Resource World Magazine

www.resourceworld.com 39 A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 4 Promising drill results continue to advance Valentine Lake By Thomas Schuster Marathon Gold Corp. [MOZ-TSX] holds a 100% interest in the 26,000-ha Valentine Lake property in west-central Newfoundland. The project hosts two, well defined, gold deposits with NI 43-101 compliant resources: the Leprechaun and Victory deposits. The prop- erty is road accessible and is 57 km south of the mining town of Buchans. The Leprechaun gold deposit is situated near the southwest end of the Valentine Lake property, and the Victory gold deposit is located 13 km along strike to the northeast. These gold deposits form part of a 23-km long, highly prospective, gold-bearing, under-explored mineralized corridor focused along the Valentine Lake Thrust Fault. Marathon recently completed a 2,000-metre drill program on the project and raised $500,000 on a flow-through financing. Drills were aimed at exploring for and increasing the open pit resources on the Victory Gold deposit and also targeted the Sprite Zone. The Victory holes were largely, step-out and exploration holes. The Sprite holes were all exploration holes testing an area outlined by prospecting and trenching in 2013. This target area returned very encouraging results. Wide intervals of near-surface gold mineralization were intersected in the Sprite area and drilling outlined abundant quartz-tourmaline- pyrite (QTP) veining with visible gold over a strike length of more than 100 metres. Highlights include: • Hole VL-14-542 cut 16.8 metres (true thickness) of 2.20 g/t gold. This included a couple of narrow higher grade intervals: 7.36 g/t gold over 1.2 metres and 6.98 g/t gold over 1.2 metres. Further down the same hole a 7.2-metre interval averaged 2.26 g/t gold and included a 1.2 metre section averaging 10.2 g/t gold. • Hole VL-14-543 cut 18.4 metres averaging 2.80 g/t gold (TT). This included a 1.2-metre section averaging 38.69 g/t gold. The results represent the best mineralization found in the Sprite area to date. Marathon reports that the next phase of winter 2014 drilling will focus on exploring along strike and down-dip of this new gold zone. Gold mineralization at Valentine Lake is associated with quartz- tourmaline±pyrite (QTP) veins, veinlets and stockwork. The QTP mineralization appears to be infilling tension gashes within an intru - sive complex at the sheared contact with conglomerate. Another exciting development is that structural studies have deter- mined there is a correlation between geophysical magnetic lows and fault splays off of the Valentine Lake thrust fault. The Leprechaun and Victory gold deposits as well as this recent Sprite discovery and numerous other gold occurrences all appear to be spatially associ- ated with magnetic lows. Future work will continue to systematically explore promising geophysical targets throughout the property. "With these new wide, near-surface, gold intersections, we are well on our way to developing another open-pit resource at the Valentine Lake," said Phillip Walford, President and CEO. "The combination of the geophysical interpretation of the magnetic data followed by prospecting focused on possible gold-bearing fault splays could be very important in advancing the property." The Leprechaun gold deposit has a NI 43-101 compliant open pit and underground resource that is approaching 1 million contained ounces. It is classified as a structurally controlled Orogenic lode gold deposit that currently has a strike length of about 960 metres. It still remains open for resource expansion. Initial metallurgy is positive with recoveries up to 90%. An environmental assessment study is now in its third year and is proceeding to advanced stages. The open pit portion of the Leprechaun resource weighs in at 9.7 million tonnes averaging 2.11 g/t gold (658,000 contained oz) in the measured and indicated category. The inferred portion adds 1.2 mil - lion tonnes averaging 1.82 g/t gold (71,000 contained oz). The underground resource at Leprechaun tallies to 872,000 tonnes averaging 4.17 g/t gold (117,000 contained oz) in the measured and indicated category. The inferred portion adds 349,000 tonnes averag- ing 6.13 g/t gold (69,000 contained oz). The Victory gold deposit has an open pit resource of 10.47 million tonnes averaging 2.08 g/t gold (699,000 contained oz) in the measured and indicated category. The inferred portion adds 1.4 million tonnes averaging 1.77 g/t gold (80,000 contained oz). In 2014, Marathon Gold has set its sights on increasing open pit resources (in excess of 2 g/t gold), optimizing metallurgical recoveries, improving pit slope design at Leprechaun and Victory and working towards completing a Preliminary Economic Assessment. n Left to right, Tanya Tettelaar, Project Manager, Adam Wall, Geologist, Sherry Dunsworth, VP of Exploration, and Phillip Walford, President and CEO, examine diamond drill core at the Valentine Lake property in west-central Newfoundland. MINING

• Cover