Endurance Gold Corporation (EDG -- TSX.V, "Endurance") announces results from exploration activity conducted by the Operator on the Pardo Joint Venture Property ("Pardo JV Property"). The Pardo JV Property is comprised of 16 claims located approximately 65 kilometres ("km") northeast of Sudbury, Ontario.
The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has granted permission to the Pardo JV to remove a bulk sample of up to 1,000 tonnes for metallurgical testing. The bulk sample proposed by the Operator will provide information about the unique paleo-placer gold mineralization of the Pardo JV Property.
In support of the large sample, an outcrop at the planned bulk sample location has been channel sampled along its 40m exposed strike length and individual sample assays returned values up to 21.9 grams per tonne (gpt) gold, with the weighted average of eleven separate channels over an apparent strike length of 40 meters returning 2.0 gpt gold over 3.16 meters (approximate true width).
Paleo-placer gold deposits are gold placer deposits in which ancient gold bearing river sediments are now solid rock. The gold particles transported by the ancient river system are typically deposited in pressure shadows behind and below large cobbles and boulders. At the Pardo JV Property, gold is frequently visible in surface exposures of the high-grade areas. Gold in this geological environment is unevenly distributed in the mineralized rock and thus gold contents are more reliably estimated when larger samples are analyzed.
Over the past several years very significant gold mineralization in flat lying conglomerate beds has been identified over a laterally extensive area at the Pardo JV Property. Sampling methods at the Pardo JV Property have consisted of diamond drilling and channel sampling of surface outcrop where exposed. To date, the larger channel samples have demonstrated consistently higher grades than the smaller sized samples collected from split drill core. Core drilling, while critical to define the depth and thickness of the mineralized conglomerates, has not been shown to represent the gold grade from hole to hole in a statistically significant way.
Bulk Sample Location and New Assay Results
The Trench 1 area was previously drilled in 2007 by the Company. A portion of the drilled area, which has been selected by the Operator for the collection of larger samples is located on a small hillside outcrop where mineralized boulder conglomerate is exposed in such a way that it can be channel sampled near vertically from top to bottom (see 2016 Trench 1 figure). At the proposed bulk sample site, an existing 2007 vertical diamond drill hole encountered 4.7 gpt gold over 2 meters (true thickness). In order to provide greater assurance that the site was indeed suitable for increasingly larger samples, approximately vertical channel samples varying from 1.5 to 4.5 meters high were cut through the conglomerate unit. The vertical orientation makes them somewhat analogous to drill holes. Eleven channels were cut in the face of the outcrop at 4 meter intervals horizontally, for a total effective strike length of 40 meters. Visible gold was observed in nine of the eleven channels samples. Assay results are as follows:
Table 1 -- Trench 1 Channel Sample Results
| Trench 1 Channel # | Channel Length (m) | Sampling Frequency (m)1 | Gold Assay (g/t) 1 |
Composite Gold Assay (g/t)1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.50 | 0.25 | 4.4 | 4.0 |
| 0.50 | 3.6 | |||
| 2 | 2.00 | 0.25 | 6.4 | 5.8 |
| 0.50 | 5.2 | |||
| 3 | 2.25 | 0.25 | 1.3 | 2.6 |
| 0.50 | 3.9 | |||
| 4 | 4.50 | 0.25 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
| 0.50 | 1.2 | |||
| 5 | 4.25 | 0.25 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| 0.50 | 2.2 | |||
| 6 | 3.75 | 0.25 | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| 0.50 | 2.0 | |||
| 7 | 2.25 | 0.25 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
| 0.50 | 0.9 | |||
| 8 | 3.25 | 0.25 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 0.50 | 2.3 | |||
| 9 | 4.25 | 0.25 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| 0.50 | 2.4 | |||
| 10 | 2.75 | 0.25 | 1.4 | 1.5 |
| 0.50 | 1.6 | |||
| 11 | 4.00 | 0.25 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| 0.50 | 0.9 | |||
| Average | 3.16 | Weighted Average Gold Grade | 2.0 | |
1Two slabs of equal length were cut from each channel, one was assayed at 0.25m intervals and the other at 0.50m intervals for analytical purposes. The Composite Gold Assay is the average of all assays results received over the entire channel length.
Bulk Sampling Procedure and Objectives
Prior to the removal of the bulk sample, the Operator is proposing that a grid of closely spaced diamond core holes and blast holes be drilled to define the exact location of the targeted gold-bearing conglomerate and provide statistical data for comparison with bulk sample results. The overall objective of the larger samples is to determine a statistical relationship between gold values from diamond drill core and surface channel samples, and the actual quantity of gold recoverable from the targeted conglomerate. If successful this will provide essential information for future exploration drilling, calculation of a mineral resource estimate, and the determination of reasonable mining and processing methodologies and costs for use in studies.
A secondary objective proposed by the Operator is to investigate a method to mechanically sort the unmineralized clasts (cobbles and boulders) from the mineralized matrix material of the conglomerates. This is of considerable interest because unmineralized clasts typically comprise the majority of the conglomerate volume and essentially creates internal waste (see Trench 2 boulder image). If some percentage of this internal waste is removed before processing, the Operator believes that the feed grade will increase by an equal percentage. The proposed bulk sample will provide adequate material for investigation of commercially available sorting methods.
2016 Program
The activity and results reported in this release have not been the subject of a 2016 Program presented to the Pardo JV Management Committee for consideration and thus were not approved by the Pardo JV or the Company, however the Operator reports that it has now completed a program proposal and budget related to the drilling and test recovery program which will be presented to the Pardo JV Management Committee in the near future.
The Operator reports that they have been accepted for the Junior Exploration Assistance Program (JEAP), sponsored by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and the Ontario Prospectors Association, which will provide a grant of up to $100,000 for the benefit of both Pardo Joint Venture partners.
The Pardo JV
Endurance holds a 35.5% JV interest in the Pardo JV Property. The other 64.5% JV interest is held by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inventus Mining Corp. (formerly Ginguro Exploration Inc. ("Inventus")). Inventus is the operator (the "Operator") of the Pardo JV. The property is subject to a 3% net smelter returns royalty ("NSR"), of which one-half can be purchased for $1,500,000 at any time. The NSR was created in 2005 when Endurance first acquired the Pardo claims and since 2010, has been owned by unrelated parties. The Pardo JV was notified in February 2016 of the assignment of the underlying NSR. At that time, the NSR was directly acquired from the unrelated parties by two private companies which are controlled by two directors of the Company. Aside from the one-half purchase rights available to the Pardo JV, the Company does not have any other contractual rights or ownership of the NSR.
About Endurance
Endurance Gold Corporation is a company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of highly prospective North American mineral properties with the potential to develop world-class deposits. The Company's exploration focus, for projects operated by Endurance, is intrusive-related mineral systems with potential for discovery of major new precious or rare metals deposits, and its business plan offers shareholders exposure to several majority-owned exploration projects with significant discovery potential such as the Elephant Mountain Gold Property in Alaska and the Bandito Rare Earth-Niobium Property in the Yukon. The company also owns a significant shareholding in GFG Resources which controls the entire Rattlesnake Hills gold district, Wyoming. Please visit www.endurancegold.com.
ENDURANCE GOLD CORPORATION
Robert T. Boyd
President & CEO
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Endurance Gold Corporation
(604) 682-2707, info@endurancegold.com
www.endurancegold.com
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. This news release may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of factors beyond its control, and actual results may differ materially from the expected results.
In the preparation of this news release, Endurance has relied on information prepared by the operator of exploration programs, and summarized to the Company for this release. Robert T. Boyd, P.Geo. is a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and supervised the information provided by the operator and forming the basis for this release. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource on the Pardo JV Property to date, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in a delineated mineral resource.
The operator of the Pardo JV reports that the samples of this release were transported in security sealed bags for preparation and assay at Act Labs located in Sudbury, Ontario. Act Laboratories Ltd. is an ISO 17025 registered laboratory. The samples reported were crushed in their entirety, with a 1kg split then pulverized. One 50 g aliquots of the pulp was cut out and fire assayed. In instances where the averages exceed 3 g/t, the sample is re-run with a gravimetric finish and the gravimetric result is reported. The operator of the Pardo JV inserts a certified reference standard or an analytical blank in every batch of 20 samples. Validation parameters are established in the database to ensure quality control.