Identifies New High-Grade Mineralization Within Orebody
C
TSX:JAG
TORONTO, Feb. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/- Jaguar Mining Inc.
("Jaguar" or the "Company") (TSX:JAG) today announced multiple
high-grade drill intercepts generated from 36 drill holes (5,393
metres) designed to convert and extend the currently reported
mineral resource of Orebody A and Orebody C at the Company's
Turmalina Gold Mine ("Turmalina") located in the Iron Quadrangle,
Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Definitions:
|
ETW - estimated true
width
|
g/t Au - grams per
tonne
gold
|
m - metres
|
Drilling Highlights and Key Intercepts
- Drill intercepts completed confirmed the continuation of
high-grade gold mineralization down-plunge of Orebody A (refer to
news release July 13, 2016).
- Drill intercepts within lower portions of Orebody A (A-SE)
confirm the widening of the mineralization below current workings,
not previously identified at upper levels.
- Drill intercepts at Orebody C confirm a number of high-grade
gold mineralized intercepts which suggests higher mineralization at
depth, and could potentially increase mining production at
Turmalina.
- Development of the new Growth Exploration drilling horizon in
the hanging wall of Orebody A, is underway and is expected to be
completed in the second quarter of 2017.
- Turmalina drill program continues to increase the confidence in
the geological model of both orebodies through increased drill
density.
- Drill results provide the potential to upgrade and increase the
current resources to a higher category and include the following
key intercepts:
Orebody A
- Drill hole FTS-1324 intercepted 11.33 g/t Au over 17.1 m
(ETW 14.6 m)
- Drill hole FTS-1325 intercepted 9.95 g/t Au over 14.2 m (ETW
10.8 m)
- Drill hole FTS-1306 intercepted 6.08 g/t Au over 22.3 m (ETW
10.4 m)
Orebody C
- Drill hole FTS-1355 intercepted 3.65g/t Au over 15.3 m (ETW
14.9 m)
- including an intercept of 6.39 g/t Au over 6.1 m (ETW 6.0
m)
- Drill hole FTS-1326 intercepted 2.89g/t Au over 16.6m (ETW 15.8
m)
- including an intercept of 9.27 g/t Au over 3.8 m (ETW 3.6
m)
- Drill hole FTS-1338 intercepted 3.93g/t Au over 10.3m (ETW 10.1
m)
- including an intercept of 7.04 g/t Au over 2.8 m (ETW 2.7
m)
Rodney Lamond, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar, stated: "We are pleased to
report that the results for the latest Turmalina exploration
drilling campaign are significant for two reasons; firstly, infill
drilling continues to confirm the high-grade mineralized extensions
of the main Orebody A below current production levels. Reduced
widths in the northwest section of Orebody A appear to be offset by
the widening at depth in the southeast (A-SE) section, as
demonstrated by drill hole FTS-1324 with 11.33 g/t Au over an ETW
of 14.6 m. Additionally, I am very pleased to report that the deep
exploration drill results completed on Orebody C have successfully
confirmed the extensions of the more productive southeast (C-SE)
section of the orebody. Within the confirmed large, true-width
mineralized intersections, there are several high-grade intervals
that have not been typically seen in the upper levels of the
orebody, suggesting an increase in mineralization at depth.
Furthermore, we are pleased to report that this newly confirmed
nearer-to-surface mineralization at Orebody C, could augment and
possibly increase Turmalina's overall underground mine production.
These results continue to build confidence in the Company's ability
to convert resources to reserves and have the potential to extend
mine life at Turmalina. The Company continues to advance the
development of the new Growth Exploration drilling horizon in the
hanging wall of Orebody A, designed to test the deep down-plunge
continuity of the main orebody."
Orebody A and C Drill Program
The Company has
continued drilling the down-plunge extensions of Orebodies A and C
to assess the growth potential for Measured and Indicated Mineral
Resources. In addition, drilling has focused on providing increased
definition and confidence in the near-term mine operation within
the Indicated Mineral Resources.
Drill intercepts at Orebody A continued to confirm high-grade
ore at depth and down-plunge beyond the current workings. Most
importantly, reduced widths in the northwest (A-NW) section of
Orebody A appear to be offset by the widening at depth in the
southeast (A-SE) section, which previously had not been identified
within the upper levels of Orebody A.
The development of the new Growth Exploration drilling horizon
positioned in the hanging wall of the mine at Level 10 is underway.
An estimated 4,800 m of deep diamond drilling will be performed
after the development of the 250 m long exploration drive is
completed. The proposed drilling is intended to reach Levels 12, 13
and 14, up to 240 vertical m below the current development and 160
m below the current Inferred Resources.
Drill intercepts at Orebody C below the known resource confirm
the extension of the envelope in the southeast section of the
orebody. The Orebody C-SE down-plunge extension below the known
resources, demonstrated new high-grade ore mineralization. Within
the confirmed large, true-width mineralized intersections, there
were several high-grade intervals which were confirmed and had not
been previously identified in the upper levels of the orebody,
suggesting a potential increase in mineralization at depth. The
newly defined areas may be used to increase Turmalina's overall
throughput, and is expected to positively impact unitary costs in
the future.
The assessment of Turmalina's historical geological information
and the rational use of state-of-the-art 3-D software are strongly
contributing to the understanding of the gold emplacement and
consequent target generation of new resources.
Figure 1 shows a schematic geological long section illustrating
the structural positions of the Orebody A and C areas with respect
to Orebody B (in the hanging wall of Orebody A) and the Faina and
Pontal deposits. Figures 2 and 3 demonstrate the newly identified
high-grade zones and intercepts below the current inferred resource
envelope.
Drill Intercepts
The highlighted drilling intercepts
contained in this news release (Table #1) are down-plunge of
current underground workings at Orebody A and Orebody C. Table #1
comprises intersections drilled up to and including December 31, 2016. These drill results are not
contained in the "Technical Report On The Turmalina Mine, Minas
Gerais State, Brazil", released
and filed on SEDAR on May 24, 2016
("The Turmalina Technical Report").
With these latest results, the Company is expecting to replace
the reserves being depleted in 2016 and confirm the down-plunge
continuity and strength in grade and tonnage of the mineralization
in both Orebodies A and C. The impact of these intercepts will be
ascertained and quantifiable once a new 2016 Mineral Reserve and
Mineral Resource model update is conducted, in early 2017, as
additional data is gathered.
Geological Information
The Pitangui area, where
Turmalina is located, is comprised of rocks of Archaean and
Proterozoic age. Archaean units include a granitic basement,
overlain by the Pitangui Group, a sequence of ultramafic to
intermediate volcanic flows and pyroclastics and associated
sediments. The Turmalina deposit is hosted by chlorite-amphibole
schist and biotite schist units within the Pitangui Group. All
units have been metamorphosed to the amphibolite grade.
The mineralization at Turmalina is typically epigenetic and
consists of a number of tabular bodies that are spatially related
to a banded iron formation ("BIF"). These tabular bodies are
grouped together according to spatial configuration and gold
content into Orebodies A, B, and C. Gold can occur within the BIF
itself, but can equally occur in the other host lithologies.
Gold mineralization occurs in fine grains associated with
sulphides in sheared schists (Orebody A) and BIF sequences (Orebody
C). Gold particles average 10 μm to 20 μm and are mostly associated
with arsenopyrite, quartz, and mica (sericite and biotite).
The main production of the mine comes from Orebody A, a steeply
east dipping tabular deposit, located in a biotite schist host rock
with a steep southeasterly plunge. The mineralization in this
deposit has been outlined along a strike length of approximately
250 m to 300 m and to depths of approximately 700 m to 750 m below
surface.
Orebody C is a series of 14 lenses that are located to the west
in the structural footwall of Orebody A and are generally of lower
grade than Orebody A. They strike northwest and dip steeply to the
northeast. A minor amount of production has been achieved from
these lenses to date. The mineralization in this deposit has been
outlined along a strike length of approximately 800 m to 850 m and
to depths of approximately 400 m to 450 m below surface.
Qualified Person
Scientific and technical information
contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by
Geraldo Guimarães Vieira dos Santos, BSc Geo., MAIG-3946 (CP),
Geology Manager, who is an employee of Jaguar Mining Inc., and is a
"qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 -
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI
43-101").
Quality Control
Jaguar Mining has implemented a
quality-control program that includes insertion of blanks,
commercial standards, and duplicate core samples in order to ensure
best practice in sampling and analysis.
NQ and BQ size drill core is sawn in half with a diamond saw.
Samples are selected for analysis in standard intervals according
to geological characteristics such as lithology and hydrothermal
alteration contents. All diamond drill hole collars are accurately
surveyed using a Total Stations instrument and down hole deviations
are surveyed using optical Reflex Maribor.
Mean grades are calculated using a variable lower grade cut-off
(generally 2 g/t Au). No top cutting has been applied to the data.
However, the requirement for assay top cutting will be assessed
during future resource work.
Half of the sawed sample is forwarded to the analytical
laboratory for analysis while the remaining half of the core is
stored in a secure location. The drill core samples are transported
in securely sealed bags to the Jaguar in-house laboratory located
at the Caeté Mine Complex in Minas Gerais. Some samples are also
sent for check assaying to the independent SGS Geosol Laboratory
located in Vespasiano, Minas Gerais. The preparation and analysis
are all conducted at the respective facilities. The Caeté Mine
Complex laboratory does not carry an ISO certification. The SGS
Geosol Laboratory is ISO 9001 accredited. As part of in-house
QA/QC, the Caeté Mine Complex laboratory inserts certified gold
standards, blanks, and pulp duplicate samples.
For a complete description of Jaguar's sample preparation,
analytical methods, and QA/QC procedures, please refer to the
Turmalina Technical Report filed on Jaguar's profile at
www.sedar.com.
The Iron Quadrangle
The Iron Quadrangle has been an
area of mineral exploration dating back to the 16th century. The
discovery in 1699-1701 of black gold contaminated with iron and
platinum-group metals in the southeastern corner of the Iron
Quadrangle gave rise to the name of the town Ouro Preto (Black Gold). The Iron Quadrangle
contains world-class multi-million ounce gold deposits such as
Morro Velho, Cuiabá, and São Bento. Jaguar holds the second largest
gold land position in the Iron Quadrangle with just over 25,000
hectares.
About Jaguar Mining Inc.
Jaguar Mining Inc. is a
Canadian-listed junior gold mining, development, and exploration
company operating in Brazil with
three gold mining complexes, and a large land package with
significant upside exploration potential from mineral claims
covering an area of approximately 191,000 hectares. The Company's
principal operating assets are located in the Iron Quadrangle, a
prolific greenstone belt in the state of Minas Gerais and include
the Turmalina Gold Mine Complex ("Mineração Turmalina Ltda" or
"MTL") and Caeté Gold Mine Complex ("Mineração Serras do Oeste
Ltda" or "MSOL") which combined produce more than 95,000 ounces of
gold annually. The Company also owns the Paciência Gold Mine
Complex, which has been on care and maintenance since 2012.
Additional information is available on the Company's website at
www.jaguarmining.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in
this news release constitute "forward-looking information" within
the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.
Forward-looking information contained in forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of words such as "are expected", "is
forecast", "is targeted", "approximately", "plans", "anticipates",
"projects", "anticipates", "continue", "estimate", "believe" or
variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or
"will" be taken, occur or be achieved. This news release contains
forward-looking information regarding potential and expected
production, grades, tonnes milled, recovery rates, cash operating
costs, and definition/delineation drilling at the Turmalina Gold
Mine. The Company has made numerous assumptions with respect to
forward-looking information contained herein, including, among
other things, assumptions about the timeline and development of the
drill program at the Turmalina Gold Mine; the supply and demand
for, and the level and volatility of the price of, gold; the
accuracy of reserve and resource estimates and the assumptions on
which the reserve and resource estimates are based; the receipt of
necessary permits; market competition; ongoing relations with
employees and impacted communities; and general business and
economic conditions. Forward-looking information involve a number
of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including among
others the risk of Jaguar not meeting the forecast plans regarding
its operations and financial performance, the uncertainties
with respect to the price of gold, labor disruptions, mechanical
failures, increase in costs, environmental compliance and change in
environmental legislation and regulation, procurement and delivery
of parts and supplies to the operations, uncertainties inherent to
capital markets in general and other risks inherent to the gold
exploration, development and production industry, which, if
incorrect, may cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated by the Company and described herein. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
information.
Table #1
|
Turmalina Gold
Mine Drill Results
|
Hole
ID
|
Date
|
From
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
Downhole
Interval
(m)
|
Estimated
True Width
(m)
|
Gold Grade
(g/t Au)
|
Orebody
|
FTS-1242
|
2016-04-11
|
85.2
|
99.4
|
14.3
|
8.2
|
8.71
|
A-SE
|
INCLUDING
|
130.5
|
135.2
|
4.7
|
2.7
|
10.39
|
A-SE2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1256
|
2016-01-14
|
85.2
|
91.8
|
6.6
|
4.7
|
3.94
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1306
|
2016-07-14
|
130.5
|
152.8
|
22.3
|
10.4
|
6.08
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1307
|
2016-02-08
|
133.3
|
156.5
|
23.2
|
6.5
|
6.23
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1308
|
2016-06-20
|
105.9
|
109.6
|
3.6
|
2.1
|
2.07
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1311
|
2016-06-07
|
134.6
|
142.1
|
7.5
|
4.2
|
7.09
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1312A
|
2016-10-08
|
120.2
|
125.8
|
5.6
|
3.8
|
8.50
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1313
|
2016-08-18
|
123.0
|
125.8
|
2.8
|
2.3
|
1.77
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1314
|
2016-05-07
|
119.8
|
127.0
|
7.2
|
7.2
|
8.89
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1320
|
2016-04-08
|
38.5
|
46.0
|
7.5
|
5.0
|
3.33
|
A-SE
|
INCLUDING
|
61.2
|
69.9
|
8.7
|
3.9
|
5.08
|
A-SE1
|
INCLUDING
|
91.8
|
94.7
|
2.9
|
2.3
|
16.54
|
A-SE2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1321
|
2016-08-15
|
31.1
|
50.7
|
19.6
|
9.2
|
7.58
|
A-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1322
|
2016-10-28
|
48.7
|
57.2
|
8.4
|
3.8
|
2.65
|
A-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1323
|
2016-01-11
|
32.0
|
60.0
|
28.0
|
5.4
|
1.76
|
A-SE
|
|
106.3
|
108.0
|
1.8
|
2.0
|
1.85
|
A-SE1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1324
|
2016-12-14
|
35.8
|
52.9
|
17.1
|
14.6
|
11.33
|
A-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1325
|
2016-02-09
|
21.2
|
35.4
|
14.2
|
10.8
|
9.95
|
A-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1326
|
2016-09-19
|
134.5
|
151.1
|
16.6
|
15.8
|
2.89
|
C-SE
|
|
INCLUDING
|
147.3
|
151.1
|
3.8
|
3.6
|
9.27
|
C-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1327
|
2016-08-24
|
120.7
|
124.5
|
3.8
|
2.7
|
1.93
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1328
|
2016-08-29
|
146.6
|
154.6
|
8.1
|
3.5
|
7.05
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1331
|
2016-11-30
|
63.9
|
79.6
|
15.7
|
13.1
|
4.14
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1332
|
2016-12-14
|
86.9
|
95.5
|
8.6
|
7.5
|
4.32
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1333
|
2016-12-19
|
76.6
|
90.4
|
13.8
|
11.4
|
4.30
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1334
|
2016-12-20
|
56.3
|
101.2
|
44.9
|
15.1
|
4.04
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1335
|
2016-12-27
|
60.1
|
70.4
|
10.3
|
2.1
|
4.95
|
A-SE
|
|
|
110.6
|
113.4
|
2.8
|
3.3
|
10.72
|
A-SE2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1337
|
2016-09-29
|
145.0
|
153.7
|
8.7
|
8.6
|
0.88
|
C-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1338
|
2016-05-10
|
133.1
|
143.4
|
10.3
|
10.1
|
3.93
|
C-SE
|
|
INCLUDING
|
1331.0
|
135.9
|
2.8
|
2.7
|
7.04
|
C-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1339
|
2016-10-14
|
153.3
|
164.8
|
11.5
|
9.6
|
2.14
|
C-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1340
|
2016-10-28
|
136.7
|
157.5
|
20.9
|
18.2
|
1.61
|
C-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1341
|
2016-10-11
|
140.8
|
147.2
|
6.4
|
5.9
|
2.96
|
C-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1343
|
2016-03-01
|
148.9
|
154.6
|
5.7
|
4.1
|
0.87
|
C-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1344
|
2016-12-16
|
112.3
|
123.5
|
11.3
|
5.5
|
3.08
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1345
|
2016-12-21
|
83.3
|
87.9
|
4.6
|
2.9
|
1.62
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1346
|
2016-12-21
|
122.8
|
131.3
|
8.5
|
5.7
|
4.87
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1347
|
2016-12-30
|
111.0
|
117.3
|
6.3
|
4.2
|
1.94
|
A-NW
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1355
|
2016-12-26
|
132.1
|
147.4
|
15.3
|
14.9
|
3.65
|
C-SE
|
|
INCLUDING
|
140.3
|
146.4
|
6.1
|
6.0
|
6.39
|
C-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1356
|
2016-12-26
|
124.8
|
140.1
|
15.4
|
14.1
|
2.26
|
C-SE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FTS-1357
|
2016-12-26
|
126.0
|
135.6
|
9.6
|
9.5
|
3.17
|
C-SE
|
Rodney Lamond, President &
Chief Executive Officer, rodney.lamond@jaguarmining.com,
416-847-1854; Joanne Jobin, Vice
President, Investor Relations, joanne.jobin@jaguarmining.com,
416-847-1854