ROUYN-NORANDA, QC, May 8, 2024 /CNW/ - Fokus Mining Corporation ("Fokus" or the "Company") (TSXV: FKM) (OTCQB: FKMCF) (FSE: F7E1) is pleased to announce that it has awarded a contract to InnovExplo Inc. to:
1) Conduct a sensitivity analysis at today's economical parameters for the NI43-101 open pit shell originally outlined by SRK Consultants in 2012 at a gold price of US $1,400. The estimate included 18.14 million tons of indicated resources at a grade of 0.41 G/T (equivalent to 240,000 ounces of gold) and 2.51 million tons of inferred resources at a grade of 0.39 G/T (equivalent to 32,000 ounces of gold).
2) Develop a new sensitivity model for the NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate published in March 2023 to reflect recent increases in the price of gold.
3) Obtain an accurate independent assessment of the necessary drill holes spacing in order to upgrade a portion of the resource to the 'Indicated' category.
Jean Rainville, CEO and President of Fokus, stated that the 2023 independent resource estimate only considered an underground bulk mining scenario. Given the current higher gold prices, Fokus believes it is necessary to reassess the open pit potential of the near surface gold mineralization of the GP Zone. "To expedite this process and save costs, we will use the drilling data from March 2023 to provide a preliminary estimate. Although operating costs are expected to be higher now than in 2012, we believe that the increased price of gold and the US/Canadian dollar exchange rate differential (1:1 in 2012 and now 1:1.37) should offset the additional expenses." Fokus does not anticipate that a potential GP Zone near surface operation alone would warrant a large capital investment in a gold processing facility. However, we are exploring the option of a custom milling operation, given the GP Zone's proximity to the 117 highway and railway. The preliminary findings suggest that the mineralization is not likely to result in acid mine drainage.
Jean Rainville stated, "When we made the decision to initially option and later acquire full ownership of the Galloway property, our plan was to eventually evaluate the possibility of beginning with a small pit at GP and then expanding underground to access the deeper and/or adjacent RB and Hendrick zones. However, we believed it was necessary to wait for improved gold prices before moving forward with this plan. And in the meantime, we concentrated on exploring other parts of the property that were already known to contain gold mineralization."
As pointed out earlier, a reassessment of the March 2023 resource estimate at increased gold prices will be conducted to analyze the effects of various cut-off grades on the resource model.
Jean Rainville further stated: "Although additional 40 holes have been drilled in Galloway since the initial resource estimate in March 2023, it is deemed premature to revise the estimate at this time. Rather, the plan is on continuing drilling efforts to enhance the quality and quantity of the resource before revisiting the estimate. Therefore, the current model will be used to evaluate the implications of a higher gold price environment."
Finally, as stated in the press release dated April 16, 2024, the Company has presented a proposed drill program for the GP and RB zones to stakeholders to secure necessary permits, with further refinement pending the establishment of drill spacing requirements. Jean Rainville mentioned: "A timetable has yet to be determined and priorities for the drill program have not been set, though there is a potential priority made on shallow holes in the GP."
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical disclosure for Fokus included in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Gilles Laverdière, P. Geo. Mr. Laverdière is a geologist and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and a director of the Company.
About Fokus
Fokus Mining Corporation is a mineral resource company actively acquiring and exploring precious metal deposits located in the province of Quebec, Canada. In implementing this major undertaking within the Canadian mining industry, we are determined to unlock the secret of the Galloway gold project.
The 100% Galloway Project covers an area of 2,865.54 hectares and is located just north of the Cadillac-Larder Lake deformation, which extends for more than 100km. Numerous gold deposits are associated with the structure and its subsidiaries. The recent work focused on the western part of the mineral claims has allowed the Company to delineate a NI 43-101 inferred resource of 1.419 million ounces of gold at a price of US$1,750 per ounce. This was published in the March 2023 press release, which includes a sensitivity table showing that at a price of US$1,960 per ounce, the inferred resource increases to 1.788 million ounces of gold.
The current work focuses on a western portion of the mineral claims where several mineral occurrences have been identified. For more information, visit our website: fokusmining.com.
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Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking information or statements. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified using words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "will have", "should", and other similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information due to regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, changes in the Company's strategic growth plans and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and, accordingly, such forward-looking information should not be relied upon as such. All forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.
