VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Allegiant Gold Ltd. (“ALLEGIANT”) (AUAU: TSX-V) (AUXXF: OTCQX) is pleased to announce a significant increase in inferred resources at its district-scale flagship, Eastside project near Tonopah, Nevada. The updated resource incorporates an additional 22 holes drilled at the Original Zone. Highlights include:
Updated Eastside Inferred Mineral Resource estimate (as of December 30, 2019) of 1,094,000 gold-equivalent (“AuEq”) ounces at 0.60 grams per tonne (“g/t”) within a pit-constrained model using a cut-off grade of 0.15 g/t gold, US$1,550/ounce gold price and a US$19.67/ounce silver price;
The updated Eastside Resource estimate represents a 52% increase over the previous Eastside resource report, an increase of 373,000 gold-equivalent ounces within the pit at the Original Zone;
The resource is open in all directions. The planned work program for 2020 will focus on expansion of the Original Zone to the south, north, west and east;
The updated resource at the Original Zone is separate and distinct from the Castle claim block at Eastside, which hosts near surface historical* oxide gold totaling 273,173 ounces.A map of the Eastside project can viewed at the following link:www.allegiantgold.com/nr/2020-01-27-map.pdfEastside Resource Estimate
The updated resource estimate (“Updated Resource Estimate and NI 43-101 Technical Report, Eastside and Castle Gold-Silver Project Technical Report, Esmeralda County, Nevada”) was conducted by Mine Development Associates (“MDA”) of Reno, Nevada with an effective date of December 30, 2019. Contained pit-constrained Inferred Resources of 1,094,000 AuEq ounces at 57,050,000 tonnes at 0.60 g/t AuEq (gold-equivalent ounces were calculated by ALLEGIANT using a silver/gold ratio of 80:1) In accordance with NI 43-101 the MDA Technical Report dated January 24, 2020 will be filed on SEDAR. This report builds on and supersedes the NI 43-101 reports of Ristorcelli (December 2016) and Ristorcelli (July 2017) titled “Resource Estimate and Technical Report, Eastside Gold-Silver Project, Esmeralda County, Nevada” prepared for Allegiant with an Effective Date of July 25, 2017. A copy of the Eastside Technical Report can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Andy Wallace, ALLEGIANT technical advisor, oversaw the incorporation of the additional 22 drill holes into the updated resource estimate. “We continue to be pleased with the progress being made at Eastside and are looking forward to expanding the operating permit. This will allow us to explore the additional targets we have outlined with the goal of increasing resources. We will also continue to explore the areas immediately adjacent to the Original Zone as the deposit is still clearly open to the south, west, and at-depth, and possibly east and north.,” commented Mr. Wallace.Table 1: Eastside Inferred Gold Equivalent Resources
The resources in the table below reflect the estimate of Inferred gold equivalent resources at Eastside at a base case cut-off grade of 0.15 g/t gold as well as other cut-off grade levels which approximates anticipated economic cutoffs based on preliminary metallurgical test work and operations cost estimates for an envisioned open-pit with combined heap-leach and milling scenario. To determine the “reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction” MDA chose to report the resource considering per tonne mining costs of US$1.35 and G&A costs of US$0.50 respectively. Heap-leach and milling costs used were US$4.60 and US$10.40, respectively. The prices of gold and silver were US$1,550 and US$19.67 per ounce, respectively, with gold equivalent ounces using a silver/gold ratio of 80:1. MDA ran a series of optimized pits using variable gold and silver prices, mining costs, processing costs and processing scenarios.Table 1 accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cb4e8511-ee60-4b32-91d9-12e6a67d8407Notes to table of resources:
Contained ounces may not add due to rounding. These Mineral Resources occur in such form, grade or quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to at least Indicated Mineral Resources with continued drilling. Inferred Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Qualified Person for the above resource estimate is Steven J. Ristorcelli, CPG of MDA, however, gold-equivalent ounces were calculated by ALLEGIANT.The Eastside area drilling database contains 33,028 gold assays and 12,601 silver assays used for the estimation of the resources reported herein. The assigned densities range from 2.2g/cm3 for volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks and steam-heated altered rhyolite, to 2.6g/cm3 for undifferentiated basement Paleozoic rocks. The principal rhyolite host rock was assigned a density value of 2.35g/cm3.Preliminary metallurgical studies conducted by Kappes, Cassiday and Associates, in Reno, Nevada, indicate the mineralization is amenable to recovery by cyanidation. Heap-leach extractions are expected to be around 70% and 20% for gold and silver, respectively, but likely would require crushing. Milling with a fine grind is expected to result in extractions over 90% for gold and approximately 50% silver. Eastside Exploration and Strategy
“We are very pleased with the continued results at Eastside. We have merely scratched the surface at Eastside, having only explored less than 5% of the property and believe that Eastside will deliver significantly more upside in the coming years. We will be focusing most of our exploration efforts primarily on the areas near the original discovery zone and resource area as the deposit continues to be open to the south, north, west and at-depth,” commented Peter Gianulis, President & CEO. Ongoing field work at Eastside has generated a significant number of new targets from both geologic and alteration mapping, combined with geochemical sampling. ALLEGIANT has determined that the Original Zone, Targets 1, 2, and 6, are actually part of a large and continuous zone or cell of hydrothermal alteration, which extends for 5.5 km north and south, and is about 1-2 km wide. The Original Zone, where essentially all drilling has occurred to date, lies completely within this large cell of hydrothermal alteration. The cell provides abundant drill targets for future drilling. In addition, geochemical targets exist at Targets 3, 5, and 7. Further, the east flank on the ALLEGIANT claim block is “pediment” in nature, where only a few small bedrock exposures are present and rocks are mostly covered with a thin veneer (10-20 m) of alluvium. As announced back in December, the Board has approved an expansion of the permitted operating zone from the current 601 acres to approximately 3,600 acres in order to better understand and target these additional areas that warrant further exploration.Historical Estimate*: Castle Claim Block
The Castle claim block covers an area of 9.6 sq. km and is located 13 km south of the Original Zone but still within the Eastside property. The Castle claims are covered by shallow alluvium of 10-30 metres with potential for increased resources and contain a near surface historical* oxidized resource estimate of 273,173 gold ounces as outlined in the table below:Table 2 accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/233f5095-b32f-4242-83ee-c4edf3a1944c* The historical resource estimate for the Castle claims was completed by James D. Greybeck, Senior Geologist for Cordex Exploration Co. in April 1999, under the direction of Andy B. Wallace, then Manager of Cordex Exploration Co. and Vice President of Rayrock Mines, Inc. This report and data used in its preparation has been recently reviewed by Andy B. Wallace for the purpose of this press release under his obligations a Qualified Person for ALLEGIANT. Drill data used for Greybeck’s report was from Cordex Exploration Co., Kennecott Exploration, Houston Oil and Minerals, Falcon Exploration, and Mintek Resources which data is on file in the offices of Cordex Exploration Co. The data is judged relevant and reliable by Andy B. Wallace. The resource was termed a “Geologic Resource” at the time of Greybeck’s report, which was in line with current practice for the time. Greybeck prepared geological cross sections and calculated the resource by hand, using a polygonal method with a lower cut-off of .005 opt Au (0.17 g/t Au). Where drilling was closely spaced gold values were interpolated between cross sections using weighted averages projected 50 feet on either side of the cross section. ALLEGIANT plans additional drilling to confirm Greybeck’s interpretations and to fill in gaps in the drilling. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. ALLEGIANT is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.
ALLEGIANT continues to conduct geological work at the Castle Claim area within Eastside and is exploring different options and scenarios. “We continue to evaluate the next phase in exploration and technical work associated with the Castle Claim areas with the idea of increasing the resource size and ultimately completing an updated resource estimate in compliance with NI 43-101 standards and, thereby incorporating the resource in the district wide resource estimate at Eastside,” commented Peter Gianulis. ALLEGIANT is guided by the principals of accretive value-added resource exploration. We have developed the concept of Shares per Metre Drilled (“SMD”) to better understand the effects of drilling costs on dilution. “As a publicly traded company, we are focused on adding value to our shareholders. Analyzing our capital allocation decisions within the context of SMD gives us a better understanding of dilution and how to best deploy our financial resources in our next drilling program. At present, our current funds will be best employed to look for additional resources in the target areas near the Original Zone,” commented Mr. Gianulis, President & CEO. ALLEGIANT is focused on Eastside, the flagship project, and is evaluating alternatives to continue advancing its other attractive exploration projects including Goldfields West, Browns Canyon, Overland Pass, Clanton Hills and White Horse. “We are continuing to work with our partners to advance Bolo, Mogollon and Four Metals, and will be providing an update in the coming weeks,” added Mr. Gianulis. ABOUT ALLEGIANT
ALLEGIANT owns 100% of 10 highly-prospective gold projects in the United States, 7 of which are located in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Nevada. Three of ALLEGIANT’s projects are farmed-out, providing for cost reductions and cash-flow. ALLEGIANT’s flagship, district-scale Eastside project hosts a large and expanding gold resource and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure. Preliminary metallurgical testing indicates that both oxide and sulphide gold mineralization at Eastside is amenable to heap leaching.Qualified Person
Andy Wallace is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) with the American Institute of Professional Geologists and is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, who has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content of this press release.ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,Peter Gianulis
President & CEOFor more information contact:Investor Relations
(604) 634-0970 or
1-888-818-1364
[email protected] Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Certain statements and information contained in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which are referred to collectively as “forward-looking statements”. The United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements and information regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that are based upon assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action. All statements and information other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “seek”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “budget”, “plan”, “estimate”, “continue”, “forecast”, “intend”, “believe”, “predict”, “potential”, “target”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “will” and similar words or phrases (including negative variations) suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking statements in this and other press releases include, but are not limited to statements and information regarding: the evaluation of options to form a new exploration team or related M&A; Allegiant’s property holding costs savings or income generated from optioning out certain properties; Allegiant’s drilling and exploration plans for its properties, including farming out, anticipated costs, updating resource estimates and timing thereof and resulting increase of resources, if any; Allegiant’s plans for growth through exploration activities, acquisitions or otherwise; and expectations regarding future cost savings, maintenance and capital expenditures, and working capital requirements. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Some of the known risks and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements are described in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in Allegiant’s Listing Application, dated January 24, 2018, as filed with the TSX Venture Exchange and available on SEDAR under Allegiant’s profile at www.sedar.com. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Allegiant undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this press release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.
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