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Vancouver, British Columbia: Northern Lion Gold Corp.
(the “Company”) announces drill results from the initial 500
metres of a planned 8,000 metre drill program. The initial results
are from the Salgadinho deposit on the Company’s 95% owned Cercal
license and from the Enfermarias deposit on its 100% owned Moura license,
both located in southern Portugal. The Company currently has three
drills turning in Portugal.
Salgadinho, Cercal License
The Salgadinho deposit consists of stockwork type (disseminated)
chalcopyrite+pyrite, hosted by an intensely hydrothermally-altered acid
tuff unit. The Salgadinho deposit has been interpreted as a likely
feeder zone of submarine volcanogenic origin. To date, no massive
sulphide bodies have been located. One explanation for this is that
the dense sulphides moved down a submarine volcanic slope from the root
or feeder zone after deposition and may be located nearby.
Two previous operators have calculated resource estimates for this
deposit. The estimates are not compliant with National Instrument
43-101 (“NI 43-101”) and readers are cautioned not to rely on
them. In 1983, Portuguese Governmental department DGGM
(Direc��o-Geral de Geologia e Minas) reported an estimate of 1.3 million
tonnes grading 0.90% copper, 9.48 grams per tonne (“g/t”)
silver and 0.73g/t gold, and in 1993 EMSCL (Empresa Mineira Da Serra Do
Cercal Lda, a subsidiary of a Canadian based resource company, Laurasia
Resources Ltd.) reported an in-situ geological resource estimate for the
Salgadinho deposit of approximately 2.0 million tonnes grading 0.54%
copper plus an undetermined amount of gold and silver
mineralization. Historical sampling of the drill core for gold was
not continuous and appears to have been conducted only when chalcopyrite
was visible, therefore potentially significant intervals have been left
unsampled. Any gold occurrences elsewhere in the sulphide bearing
stratigraphy would have gone untested. Highly significant gold
values up to 16.2 g/t over 0.55 metres have been reported within the
Salgadinho deposit. The detection limit on gold at the time of
sampling was 0.5 g/t which may affect the lower grade sections.
Based on this incomplete data, Northern Lion continues to evaluate the
gold potential of the Salgadinho deposit. The results from the two
initial holes are as follows:
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Drill hole
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From (m)
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To (m)
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Width (m)
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Au (g/t)
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Cu (%)
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SAL-01
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84.15
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86.85
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2.7
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0.21
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1.91
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SAL-02
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145.05
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152.05
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7.0
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5.68
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0.28
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Diamond drilling continues on the Salgadinho deposit, where the next
hole is a 100 metre step out from hole SAL-02, with the objective of
tracing the gold horizon down dip. A fourth and fifth hole is
planned to test the idea of a possible submarine downslope movement of a
massive sulphide body and to test the deposit along strike.
Drilling also continues on Target Zone 2 (TZ2) and has not yet reached
target depth. The target is a typical Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB)
volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) system. This current hole is one
of three holes planned to test a series of coincidental geophysical and
geochemical anomalies.
Enfermarias, Moura License
The Company recently tested the Enfermarias deposit, where in the
1980s, the Portuguese government exploration authority drilled 13 holes
on 200 metre centres, with 11 of the 13 holes intersecting
mineralization. The deposit is open for expansion and further
delineation. To date the Company has drilled a total of four holes
within the Enfermarias prospect. Results from the initial diamond
drill hole are listed below and show multiple mineralized horizons:
|
Drill hole
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From (m)
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To (m)
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Interval (m)
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Zn (%)
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Pb (%)
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Ag (g/t)
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Cu (%)
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EN-16
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81.47
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105.60
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24.13
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0.71
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0.22
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1.54
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0.02
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including
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93.30
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95.35
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2.05
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1.48
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0.29
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1.38
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0.01
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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118.60
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123.50
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4.90
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1.67
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0.50
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3.75
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0.00
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|
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|
|
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|
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|
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178.46
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182.90
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4.44
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5.85
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2.59
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35.25
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0.06
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including
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178.93
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180.52
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2.06
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11.90
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5.32
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69.14
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0.12
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
192.63
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194.63
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3.00
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2.19
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0.98
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9.67
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0.01
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including
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193.63
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194.63
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1.00
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4.11
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1.79
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18.00
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0.02
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The 374 square kilometre Moura license is located 180 kilometres
east-southeast of Lisbon. The license encompasses two deposits
(Enfermarias and Preguica), and 11 known mineral occurrences, within a 25
kilometre lead-zinc-silver belt. The mineralization is strata-bound
carbonate hosted and associated with magnetite and hematite.
Drilling is continuing within the Moura license, and has recently
tested the Palhais prospect, with results pending. The drill rig is
now being moved back to the Preguica deposit where historical drilling
and underground development by the Portuguese government and Compagnie
Royalle Austrienne des Mines ("Austrienne") outlined a
geological estimate of 1.3 million tonnes averaging 7% zinc and 1.5% lead
using a 3% zinc cutoff. This estimate is taken from historical
records that predate NI 43-101. Although the Company has no reason
to doubt the accuracy of the estimate, it is not compliant with the
requirements of NI 43-101 and should not be relied upon. The
initial holes of the current drilling program are intended to provide the
Company with a better understanding of the geological nature of the
deposit and verify previous data.
Quality Control and Assurance
The Company's field activities in Portugal are supervised by Henrik
Wik, M.Sc. (Geology and Mineralogy), under the direction of Joan
McCorquodale, P.Geo. (BC), a consultant to the Company and a
"Qualified Person", as defined by National Instrument 43-101
("NI 43-101").
Drill widths presented above are drill intersection widths and may not
represent the true widths of mineralization; the true thickness of
mineralization is estimated to be 60% of the core length.
All drill core is transported by Company personnel to a secure logging
and sampling facility located proximal to the exploration site. After the
core has been logged and sample intervals marked, it is split by means of
a diamond saw. One half of the core is then placed in a plastic bag
with a waterproof numbered sample tag, which is sealed with a
tamper-proof security tie while the balance is retained for future
reference. The bagged samples are placed in secured boxes in preparation
for transportation by truck to OMAC Laboratories Ltd., Athenry Road,
Loughrea, Co. Galway, Ireland. Omac laboratories is accredited to
international quality standards through the International Organization
for Standardization /International Electrochemical Commission (ISO/IEC)
17025.
The total sample is
jaw crushed dry to <2 mm, a 500 gram representative sample is obtained
using a Riffle splitter and pulverized so that 90% passes 100
micron. Samples are then analyzed for gold and ICP analysis.
Forty four element ICP analysis by either Aqua Regia or Multi acid
digestion, the gold analytical method employed by Omac, uses a 50-gram
sample for Pb-fire assay followed by atomic absorption spectrometry
finish. In order to maintain a strict quality-assurance/quality-control
program, the Company and the laboratories employ a system of mineralized
standards and blanks in each batch of samples.
Joan McCorquodale, P.Geo, a consultant to the Company and a
“qualified person” as defined by NI 43-101, is responsible
for the technical content of this news release.
About Northern Lion
Northern Lion Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company,
listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the Frankfurt Exchange. The
Company is committed to building a strong portfolio of projects within
mining-friendly and infrastructure-rich areas of Europe. It has
approximately 31 million shares issued, $4.5 million in cash and a
further $4.1 million in marketable securities.
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