TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 22, 2011) - Northern Gold Mining Inc. (News - Market indicator) ("Northern Gold" or "the Company") is pleased to announce assay results for seven more Diamond drill holes totaling 1,496 meters of drill core in the Company's ongoing 30,000 meter drill program at the Garrcon Deposit on the Garrison Gold Property. A total of 25 holes (5,367 meters) have been reported to date for the drill program that began May, 2010. Assay results for the seven drill holes are listed in Table 1 and are available on the Company's website.
"These drill results continue to define and expand the mineralized footprint while demonstrating the potential for an open pit bulk-tonnage gold deposit," said Martin Shefsky, President and CEO of Northern Gold Mining Inc. "We will continue to aggressively drill the Garrcon Deposit using two drills and focusing on systematic infill, definition and step out drilling. Results of holes completed prior to December, 2010 will be used in the updated NI 43-101 resource calculation expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2011."
Table 1 shows that GAR-10-32 and GAR-10-33 both have long downhole intervals (over 150 meters) with average gold grades at and above the resource cutoff grade while GAR-10-36 has 228 meters at slightly below resource cutoff. All three holes have downhole intervals of greater than 50 meters with nearly 1.0 g/t grades or higher and all three holes have significant downhole intervals with grades of 2 g/t or higher.
Drill holes GAR-10-30, GAR-10-31, GAR-10-32, GAR-10-33, GAR-10-34 and GAR-10-36 are all drilled on section line 11+50W. This line is a 50 meter step out to the east from grid line 12+00W which marks the eastern boundary of the indicated resources in the first resource calculation (reported in the Technical Report filed on SEDAR Nov. 5, 2010) and also from the eastern extent of most of the previous drilling by Northern Gold and the previous operators. Line 11+50W is also the first systematic drill fence in which all of the drill holes are drilled in the same orientation. Northern Gold's current plans call for 10 drill holes along this fence line. Results on the northern third of the fence are lower grade than holes 50 meters to the west along grid line 12+00W. The holes in the central third of the fence encountered similar or better grades than holes 25 and 50 meters to the west along grid lines 11+75W and 12+00W.
GAR-10-30 was collared along grid line 11+50W at approximately 9+98N at an azimuth of 342° true and in inclination of -46°. Total downhole depth of the hole is 249 meters. The upper third of the hole is consistent with mineralization seen in holes GAR-09-07, GAR-10-16 and GAR-10-12 about 50 meters to the west. The rest of the hole is in the central part of the deposit, which has not been well drilled to the west. Below 200 meters downhole, the grade is lower that grades in GAR-75 50 meters to the west.
GAR-10-31 was collared along grid line 11+50W at approximately 10+42N at an azimuth of 340° and in inclination of -46°. Total downhole depth of this hole is 192 meters. This hole is lower grade than GAR-76 drilled 50 meters to the west. However, consistent with North Zone mineralization, a zone of low grade mineralization was encountered near the contact with the ultramafic unit bounding the north side of the deposit.
GAR-10-32 was collared along grid line 11+50W at approximately 9+12N at an azimuth of 341° and an inclination of -46°. The hole was drilled to a total downhole depth of 339 meters. This hole encountered gold mineralization consistent with GAR-10-11 in the upper 25 meters, as well as from 25 to 75 meters downhole in GAR-10-12, and from 100 to 125 meters downhole iin GAR-10-20. From 125 meters down, the hole does not have any comparative holes to the west or the east.
GAR-10-33 was collared along grid line 11+50W at approximately 9+52N at an azimuth of 339° true and an inclination of -43°. Total downhole depth is 300 meters. The hole is consistent with C06-09 down to about 100 meters and from 122 meters down is in new ground with and excellent intercept from 220 meters that is grading 1 g/t over a downhole interval of 59 meters.
GAR-10-34 was collared along grid line 11+50W at approximately 10+90N at an azimuth of 338° true and an inclination of -45°. Total downhole depth is 135 meters. The hole is consistent with mineralization encountered in GAR-10-31 though a narrow section of North Zone mineralization was encountered near the contact with the ultramafic unit to the north.
GAR-10-35 was collared along grid line 12+25W at approximately 11+63N at an azimuth of 341° true and an inclination of -43°. This hole was drilled to a total downhole depth of 66 meters. This hole establishes the northern boundary of significant gold mineralization on the north side of the deposit along grid line 12+25W. There was no significant gold mineralization encountered in the hole.
GAR-10-36 was collared along grid line 11+50W at approximately 8+76N and at an azimuth of 341° true and an inclination of -44°. This hole was drilled to a total downhole depth of 300 meters. This hole is consistent with GAR-10-32, GAR-10-12 and GAR-10-11 down to 50 meters. From 50 to 150 meters it has lower grade than GAR-10-19 and is consistent with GAR-10-20. From 150 meters down the hole is better grade than GAR-10-33.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Northern Gold Mining Inc. has implemented a QA/QC protocol for its exploration work. Northern is currently Diamond drilling the Garrison Gold Property and the drilling contractor is Major Drilling Group International Inc. Core size is NQ, to give good sample sizes and enabling the possibility for at least two step-downs if ground conditions should require it. Core is delivered to the secure Core Shack facility by the driller or picked up by one of Northern Gold's designated personnel and transported to the Core Shack facility. In addition to recovery and RQD (Rock Quality Designation) data geologic parameters including lithology, alteration, quartz veining, presence and identification of sulfide mineralization along with other geologic parameters are noted and recorded. Core is marked in one meter intervals for splitting, sampling and assaying, unless geologic data indicate a shorter sample interval. Prior to splitting, all core is photographed. Core splitting is done with a Diamond core saw and ½ of the drill core is submitted to Expert Laboratories, an accredited laboratory (PTP-MAL – Accredited by Standards Council of Canada – In Accordance with ISO/IEC 43-1) in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec for assaying. The remainder of the core is stored at the Garrison Gold Property.
All sample intervals where visible gold is observed to be present are automatically submitted for analysis using the metallic screen procedure where the entire half core is crushed, pulped and screened at 100 mesh. The screen oversize is assayed in total and the screen undersize is fire assayed in triplicate using a gravimetric finish. All other samples are analyzed by conventional fire assay using a 30 gram sample with geochemical finish. All samples that assay greater than one gram are re-assayed with conventional fire assay using a gravimetric finish. Conventional fire assay sample prep consists of crushing to 90% passing 10 mesh from which a 300 gram sample is split and pulped to 90% passing 200 mesh and from which a 30 gram sample is taken for fire assaying. Following completion of fire assaying at Expert Laboratories, pulp samples are forwarded by Expert to SGS Laboratories, a certified laboratory (ISO 17025), in Toronto, Ontario for CN solubility assaying and for multi-element analyses of select samples. CN solubility test uses a 1% CN solution added to 30 grams of sample and shaken for an hour prior to settling and decanting for geochemical analysis. Multi-element analysis is conducted using 4-acid digestion followed by ICP analysis with OES finish (Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy). Northern inserts a mixture of gold standard samples, blank samples and duplicate samples into the sample stream at a rate approximating 10% of total original samples. Samples are normally transported in a Company truck from the Property to Expert Labs in Rouyn-Noranda. Chain of Custody protocols require the signing and maintenance of logs and receipts each time the samples are picked up from or delivered to a new location. When utilizing commercial transportation, all shipping sacks are sealed with a numbered tag, the removal of which is recorded upon receipt by Expert Laboratories. Check analyses are conducted on a regular basis utilizing either SGS Laboratories, a certified laboratory, in Toronto, Ontario.
About Northern Gold Mining
Northern Gold Mining Inc. is a TSX-V listed, publicly traded junior resource company based in Toronto, Ontario, dedicated to the discovery and development of high value mineral deposits in the proven mining camps of Kirkland Lake and Timmins in North Eastern Ontario. Northern Gold is focused on developing two advanced stage gold deposits on the Garrison Gold Property. The Property is located within the Abitibi greenstone belt along the Porcupine-Destor and the Munro Fault systems. The Property hosts several gold mineralized showings in addition to the two advanced stage exploration targets, the Jonpol and Garrcon Deposits, for each of which NI 43-101 compliant mineral resources have been calculated, and the less advanced 903 Zone gold mineralized area. Historic Diamond drilling by previous operators was completed in all three referenced areas. The Jonpol Technical Report was posted on SEDAR October 21, 2009 and the Garrcon Technical Report was posted on SEDAR November 5, 2010. The Garrison Gold Property has historic mining infrastructure at both the Jonpol and Garrcon Deposits and producing gold mines are located in close proximity to the property. The Company is in the second year of an option agreement under which it may earn up to an 80% interest in the Garrison Gold Property from ValGold Resources Ltd. ("ValGold") (TSX VENTURE:VAL). For more information on the option agreement, please see the Company's news release dated 14 September 2009.
The technical aspects of this press release has been reviewed by Michael Gross M.S., P.Geol., Vice President Exploration for Northern Gold, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 for this project.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration results, future plans and objectives of Northern Gold Mining Inc., are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Northern Gold Mining Inc.'s expectations are the risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Northern Gold Mining Inc. with securities regulators.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.