Northgate Minerals
Intersects 5.44 Grams per Tonne Gold over 54.0 Metres at Young-Davidson
Exploration
Success Continues on Both Flanks of Existing Young-Davidson Reserve
VANCOUVER,
Oct. 4, 2011 /CNW/ - Northgate
Minerals Corporation (TSX: NGX) (NYSE Amex: NXG) is pleased to announce
assay results recently received from four diamond drill holes completed at Young-Davidson.
Two of these holes were drilled in the YD West zone, where a new Indicated
and Inferred Resource estimate of 536,000 and 53,000� ounces,
respectively, was recently announced1. Drill results from these
two holes (approximate widths of 30� metres� ("m")),
have enlarged this zone with a higher average grade than the main Young-Davidson
deposit. The other two holes have slightly expanded the Upper Boundary Zone
reserve ("UBZ") and highlight the potential of a new footwall zone,
the YMX Footwall, that may provide another
underground mining front on the property.
YD West
Highlights
Following on the new resource estimate at the YD
West zone1, there are two additional holes for which assay results
are now available:
- Hole YD11-244, drilled south to north,
returned an intersected width of 54.0 m grading 5.44 grams per
tonne ("g/t") gold, including
48.3 m grading 5.99 g/t.
- Hole YD11-243A, an oblique hole completed in
the upper portion of the YD West zone, returned 2.68 g/t over 31.2 m
east of a post mineral dyke and 4.60 g/t gold over 39.2 m west of
the same dyke. The average of these intersections with the dyke removed
is 3.75 g/t gold over 70.4 m.
- Two diamond drills continue to explore in the
YD West zone.
It is expected that the results from these two holes
will positively impact the recently announced YD West resource when it is
updated at the end of the year.
Underground
Exploration Highlights
Underground exploration drilling initiated in
mid-2011 focused on the down dip extension of the UBZ and other targets to
the east of the existing Young-Davidson
reserve.� This
drilling was conducted from an underground access located 150� m in the
footwall and beneath the target UBZ.� While the intent was to step-out
down dip from the UBZ, the first hole flattened excessively, intersecting the
lower section of the UBZ reserve.
- Hole YMX11-01 returned 3.07 g/t gold
over 54.2 m, including 3.31� g/t gold over 45.3 m in the
UBZ, indicating the zone at this location is up to 30 m wider than
previously modeled.
- Hole YMX11-02 confirmed that the UBZ has a depth
extent as modeled in the reserve and does not continue below the 9550 m
elevation.
YMX Footwall Zone
A benefit of drilling YMX holes from underground in
a north to south orientation (i.e. from the footwall side of the existing
deposit, as opposed to from the hanging wall side where almost all of the
previous surface-based exploration drilling took place) is that the footwall
of the currently known Young-Davidson
deposit becomes better explored. In� this
instance, a potentially significant zone of continuous mineralization (YMX
Footwall), which was previously interpreted as only isolated intersections,
has been identified.
- Hole YMX11-01 also returned 3.53 g/t
gold over 12.0 m in the YMX Footwall.
- Hole YMX11-02, drilled approximately 50 m
down dip from the first hole, returned 5.89 g/t over 16.1 m in
the YMX� Footwall.
- These two new holes, in conjunction with six
historic intercepts, suggest the YMX Footwall zone is a continuous area
of mineralization with a thickness of approximately 10 m and an
east-west strike length of up to 250 m with a similar vertical extent up
and down dip.
The potential new zone,
which is not yet included in resources or reserves on the property, is
located approximately 75 m north of and parallel to one of the main reserve
areas of the 2.8� million ounce Young-Davidson
reserve2.
Given its close proximity to current mine development,
its near vertical orientation, its grade and thickness,
the YMX Footwall zone has the potential to provide another underground mining
front for the Young-Davidson
mine, which commences production in 2012.
"Our exploration program at Young-Davidson
continues to yield exceptional results," commented Richard Hall,
President and CEO of Northgate. "The two new results from YD West
bolster the recently released resource, while the YMX Footwall zone could
become our second new gold resource area identified outside of current
reserves at Young-Davidson
in the past 14 months. The close proximity of the YMX Footwall to our
existing mine infrastructure means the zone has the potential to provide an
additional underground mining front to feed the Young-Davidson
mill, which has the capacity to process substantially more than the 6,000 tonnes per day that was outlined in the Feasibility
Study. The exciting results from the YMX Footwall, combined with the nearly
600,000 ounces recently reported at YD� West, mean that we could realize
an additional one million ounces of resources on the property from our 2011
drill program."
Overview of Young-Davidson Exploration Area
YD West Diamond Drill Program
Additional drilling on the YD West zone continues to
return excellent results. Hole YD11-243A, an oblique
hole, was designed to test the orientation of the post mineral dykes as well
as the zone itself, and hole YD11-244 was drilled in a conventional direction
from south to north to test the zone. Geologic contact information for both
holes were used to constrain the dyke model in the
YD West resource estimate; however, assay results were pending at the time of
the release so were not used in the resource estimate. Two diamond drills
continue to test the limits of the YD West zone, which contains an Indicated
and Inferred Resource of 536,000 and 53,000 ounces, respectively.
Underground Diamond Drill Program
The purpose of the 2011 underground diamond drill
program was to test if the main UBZ reserve extended further down dip and to
explore other targets to the east of the main Young-Davidson
reserve. The drilling reported herein indicates that while the main UBZ
reserve does not extend much further down dip, the zone is considerably wider
at depth than the 2008 interpretation (see Figure 2).
Both holes YMX11-01 and 02 were drilled from new
underground mine workings from the footwall side of the deposit towards the
hanging wall. Previous holes from surface were drilled from the hanging wall
towards the footwall and most holes stopped once they exited the primary UBZ
and, as such, did not encounter any mineralization in the footwall. The
database for the 2008 resource estimate included six holes in this area that
had gold bearing intervals in the footwall; however, their continuity was
unknown, so they were not modeled as resource. Holes YMX11-01 and 02 confirm
the potential that a mineable resource may be present between the new mine
development work and the UBZ. Follow-up drilling will be performed as part of
the underground delineation drilling program.
Figure 1: Young Davidson Longitudinal Section
(looking north)
http://www.northgateminerals.com/Theme/Northgate/files/Releases/2011/Figure1.jpg
Figure 1 illustrates a longitudinal view with the
location of drill holes 243A and 244 within the YD West zone and holes
YMX11-01 and 02 within the YMX Footwall.
Figure 2: Cross Section 23680mE
http://www.northgateminerals.com/Theme/Northgate/files/Releases/2011/Figure2.jpg
Figure 2 presents a geologic sectional view
(north-south vertical slice) on easting 23680mE..
The main UBZ and its potentially en echelon, or stepping, YMX� Footwall
zone are presented on the section, as well as drill holes YMX11-01 and 02 and
all historic drill holes within the 50 m window.
Figure 3 - YD West Zone-Longitudinal Section
http://www.northgateminerals.com/Theme/Northgate/files/Releases/2011/Figure3.jpg
Figure� 3
presents a longitudinal section specific to the YD West Zone area.� Highlighted in yellow are the YD11-243A
intercepts on both the east and west side of a post mineral dyke.
Table 1: Assay Results from the YD West Zone
Hole ID
|
From
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
� Interval�
(m)
|
Estimated
True
� Thickness (m)�
|
� Gold
Uncut�
(g/t)
|
� Gold
Cut�
20 g/t
|
YD11-243A�
|
888.9
|
907.0
|
18.1
|
5.8
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
930.5
|
961.7
|
31.2
|
10.0
|
2.68
|
2.68
|
incl
|
942.2
|
961.7
|
19.5
|
6.5
|
3.62
|
3.62
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
� 1045.8�
|
� 1085.0�
|
39.2
|
12.0
|
4.60
|
4.60
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
YD11-244
|
1313.5
|
1367.5
|
54.0
|
31.5
|
5.44
|
4.56
|
�
|
1319.2
|
1367.5
|
48.3
|
28.3
|
5.99
|
5.01
|
�
|
1329.6
|
1350.5
|
20.9
|
12.2
|
10.02
|
7.76
|
Table 1: Assay Results from the YMX Footwall Zone
Hole ID
|
� From�
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
� Interval�
(m)
|
Estimated
True
� Thickness (m)�
|
� Gold
Uncut�
(g/t)
|
� Gold
Cut�
20 g/t
|
YMX11-01�
|
99.0
|
110..0
|
12.0
|
11.1
|
3.53
|
3.53
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
177.3
|
231.5
|
54.2
|
51.1
|
3.07
|
3.07
|
incl
|
183.5
|
� 231.5�
|
48.0
|
45.3
|
3.31
|
3.31
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
YMX11-02
|
133.9
|
150.0
|
16.1
|
10.0
|
5.89
|
5.89
|
Table 3: Drill Collar Locations YD West Zone and YMX
Footwall
Hole ID
|
Mine
� Easting�
|
Mine
� Northing�
|
� Elevation�
(m)
|
� Azimuth�
|
� � � Dip� � �
|
� Depth
(m)�
|
YMX11-01
|
23657
|
10527
|
9692
|
170
|
-30
|
315
|
YMX11-02
|
23657
|
10527
|
9692
|
170
|
-45
|
387
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
�
|
YD11-243A�
|
22853
|
10255
|
10333
|
285
|
-72
|
1368
|
YD11-244
|
22441
|
9843
|
10382
|
351
|
-72
|
1521
|
* * * * * * *
Quality Control - Analyses and Sample Location
Details of quality assurance/quality control procedures for sample analysis
and drill hole survey methodology are reported in detail in the Canadian
National Instrument� 43-101 Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects�
("NI� 43-101") compliant Technical Report filed on
SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on August 28, 2009.
Qualified Persons
The program design, implementation, quality assurance/quality control and
interpretation of the results are under the control of Northgate's geological
staff, which includes a number of individuals who are qualified persons as
defined under NI� 43-101. Carl Edmunds, PGeo, Northgate's Exploration Manager, is responsible for
the overall supervision of the program.� Mr. Edmunds is a member of the Association of
Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of British
Columbia and a member of the Association of Professional
Geoscientists of Ontario and has 23 years of experience in mineral
resource estimation.
* * * * * * *
Note to Investors:
The terms "Qualified Person", "Mineral Reserve",
"Proven Mineral Reserve", "Probable Mineral Reserve",
"Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource",
"Indicated Mineral Resource", and "Inferred Mineral
Resource" used in this news release are defined in accordance with NI
43-101.
* * * * * * *
Northgate
Minerals Corporation is a gold and
copper producer with mining operations, development projects and exploration
properties in the Americas
and Australia.� Northgate currently owns and
operates the Fosterville
and Stawell gold mines in Victoria
Australia, and is building the Young-Davidson
gold mine in northern Ontario,
which is scheduled to commence production in 2012.
* * * * * * *
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
and Information:
This Northgate press release contains "forward-looking
information", as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities
legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
concerning Northgate's future financial or operating performance and other
statements that express management's expectations or estimates of future
developments, circumstances or results. Generally, forward-looking
information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such
as "expects", "believes", "anticipates",
"budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends", "plans" and variations
of such words and phrases, or by statements that certain actions, events or
results "may", "will", "could",
"would" or "might", "be taken",
"occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is
based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered
reasonable by management based on the business and markets
in which Northgate operates, are inherently subject to significant
operational, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies.
Northgate cautions that forward-looking information involves known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Northgate's
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such information, including, but not limited to
gold and copper price volatility; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and
interest rates; the impact of any hedging activities; discrepancies between
actual and estimated production, between actual and estimated reserves and
resources or between actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries; costs of
production; capital expenditure requirements; the costs and timing of
construction and development of new deposits; and the success of exploration
and permitting activities. In addition, the factors described or referred to
in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Northgate's Annual
Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2010 or under
the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in Northgate's 2010 Annual Report,
both of which are available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com, should be reviewed in conjunction with the information found in this
press release. Although Northgate has attempted to identify important factors
that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ
materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there can be
other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such
information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or
estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
information. The forward-looking information in this press release is made as
of the date of this press release, and Northgate disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by
applicable law.
Cautionary Note to US Investors Regarding Mineral
Reporting Standards:
Northgate prepares its disclosure in accordance with the requirements of
securities laws in effect in Canada,
which differ from the requirements of US securities laws. Terms relating to
mineral resources in this press release are defined in accordance with
National Instrument 43-101-Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects under
the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining,
Metallurgy, and Petroleum Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral
Reserves. The Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC") permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC,
to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and
legally extract or produce.. The Corporation uses
certain terms, such as, "measured mineral resources",
"indicated mineral resources", "inferred mineral
resources" and "probable mineral reserves", that the SEC
does not recognize (these terms may be used in this press release and are
included in the Corporation's public filings which have been filed with
securities commissions or similar authorities in Canada).
1 See press release
dated September 15, 2011
2 See press release dated January 25, 2010�
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