Fremont Gold Provides an Overview of 2019 and Its Plans for 2020

January 06, 2020 8:30 AM EST | Source: Fremont Gold Ltd.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2020) - Fremont Gold Ltd. (TSXV: FRE) (FSE: FR2) (OTC Pink: USTDF) ("Fremont" or the "Company") is pleased to provide shareholders with an overview of 2019 and the Company's plans for 2020.

Fremont made the following announcements at the end of 2018 and in 2019:

  • Closed an oversubscribed financing to drill the Gold Bar project (see news release dated December 6, 2018);
  • Appointed Douglas Hurst to the Advisory Board (see news release dated December 11, 2018);
  • Commenced drilling at the Gold Bar project (see news release dated February 6, 2019);
  • Appointed Andy Wallace to the Advisory Board (see news release dated July 23, 2019);
  • Sold the Company's rights and interests in the Gold Canyon project to McEwen Mining Inc. (see news release dated August 16, 2019);
  • Entered into a purchase option agreement with Clover Nevada II, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Contact Gold Corp., to acquire a 100% interest in the Cobb Creek gold project (see news release dated September 30, 2019); and
  • Entered into a purchase option agreement with Pilot Gold (USA) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Gold Corp., to acquire a 100% interest in the Griffon gold project (see news release dated December 18, 2019);

"2019 was a year of transition for Fremont," said Blaine Monaghan, CEO of Fremont. "Following disappointing drill results from the Gold Bar project, the Company made the strategic decision to exit the Gold Bar camp and monetize any related projects, which was accomplished by the sale of Gold Canyon to McEwen Mining Inc. This prompted a search for new gold projects to augment its remaining property portfolio. The Company's search criteria focused on advanced-stage gold projects with the potential to host an economic deposit with a minimum of 1.0 million ounces of gold in the Western United States. Fremont looked at dozens of gold projects and conducted numerous site visits. Cobb was the first acquisition meeting the Company's search criteria and Griffon was the second. Both properties were acquired in the latter part of 2019.

By adding Cobb and Griffon to its existing property portfolio, which includes the highly prospective North Carlin project, Fremont has built an exceptional portfolio of brownfield and greenfield gold projects located within Nevada's most prolific gold trends. Fremont looks forward to advancing this portfolio in 2020 with the goal of making a new discovery."

Figure 1: Location of Fremont's projects

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Cobb Creek highlights

  • Location: Cobb Creek is comprised of 167 unpatented mining claims and is located at the northern end of the Independence Trend, close to Highway 225. Western Exploration's new gold discovery, Gravel Creek, is located approximately 6 kilometres to the southeast. It has been reported that Gravel Creek "contains an in-place unclassified mineral inventory of 1.4 million ounces of gold and 21 million ounces of silver…". (Muntean, Davis, and Ayling, 2017, p. 22)1.
  • Historical mineral resource estimate: The McCall deposit, one target area within Cobb Creek, contains a historical mineral resource estimate (not NI 43-101 compliant) which is set out in the table below.
ResourceMineralizedCut-OffGradeOunces
ClassificationZone(opt)Tons(opt)Gold
IndicatedOxide0.011,362,2330.0454,864
IndicatedSulphide0.012,378,0000.05118,134

 

The historical mineral resource estimate ("Historical Estimate") was performed by and reported in a technical report prepared by Michael R. Pawlowski for Stacatto Gold Resources Ltd. and dated October 30, 20041. The Historical Estimate is based on a total of 72 drill holes with continuous zones of gold assays above 0.01 opt gold that could be reasonably interpreted to be continuous in three dimensions based on the construction of nine cross sections, 200 feet apart. The methodology employed in the Historical Estimate is detailed in the 2004 technical report by Pawlowski2. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the Historical Estimate as a current mineral resource or mineral reserve and Fremont is not treating the Historical Estimate as a current mineral resource or mineral reserve. In order to consider the Historical Estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, Fremont needs to retain a qualified person to verify historical drilling and assaying methods and validate historical results, add any drilling and assaying or other pertinent geological information generated since the last estimation, and complete an updated resource estimate and a new technical report.

  • Past exploration: Cobb Creek has not been drilled since 1992 and most of the historical drilling (over 140 drill holes) was very shallow. Some of the better drill results include drill hole COBRC-3, which returned 15.3 metres of 2.86 g/t gold (from 13.7 metres to 29.0 metres), and COBRC-84, which returned 33.5 metres of 1.92 g/t gold (from 18.3 metres to 51.8 metres), including 12.2 metres of 4.09 g/t gold.
  • Exploration potential: Cobb Creek is underexplored. It has been almost thirty years since Cobb Creek was last drilled. Fremont believes that there is significant potential to expand the McCall deposit and also for the discovery of a Carlin-type target unrecognized by prior workers. Additionally, a number of exploration targets (Beaver, Silica Ridge, O, and Van Duzer Ridge) have not been drilled or were not followed up despite returning very anomalous gold values (see Figure 2).
  • Opportunity: Underexplored and last drilled in the 1990s, there is good potential to expand the McCall deposit and for the discovery of a Carlin-type gold deposit.

Figure 2: Cobb Creek exploration targets

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Griffon highlights

  • Location: Comprised of 89 unpatented mining claims, Griffon is located at the southern end of the Cortez Trend, approximately 75km southwest of Ely, and is accessed via paved highway and forest service roads.
  • Mineralization: Carlin-type and comparable to the mineralization found at the Emigrant/Rain mine and the Alligator Ridge mine (incorporated into Kinross Gold Corporation's Bald Mountain mine in the mid-1990s).
  • Past exploration: First drilled in 1988, a limited amount of shallow drilling (214 drill holes in total) focused on delineating the Discovery Ridge and Hammer Ridge deposits, leaving the remainder of the property essentially untested.
  • Past production: From 1997-1999, Alta Gold Co. ("Alta") produced approximately 90,000 ounces of gold (at an average grade of 1.03 grams/tonne) from Discovery Ridge and Hammer Ridge in an oxide heap-leach operation. Alta reported a number of unmined drill intercepts to the southwest of Hammer Ridge, including drill hole GR97-175 which returned 57.9 metres at 0.86 g/t gold, and proposed expanding Hammer Ridge before operations ceased.
  • Metallurgy: Heap leach recovery tests conducted by Alta indicated that gold recovery from crushed material averaged 87.7%, versus 65% for run of mine material, over a six-month leach time.
  • Exploration potential: Griffon hosts numerous gravity, soil, and stratigraphic targets. The Pilot Shale horizon - the primary gold host at Fiore Gold Ltd.'s nearby Pan Mine - has not been adequately tested, and the Joana/Chainman transitional horizon, which hosts gold at Griffon, may be concealed underneath and within the Blackrock fault. Lastly, there is also potential in and around the pits, as demonstrated by drill hole GR97-175.
  • Permitted: A Plan of Operations has been approved for 26 drill sites.
  • Opportunity: Underexplored and last drilled in the 1990s, Griffon offers multiple opportunities for the discovery of a Carlin-type gold deposit.

Figure 3: Griffon's location

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Qualified person

The content of this news release was reviewed by Dennis Moore, Fremont's President, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Fremont Gold

Fremont's mine-finding management team has assembled a portfolio of high-quality gold projects in Nevada's most prolific gold trends. Fremont's gold projects include Griffon, Cobb Creek, North Carlin, Goldrun, and Hurricane. We are aligned with our shareholders: Insiders own more than 20% of Fremont.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Blaine Monaghan"

CEO

Telephone: +1 604-676-5664
Email: blaine@fremontgold.net
www.fremontgold.net

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 release.

1 Muntean, J.L., Davis, D.A., and Ayling, B., 2017, The Nevada Mineral Industry 2015, Special Publication MI-2015, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.

2 Pawlowski, M.R., 2004, Technical report on the Cobb Creek Property, McCall Area, Elko County, Nevada.

Forward looking statements

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", "hope", "will be", "expected" 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 a new Cobb Creek technical report, the potential to expand the McCall deposit or the potential for the discovery of a Carlin-type deposit at either Cobb or Griffon. 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. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Fremont 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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