Marathon shares surge 18% on Newfoundland drilling

Frik Els | August 9, 2016 | 11:49 am Precious Metals Gold 
Marathon hits 111 metres of 1.47 g/t gold within Berry zone at Valentine
Valentine Gold Camp. Image by Marathon.

Marathon Gold Corp (TSE:MOZ) stock surged 17.7% on Tuesday after releasing results from drilling at its Valentine Gold Camp located in central Newfoundland.

In afternoon trade the small-cap  changed hands at $0.59, on the Toronto Stock Exchange in volumes four times the usual daily average, affording the company a market worth just under $63 million. Marathon has nearly tripled in value this year.

The Toronto-based firm released stellar drilling results to bulk up its Marathon deposit saying it had “intercepted very wide intervals of good-grade gold mineralization for up to 80 meters down-dip of previous drilling”.

Some of the highlights from the program which shows true thickness:

  • Drill holes MA-16-107 and MA-16-111 intercepted very wide intervals of good grade gold mineralization up to 80 meters down–dip of previously drilling in the Marathon Deposit.  Best intercepts included 2.11 g/t Au (cut) over 68.3 meters with 10.64 g/t (cut) over 3.3 meters, 4.29 g/t over 2.0 meters, 12.92 g/t Au (cut) over 2.0 meters, 5.19 g/t Au over 2.0 meters, 6.56 g/t Au over 2.6 meters and 8.84 g/t Au over 2.6 meters in MA-16-107, and 1.33 g/t Au over 48.8 meters with 5.23 g/t Au over 1.3 meters, 10.03 g/t Au over 0.7 meters and 4.62 g/t Au over 3.9 meters in MA-16-111.
  • The recently drilled deeper drill holes through the central portion of the Marathon Deposit (i.e.: MA-16-101, MA-16-107, MA-16-111 and extended drill holes MA-15-032, MA-15-039 and MA-16-047) now define a more than 200 meters long subvertical mineralized corridor up to 50 to 100 meters wide  that extends to depth beyond 250 meters. The mineralized corridor of the Marathon Deposit remains open along strike and to depth.
  • Significant near-surface mineralization was also encountered in step-out drill hole MA-16-106 with 2.44 g/t Au over 3.5 meters and in hanging wall drill hole MA-16-109 with 6.74 g/t Au over 1.8 meters, 1.05 g/t Au over 2.4 meters and 1.01 g/t Au over 1.8 meters.
  • The total strike length of the alteration and mineralized corridor, including the spring 2015 Marathon Deposit resource pit shell, now extends for at least 1.6 kilometers. The highest priority drilling at the Marathon Deposit continues to focus on expanding the open pit resource shell to the southwest along strike of the current Marathon Deposit resource pit shell as well as northwest into the hanging wall of the deposit.
  • Metallurgical work is continuing on schedule with encouraging preliminary results both in the floatation and the column testing for heap leach viability at both the Leprechaun and Marathon Deposits.

“The drilling program is going very well at the Marathon Deposit. The deeper drill holes are continuing to prove that the deposit is open to depth and so far the deeper holes are intersecting wider mineralization than is found closer to surface. These deeper intersections do have significant zones of higher grades within them. While more drilling is needed, it appears that the thicker zones of gold mineralization have a shallow plunge to the south west“, said Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon.

According to April 2015 estimates the Valentine Gold Camp hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell constrained, gold resources totaling 1,060,100 oz. gold at 2.20 g/t (Measured & Indicated) and 200,000 oz. gold at 2.85 g/t (Inferred).

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