Torex Gold Resources Inc. (the “Company” or “Torex”) (TSX: TXG) is
pleased to report positive assay results from step-out and infill
drilling at El Limón Sur, which is targeting underground
mineralization below the existing open pit as well as incremental
open pit mill feed. The latest drill results support the Company’s
strategic priority of optimizing and extending production and cash
flow from the El Limón Guajes (“ELG”) Mine Complex.
Jody Kuzenko, President & CEO of Torex,
stated:
“Drilling below the El Limón Sur open pit has
validated the mineralized potential of this steeply dipping zone,
named El Limón Sur Deep. This potential new underground mining
front is in addition to the potential mining front identified
earlier this year at Sub-Sill South. Drilling at El Limón Sur Deep
returned multiple impressive intersects, including 163.5 grams per
tonne gold (“g/t” Au) over a core length of 4.5 metres (“m”) and
166.9 g/t Au over 3.8 m, both within a broader intersect of 87.6
g/t Au over 16.0 m; 107.6 g/t Au over 3.0 m within a broader
intersect of 25.3 g/t Au over 22.8 m (including 122 g/t silver and
3.45% copper); 15.2 g/t Au over 9.9 m; and 8.1 g/t Au over 18.7
m.
“We expect to announce expanded resources from
both El Limón Sur Deep and Sub-Sill South when year-end 2022
mineral reserves and resources are published in March. Infill
drilling planned for 2023 will be aimed at bringing these
underground mineral resources into reserves. Both El Limón Sur Deep
and Sub-Sill South are expected to extend the mine life of ELG
Underground and support our objective of increasing underground
mining rates to 2,000 tonnes per day in 2024.
“In addition, drilling has identified additional
mineralization within the upper portion of the El Limón Sur open
pit. Based on the results of this drilling and initial mine
planning activities, we expect to extend the life of the El Limón
Sur open pit by about 6 months and bring approximately 25,000
ounces of gold into the mine plan.
“We are extremely encouraged with the results
from the various drill programs underway across the Morelos Complex
and are optimistic about future programs bringing similar success.
Based on the results to date, and underlying potential of the
property, we expect to steadily improve the current production
profile and the associated economics outlined in the 2022 Technical
Report.”
Table 1: Key highlights from recent drilling at
El Limón Sur
Drill Hole¹ |
Area |
Program |
From(m) |
To(m) |
CoreLength(m) |
Au(g/t) |
Ag(g/t) |
Cu(%) |
LS-109 |
Underground |
Step-out |
154.04 |
170.00 |
15.96 |
87.60 |
15.4 |
0.15 |
|
including |
|
154.04 |
158.50 |
4.46 |
163.51 |
21.5 |
0.03 |
|
including |
|
166.18 |
170.00 |
3.82 |
166.94 |
22.8 |
0.20 |
LS-112 |
Underground |
Step-out |
94.65 |
117.46 |
22.81 |
25.31 |
122.1 |
3.45 |
|
including |
|
108.12 |
111.12 |
3.00 |
107.63 |
258.9 |
6.18 |
LS-180 |
Underground |
Step-out |
135.48 |
156.00 |
20.52 |
9.49 |
62.8 |
0.21 |
|
including |
|
135.48 |
140.00 |
4.52 |
21.04 |
12.7 |
0.21 |
LS-072 |
Underground |
Infill |
25.28 |
44.00 |
18.72 |
8.10 |
23.8 |
0.95 |
LS-104 |
Underground |
Step-out |
56.03 |
65.93 |
9.90 |
15.19 |
43.5 |
0.56 |
LS-082 |
Open Pit |
Infill |
22.40 |
40.25 |
17.85 |
13.39 |
1.7 |
0.04 |
|
including |
|
36.00 |
38.25 |
2.25 |
90.05 |
4.0 |
0.04 |
LS-073 |
Open Pit |
Infill |
27.67 |
35.37 |
7.70 |
22.99 |
8.4 |
0.18 |
LS-076 |
Open Pit |
Infill |
70.34 |
74.33 |
3.99 |
43.24 |
25.0 |
0.09 |
Notes to Drill
Results Highlights Table: |
1) |
Intersections do not represent true thickness of mineralized
zones |
2) |
Core lengths subject to
rounding |
3) |
Interval lengths for holes
dipping between -45 to -90º have been selected to represent a
minimum mining height of 3.5 m |
4) |
Interval lengths for holes
dipping between 0 and -45º have been selected to represent a
minimum horizontal length of 3.5 m |
5) |
Torex is not aware of any
drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could
materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data |
|
|
Detailed assay results from the most recent
drilling at El Limón Sur targeting underground mineralization can
be found in Table 2. Drilling targeting open pit mineralization can
be found in Table 3.
NEAR MINE AND REGIONAL DRILL PROGRAM –
EL LIMÓN SUR
In 2022, the Company planned to drill 28,500 m
of near-mine and regional drilling, including approximately 15,000
m around and below the producing El Limón Sur open pit. In total,
Torex budgeted US$9 million towards near mine and regional drilling
in 2022, which represents a significant portion of the total budget
of US$39 million (including US$5 million of definition and grade
control drilling).
Step-out and infill drilling at El Limón Sur was
carried out to evaluate the potential of new zones in the El Limón
Sur open pit as well as to follow up on prior drilling targeting
underground mineralization below the open pit. As at the end of
October, assay results for 6,915 m of drilling (60 holes) at El
Limón Sur had been received.
Follow-up drilling below the El Limón Sur open
pit has been successful, with multiple intersects of impressive
gold, silver and copper assays over favourable core widths (see
Figures 2 and 3). While additional drilling and mine planning is
required to bring mineralization at El Limón Sur Deep into reserves
at year-end 2023, the Company is confident El Limón Sur Deep will
become a future mining front within the ELG Underground, adding to
existing production fronts at Sub-Sill and ELD, as well as the
previously identified Sub-Sill South zone (see press release dated
September 15, 2022).
Drilling targeting an expansion of open pit
mineralization at El Limón Sur returned numerous positive
intersects and validated the economics of a small pushback (see
Figure 2). This pushback is expected to extend the life of the El
Limón Sur open pit by approximately 6 months and add approximately
25,000 ounces of incremental gold to the mine plan. Stripping of
the pushback is expected to commence imminently and will result in
an additional 2.7 million tonnes of waste mined relative to the
2022 Technical Report.
EL LIMÓN SUR GEOLOGY
The El Limón Sur deposit is a distinct portion
of the larger ELG mineralized skarn system and is in the southern
end of the El Limón trend which also includes ELD and Sub-Sill
South.
The ELG Mine Complex, located in the central
part of the Guerrero Gold Belt in Southwest Mexico, is hosted in
the Mesozoic carbonate-rich Morelos Platform, which has been
intruded by Paleocene granodiorite stocks, sills, and dikes.
Skarn-hosted gold mineralization is developed along the contacts of
the intrusive rocks and the enclosing carbonate-rich sedimentary
rocks of the Cuautla and Morelos formations as well as along the
footwall contact of the Mezcala Formation. Structurally, El Limón
Sur zone is hosted in a graben bounded by La Flaca fault to the
west and the Antena fault to the east, and both are potential
feeders for the mineralization.
The El Limón Sur skarn occurs approximately 1 km
south of the main El Limón skarn deposit and crops out on a steep
ridge extending down the mountain towards the Balsas River. The El
Limón Sur area is underlain by a similar stratigraphic succession
as the southeastern portion of the El Limón deposit. In general,
marbles and hornfels sedimentary rocks are in contact with the El
Limón granodiorite intrusive and pre/syn mineralization feldspar
porphyry dykes. Pyroxene-garnet skarn occurs along the contact
between hornfels or marble and granodiorite. There are two main
areas of near-surface gold mineralization at El Limón Sur that are
separated by a zone of mostly barren granodiorite.
The northernmost mineralized area is developed
in the contact between hornfels and granodiorite, trending
north-northwest for about 100 m and dips 50º to the southwest with
widths ranging from 15 m to 40 m. The mineralization is
characterized by retrograde altered exoskarn containing sulfides
and local argillic alteration. The southern mineralized area is
smaller in extent but wider and dominated by endoskarn along with
hydrothermal breccias hosted in the granodiorite and locally in
contact with marbles and granodiorite. The hydrothermal breccias
are developed within skarn and often display thin laminations and
size-graded layering. In both areas, the skarn and the
mineralization are controlled by a northeast trending structure
hosting an feldspar porphyry dyke with endoskarn alteration along
its margins. Best skarn development is located at the intersection
of northeast and west-northwest structural trends. The mineralized
zones are strongly oxidized in the near surface.
The-high grade skarn of El Limón Sur Deep is
developed underlying the northernmost mineralized area of El Limón
Sur, known as the Limón Sur Upper pit, which will be part of the
small Limón Sur pushback. At El Limón Sur Deep, mineralization is
hosted in a skarn zone formed at the top and along the flanks of a
steeply dipping body of marble, surrounded by granodiorite and
underlying the El Limón Sur Upper pit mineralization. The skarn
strikes approximately 10° northwest and dips vertical in the
eastern flank of the marbles and 70° to 75° west in the western
flank, following the contact of the marble and the intrusive. The
skarn zone is well developed in the upper part of the marble block,
where it reaches horizontal widths locally over 70 meters, Along
the vertical flanks of the marbles block, widths are smaller and up
to 25-30 meters. The geometry of the El Limón Sur Deep skarn is
very similar to the geometry of the Sub-Sil South and is much
better understood now with the new drilling opening a large
exploration potential along its extensions at depth and along
strike.
The style of mineralization at El Limón Sur Deep
is like Sub-Sill and ELD, and is characterized by gold, with
locally high silver and copper grades. Gold occurs in variably
sulfidized, pyrrhotite-rich skarn, while silver and copper
mineralization is controlled primarily by the degree of sulfidation
of the host skarn. Mineralization is mainly associated with
retrograde alteration characterized by the occurrence of
phlogopite, amphibole, chlorite, calcite and lesser amounts of
quartz and epidote, and local magnetite.
QA/QC AND QUALIFIED PERSON
Torex maintains an industry-standard analytical
quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) and data verification
program to monitor laboratory performance and ensure high quality
assays. Results from this program confirm reliability of the assay
results. All sampling and analytical work for the mine exploration
program is performed by SGS de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (“SGS”) in
Durango, and by SGS at Minera Media Luna site facilities in Mexico.
Gold analyses comprise fire assays with atomic absorption or
gravimetric finish. External check assays for QA/QC purposes are
performed at ALS Chemex de Mexico S.A. de C.V.
The analytical QA/QC program is currently
overseen by Carlo Nasi, Chief Mine Geologist for Minera Media Luna,
S.A. de C.V.
Scientific and technical information contained
in this news release about mining, including without limitation,
the mine life, mine plan, mining rates and additional production,
has been reviewed and approved by Johannes Bekkers, P.Eng. Ontario
(no. 90556465), Vice President, Mine Technical Services of Torex
and qualified person under NI-43-101. Mr. Bekkers consents to the
inclusion in this release of said information in the form and
context in which it appears.
All other scientific and technical data
contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by
Carolina Milla, P.Eng. Ms. Milla is a member of the Association of
Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (Member ID
#168350), has experience relevant to the style of mineralization
under consideration, is a qualified person under NI-43-101, and is
an employee of Torex. Ms. Milla has verified the data disclosed,
including sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the drill
results; verification included visually reviewing the drillholes in
three dimensions, comparing the assay results to the original assay
certificates, reviewing the drilling database, and reviewing core
photography consistent with standard practice. Ms. Milla consents
to the inclusion in this release of said data in the form and
context in which they appear.
Additional information on the El Limón Sur
deposit, sampling and analyses, analytical labs, and methods used
for data verification is available in the Company’s technical
report entitled the “Morelos Property, NI 43-101 Technical Report,
ELG Mine Complex Life of Mine Plan and Media Luna Feasibility
Study, Guerrero State, Mexico”, dated effective March 16, 2022
filed on March 31, 2022 (the “2022 Technical Report”) on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com and the Company’s website at www.torexgold.com.
ABOUT TOREX GOLD RESOURCES
INC.
Torex is an intermediate gold producer based in
Canada, engaged in the exploration, development, and operation of
its 100% owned Morelos Property, an area of 29,000 hectares in the
highly prospective Guerrero Gold Belt located 180 kilometres
southwest of Mexico City. The Company’s principal asset is the
Morelos Complex, which includes the El Limón Guajes (“ELG”) Mine
Complex, the Media Luna Project, a processing plant and related
infrastructure. Commercial production from the Morelos Complex
commenced on April 1, 2016 and an updated Technical Report for the
Morelos Complex was released in March 2022. Torex’s key strategic
objectives are to extend and optimize production from the ELG
Mining Complex, de-risk and advance Media Luna to commercial
production, build on ESG excellence, and to grow through ongoing
exploration across the entire Morelos Property.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE
CONTACT:
TOREX GOLD RESOURCES INC. |
|
Jody
Kuzenko |
Dan Rollins |
President and CEO |
Senior Vice President, Corporate
Development & Investor Relations |
Direct: (647) 725-9982 |
Direct: (647) 260-1503 |
jody.kuzenko@torexgold.com |
dan.rollins@torexgold.com |
|
|
CAUTIONARY NOTES ON FORWARD LOOKING
STATEMENTSThis press release contains "forward-looking
statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of
applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking
information also includes, but is not limited to, statements about:
the Company’s strategic priority of optimizing and extending
production and cash flow from the ELG Mine Complex; the validation
of the steeply dipping zone, named El Limón Sur Deep and it being a
potential new underground mining front; the potential mining front
identified earlier this year at Sub-Sill South; the expected
expansion of resources from both El Limón Sur Deep and Sub-Sill
South when the year-end 2022 mineral reserves and resources are
published in March 2023; the aim of the infill drilling planned for
2023 to bring underground mineral resources into reserves; the
expectation that both El Limón Sur Deep and Sub-Sill South will
extend the mine life of ELG Underground and support the objective
of increasing underground mining rates to 2,000 tonnes per day in
2024; the expected extension of the life of the El Limón Sur open
pit; the purpose and the expected scope, timeframe and budget for
the drilling programs; and the Company’s key strategic objectives
to extend and optimize production from the ELG Mining Complex,
de-risk and advance Media Luna to commercial production, build on
ESG excellence, and to grow through ongoing exploration across the
entire Morelos Property. Generally, forward-looking information can
be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
“strategy”, “budget”, “potential”, “ongoing” or variations of such
words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or
results “will”, or “is expected to" occur. Forward-looking
information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of
activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking information, including, without limitation, those
risk factors identified in the 2022 Technical Report and the
Company’s annual information form (“AIF”) and management’s
discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) or other unknown but
potentially significant impacts. Forward-looking information is
based on the assumptions discussed in the 2022 Technical Report,
the AIF and the MD&A and such other reasonable assumptions,
estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its
experience and perception of trends, current conditions and
expected developments, and other factors that management believes
are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date such
statements are made. Although the Company has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking information,
there may be other factors that cause results not to be as
anticipated. There can be no assurance that such information will
prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such information.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to
update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information or future events or otherwise, except as may be
required by applicable securities laws.
Figure 2: Infill and step-out drilling at El
Limón Sur (Section
A-A’):https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/988f33ee-cfc5-47e4-8ebf-63ee3af6fd76
Figure 3: Infill and step-out drilling at El
Limón Sur (Section
B-B’):https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ad84a986-19d7-4410-8f40-0cefc4362044
Table 2: Drill results from infill and step-out drilling
targeting underground mineralization at El Limón Sur (continued in
following
infographic):https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ae952ce0-c084-49f9-afe7-85701129abc4
Table 2: Drill results from infill and step-out drilling
targeting underground mineralization at El Limón Sur (continued
from previous
infographic):https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7f8927d5-bf19-4871-a109-09ec19f449f3
Table 3: Drill results from infill and step-out drilling
targeting open pit mineralization at El Limón
Sur:https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/32369b10-3ff0-436d-8233-045dfcce8a89
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