Moneta Gold drills 3.31 g/t gold over 25 metres at Tower, Ontario

Moneta Gold Inc. [ME-TSX; MEAUF-OTCQX; MOP-XETRA] reported assay results from 11 resource infill and stepout drill holes on the 903 gold deposit at the Tower gold project, located 100 km east of Timmins, northeastern Ontario.

The drilling was conducted as part of an initial 70,000-metre infill and resource upgrade drill program on the recently announced mineral resource estimate of 4.5 million ounces indicated gold and 8.3 Moz inferred gold at the Tower Gold project.

Drilling Highlights: MGA22-022 intersected 25.00 metres of 3.31 g/t gold, including 11.50 metres of 5.85 g/t gold, including 3.41 metres of 12.02 g/t gold, including 1.00 metre of 19.40 g/t gold, and 0.90 metres of 18.40 g/t gold.

MGA22-019 intersected 11.75 metres of 4.23 g/t Au, including 6.00 metres of 7.60 g/t Au, including 3.00 metres of 14.01 g/t Au, including 1.00 metre of 35.00 g/t Au. MGA22-021 intersected 7.81 metres of 4.09 g/t Au, including 1.50 metres of 5.96 g/t Au.

MGA22-030 intersected 29.90 metres of 1.23 g/t Au, including 12.10 metres of 2.53 g/t Au, including 2.75 metres of 6.08 g/t Au, including 1.00 metre of 10.80 g/t Au. MGA22-021 intersected 25.76 metres of 1.35 g/t Au, including 12.83 metres of 1.75 g/t Au, including 1.73 metres of 5.98 g/t Au.

MGA22-019 intersected 35.00 metres of 0.96 g/t Au, including 2.40 metres of 4.04 g/t Au, and 13.20 metres of 1.36 g/t Au, including 0.66 metres of 5.66 g/t Au, 0.40 metres of 9.62 g/t Au. MGA22-034 intersected 69.35 metres of 0.70 g/t Au, including 34.70 metres of 1.04 g/t Au, including 6.75 metres of 2.26 g/t Au, including 1.40 metres of 6.78 g/t Au.

Intercepts were calculated using a 0.20 g/t Au cut-off, a maximum of 5-metre internal dilution and no top cap applied. Drill intercepts estimated to be 75% to 95% of true width.

Gary O’Connor, President and CEO, commented, “These latest infill assay drill results from 903 continue to confirm the continuity and extensions of the current mineral resource estimate, recently updated in September. These results support significant gold grades across wide widths of gold mineralization within the economic open pit mineral resources at 903 as defined in the recent Preliminary Economic Assessment study. Extensions of good gold mineralization have been intersected outside the resource and pit, in an area contained during the pay-back period in the first 5 years of production as defined in the PEA. As we continue to de-risk and advance the Tower Gold project, we look forward to completing the current resource infill and upgrade drill program in preparation of a mineral resource estimate update for the planned Pre-Feasibility Study.”

The latest assay results are from 11 drill holes for 3,918.0 metres of diamond drilling completed as part of the planned initial 70,000-metre drill program of resource infill and upgrade drilling. With the receipt of the positive PEA in September 2022, the resource infill and upgrade drill program has now been expanded to 160,000 metres to form part of the PFS. Drilling is being conducted on 50-metre centres as step-outs and infill of previous drill holes.

Drilling at 903 was focused on infilling and extending the current open pit gold resource from surface to vertical depths of up to 400 m within the current economic pits.

Moneta is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Tower Gold project, Canada’s most prolific gold producing camp. The September 2022, PEA study outlined a combined open pit and underground mining and a 7.0 million tonne per annum conventional leach/CIL 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.