TVI Pacific drills 4.05 metres of 4.1 g/t gold at Balabag, Philippines
TVI Pacific Inc. [TVI-TSXV; TVIPF-OTC] provided an update of exploration activities at the Balabag gold and silver mine. Balabag is owned 100% by TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc. (TVIRD), a Philippines corporation in which TVI holds a 30.66% interest, and is located in Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines.
Balabag which covers a 4,779-hectare Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA, MPSA No. 086-97-IX) located within the Municipality of Bayog, Province of Zamboanga del Sur and Municipalities of Diplahan and Kabasalan, Province of Zamboanga Sibugay, Mindanao, Philippines. The mine is situated approximately 75 km east-northeast of TVIRD’s Canatuan mine.
TVI announced on November 22, 2019 that TVIRD had determined to advance Balabag towards commercial production. As part of plant commissioning, Balabag development progressed to the commencement of continuous milling operations in July, 2021 which included the first discharge of tails to Stage 1 of the tailings storage facility (TSF). The TSF is being constructed in stages to accommodate progressively increasing resources as they are defined.
Twenty-four-hour operation of the plant was introduced in late August 2021 with the first shipment of gold doré being completed on September 30, 2021. To the date of this news release, Balabag has completed seven shipments of 6,320 kg of gold doré containing 6,715 ounces of gold and 192,519 ounces of silver for 9,215 gold equivalent ounces.
PHASE 5B HIGHLIGHTS: 31 drillholes with a total meterage of 4,204.30 metres have been completed through the Phase 5B drilling program and include 4.10 g/t gold and 29.30 g/t silver over 4.00 metres of drill intercept from drillhole BLDH-21-407; 4.59 g/t gold and 16.09 g/t silver over 3.50 metres from drillhole BLDH-21-418; and a further 2.27 g/t gold and 4.30 g/t silver over 4.90 meters from drillhole BLDH-21-421 in Lalab.
Drillhole BLDH-21-399 in the Miswi Area returned 5.66 g/t gold and 22.48 g/t silver over 2.40 metres and a further 2.26 g/t gold and 17.20 g/t silver over 5.40 metres.
Drillhole BLDH-21-406 returned 3.21 g/t gold and 42.98 g/t silver over 2.90 metres; 2.21 g/t gold and 30.82 g/t silver over 2.60 metres from drillhole BLDH-21-409; 3.19 g/t gold and 124.13 g/t silver over 2.85 metres from drillhole BLDH-21-413 and a further 3.42 g/t gold and 120.44 g/t silver over 3.35 meters from drillhole BLDH-21-417, all in West Tinago.
Drillhole BLDH-21-397R in South Tinago returned 2.86 g/t gold and 21.13 g/t silver over 10.60 metres.
A total of 428 drillholes with a total meterage of 47,521.35 metres have been completed at Balabag since November 2005 through to completion of the Phase 5B drilling program in November 2021.
Cliff James, Chairman and CEO of TVI and Chairman of TVIRD stated, “We continue to be pleased with the results of the ongoing drilling programs at Balabag. The results have demonstrated potential for additional gold mineralization laterally, near surface and at depth, and we expect the results of both the Phase 5A and 5B programs may potentially add to the estimated mineral resource reported in the NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Update filed under TVI’s profile on SEDAR on July 20, 2021. A Phase 6 drilling program is expected to commence in 2022 to further explore yet more opportunity within the ultimate pit shell and its lateral extensions that the TVIRD team believes exist along the Tinago and East Miswi vein systems. Additional discoveries may then add even more to the mine life of Balabag.”