TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2013 /CNW/ - Marathon Gold
Corporation ("Marathon" or the "Company") (MOZ: TSX) today
announced the discovery of abundant high-grade gold-bearing
quartz-tourmaline-pyrite (QTP) veining over an area in excess of
1.2 kilometers in strike length by up to 0.5 kilometers in width
within the Sprite Zone, Valentine Lake Project, Newfoundland (Figure 1). This newly discovered
area of QTP veining returned grab samples ranging up to 58.13 g/t
Au, 40.83 g/t Au and 19.82 g/t Au (Figure 1). The gold-bearing QTP
veining at the Sprite Zone is identical to the veining that
characterizes the Leprechaun Gold deposit located 1.5 kilometers
along strike to the southwest.
Highlights include:
- Discovery of multiple gold bearing QTP veining defining an
alteration corridor in excess of 1.2 kilometers in strike length
and up to 500 meters in width. Grab samples from the numerous QTP
veins, ranging up to 30cm in width and exposed along strike for
more than 10 meters, returned up to 58.13 g/t Au, 40.83 g/t Au,
19.82 g/t Au, 14.03 g/t Au and 13.30 g/t Au. Initial channel
sampling in one trench returned 2.01 g/t Au over 7.02 meters with
4.43 g/t Au over 1.06 meters and 0.80 g/t Au over 7.38 meters with
1.58 g/t Au over 2.21 meters.
- The Sprite Zone alteration and gold bearing QTP veining appears
identical to that which characterizes the Leprechaun Gold Deposit
located 1.5 km along strike to the southwest.
- Most historical drilling missed the main zone of newly defined
mineralization, having collared too close to the Valentine Lake
thrust fault (Figure 1). Other historical drill holes located SW of
the new area of mineralization, intersected mineralization with
sporadic and incomplete sampling returning significant gold
intervals including 4.72 g/t Au over 3.0 meters with 11.47 g/t Au
over 1.0 meter in VL- 50, and 1.13 g/t Au over 12.0 meters with
3.83 g/t Au over 1.0 meter in VL- 49.
- This newly discovered gold-mineralized corridor provides a
large (i.e.: >1200 meter by 500 meter) highly prospective
surface drilling target for future exploration programs in the
Sprite Zone.
"The discovery of such a large area of
significant gold bearing QTP veining, for the most part outside of
previous historical drilling, is very exciting as we plan for the
2014 exploration season. Our cost-effective detailed prospecting
and trenching programs continue to uncover new areas of significant
gold mineralization and delineate future drilling targets along a
17 km long corridor of mineralization. In addition to the Sprite
results, we have a new area of gold mineralization between the
Sprite Zone and the Victory Deposit called the Marathon Zone. New
trenching at Victory has exposed additional gold bearing QTP veins
that require further drilling. All of the deposits and zones remain
open to expansion", said Phillip
Walford, President and CEO of Marathon Gold.
All of the samples were analyzed at Eastern
Analytical Laboratory Ltd., in Springdale, Newfoundland. Samples were assayed
using lead collection fire assay with AA (atomic absorption)
finish. Due to the coarse nature of some of the gold on the
property, the metallic screening method is used on economically
important drill core intersections using standard fire assay
techniques. The reported values in this release are fire assay
results.
Sherry Dunsworth,
M.Sc., P. Geo., VP of Exploration, Marathon's Qualified Person, has
reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press
release on behalf of Marathon.
About the Valentine Lake Project
The Valentine Lake property, owned 100% by
Marathon Gold Corporation, hosts two well defined gold deposits
with NI 43-101 complaint resources: the Leprechaun Gold Deposit and
the Victory Gold deposit. The Leprechaun Gold Deposit is located
near the south-western end of the Valentine Lake property, and
the Victory Gold deposit is located 13 kilometers along strike to
the north-east. The J. Frank Zone, which currently extends
over an area in excess of 850 meters in length and 250 meters in
width, is located up to 0.5 kilometers southwest along strike from
the current resource boundary of the Leprechaun Gold Deposit. These
gold occurrences form part of a 23 kilometers long, highly
prospective gold-bearing mineralized corridor focused along the
Valentine Lake thrust fault.
About the Leprechaun Gold Deposit
The Leprechaun Gold Deposit has a NI 43-101
compliant Open Pit and Underground Resource (refer to August 1, 2013 news release). The Open Pit
Resource is Measured 3.5 million tonnes at 2.8 g/t Au containing
247,000 oz Au, and Indicated 6.2 million tonnes at 2.07 g/t Au
containing 412,000 oz Au, and Inferred 1.2 million tonnes at 1.82
g/t Au containing 71,000 oz Au. The Underground Resource is
Measured 108,000 tonnes at 4.83 g/t Au containing 17,000 oz Au, and
Indicated 764,000 tonnes at 4.05 g/t Au containing 100,000 oz Au,
and Inferred 349,000 tonnes at 6.13 g/t Au containing 69,000 oz Au.
This Resource was estimated using a 0.5 g/t Au minimum cut-off for
the open pit resources and a 2.0 g/t Au minimum cut-off for the
underground resources. The Leprechaun Gold Deposit is open at depth
and along strike.
About the Victory Gold Deposit
The Victory Gold Deposit has a first ever NI
43-101 compliant Open Pit Resource (refer to August 1, 2013 news release). The Open Pit
Resource is Indicated 761,000 tonnes at 1.67 g/t Au
containing 41,000 oz Au, and Inferred 199,000 tonnes at 1.47 g/t Au
containing 9,000 oz Au. This Resource was estimated using a 0.5 g/t
Au minimum cut-off. The Victory Gold Deposit is open at depth and
along strike.
About Marathon Gold Corporation
Marathon is a North American gold resource
development company, with projects located in the mining friendly
province of Newfoundland
and Labrador, the prolific
Coeur d'Alene Mining District of Idaho, and the historic gold
rich Greenhorn District of Oregon,
USA. Marathon has a project pipeline consisting of
early stage exploration to advanced resource development projects.
Marathon's focused and low-cost approach to exploration and
resource development has an established record of delivering rapid
growth. For more information
visit: www.marathon-gold.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
INFORMATION
Except for statements of historical fact relating to Marathon
Gold Corporation, certain information contained herein constitutes
"forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include
statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to
future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects",
"anticipates", "plans", "believes", "considers", "intends",
"targets", or negative versions thereof and other similar
expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will",
"should", "would" and "could". We provide forward-looking
statements for the purpose of conveying information about our
current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers
are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other
purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to
inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific
and which give rise to the possibility that expectations,
forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove
to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that
objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved.
These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those
identified and reported in Marathon Gold Corporation's public
filings, which may be accessed at www.sedar.com. Other
than as specifically required by law, we undertake no obligation to
update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or
circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result
of new information, future events, results or otherwise.
SOURCE Marathon Gold Corporation
Image with caption: "Location map of new trenches and grab
samples, Sprite Zone, Valentine Lake Property, Newfoundland. (CNW Group/Marathon Gold
Corporation)". Image available at:
http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131029_C7879_PHOTO_EN_32660.jpg