Press Release
George H. Read, P. Geo., Senior Vice President Exploration and Development of Shore Gold Inc. (“Shore” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the NQ core drilling program has commenced on the western side of the Orion South Kimberlite. The current program includes some 8 holes with a total of approximately 1,600 metres of drilling on the Orion South Kimberlite, located within the claims of the Fort a la Corne Joint Venture (“FALC-JV”). This core drilling is required to further expand the geological model of the Orion South kimberlite continuing from the successful program of 2015. The core drilling program is being conducted by Newmac Industries Ltd. of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. In addition, Shore has contracted In-Situ Engineering of Snohomish, Washington, USA to conduct a geotechnical program, which includes in situ shear strength testing of the glacial till sediments and Lower Colorado Shale, to depths of up to 140 metres below surface. These sediments form a major part of the overburden above the Star Kimberlite and their technical characteristics need to be understood for revised mine pit designs. Shore geologists are responsible for the supervision of the drilling and geotechnical programs and subsequent detailed core logging.
Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, George Read, states: “The core drilling program on Orion South is an important extension to the 2015 core drilling program. The selected locations of these core holes augment the 100 metre grid drilling program already completed on the Orion South Kimberlite and can assist in further extending the mineral resources and geological models of the Orion South Kimberlite. The geotechnical program is included in the recommendations of the previous Feasibility Study of 2011. The Company is working towards the completion of an Updated Feasibility Study based on the Revised Resource Estimate completed in 2015 as well as a revised mine plan, where new technology is applied to more efficiently remove the sand and clay of the overburden, in addition to the application of new technology in the processing plant. Preliminary calculations suggest that such an Updated Feasibility Study, with a new mine plan, can positively change the economic model for the Project by increasing the Mineral Resource estimate and reducing the pre-production capital costs and schedule to diamond production.”
The Star-Orion South Diamond Project is located in central Saskatchewan some 60 kilometres east of the city of Prince Albert. The Project is in close proximity to established infrastructure, including paved highways and the electrical power grid, which provide significant advantages for future mine development. The Technical Report on the Revised Resource Estimate for the Star-Orion South Diamond Project dated November 9, 2015 provided an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Star and Orion South kimberlite deposits: Indicated Mineral Resource of 393 million tonnes containing 55.4 million carats of diamonds at a weighted average price of US$210 per carat. In addition to the Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate, the Star and Orion South Kimberlites include Inferred Resources containing 11.5 million carats. Accordingly, the mineral resources and economic assessment previously disclosed by Shore for the Project should no longer be relied upon.
Shore is a Canadian based corporation engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties. Shares of the Company trade on the TSX Exchange under the trading symbol “SGF”.
For further information: shoregold@shoregold.com or (306) 664-2202 www.shoregold.com
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