VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Foran Mining Corporation (FOM.V) (“Foran” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the results for the first two holes from the Phase I resource definition and infill drilling program at its 100% owned McIlvenna Bay Project.

Highlights

Both holes yielded high grade zinc-rich massive sulphide intersections over significant widths, including:

• 14.35% Zn, 21.12 g/t Ag, 0.08% Cu and 0.12 g/t Au over 4.48m in MB-18-184,
• 13.20% Zn, 10.71 g/t Ag, 0.11% Cu and 0.19 g/t Au over 5.26m in MB-18-185

These holes targeted a near surface area above the currently defined zinc-rich Zone 2 massive sulphide lens. Zone 2 has now been extended to surface in this sector of the deposit.

“High grade intersections over widths such as these affirm our belief in the future development of McIlvenna Bay. We continue to add value with each program we undertake and these results are evidence of the quality and potential of this project. We have extended the strike length of the zinc rich zone up to the limestone cap at surface, expanding the area of known mineralization at grades higher than the average for the deposit.” said Patrick Soares, President & CEO.

Technical Information

The planned 2018 Phase I winter drill program consists of approximately 11,000m of drilling in 22 holes and is designed to upgrade current resources to reserves and expand the known resource base in preparation for an upcoming feasibility study. Detailed results from the first two holes are provided in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Significant drill intercepts from holes MB-18-184 and MB-18-185¹:

¹ True thickness is estimated to be approximately 80-85% of drill indicated.

To date, 13 drill holes have been completed totalling 3,131m. Drilling initially focused on better definition of the up plunge, near surface portion of the deposit. The focus of the program has now shifted to deeper down plunge areas, targeting the conversion of inferred resources into indicated categories. Details on the drill holes completed to date are provided in Table 2. These holes are currently being geologically logged and sampled. Additional assay results from the program are pending and will be released as they become available.

Table 2. McIlvenna Bay Deposit 2018 Drill Hole Data

Foran’s McIlvenna Bay deposit is currently the largest undeveloped Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (“VMS”) deposit in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt. The deposit is well located in a mining friendly, safe and stable jurisdiction, with year-round road access, in close proximity to an existing electrical grid supplied by hydro-electric power, rail and an established mining centre in Flin Flon, Manitoba. 

The deposit consists of several distinct zones of VMS mineralization, including massive to semi-massive sulphide mineralization in the Main Lens and Lens 3, and underlying stockwork-style copper-rich sulphide mineralization in the Copper Stockwork Zone. The Main Lens at McIlvenna Bay is comprised of the zinc-rich Zone 2 and the copper and zinc-rich Upper West Zone as detailed in the resource table below.

Table 3. McIlvenna Bay Mineral Resource (US$60/t NSR cut-off) ¹

¹ Effective date January 1, 2013; CIM definitions were followed for Mineral Resources; NSR = Net Smelter Return.
² The base case mineral resource is estimated based on 178 diamond drill holes and a NSR cut-off grade of US$60/t. NSR grades were calculated and high grade caps were applied as per the discussion in Estimation Methodology and Parameters below and include provisions for metallurgical recovery and estimates of current shipping terms and smelter rates for similar concentrates. Metal prices used are US$3.25/lb. Cu, US$1.10/lb. Zn, US$1,400/oz. Au, and US$25/oz. Ag. Specific gravity was interpolated for each block based on measurements taken from core specimens.
³ Mr. David Rennie, P.Eng., of RPA, prepared this mineral resource estimate. Mr. Rennie is independent of Foran and is a “Qualified Person” within the meaning of NI 43-101.
⁴ Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, marketing or other issues.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Drilling was completed using NQ size diamond drill core and core was logged by employees of the Company. During the logging process, mineralized intersections were marked for sampling and given unique sample numbers. Sampled intervals were sawn in half using a diamond blade saw. One half of the sawn core was placed in a plastic bag with the sample tag and sealed, while the second half was returned to the core box for storage on site. Sample assays are performed by TSL Laboratories Ltd. (“TSL”) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. TSL is a CAN-P-1579, CAN-P-4E (ISO/IEC 17025:2005) accredited laboratory and independent of Foran. Analysis for Ag, Cu, and Zn is performed using atomic absorption spectrometry (“AA”) after multi-acid digestion. Au analysis is completed by fire assay with AA finish. Any samples which return results greater than 3.0 g/t Au are re-run using gravimetric finish. A complete suite of QA/QC reference materials (standards, blanks and pulp duplicates) are included in each batch of samples processed by the laboratory. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data.