The program was conducted to determine the metallurgical characteristics of Argyle mineralization and verify its compatibility with the existing circuit at the Pine Cove Mill located 4.5 km from Argyle. The results demonstrate that Argyle mineralization can be effectively processed at the Pine Cove Mill without mill modifications.

"Confirmation that Argyle can be processed without any material alterations to the Pine Cove Mill furthers our ability to leverage the infrastructure at the Point Rousse Project and develop other production sources at a low cost. We plan to announce an NI 43-101 compliant resource on Argyle by the end of the year and we already have begun work related to the permitting process. We look forward to demonstrating how Argyle could fit into the Point Rousse production profile."

~ Dustin Angelo, President & CEO

About the Metallurgical Processing and Sample

RPC Science and Engineering ("RPC") from Fredericton, New Brunswick conducted the metallurgical testing and used a flowsheet that replicates the flotation and leach circuits in the Pine Cove Mill. Using a typical reagent mix and grind size, the testwork achieved a flotation recovery of 97.3% resulting in a concentrate grade of 40.42 g/t gold. Leach testing was conducted on samples at a grind size of 80% passing 20 microns, attaining a recovery rate of 94.5% at relatively low levels of NaCN consumption, which compares well with existing ore feed leach recovery from the Pine Cove deposit. RPC has completed several studies of different feed sources for the Pine Cove Mill, which were subsequently supported by larger bulk samples confirming lab-scale to plant-scale confidence.

The 25-kilogram metallurgical test sample was obtained using 39 core samples (36 metres of quarter-split BQTK diameter core) from 4 diamond drill holes (AE-16-04, -20, -26 and -33) from the 2016  Argyle diamond drill program. The average assay grade from the core samples was 2.69 g/t Au.

About Argyle

Diamond drilling in 2016 resulted in the discovery of near surface mineralization with a currently established strike of 600 metres and a down dip extent of up to 225 metres. Highlights from the Argyle diamond drilling program include (See January 18, 2017 and October 12, 2016 press releases):

  • 5.52 g/t gold over 15.0 metres (34.0 to 49.0 metres) in hole AE-16-40;
  • 6.09 g/t over 8.9 metres (35.0 to 43.9 metres) in hole AE-16-11;
  • 2.09 g/t over 14.0 metres (18.0 to 32.0 metres) in hole AE-16-20;
  • 4.50 g/t over 6.3 metres (3.7 to 10.0 metres) in hole AE-16-06; and
  • 1.32 g/t over 12.0 metres (4.5 to 16.5 metres) in hole AE-16-03.