Xtra-Gold Further Delineates Kibi Gold Project Resource Expansion Targets; Demonstrates Potential Resource Growth from Two New Under-Tested Gold Mineralization Settings
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2025) - Xtra-Gold Resources Corp. (TSX: XTG) (OTCQB: XTGRF) ("Xtra-Gold" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce positive assay results for the initial 49 diamond core drillholes totalling 10,682 m from its current resource expansion target generation drilling program on the Company's wholly-owned Kibi Gold Project, located in the Kibi - Winneba greenstone belt (the "Kibi Gold Belt"), in Ghana, West Africa. The current drilling forms part of an aggressive in-house drilling initiative targeting multiple resource-growth opportunities across the broader Zones 1 - 4 Mineral Resource estimate footprint area (the "2024 MRE", see the Company's news release of October 16, 2024). With the multifaceted drilling program targeting promising early-stage gold prospects identified by previous scout drilling, potential extensions to existing resource bodies and prospective litho-structural gold settings generated by updated 3D geological modelling.
Present drilling efforts successfully: confirmed strike- and down-dip extensions of early-stage Orange No. 5 (Zone 4) and Lone Tree (Zone 1) resource expansion targets; further defined down-dip continuity of mineralization within central portion of Southridge resource body to approximately 400 m; continued to delineate geometry and lateral extent of SW Shoots mineralization package at Boomerang gold system; and discovered new gold mineralization by scout drilling of "blind" diorite body lying at the core of Zone 3 mineralization-controlling synclinorium fold structure.
New Under-Tested Gold Mineralization Settings: Two new, entirely metasedimentary rock hosted, gold mineralization settings identified: Lone Tree target, interpreted as limb-parallel shear situated on western limb of a 1st-order F2 anticlinorium fold structure ("Central Fold"); and Orange No. 5 target, situated along hanging wall of a regional D2 shear ("Zone 2 Bounding Shear"), approximately 2 km southwest of currently defined MRE footprint. With both these gold prospective litho-structural settings remaining practically untested across the Kibi Gold Project concession.
Assay results reported are provided in Table 1 below and include the following highlights:
Orange No. 5 - Resource Expansion Target (step-out drill fence 100 m SW of original scout drilling)
- 13.0 m at 1.46 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au"), including 4.0 m at 3.40 g/t Au, from 34 m; and 10.0 m at 1.05 g/t Au, including 4.0 m at 1.81 g/t Au, from 60 m in KBDD24597 - 29.5 m at 0.73 g/t Au, including 4.5 m at 1.81 g/t Au, from 0.0 m in KBDD24593 - 13.5 m at 0.65 g/t Au, including 1.5 m at 2.08 g/t Au, from 1.0 m in KBDD24591 - 9.0 m at 0.41 g/t Au from 22 m; 15.0 m at 0.40 g/t Au from 68 m; 8.0 m at 0.48 g/t Au from 104 m; and 35.0 m at 0.30 g/t Au from 137 m in KBDD24599
Lone Tree - Resource Expansion Target (100 m step-out NE of previous scout drilling)
- 27.0 m at 0.72 g/t Au, including 4.0 m at 1.55 g/t Au, from 131.0 m in KBDD24594
South Ridge - MRE Body (down-dip expansion / infill)
- 23.0 m at 0.72 g/t Au, including 13.0 m at 1.05 g/t Au, from 206 m in KBDD24562 - 14.0 m at 1.65 g/t Au, including 4.0 m at 4.38 g/t Au, from 127 m in KBDD24569
Boomerang-SW Shoots - MRE Body (expansion / delineation)
- 24.0 m at 0.72 g/t Au, including 9.0 m at 1.24 g/t Au, from 22 m in KBDD24557 - 30.0 m at 0.60 g/t Au, including 4.0 m at 1.55 g/t Au, from 185 m in BFDD24029 - 7.5 m at 1.81 g/t Au, including 3.5 m at 3.57 g/t Au, from 137 m in KBDD24564
New Mineralization (scout drilling discovery within "blind" diorite body)
- 4.5 m at 1.19 g/t Au, including 1.5 m at 2.83 g/t Au, from 178.5 m in KBDD24560
James Longshore, President and CEO remarked: "We remain steadfast on continuing to identify and advance new resource growth opportunities at our Kibi Gold project, as once more demonstrated by the encouraging gold grades and widths returned by our initial follow-up drilling at the Orange No. 5 and Lone Tree resource mineral expansion targets. With both these emerging targets representing newly identified gold mineralization settings spatially associated with under-tested property-scale structural features. We are particularly excited about the fact that, unlike the typical Zone 2 - Zone 3 granitoid-hosted mineralization, gold mineralization at the Orange No. 5 and Lone Tree targets is entirely hosted within metasedimentary rocks, demonstrating that exploration potential exists in multiple rock types along the over 6 km and 7 km respective extents of the Zone 2 Bounding Shear and the Central Fold structures across the Kibi Gold project concession".
Today's Kibi Gold Project drill results correspond to the initial 49 drillholes (10,682 m) of an ongoing exploration initiative targeting multiple resource expansion opportunities across the broader Zones 1 - 4 MRE footprint area, including: follow up drilling of the early-stage Lone Tree (Zone 1) and Orange No. 5 (Zone 4) targets, both returning positive drilling results from previous scout drilling; expansion drilling targeting one or more of the strike-, down-dip or down-plunge extensions of several of the existing MRE bodies; and scout drilling of prospective litho-structural gold settings identified by recently updated 3D geological modelling. The present 49 diamond core drillholes were completed by the Company's in-house drilling crews from mid-April to mid-December 2024 (#KBDD24556 - #601, #BFDD24029 - #030 & #KBDD23509 - extension), including: 26 expansion / infill holes (6,430 m) targeting the Boomerang, South Ridge, Gatehouse, Twin Zone and Double 19 mineral resource bodies; 11 follow up holes on the Lone Tree and Orange No. 5 prospects; and 12 scout holes on litho-structural targets.
Exploration significant auriferous drill intercepts are presented in Table 1 below, with a drill plan (Figure 1) and collar / drill hole details (Table 2), available at:
(1) Hole #KBDD23509 originally drilled to a depth of 170 m in March 2023; and re-entered / extended by 228 m to a final depth of 398 m in June 2024. The upper (previously drilled) section of the drillhole did not return any significant mineralized intercept.
(2) Drillholes #BFDD24029 & #BFDD24030 are collared within the area termed the "Buffer Zone", which encompasses the "open ground" between the existing Apapam mining lease boundary up to the Forest Reserve boundary. See the accompanying Figure 1: Drill Plan & Table 2: Drill Collar Info for further details and cautionary note regarding the Buffer Zone.
Notes: Reported intercepts are core-lengths; true width of mineralization is unknown at this time.
"Significant" intercepts meet following criteria: minimum metal factor (grade x length) of 2.5; with minimum 0.25 g/t gold average grade over interval. Intercepts also constrained with a 0.25 g/t gold minimum cut-off grade at top and bottom of intercept, with no upper cut-off applied, and maximum of five (5) consecutive samples of internal dilution (<0.25 g/t gold). All internal intervals above 15 g/t gold indicated.
The Orange No. 5 resource expansion target was originally identified during a 2012 scout drilling program designed to test high priority geophysical targets located along the approximately 4 km long by 0.6 km to 0.8 km wide Zone 4 anomalous gold-in-soil trend. With the immediate Orange No. 5 target area tested by 6 drillholes (1,258 m), including two NW-trending drill fences spaced approximately 100 m apart (5 holes), and one drillhole collared halfway between the two drill fences. Mineralized intercept highlights included 19.0 m grading 1.78 g/t Au, including 6.0 m at 4.11 g/t Au, from a down-hole depth of 134 m in KBDD12220, 0.7 m grading 41.40 g/t Au from a down-hole depth of 154.3 m in KBDD12251 and 8.5 m grading 2.24 g/t Au, including 3.0 m at 5.76 g/t Au, from a down-hole depth of 99 m in KBDD12252 (See the Company's news release of August 21, 2012).
The present Orange No. 5 follow up drilling consists of a 6-hole (778 m) drill fence designed to test the strike and down-dip continuity of the gold mineralization, approximately 100 m to the southwest of the previous scout drilling (KBDD24591 / 593 / 595 / 597 / 599 / 601). The NW-trending drill fence intersected the shallow southeast dipping, multi-shoot mineralization package over an approximately 225 m down-dip distance from surface, including the following mineralized intercept highlights: 29.5 m grading 0.73 g/t Au, including 4.5 m at 1.81 g/t Au, from down-hole depth 0.0 m in KBDD24593; and 13.0 m grading 1.46 g/t Au, including 4.0 m at 3.40 g/t Au and 10.0 m grading 1.05 g/t Au, including 4.0 m at 1.81 g/t Au, from down-hole depths of 34 m and 60 m respectively in KBDD24597. With KBDD24599, the southeasternmost (deeper) hole of the drill fence, returning a broad zone of intermittent, lower grade mineralization extending over a 150 m core-length from a down-hole depth of 22 m, including the following intercepts: 9.0 m grading 0.41 g/t Au from 22 m, 15.0 m grading 0.40 g/t Au from 68 m, 8.0 m grading 0.48 g/t Au from 104 m and 35.0 m grading 0.30 g/t Au from 137 m.
Recently completed 3D VTEM / TMI inversion models-based litho-structural modelling indicates that the Orange No. 5 target is positioned in proximity to a folded 2nd - order syncline along the hanging wall of a regional D2 shear ("Zone 2 Bounding Shear"). With the gold mineralization hosted within a folded / strained metasedimentary rock sequence including graywacke, graphitic phyllite and sandstone units. Drilling to date has traced the NE-trending, shallow southeast dipping mineralization package over an approximately 200 m strike-length and to a down-dip depth of approximately 225 m (approximately 150 m vertical depth from surface).
The Lone Tree resource expansion target located along the southeast flank of the Gatehouse mineral resource body in Zone 1 was previously subjected to scout drilling in 2020 to follow up on a shear structure identified during drill road construction. A 4-hole (429 m) NW-trending drill fence intersected the moderate (60o) southeasterly dipping shear structure over an approximately 100 m down-dip distance from surface. Mineralized intercept highlights included 16.6 m grading 0.96 g/t Au, including 3.0 m at 3.47 g/t Au, from a down-hole depth of 41 m in KBDD20380 and 12.0 m grading 0.98 g/t Au, including 2.1 m at 2.61 g/t Au, from a down-hole depth of 75 m in KBDD20374 (See the Company's news releases of February 17, 2021, and April 14, 2021).
The present follow up drilling targeted the northeast strike extension of the Lone Tree shear structure with a 3-hole (468 m) NW-trending drill fence, approximately 100 m to the northeast of the previous scout drilling (KBDD20585 / 590 / 594). With KBDD24594 returning a mineralized intercept of 27.0 m grading 0.72 g/t Au, including 4.0 m at 1.55 g/t Au, from a down-hole depth of 131 m (~140 down-dip from surface) and KBDD24585 returning intercepts of 6.0 m grading 0.40 g/t Au and 1.0 m at 1.90 g/t Au from down-hole depths of 102 m and 117, respectively (~60 m up-dip from the KBDD24594 intercept). Recently completed 3D VTEM / TMI inversion models-based litho-structural modelling indicates that the Lone Tree structure consists of a limb-parallel shear situated on the western limb of a 1st-order F2 anticlinorium fold structure ("Central Fold"). To date the Lone Tree shear gold mineralization has been traced by drilling and trenching over an approximately 475 m strike-length and to a maximum down-dip depth of approximately 140 m (approximately 130 m vertical depth from surface).
Scout drilling identified new gold mineralization within a "blind" diorite body lying at the core of the Zone 3 mineralization-controlling synclinorium fold structure, to the north of the Boomerang gold system. With KBDD24560 returning a mineralized intercept of 4.5 m grading 1.19 g/t Au, including 1.5 m at 2.83 g/t Au, from a down-hole depth of 178.5 m.
QA/QC
Yves P. Clement, P. Geo, Vice President, Exploration for Xtra-Gold is acting as the Qualified Person in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") with respect to this announcement. He has prepared and or supervised the preparation of the scientific or technical information in this announcement and confirms compliance with NI 43-101. All samples in this news release were analyzed by standard fire assay fusion with atomic absorption spectroscopy finish at the ISO 17025:2005 accredited Intertek Minerals Limited's laboratory in Tarkwa, Ghana. Xtra-Gold has implemented a rigorous quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) program to ensure best practices in sampling and analysis of drill core, trench channel, and saw-cut channel samples, the details of which can be viewed on the Company's website at www.xtragold.com.
About Xtra-Gold Resources Corp.
Xtra-Gold is a gold exploration company with a substantial land position in the Kibi Gold Belt. The Kibi Gold Belt, which exhibits many similar geological features to Ghana's main gold belt, the Ashanti Belt, has been the subject of very limited modern exploration activity targeting hard rock gold deposits, as virtually all past gold mining activity and exploration efforts have been focused on the extensive alluvial gold occurrences in many river valleys throughout the Kibi area.
Xtra-Gold holds five (5) Mining Leases totaling approximately 226 sq km (22,600 ha) at the northern extremity of the Kibi Gold Belt. The Company's exploration efforts to date have focused on the Kibi Gold Project located on the Apapam Concession (33.65 sq km), along the eastern flank of the Kibi Gold Belt. The updated Kibi Gold Project (Zones 1-3) Mineral Resource estimate, produced by Xtra-Gold on September 30, 2024, represents the only Mineral Resource ever generated on a lode gold project within the Kibi Gold Belt. The NI 43-101 technical report entitled "Xtra-Gold Resources Corporation Kibi Gold Project", jointly prepared by Pivot Mining Consultants (Pty) and Tect Geological Consulting, and dated September 30, 2024, is filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Forward-Looking Statements
Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No other stock Exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR+. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. 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, other than as required by law.
