VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 12, 2023 / Mawson Gold Limited ("Mawson" or the "Company") (TSX:MAW, Financial)(Frankfurt:MXR)(PINKSHEETS:MWSNF) announces results from 12 diamond drill holes for 2,367 m from regional drilling located between 4 km and 8 km along the same mineralized structure as the main drill area at the 100%-owned Sunday Creek Project in Victoria (Figure 1). The drilled mineralized footprint at Sunday Creek has now been extended for more than 8 km in east-west strike representing an 8-fold increase.
Sunday Creek is 100% owned by Southern Cross Gold ("SXG"), which is an ASX listed company owned 51% by Mawson. Four rigs continue to drill in the main drill area where 21 holes (SDDSC079-99) are currently being geologically processed and chemically analyzed, with four holes (SDDSC092, 97A, 100, 101) in drill progress (Figure 5).
Highlights:
The drilled footprint at Sunday Creek now extends for 8 km and remains open, representing an 8-fold increase in the previously drilled host to gold mineralization, demonstrating the district scale opportunities that exist for the project.High grade gold, with anomalous and broad (150 m) mineralized halo discovered in first drill holes ever drilled outside main drill area.Highlights include:SDDLV003:0.5 m @ 15.7 g/t Au from 87.0 m (including visible gold)SDDLV004:0.3 m @ 5.6 g/t Au from 73.4 m and0.3 m @ 19.4 g/t Au from 100.7 mMineralization is the same style as the Sunday Creek main zone.Mawson owns 93,750,000 shares of SXG (51%), valuing its stake at A$74.1 million (C$64.6 million) based on SXG's closing price on October 11, 2023 AEST.Noora Ahola, Mawson Interim CEO, states: "Today's results from SXG's 100% owned Sunday Creek project confirms the proof of concept that the property is host to an extensive mineralized trend with significant upside beyond the excellent results the company has been producing at its main drill area 8 km to the southwest.
"The results released today are commensurate with the very early drilling undertaken in what is now the core drill area at Sunday Creek and adds another layer of confidence, in our opinion, that the project is one of the best new discoveries in the market today.
"SXG's focus returns to the main drill area where they have a further 22,000 m of drilling to go in their fully funded and permitted drill campaign to April 2024. We look forward to further exceptional results from Sunday Creek."
Results Discussion
A total of 12 holes for 2,367 m were completed at the Leviathan, Consols and Tonstal historic mining areas, located 5.0 km, 6.9 km and 7.9 km along strike respectively from the most westerly end of main project area (Figure 2). All holes hit anomalous gold, except SDDTS002 which hit an underground historic stopped out area. These prospects are all contained within EL6163 that is 100% owned by SXG.
Mineralization is the style same as Sunday Creek main zone with disseminated arsenopyrite and pyrite mineralization in NW-oriented veins that cut across a steeply dipping zone of intensely bleached, sericite-albitic siltstones, and sericite-carbonate-albite altered dyke rocks (the "host"). When looked at from above, in plan view, the host resembles the side rails of a ladder, where the mineralized veins are the rungs. The host was intersected across the three drill areas that range from 50 m - 75 m wide. No significant antimony was intersected, and arsenic appears more common than in the main zone, perhaps suggesting drilling has tested a deeper level of the epizonal system in regional drilling.
Leviathan
Four holes for 567.8 m were drilled at Leviathan (Figure 3). Two intersected high-grade gold with visible gold noted in SDDLV003. Highlights included:
SDDLV001: 20.0 m @ 0.2 g/t Au from 43.0 mSDDLV002: 0.9 m @ 0.9 g/t Au from 47.7 mSDDLV002: 4.8 m @ 0.4 g/t Au from 66.0 mSDDLV003: 1.4 m @ 1.3 g/t Au from 71.4 m,including 0.8 m @ 1.9 g/t Au from 71.4 mSDDLV003: 7.0 m @ 1.6 g/t Au from 85.0 mincluding 0.5 m @ 15.7 g/t Au from 87.0 mSDDLV004: 0.3 m @ 5.6 g/t Au from 73.4 m and 0.3 m @ 19.4 g/t Au from 100.7 mTonstal
Seven holes for 1,598.6 m were drilled at Tonstal (Figure 4). Drill hole SDDTS002 missed the mineralized host as it intersected an old stope with wooden support mined during from the early 1900's, located 90 m vertically below surface in drillhole SDDTS002 (from 103.0 m to 107.6 m). This suggests further high grades at depth remain to be found.
SDDTS001: 2.8 m @ 0.6 g/t Au from 99.4 mincluding 0.8 m @ 1.2 g/t Au from 99.4 mSDDTS003: 4.8 m @ 0.2 g/t Au from 99.9 mSDDTS004A: 5.1 m @ 0.2 g/t Au from 133.6 mSDDTS005A: 0.4 m @ 1.0 g/t Au from 170.0 mSDDTS006: 1.0 m @ 0.6 g/t Au from 255.3 mSDDTS006: 13.5 m @ 0.2 g/t Au from 277.5 mincluding 0.7 m @ 1.2 g/t Au from 277.9 mConsols
One hole for 200.5 m was drilled at Consols. The mineralized structure appears to dip to the south and therefore was not intersected in the drillhole. Float with visible gold was found around the old mine shafts at Consols while drilling was ongoing (Photo 1). Upcoming field mapping will provide further understanding.
Pending Results and Update
With four diamond drill rigs operating at site, the company has stated that it will drill an additional 22,000 m by April 2024, with 23,034 m drilled so far in 2023.
Demonstrating Volume:
Twenty-one holes (SDDSC79--99) are currently being geologically processed and chemically analysed, with four holes (SDDSC092, 97A, 100, 101) in drill progress (Figure 5).Demonstrating Scale: Twelve holes (SDDTS001-7, SDDCN001 and SDDLV001-4) for 2,383 m (including two redrilled collars) are reported here from the Leviathan - Consols - Tonstal regional area between 4 km to 8 km along strike from the main drill area (Figures 2-4).
Demonstrating Grade: Preliminary visual geological logs of SDDSC082, SDDSC091, SDDSC092 and SDDSC094A at Rising Sun and hole SDDSC097A from Apollo have intersected multiple zones of mineralization with visible gold noted in certain restricted zones. Assays are pending (Figure 5).
Further discussion and analysis of the Sunday Creek project by Southern Cross Gold is available on the SXG website at www.southerncrossgold.com.au.
Figures 1-5 show project location, plan, longitudinal and cross-sectional views of drill results reported here and Tables 1-4 provide collar and assay data. The true thickness of the mineralized intervals reported are interpreted to be approximately 60-70% of the sampled thickness. Lower grades were cut at 0.3 g/t Au lower cutoff over a maximum width of 3 m with higher grades cut at 5.0 g/t Au cutoff over a maximum of 1 m width, unless otherwise stated.
Technical Background and Qualified Person
The Qualified Person, Michael Hudson, Executive Chairman and a director of Mawson Gold, and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, has reviewed, verified and approved the technical contents of this release.
Analytical samples are transported to the Bendigo facility of On Site Laboratory Services ("On Site") which operates under both an ISO 9001 and NATA quality systems. Samples were prepared and analyzed for gold using the fire assay technique (PE01S method; 25 gram charge), followed by measuring the gold in solution with flame AAS equipment. Samples for multi-element analysis (BM011 and over-range methods as required) use aqua regia digestion and ICP-MS analysis. The QA/QC program of Southern Cross Gold consists of the systematic insertion of certified standards of known gold content, blanks within interpreted mineralized rock and quarter core duplicates. In addition, On Site inserts blanks and standards into the analytical process.
MAW considers that both gold and antimony that are included in the gold equivalent calculation ("AuEq") have reasonable potential to be recovered at Sunday Creek, given current geochemical understanding, historic production statistics and geologically analogous mining operations. Historically, ore from Sunday Creek was treated onsite or shipped to the Costerfield mine, located 54 km to the northwest of the project, for processing during WW1. The Costerfield mine corridor, now owned by Mandalay Resources Ltd contains two million ounces of equivalent gold (Mandalay Q3 2021 Results), and in 2020 was the sixth highest-grade global underground mine and a top 5 global producer of antimony.
SXG considers that it is appropriate to adopt the same gold equivalent variables as Mandalay Resources Ltd in its Mandalay Technical Report, 2022 dated 25 March 2022. The gold equivalence formula used by Mandalay Resources was calculated using recoveries achieved at the Costerfield Property Brunswick Processing Plant during 2020, using a gold price of US$1,700 per ounce, an antimony price of US$8,500 per tonne and 2021 total year metal recoveries of 93% for gold and 95% for antimony, and is as follows:
