Meridian Mining drills 12.5 g/t AuEq over 16 metres at Cabacal, Brazil

Meridian Mining U.K. Societas [TSX-MNO; OTCQX-MRRDF] provided an update on its drilling and exploration activities at its advanced Cabacal copper-gold-silver VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) project in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Drill hole CD-470 has returned a zone of high-grade mineralization grading 16.0 metres at 12.5 g/t AuEq (gold equivalent) (12.1 g/t gold, 0.3% copper and 0.6 g/t silver), including a high-grade zone hosting visible gold grading 6.4 metres at 30.6 g/t AuEq (29.9 g/t Au, 0.5%t Cu and 1.0 g/t Ag) from 53.3 metres, within the Cabacal mine’s southern copper zone (SCZ).

CD-470 is part of a continuing program aimed at testing visible gold-rich areas within historical drilling records but with incomplete assay data, which were not incorporated into the Cabacal mineral resource estimate. Importantly, CD-470 is located below a mining void, confirming that zones of significant mineralization remain. Results are progressively being returned from the continuing prefeasibility study’s (PFS) infill drill program. Further results are pending.

Highlights: Meridian drills strongest gold-dominant zone of mineralization within the Cabacal mine area to date. Drilling continues to support resource conversion, with high-grade gold and copper mineralization intersected at Cabacal.

CD-470 returned 16.0 m at 12.5 g/t AuEq (12.1 g/t Au, 0.3% Cu and 0.6 g/t Ag) from 53.3 m, including 6.4 m at 30.6 g/t AuEq (29.9 g/t Au, 0.5% Cu and 1.0 g/t Ag) from 53.3 m.

Cabacal PFS drill program continues to deliver robust grades and widths of gold-copper mineralization. The Cabacal metallurgical program continues to show the potential for optimized and improved recoveries of the copper concentrate.

The Santa Helena metallurgical program will shortly be launched to expedite Santa Helena toward an initial mineral resource estimate in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Gilbert Clark, CEO, commented: “Today’s remarkable drill results, under the skilled technical guidance of our team, demonstrate Cabacal’s potential to capitalize on the current gold and copper price surge. High-grade results, such as 6.4 metres at 30.6 g/t AuEq, emphasize the deposit’s capacity to deliver value for shareholders.

“Within the historical mine records, there are various holes referencing visible gold where assay records were lost in whole or in part, for some of which only graphical estimates were available from bar charts. CD-470 is the first result of an ongoing program to test such areas, and future results will be included in Cabacal’s resource update. Importantly, the high-grade mineralization extends past the underground mining voids and shows that Meridian’s drill program is highly efficient in targeting this missed upside. The result illustrates well the broad zones of gold-copper mineralization that are found at the Cabacal mine.”

The Cabacal drill program continues, with today’s reported results bringing a new interval returned under the accelerated drilling program. Results reported include intervals from the peripheral areas of the resource where drilling has been sparse, and from select areas of the Cabacal mine zone where several results from the last phase of BP Minerals drilling have been lost. The first of these results from CD-470 has encouraging mineralization. Results emphasize that the previous room and pillar underground mining method left behind significant high-grade mineralization due to the structural variability and grade variances in the deposit.

The results provide an indication of mineralization that the company expects to encounter in pillars, and projecting between levels, as shown by the CD-470 intersection.

The current phase of drilling and field activities in the mine area will focus on assessing areas where data have been partially lost in the mine sphere, and refining the void model through additional survey programs, with some continuing drilling in the peripheral areas of the resource. Future drilling may also target the corridor extending from the southern limits of Cabacal toward the C4-A gold-silver discovery area, where drilling is sparse and some areas may be considered for site infrastructure. Additional results from the infill program have included:

Eastern copper zone – CD442: 39.9 m at 0.5 g/t AuEq from 8.1 m; 29.3 m at 0.6 g/t AuEq from 60.8 m, including 6.9 m at 1.1 g/t AuEq from 80.0 m.

Cabacal northwest extension – CD441: 21.4 m at 0.5 g/t AuEq from 48.7 m, including 5.0 m at 1.2 g/t AuEq from 60.5 m.

Southern copper zone – CD440: 7.9 m at 1.1 g/t AuEq from 131.1 m; 16.4 m at 0.4 g/t AuEq from 144.1 m; 8.0 m at 0.4 g/t AuEq from 167.3 m.

The metallurgical and engineering aspects of the PFS preparations are continuing. Testwork on Cabacal samples is in progress using a combined collector (3418A and Aero208). Initial results suggest this combination has potential to improve copper recoveries and concentrate grades compared with the initial phase of testwork, with further results pending.

The company’s metallurgical advisers are reviewing drilling data and processing data to define Santa Helena’s first round of metallurgical testwork to determine the metal recoveries and associated flow sheet. Historical operations data and testwork indicate the potential to produce up to four products: gold doré from gravity concentration; copper concentrates with high gold and silver credits; zinc concentrates; and a silver-gold-rich lead concentrate.

Meridian Mining is focused on: the development and exploration of the advanced-stage Cabacal VMS gold-copper project; regional-scale exploration of the Cabacal VMS belt; exploration in the Jauru and Araputanga greenstone belts (all located in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil).