First Mining Gold drills 0.92 g/t gold over 114 metres at Birch-Uchi, Ontario

First Mining Gold Corp. [FF-TSX; FFMGF-OTCQX; FMG-FSE] reported results from the 2023 drilling program focused on the advancement of its Saddle drilling target in the Birch-Uchi greenstone belt project (BUGB project) located in Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

The Saddle target occurs approximately 12 km southwest of the company’s Springpole gold project. Winter drilling at the Birch-Uchi project comprised a total of 11 drill holes for 2,760 metres focused on three target areas, including Saddle, Horseshoe and Atlantis. First drilling by the company at the Saddle target included five drill holes totalling 842 metres which identified a significant gold mineralization system, returning grades of 0.92 g/t gold over 114 metres in hole SAT23-001, and 0.75 g/t gold over 57.7 metres in drill hole SAT23-002.

Saddle target highlights: Initial drilling campaign on the Saddle target since property acquisition returned consistent gold mineralization over meaningful widths that remains open for expansion; historical grab rock samples validated by field program follow-up; employed geoscience systems approach to characterize the target geology, supporting additional exploration opportunities in close proximity to the immediate drill area; The BUGB project is proving to be prospective with a second drilled target delivering meaningful opportunity.

Drill hole SAT23-001 returned 114.0 metres of 0.92 g/t gold. SAT23-002 returned 57.70 metres of 0.75 g/t gold. SAT23-004 returned 54.5 metres of 0.58 g/t gold. All holes were at the Saddle Target.

“Our regional exploration efforts are demonstrating the ability to identify mineralization settings that support new discoveries and potential satellite opportunities in this emerging gold district,” stated Dan Wilton, CEO. “In only our second drill target tested, we are seeing the strength of gold endowment hosted in the Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt where First Mining has focused exploration surrounding its flagship Springpole Gold Project.”

The Saddle target is located approximately 12 km southwest of First Mining Gold’s Springpole Deposit which hosts a NI 43-101 mineral resource totalling 4.6 million ounces of gold in the Indicated category and 0.3 million ounces of gold in the Inferred category.

The Saddle target is an underexplored opportunity that has been subject to historical prospecting and geoscience programs of induced polarization and airborne magnetic geophysics, as well as diamond drilling completed in the 1980s. Since that time, further field based exploration activities at the prospective area have been limited.

In 2021, First Mining completed a focused field campaign that followed up on the Rice Lake (7.54 g/t and 2.67 g/t), Green Camp (1.79 g/t), Exit Bay and Trench Grid (4.8 g/t) grab sample gold occurrences that form a notable trend with the Saddle Target over a projected 1 km strike length. Opportunities for expanding the mineralization system and the potential for exploring within a related structural setting have elevated the regional prospectivity in advancing the area.

During the 2023 winter program, First Mining successfully completed 842 metres of drilling in five exploration drill holes focused on the Saddle target. Drilling was aimed at validating the newly developed 3D exploration model, underpinned by historical drilling and field-based data collection, as well as testing extensions along strike, at depth, and across an interpreted fault offset.

The results from the 2023 winter drilling highlight robust intervals of consistent gold mineralization over significant widths and have identified key pathfinder elements in association with the gold mineralization. The program has been successful in confirming the continuation of the mineralization envelope along the shear structure, opening up the exploration growth potential around the Saddle target.

The 2023 summer field programs will further advance geological mapping and data collection around the Saddle target, with a specific focus on the quartz stockwork and chlorite alteration on surface within areas of anomalous geophysical signatures. Field work results will then be integrated and reviewed in a path to support follow-up targeting.

Additional winter season drill results from an additional 6 holes totaling 1,938 metres completed at the Horseshoe and Atlantis targets are expected to be released once assay reviews are finalized by the company.