Moneta Gold drills 0.95 g/t gold over 105.87 metres at Tower, Ontario

Moneta Gold Inc. [TSX-ME; OTCQX-MEAUF; FSE:-MOPA] reported a project update and assay results from 25 drill holes for a total of 5,534 metres on the Windjammer South deposit at the Tower gold project in the Timmins gold camp, northern Ontario.

The drilling was conducted as part of a 140,000-metre drilling program, started in 2022, designed for resource upgrade and infill of the mineral resource estimate of 4.5 million ounces indicated gold and 8.3 million ounces inferred gold.

Project update: A total of 115,000 metres, in 426 drill holes, of the 140,000-metre infill drill program have been completed, with remaining drill holes to be executed during the winter season.

Thirteen drill holes completed, totaling 3,665 metres, for open pit geomechanical and hydrogeological testing, including packer testing. Two drill holes remain and are planned for the winter season. Downhole televiewer surveys are planned for December.

Overburden geotechnical drilling is 50% complete and is ongoing.- Metallurgical drilling and sample collection are ongoing. Lab analysis, including communition and variability test work, starting in Q4 2023

Windjammer South drilling highlights: MGH23-463 intersected 0.95 g/t gold over 105.87 metres, including 2.20 g/t gold over 14.15 metres.

MGH23-463 intersected 1.49 g/t Au over 81.70 m, including 2.90 g/t Au over 18.00 m. MGH23-441 intersected 0.91 g/t Au over 124.00 m, including 1.43 g/t Au over 10.00 m, and 1.45 g/t Au over 22.00 m. MGH23-458 intersected 0.87 g/t Au over 120.00 m, including 1.39 g/t Au over 24.65 m. MGH23-435 intersected 2.47 g/t Au over 20.00 m, including 5.25 g/t Au over 8.00 m, including 11.55 g/t Au over 2.00 m.

Josef Vejvoda, chairman, interim president and CEO, commented: “I am very pleased with the team’s progress as we advance towards a pre-feasibility study. These most recent assay results continue to confirm the continuity of gold mineralization at the Tower Gold project, while the completed open pit geomechanical and hydrogeological testing, with the data currently being analysed, has the potential to increase resources by steepening the open-pit wall slope angle, presently designed at a conservative 46 degrees in the September 2022 PEA [preliminary economic assessment].”

Drilling is being conducted on 50-metre centres as step-outs and infill of previous drill holes. Additional assays from 2023 drilling are pending and will be released upon receipt of assays.

The Windjammer South deposit currently hosts an open pit indicated resource of 42.05 million tonnes (Mt) at 0.78 g/t Au containing 1.06 Moz gold and an inferred resource of 34.46 Mt at 0.97 g/t Au containing 1.07 Moz gold.

The drill holes in this release focused on infill and extensions of the mineral resource within the current open pit PEA mine shells from surface to vertical depths of up to 300 metres below surface. Mineralization at Windjammer South is associated with extensional and stockwork-type quartz veining within Timiskaming age meta-sediments, located between 2 major splays of the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone (DPFZ) in the Golden Highway area of the Project.

The drill results in section A-B targeted the continuity and extensions of mineralization along the southern boundary of the banded iron formations separating Windjammer Central and Windjammer South. Drill holes MGH23-463, MGH23-458, and MGH23-441 confirmed continuity in the central area of the deposit, whereas mineralization extensions were constrained to the west as seen in drill hole MGH23-482.

The drill results in the southern region of Windjammer South (section C-D) confirmed continuity in the central area as seen in drill holes MGH23-430 and MGH23-435. While drill holes targeting extensions in the southern region of the deposit constrained mineralization, as seen in drill holes MGH23-485 and MGH23-469.

Seven of 25 drill holes did not intersect mineralization above 10 “g/t Au x m”; however, gold mineralization was intersected above a 0.3 g/t Au economic cut-off in all of the holes.

Moneta’s focus is on advancing its 100%-owned Tower Gold project. The September 2022, PEA study outlined a combined open pit and underground mining and a 7.0 million tonne per annum conventional leach operation over a 24-year mine life, with 4.6 Moz of recovered gold, generating an after-tax NPV5% of $1,066M, IRR of 31.7%, and a 2.6-year payback at a gold price US$1,600/oz. Tower Gold hosts an estimated gold mineral resource of 4.5 Moz indicated and 8.3 Moz inferred. Moneta is committed to creating shareholder value through the strategic allocation of capital and a focus on the current resource upgrade drilling program, while conducting all business activities in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.