The latest drill results from the Berry zone, within the 6-km long Sprite corridor at Marathon Gold\u2019s Valentine gold project in Newfoundland, extend the strike length of this area of mineralization to 650 metres, from approximately 450 metres previously.<\/p>\n
The highlight intercepts include 47 metres of 2.96 g\/t gold starting at 166 metres; 30 metres of 2.23 g\/t gold from 121 metres; as well as 20 metres of 2.12 g\/t gold starting at 174 metres.<\/p>\n
The mineralization in these latest drillholes is within quartz-tourmaline-pyrite-gold veins in the hangingwall of the Valentine Lake shear zone, the company said, with the latest drilling focused on tracing this mineralization on 50-metre sections.<\/p>\n In April, the company released a prefeasibility study for Valentine, which outlined a 12-year open pit and conventional milling operation producing an average of 175,000 oz. of gold annually<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cOur 2020 exploration program is focused on new discovery, with broad step-out holes into previously untested areas,\u201d Matt Manson, the company\u2019s president and CEO, said in a release.<\/p>\n Manson explained that one rig is currently stepping out to the northeast from the Berry zone with a second drill, expected to start in September, scheduled for exploration to the southwest, from the margin of the Marathon deposit; within the 6-km long Sprite corridor.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of this campaign, we will have drilling information along the full 6 km of the Sprite corridor between Leprechaun and Marathon,\u201d Manson added. \u201cThis is high-risk, greenfield exploration, with no certainty of success. However, the results achieved to date at the Berry zone give confidence in the potential for additional discoveries along this highly prospective trend.\u201d<\/p>\n Eight of the nine holes reported in the release returned intersections greater than 0.7 g\/t gold, with all of the intercepts returning intersections in excess of the 0.3 g\/t gold cut-off used in the company\u2019s latest resource estimate for the project, which was published in January.<\/p>\n The Valentine project features four shear-zone hosted gold deposits within a 20-km long trend. Measured and indicated resources stand at 54.9 million tonnes at 1.75 g\/t gold for a total of 3.1 million oz. with additional inferred resources of 16.8 million tonnes at 1.78 g\/t for a further 1 million oz.<\/p>\n In April, the company released a prefeasibility study for Valentine, which outlined a 12-year open pit and conventional milling operation producing an average of 175,000 oz. of gold annually in the first nine years of operation. With an initial capital cost of C$272 million and average life-of-mine, all-in sustaining costs of $739 per oz., the net present value of the project, at a 5% discount rate, is estimated at C$472 million, based on a $1,350 per oz. gold price, with a 36% internal rate of return.<\/p>\n A feasibility study for the project is expected next year.<\/p>\n Midday Tuesday, Marathon\u2019s stock was up 11% on the TSE. The company has a C$518 million market capitalization.<\/p>\n\n