grades (high-grade restraining). The
block model was classified as Inferred category based on the
distance to drilling and confidence in the geological model. The
block model was reported within an optimized pit shell using a gold
price of US$1,900/oz. Table 2
presents the MRE on Malartic H at different cut-off grades.
About the Malartic H
deposit
The Malartic H deposit has a recognized strike length of
950 metres, 300 metres wide and down to a vertical depth of
500 metres. The mineralized system is partially open laterally
and completely open at depth. It is located about
1 kilometre to the north of the Malartic Hygrade former mine,
near the hinge of a regional Z-shaped fold. More importantly the
Malartic H deposit is also located between the northwestern
extensions of the Marbenite and Norbenite shears, which host most
of the resources of the Marban Engineering Project. At Malartic H,
the two shears are northwest-trending and dipping around 70 degrees
to the northeast. The deposit is hosted by an alternance of mafic
and ultramafic volcanic sequence of the Jacola formation. Similar to the Hygrade area,
numerous intermediate to felsic dyke systems are injected in the
volcanic sequence. The mineralization occurs as disseminated pyrite
with local visible gold in quartz veins and veinlets and
disseminated in the host rock. Zones are spatially correlated
shears within mafic volcanic units or with the intermediate to
felsic dykes. All zones are roughly subparallel.
Environmental and metallurgical
test work
O3 Mining is doing environmental testing on the Marlatric H
deposit. These tests aim to characterize the Malartic H waste rocks
for acid rock drainage (ARD) and metal leaching (ML) upon exposure
to ambient conditions and thus, the risk associated with the waste
material and subsequent mine waste management practices. These
tests aim to simulate weathering under accelerated conditions to
verify their respective acidogenic potential and the quality of
their drainage in the short, medium, or long term, as well as to
assess the potential for the generation of any contaminated
drainage. Further environmental tests on mineralized material and
metallurgical tests will be performed in the coming months.
Figure 1: Marban Property Map
Figure 2: Isometric View of the Malartic H Deposit
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this news release
relating to the MRE on Malartic H has been reviewed and approved by
Mr. Christian Beaulieu, P. Geo. (OGQ
#1072), consultant for G Mining, and a "qualified person" within
the meaning of NI 43-101 and "independent" of the Corporation
pursuant to Section 1.5 of NI 43-101.
All other scientific and technical content in this news release
has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Sébastien Vigneau, P.Geo (OGQ
#993), Principal Geologist of O3 Mining, who is a "qualified
person" within the meaning of NI 43-101.
Quality Assurance/Quality
Control
G Mining reviewed all available QA/QC reports, downhole
deviations and dips, collar location, original logs and available
laboratory certificates. Following that exercise, G Mining opted to
discard two drilling campaigns from the MRE database because of
imprecise gold assays, high lower detection limits, and/or locally
lack of nearby recent drill hole as support. G Mining individually
inspected all historic drill holes and the majority of mineralized
intervals could be validated in drill holes from O3 Mining and/or
from other campaigns.
About O3 Mining Inc.
O3 Mining Inc. is a gold explorer and mine developer on the road
to produce from its highly prospective gold camps in Québec,
Canada. O3 Mining benefits from
the support and expertise of a team of industry leaders as it grows
towards being a gold producer with several multi-million-ounce
deposits in Québec.
O3 Mining is well-capitalized and owns a 100% interest in all
its properties (62,000 hectares) in Québec. O3 Mining trades on the
TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: OIII) and OTC Markets (OTCQX: OIIIF).
The Corporation is focused on delivering superior returns to its
shareholders and long-term benefits to its stakeholders. Further
information can be found on our website at https://o3mining.com
About G Mining Services
Inc.
G Mining is a specialized mining consultancy firm based in
Canada. G Mining is an
entrepreneurial minded and multidisciplinary company that offers a
wide range of services to both underground and open pit mining
projects from greenfield to operating mines. It possesses the rare
capabilities to develop a resource from the exploration phase, to
development, into construction, commissioning and then
operations.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Disclosure of Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource
Estimates
This news release uses the terms measured, indicated and
inferred mineral resources as a relative measure of the level of
confidence in the resource estimate. Readers are cautioned that
mineral resources are not economic mineral reserves and that the
economic viability of mineral resources that are not mineral
reserves has not been demonstrated. The estimate of mineral
resources may be materially affected by geology, environmental,
permitting, legal, title, sociopolitical, marketing, or other
relevant issues. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an
inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to an indicated or
measured mineral resource category. The mineral resource estimate
is in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy
and Petroleum's "CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and
Mineral Reserves" incorporated by reference into NI 43-101. Under
Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not
form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies or
economic studies except for a preliminary economic assessment as
defined under NI 43-101. Readers are cautioned not to assume that
further work on the stated resources will lead to mineral reserves
that can be mined economically.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities
legislation that is based on expectations, estimates, projections,
and interpretations as at the date of this news release. Any
statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions,
expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans, projections,
objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but
not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect",
"is expected", "interpreted", "management's view", "anticipates" or
"does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts",
"estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words
and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results
"may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or
be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be
forward-looking information and are intended to identify
forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is
based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the
Corporation, at the time it was made, involves known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the companies to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
information. For additional information with respect to these and
other factors and assumptions underlying the forward–looking
statements in this news release concerning O3 Mining, please refer
to the public disclosure record of O3 Mining, including the annual
information form of O3 Mining for the year ended December 31, 2022, and the most recent annual and
interim financial statements and related management's discussion
and analysis of O3 Mining, which are available on SEDAR
(www.sedar.com) under O3 Mining's issuer profile.
Although the forward-looking information contained in this news
release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the
time, to be reasonable assumptions, the parties cannot assure
shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities that actual
results will be consistent with such forward-looking information,
as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither the Corporation nor
any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and
completeness of any such forward-looking information. The
Corporation does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to
update or revise any such forward-looking statements or
forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events
or circumstances, except as may be required by law.
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 news release. No stock exchange, securities
commission or other regulatory authority has approved or
disapproved the information contained herein.
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SOURCE O3 Mining Inc.