Bonterra Intersects 1.8 g/t Au over 23.2 m and 2.5 g/t Au over 10.5 m at the Barry Open Pit Project
Bonterra Resources Inc. (TSX-V: BTR, OTCQX: BONXF, FSE: 9BR2) is pleased to announce results from the drilling campaign at the Barry open pit project. The Company just completed a 25,000 metres (“m”) definition drill campaign surrounding the near surface mineralization at the Barry gold deposit to further define extensions of the mineral resources. Today’s results obtained from 54 drill holes are expected to be included in a new mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) in preparation of the pre-feasibility study (“PFS”) expected to be completed later this year. The Company has selected a group of experienced consultants, including BBA (BBA.ca) as lead consultant, and the PFS is now underway.
Bonterra is also pleased to announce that is has commenced 125,000 m of infill drilling on the underground portion of the Barry deposit, which contains 0.5 million ounces of Measured and Indicated Mineral resources and 0.7 million ounces of Inferred Mineral resources, as stated in the 2021 MRE (“2021 MRE”). The Company continues to execute on its strategy of moving toward the production re-start of the open pit at Barry while developing the higher-grade underground mineralization in parallel.
The Company is currently drilling at a rate of approximately 6,000 m per month, focused on infill drilling the underground portion of the Barry deposit highlighted within the 2021 MRE.
Highlights include:
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1.8 g/t Au over 23.2 m, including 3.0 g/t Au over 4.0 m and 11.4 g/t Au over 1.5 m in hole MB-22-434
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2.5 g/t Au over 10.5, m including 7.3 g/t Au over 1.6 m in hole MB-22-452
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1.0 g/t Au over 37.0, m including 3.2 g/t Au over 8.6 m in hole MB-22-470
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1.8 g/t Au over 15.5, m including 11.2 g/t Au over 1.0 m in hole MB-22-458
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6.3 g/t Au over 4.1, m including 27.2 g/t Au over 0.7 m in hole MB-22-495
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5.9 g/t Au over 6.6, m including 20.1 g/t Au over 1.2 m in hole MB-22-460
Operational Updates
The Company also announces that is has elected to put the underground infrastructure at the Bachelor-Moroy deposit under long-term care and maintenance and expects to complete this process early in the fourth quarter. This decision was made after a detailed analysis of the economic potential of the Moroy deposit, considering the costs involved in maintaining the underground infrastructure de-watered and in good standing. It is important to note, that the status of the assay lab, camp, mill, and the tailings management area (the “Bachelor Mill Complex”) remains unchanged, and that these assets are key components of the planned re-start of production at the Barry open pit project.
At the Bachelor Mill Complex, the permitting process for the mill and tailings management area expansion is still ongoing at the COMEX. Considering the abovementioned changes at the Bachelor-Moroy deposit, a scope change will be submitted shortly to the COMEX for their review.
At the Gladiator deposit, the Company has undertaken an exploration drill campaign on barges that was completed as scheduled at the end of July. The geological team at Bonterra will continue working on the mineral resources model and geological interpretation of the deposit as drill results from the campaign become available. The team is also planning a more focused drill program for next year.
Marc André Pelletier, President and CEO commented: “These recent drill results confirm the grade continuity of the near surface mineralization at the Barry deposit and will be used to further refine our geological model as part of the PFS that is expected to be completed by year end. The PFS is an important milestone in our renewed strategy of advancing the Company toward production, starting with the Barry open pit.
Bonterra expects that the decision to place the underground infrastructure at the Bachelor-Moroy deposit on long-term care and maintenance will reduce the annual maintenance costs by at least $3 million/year and will allow the Company to reallocate these financial resources toward advancing the development of the Barry deposit.”
Figure 1 – Barry Project - Drill Hole Location Map, Plan View.
The infill drilling program was designed to fill gaps in the drill spacing inside and immediately around the pit shell from the 2021 MRE. The results confirmed the shape of the mineralization and the grades predicted by the bloc model from the 2021 MRE. Hole MB-22-434 returned 1.8 g/t Au over 23.2 m in zone D4 in the south-west pit (fig. 2), hole MB-22-470 returned 1.0 g/t Au over 37.0 m, including 3.2 g/t Au over 8.6 m from zone AB07 in the main pit (fig. 3) and hole MB-22-452 returned 2.5 g/t Au over 10.5 m just 10 m under the main pit in zone AB07 (fig. 4).
Figure 2 – Barry Project - Cross Section 30m, southwest pit (Hole MB-22-434, MB-22-436, MB-22-505, MB-22-495, MB-22-434), Looking southwest.
Figure 3 – Barry Project – Cross Section 25m, Main Pit, (Hole MB-22-470, MB-22-469, MB-22-463), Looking southwest.
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