Eastmain Drills 5.77 g/t Au over 11.0 m at Percival and Kicks off Winter Drilling Program

TORONTO, Jan. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eastmain Resources Inc. (“Eastmain” or the “Company” - TSX:ER, OTCQX:EANRF) reports results for the final three drill holes (887 metres) (“m”) completed in late 2018 at the Percival discovery (“Percival”) on the 100%-owned Clearwater Property (the “Property”) in James Bay, Québec. A total of 3,599 m of drilling was completed at both Percival (see PRs dated Nov. 13, 2018, and Dec. 20, 2018) and the Serendipity Prospect (see PR dated Dec. 21, 2018) during the fall 2018 program.

The previously announced Winter 2019 exploration program (20-holes for 5,500 m) will focus on testing the extent and continuity of Percival, beyond the 200 m strike and 250 dip extent tested in 2018. Using a recently completed VTEM survey (final survey results pending), in addition to the Fall 2018 drill results, the program will also follow up on potential prospects along the 14 kilometre (“km”) long Knight-Serendipity volcano-sedimentary horizon (“KS Horizon”).

Drilling Highlights include (see TABLE 1 below):

• ER18-830: 5.77 grams per tonne (“g/t Au”) over 11.0 m (vertical depth of 122 m), including 12.0 g/t Au over 4.5 m (silicified breccia)

• ER18-830: 1.01 g/t Au over 10.9 m (vertical depth of 294 m), including 1.99 g/t Au over 2.8 m zone (silicified breccia)

• ER18-831: 1.09 g/t Au over 10.0 m (vertical depth of 51 m) (silicified breccia)

• ER18-829: Targeted and identified previously inferred fault, 15 m west of holes ER18-822 and ER18-823 (the “Discovery Holes”) which will assist with targeting the extension of mineralization on either side of the fault

Claude Lemasson, Eastmain President and CEO commented: “Our exploration team is eager and ready to test the district potential of the underexplored 21,000 ha Clearwater Property. At the Percival discovery, we are beginning to better understand the stratigraphic and structural controls of the new discovery, giving us greater clarity and focus for continued exploration. The Winter program will benefit from an additional layer of VTEM™ geophysics for targeting Percival mineralization and the 14 km long KS Horizon. Furthermore, while we continue to explore our Clearwater Property, our engineering team continues pre-development activities to advance the Eau Claire Project.”

Percival is located 14 km ESE of the Company’s million-ounce Eau Claire gold deposit¹, within the 20-km long Cannard Deformation Zone (see FIGURE 1) and within the southern segment of the KS Horizon. Percival is a hydrothermal gold system hosted in a thick metasedimentary sequence with locally interbedded intermediate to felsic volcaniclastic rocks. Results from the latest drilling provide further understanding of the mineralization controls, namely by defining lithological and structural settings, within the host stratigraphy while identifying at least two gold mineralized zones within the metasedimentary package (see FIGURES 2-4).

Table 1: Significant Intercepts

• Intervals are presented in core length; holes are generally planned to intersect mineralization as close to perpendicular to strike as possible; true widths are estimated to be 75% of downhole length when hole and dips of the mineralized horizons are considered.
• Assays presented are not capped. Intercepts occur within geological confines of major zones but have not been correlated to individual structures/horizons within these zones at this time.
• Vertical depth is measured from the surface to the mid-point of the reported interval.

Drilling Results
Drill hole ER18-829 (FIGURE 3) drilled ESE, successfully intersected an 18 m wide fault structure 15 m east of the Discovery Holes. The fault continues to be interpreted as NNW trending, roughly parallel to the trend of these drill holes. The Winter 2019 program will further test for orientation of the fault and potential displacement of stratigraphy and mineralization on the west side of the fault structure. In addition to targeting the fault structure, the drill hole also returned an interval of 1.74 g/t Au over 1.5 m within a 7.7 m intercept (vertical depth 97 m) of silicified breccia with anomalous gold values, east of the fault.

Drill holes ER18-830 and ER18-831 (FIGURE 4) were collared 23 m west of the newly identified fault structure and 38 m west of the Discovery Holes. The previously mentioned fault is interpreted to trend between these two sets of holes and may offset the mineralization. The holes were drilled in a more northwesterly direction than previous holes and undercut hole ER18-828. The holes were targeting a potential steep westerly plunge to mineralization. Several strongly silicified breccia intervals in mudstone were intersected in these holes.

ER18-830 returned two intervals of mineralized, silicified mudstone breccia, from 102.1 m to 108.0 m (0.69 g/t Au over 5.9 m) and from 124.0 m to 135.0 m (5.77 g/t Au over 11.0 m). The shallower intercept may be a continuation at depth of the same breccia intersected in hole ES18-828 from 52.5 m to 70.8 m (1.17 g/t Au over 18.3 m). The lower interval is similar in appearance to the strongly silicified breccias seen in the Discovery Holes. At the end of hole ER18-830, a deep intercept of silicified mudstone breccia was obtained (1.01 g/t Au over 10.9 m (vertical depth of 294 m). This breccia unit occurs at greater relative depth than others intersected in the fall drill program and is interpreted as a new stratigraphic horizon.

ER18-831 intersected a broad interval of low-grade mineralization returning 0.21 g/t over 33 m (vertical depth of 211 m) near the end of hole in silicified, interbedded graphitic mudstone and greywacke. The mineralization is interpreted to be hosted along the same stratigraphic horizon as similar mineralization as intercepts in holes ER18-825 (0.16 g/t Au over 51.0 m at a vertical depth of 144 m) and ER18-827 (0.71 g/t Au over 51.7 m at a vertical depth of 177 m). Both previously reported intervals are located above (hanging wall) a feldspar porphyry dyke. Hole ES18-831 was not drilled deep enough to intersect the dyke.

2019 Project Objectives:

• 2019 Winter Drill Program: A three-month, 20-hole (5,500 m), focused drilling campaign is to begin in January. The program is designed to expand Percival while identifying new gold mineralization within the argillite-mudstone sedimentary package. Building on the winter program results, a second extensive campaign will be planned for the second half of 2019 and will include additional drilling at the discovery area and test targets delineated along the KS Horizon using newly acquired geophysical and soil geochemistry information.

• Improved interpretation at Percival: Focused drill testing of the Percival gold bearing zone along the KS Horizon, using stratigraphic and structural interpretation, to identify and improve predictability of potential mineralization offsets; detailed mineralogy and petrology to define the gold association as a further vector for drilling.

• Geophysics Airborne Survey Targeting: Use results from the completed Helicopter-borne VTEM™ and Horizontal Magnetic Gradiometer Geophysical Survey (VTEM Plus), performed by Geotech along the KS Horizon, to help focus future work at Percival and on other prospective targets along the KS Horizon (see FIGURE 1).

• Improved infrastructure: Complete the 14 km winter trail connecting the road-accessible Eau Claire Project and camp to the Knight showing and the Percival discovery to provide improved access and cost efficiency for the winter campaign.

The Percival Discovery

Percival is located 14 km ESE of the Eau Claire deposit (see FIGURE 1) in the Knight sector of the KS Horizon, on the Clearwater Property. The KS Horizon is characterized by an extensive package of metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks metamorphosed from upper greenschist to lower amphibolite facies. The horizon is also affected by deformation related to major crustal scale structures specifically, the Cannard Deformation zone, at the Percival discovery. The stratigraphy at Percival comprises foliated, predominantly south facing metasedimentary rocks underlain by marine mafic metavolcanics.

The Knight sector is interpreted to be at the south-western end of the prospective volcano-sedimentary sequence. Discovery Holes ER18-822 and ER18-823 were drilled on a single section to undercut gold mineralization exposed in a sequence of silicified metavolcanics and metasediments during the Company’s summer surface exploration program. These two holes intersected a silicified, sulfide rich, and gold mineralized brecciated interval of approximately 50 m in true thickness which extends from surface to a minimum vertical depth of approximately 100 m. Holes ER18-824 to ER18-831 were drilled to flank Percival discovery holes ER18-822 and ER18-823, testing for the extension of the brecciated units over a NE strike length of 200 m and across stratigraphy over 250 m.

Table 2: Drill Hole Information

For additional information on the Geology of the Percival Discovery and the KS Horizon, please visit: http://www.eastmain.com/projects/clearwaterexploration/.

To view Figures 1-4, please click on the following link: http://www.eastmain.com/_resources/news/Images/ER-190115-Percival.pdf.

This press release was compiled and reviewed by William McGuinty, P.Geo., Eastmain’s VP Exploration and Carl Corriveau, P.Geo., Eastmain’s Exploration Manager, both Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101.

¹ A total of 1,001,200 oz of contained gold in the combined open pit and underground diluted production schedule, as defined in Eastmain’s “Technical Report: Updated Mineral Resource Estimate and Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Eau Claire Gold Deposit, Clearwater Property, Quebec, Canada”. Effective date, February 4, 2018 and issued July 4, 2018. Contained ounces are derived from a combined open pit and underground mineral resource estimate of 853,000 oz Au (4.29 Mt at an average grade of 6.18 g/t Au) Measured & Indicated, and 500,000 oz Au (2.38 Mt at an average grade of 6.53 g/t Au) Inferred.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)
The design of the Eastmain Resources’ drilling programs, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and interpretation of results is under the control of Eastmain’s geological staff, including qualified persons employing a strict QA/QC program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. The Clearwater project is supervised by Eastmain’s Project Geologist, Michel Leblanc P. Geo.

Drill core is logged and split with half-core samples packaged and delivered to ALS Minerals laboratory. Samples are dried and subsequently crushed to 70% passing a 2 mm mesh screen. A 1,000 grams subsample is pulverized to a nominal 85% passing 75 micron mesh screen. The remaining crushed sample (reject) and pulverized sample (pulp) are retained for further analysis and quality control. All samples are analysed by Fire Assay with an Atomic Absorption (AA) finish using a 50 g aliquot of pulverized material. Assays exceeding 5 g/t Au are re‐assayed by Fire Assay with a Gravimetric Finish. Eastmain regularly inserts 3rd party reference control samples and blank samples in the sample stream to monitor assay performance and performs duplicate sampling at a second certified laboratory. Approximately 10% of samples submitted are part of the Company’s laboratory sample control protocols.

About Eastmain Resources Inc. (TSX:ER) www.eastmain.com
Eastmain is a Canadian exploration company advancing three high-grade gold assets in the emerging James Bay gold camp in Québec. The Company holds a 100% interest in the Eau Claire Project, for which it recently issued a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”), and the Eastmain Mine Project where the Company prepared a NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate in 2018. Eastmain is also the manager of the Éléonore South Joint Venture, located immediately south of Goldcorp Inc.'s Éléonore Mine, which hosts a new high-grade gold discovery found in late 2017. In addition, the Company has a pipeline of exploration projects in this favourable mining jurisdiction with nearby infrastructure.

For more information:
Claude Lemasson, President and CEO
+1 647-347-3765
[email protected]

Alison Dwoskin, Manager, Investor Relations
+1 647-347-3735
[email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements – Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or timing of future plans, and include, but not limited to, statements with respect to the potential success of the Company’s future exploration and development strategies. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Eastmain, including, but not limited to the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory approvals, the availability of financing, ‎timely completion of proposed studies and technical reports, and risks associated with the exploration, development and mining industry generally such as economic factors as they affect exploration, future commodity prices, changes in interest rates, safety and security, political, social or economic developments, environmental risks, insurance risks, capital expenditures, operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities, personnel relations, the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of Mineral Resources, contests over property title, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update such information, except as may be required by law.