Continued Exploration Success At The Marigold Mine
DENVER, CO - SSR Mining Inc. reported on the 316 drill holes completed at the Marigold mine in Nevada, at the New Millennium, Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley oxide targets. These results build upon, and are subsequent to, the Marigold 2021 Technical Report Summary. With an existing Mineral Reserve life of 11 years, exploration at Marigold is focused on adding higher-grade oxide ounces to the mine plan to both enhance and extend the current production profile and life of mine free cash flow generation. The continued exploration success at these key exploration targets has the potential to drive Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource growth that can be incorporated into an updated Technical Report Summary for Marigold, which is expected in 2023 (the “2023 Marigold TRS”). The 2023 Marigold TRS will evaluate the potential to add New Millennium to the life of mine plan. Future studies will evaluate mining and processing opportunities at the Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley satellite targets located four and ten kilometers south of New Millennium, respectively.
The potential development of New Millennium was unlocked by recent brownfield strategic land acquisitions and presents an opportunity to add higher-grade oxide Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources proximal to existing Marigold infrastructure. The New Millennium target area is comprised of six distinct zones which include East Basalt, Battle Cry, Antler, Section 6, Lil’ Gun and North Antler. These targets are on the periphery of the Antler-Basalt pits that previously produced approximately one million ounces at a grade of 0.75 g/t. Nearly 45,000 meters of drilling was completed at New Millennium across 146 holes, with numerous intercepts significantly above Marigold’s existing Mineral Reserve grade and new mineralization encountered more than five hundred meters south of previously defined Mineral Resources.
New Millennium oxide drilling highlights include: MRA7621: 25.9 meters at 4.2 g/t Au from 117.3 meters; MRA7623: 16.8 meters at 2.7 g/t Au from 120.4 meters; MRA7629: 22.9 meters at 1.7 g/t Au from 231.6 meters; and MRA7520: 21.3 meters at 1.7 g/t Au from 195.1 meters, and 19.8 meters at 1.9 g/t Au from 225.6 meters.
Rod Antal, President and CEO, said, “These results showcase exceptional oxide grades that have potential to drive Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource growth and complement the existing Marigold production profile. We expect to include some of this higher-grade oxide material in the 2023 Marigold TRS, which we anticipate will demonstrate an optimized and expanded production profile through the incorporation of New Millennium. In addition, with the recent results from both Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley, we believe the future is very bright for Marigold with opportunities to extend the existing 11 year mine life while adding higher grade, lower cost oxide ounces to the near and longer-term mine plan.”
In addition to drilling at New Millennium, SSR Mining continues to explore for supplemental oxide ore sources across the broader Marigold land package. At Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley, located approximately four kilometers south and ten kilometers southwest of New Millennium, respectively, drilling has delivered exciting high-grade intercepts of predominantly oxide mineralization. Exploration at these targets aims to define oxide material that leverages existing infrastructure at Marigold to provide an avenue for production growth in the future. Work also continues to delineate and define initial sulfide resources at each target that could represent potential longer-term development opportunities for Marigold.
While the exploration focus is to define and expand oxide inventory across the greater Marigold property, SSR Mining is simultaneously exploring for structurally controlled sulfide mineralization potentially amenable to alternative mining & processing methods than those currently utilized at Marigold. Building on results previously announced in December 2021, exploration efforts at Trenton Canyon have focused on the Tempest zone, a series of high-grade structures proximal to the past-producing South and West pits.
As the exploration team furthers its understanding of sulfide mineralization at Marigold, it is applying this knowledge to a robust collection of high-quality and underexplored targets throughout the extensive Trenton Canyon and Buffalo Valley properties. One example is the Spitfire target, located approximately two kilometers northwest of the Buffalo Valley pit.