Meridian Completes Cabaçal DFS Drill Program with Strong Results and Advances Regional Exploration
Meridian Completes Cabaçal DFS Drill
Program with Strong Results and Advances
Regional Exploration
Highlights:
Meridian reports multiple Au-Cu-Ag intersections from final phase of Cabaçal DFS drilling, with
highlights including:
CD-760:
27.5m @ 1.9g/t AuEq (1.4% CuEq);
and
12.8m @ 4.9g/t AuEq (3.6% CuEq);
Including
6.4m @ 8.2g/t AuEq (6.1% CuEq);
CD-752:
17.6m @ 1.8g/t AuEq (1.3% CuEq);
Including
3.1m @ 6.5g/t AuEq (4.8% CuEq);
CD-743:
24.5m @ 1.9g/t AuEq (1.4% CuEq);
Including
9.4m @ 4.4g/t AuEq (3.3% CuEq);
CD-748 hits gold dominant layer grading
16.4m @ 0.9g/t Au,
0.1% Cu & 0.2g/t Ag;
Strengthens regional exploration prospectivity for bulk tonnage gold deposits;
Grassroots exploration at Cigarra maps new 2.0km precious and base-metal VMS
prospect;
Peak precious metal grades of 1.5g/t Au and 12.1g/t Ag in drilling;
Base metal dominant domain seen along strike, with assays pending; and
Exploration drill program continues.
London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - October 7, 2025) - Meridian Mining UK S (TSX: MNO)
(FSE: N2E) (Tradegate: N2E) (OTCQX: MRRDF) ("Meridian" or the "Company") is pleased to
announce results from the final phase of Cabaçal's Definitive Feasibility Study's ("DFS") drill program.
Starting at shallow depths, multiple stacked layers
1
hosting robust grades of Au-Cu-Ag ore are reported
("Figure 1"). Locally, high-grade gold overprinting (including visible gold) of the VMS layers returned
0.9m @ 35.8g/t Au.
This now-completed DFS drill program has returned robust grades of gold, copper
and silver mineralization that will be strong contributors to the DFS's resource and reserve upgrades in
2026.
Meridian is also reporting greenfield exploration success at Cigarra. Initial results demonstrate that
peripheral precious and base-metal VMS mineralization, similar to that drilled on the edge of the
Cabaçal deposit, has been intercepted. Two rigs are currently drilling into this VMS trend, which is
untouched by historical exploration activity. This initial drilling campaign is being used to further vector
the drill plan towards a potential hydrothermal centre.
Mr. Gilbert Clark, CEO, comments: "The final phase of drilling at Cabaçal has been completed, as a
major milestone of the DFS program, well in advance of the FID decision in 2026. We have now
completed a tremendous effort of counter-cycle investment, positioning Meridian perfectly to benefit from
strengthening commodity prices and generalist investor interest.
"We are very excited by the initial exploration results at Cigarra. Although we have only a few holes
completed to date into this previously untested 2km prospect, hitting good grades of gold and silver with
the first drill hole, is a tremendous result. The gold mineralization in particular, looks very similar to the
"in-pit" gold-only zones at Cabaçal, and we may have the potential for a future bulk-tonnage gold
discovery.
"Having over CAD 60 million in the bank, Meridian is one of the only well funded true gold and copper
developers, with an exceptionally economic VMS deposit and an exciting exploration portfolio to test."
Cabaçal Drilling
Assay results ("Table 1") have been returned from the final phase of Cabaçal's DFS drilling, with multiple
intersections with stacked layers of Au-Cu-Ag mineralization reported from the Central Copper Zone
("CCZ") and Southern Copper Zones ("SCZ").
Figure 1: Cabaçal drill highlights reported today.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7354/269412_741e34cc649aca57_002full.jpg
Some of strongest intersections highlights included:
CD-760:
27.5m @ 1.9g/t AuEq (1.4% CuEq)
from 98.4m, including
0.9m @ 36.8g/t AuEq (27.3%
CuEq)
from 105.1m, and including
4.5m @ 2.3g/t AuEq (1.7% CuEq)
from 112.6m; and
12.8m @
4.9g/t AuEq (3.6% CuEq)
from 131.3m - a hole testing along strike from CD-240 intersection
2
.
CD-752: 37.6m @ 0.5g/t AuEq (0.3% CuEq) from 19.4m;
32.2m @ 1.2g/t AuEq (0.9% CuEq)
from
87.9m, including
3.1m @ 6.5g/t AuEq (4.8% CuEq)
from 105.9m.
CD-743:
24.5m @ 1.9g/t AuEq
(1.4% CuEq)
from 40.3m, including
9.4m @ 4.4g/t AuEq (3.3%
CuEq)
from 50.0m (mining void 34.3 - 37.7m, 46.7 - 48.3m).
In addition to the intervals above, there are a large number of strongly supporting intersections easily
accessible to open pit development from the western zone, with subsidiary highlights being:
Hole-id
Zone
Int
AuEq
CuEq
Au
Cu
Ag
From
(m)
(g/t)
(%)
(g/t)
(%)
(g/t)
(m)
CD748*
SCZ
22.5
0.7
0.5
0.2
0.4
0.8
65.0
Including
2.9
2.9
2.1
1.1
1.5
3.2
84.6
16.4
1.0
0.7
0.9
0.1
0.2
103.6
Including
3.2
4.1
3.1
4.2
0.1
0.3
116.8
CD745
SCZ
17.9
1.1
0.8
0.5
0.5
0.9
43.5
Including
8.1
1.9
1.4
0.8
1.0
1.8
53.3
CD740
SCZ
11.7
1.2
0.9
0.4
0.6
1.2
17.0
Including
2.8
3.5
2.6
1.5
1.6
2.4
25.8
7.4
1.5
1.1
0.9
0.5
1.5
50.3
Including
4.1
2.4
1.8
1.6
0.7
2.3
53.6
CD733
CCZ
5.6
3.5
2.6
2.2
1.1
2.4
28.4
Including
2.8
6.7
4.9
4.1
2.0
4.3
28.9
20.7
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.3
1.1
37.4
Including
1.1
3.9
2.9
2.7
1.0
3.6
43.0
CD731
SCZ
68.1
0.5
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.8
22.3
Including
2.1
4.4
3.3
1.8
2.1
3.2
31.2
Including
4.4
1.1
0.9
0.4
0.6
3.4
64.2
CD726
SCZ
19.1
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.2
0.4
45.1
Including
1.9
3.7
2.8
2.7
0.9
1.6
58.7
4.8
1.8
1.4
1.1
0.6
4.2
73.3
*CD-748 was stopped short of target depth ending in mineralization, due to broken drill rods.
Drilling has been conducted to refine aspects of the geometry of the mineralization and grade
characteristics, and to supplement the density database. CD-760, ~60m along strike along strike to the
north-east of the CD-240's intersection of
34.5 metres @ 7.9 g/t AuEq (5.3% CuEq)
included variably
gold-rich and copper-rich intervals of
12.8m @ 19.0g/t AuEq (12.7% CuEq)
. The basal subzone of CD-
760 graded
12.8m @ 4.9g/t AuEq (3.6% CuEq)
from 131.3m included a sub-intervals of
6.4m @ 5.1%
Cu, 1.4g/t Au
&
23.3g/t Ag
from 136.3m, including
2.9m @ 7.4% Cu, 2.4g/t Au & 32.1g/t Ag
from
138.9m, including
1.1m @ 10.1% Cu, 3.7g/t Au & 43.3g/t Ag
from 139.9m.
CD-752 was an infill hole, designed to better trace the up-dip projection of mineralization in CD-535 and
CD-012
3
, confirming a rich dense basal layer beneath stacked upper layers of Cu and Cu-Au
mineralization.
Hole CD-743, although intersecting two mining voids, showed the past mining did not fully extract
material at the historical cut-off grades, with an intersection of
9.4m @ 4.2g/t Au
,
0.3% Cu
& 0.5g/t Ag
from 50.0m.
Results have been provided to the Company's resource and mining consultancy, GE21, who are
advancing with updates to the geological and mineralization models in collaboration with the Company's
technical team.
Exploration Update — Cigarra Drilling
Greenfields exploration drilling at Cigarra is targeting an IP chargeability trend defined over a 2km strike
length with multiple bands across strike spanning a distance of ~270 to 760m. This area is untested by
drilling. Results from the first drill hole, CD-776 confirm the region is fertile for hosting VMS type base
and precious metals, returning 3.1m @ 0.5g/t Au, 6.2g/t Ag, 0.1% Zn from 69.9m. There is a sample with
2.5% Zn over 0.6m from 75.1m slightly offset from the gold zone. Peak precious metal grades were 1.5
g/t Au, 12.1g/t Ag in CBDS112667 over 0.8m from 70.5m.
Cigarra's gold mineralization presents a strong resemblance to Cabaçal's in-pit gold dominant layers of
the mine sequence rocks ("Photo 1"). Having an abundant chloritization / silicification parallel to the main
S
foliation, along with disseminated garnets within chlorite. Minor sulfides present are variably
chalcopyrite, pyrite and sphalerite. Some early boudinaged veins are seen along the foliation, along with
a more upright cross-cutting foliation. These features are typical of the Cabaçal deposit and may
indicate a potential for Cigarra to host a comparative resource upside.
Photo 1: Left to right: Cabaçal: CD-110 8.6g/t Au, CD-748 1.7g/t Au, and Cigarra: CD-776 1.5g/t Au
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7354/269412_meridian.jpg
Some parts of Cigarra are concealed by colluvial cover, although peak Cu in soil response can reach up
to 722 ppm Cu, 180 ppb Au, 1211 ppm Zn (in different samples), with patterns suggestive of some VMS
style metal zonation. The mineralization is positioned within a broader lithogeochemical anomaly and
pyrite halo, with pyrite extending from 13.8 - 130.3m and a broad ppb-level gold anomalous background.
Gold shows positive correlations with silver, with Se, Te, Pb, As. Cigarra shows sodium depletion and
magnesium enrichment, similar to what is seen at Cabaçal associated with hydrothermal leaching and
chloritic alteration.
Holes are being drilled at broad spacings to assist with establishing vectors to hydrothermal and appear
to visually show some variation in copper - zinc disseminated sulphide associations, with further assays
pending.
Some select drilling is also being undertaken along the margin of the Cabaçal tonalite, testing
associated geochemical anomalies for which assays are pending.
Cigarra is located ~10 km along strike from Cabaçal to the northwest ("Figure 2"), a good spacing for
the periodicity of hydrothermal centres in VMS settings.
Figure 2: Cigarra regional location.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7354/269412_741e34cc649aca57_004full.jpg
Technical Notes
Samples have been analysed at ALS laboratory in Lima, Peru. Samples are dried, crushed with 70%
passing 85% passing 200µm. Routine gold analyses have been conducted by Au-AA24 (fire assay of
a 50g charge with AAS finish). High-grade samples (>10g/t Au) are repeated with a gravimetric finish
(Au-GRA22), and base metal analysis by methods ME-ICP61 and OG62 (four acid digest with ICP-
AES finish). Visible gold intervals are sampled by metallic screen fire assay method Au-SCR21.
Samples are held in the Company's secure facilities until dispatched and delivered by staff and
commercial couriers to the laboratory. Pulps and coarse rejects are retained and returned to the
Company for storage. The Company submits a range of quality control samples, including blanks and
gold and polymetallic standards supplied by Rocklabs, ITAK and OREAS, supplementing laboratory
quality control procedures. Approximately 5% of archived samples are sent for umpire laboratory
analysis, including any lots exhibiting QAQC outliers after discussion with the laboratory. In BP
Minerals sampling, gold was analysed historically by fire assay and base metals by three acid digest
and ICP finish at the Nomos laboratory in Rio de Janeiro. Silver was analysed by aqua regia digest
with an atomic absorption finish. True width is considered to be 80-90% of intersection width. Assay
figures and intervals are rounded to 1 decimal place. Gold equivalents for new results reported from
Cabaçal are calculated as: AuEq(g/t) = (Au(g/t) * %Recovery) + (1.346*(Cu% * %Recovery)) + (0.013*
(Ag(g/t) * %Recovery)), and Copper equivalents are calculated as: CuEq(%) = (Cu(%) * %Recovery) +
((0.743* (Aug/t * %Recovery)) + ((0.0094*(Ag(g/t) * %Recovery)) where:
Au_recovery_ppm = 5.402ln(Au_Grade_ppm)+88.66
Cu_recovery_pct = 3.906ln(Cu_Grade_pct)+
95.27
Ag_recovery_ppm = 30.354ln(Ag_Grade_ppm)+43.691
Recoveries based on 2022 and 2023 metallurgical testwork on core submitted to SGS Lakefield
Qualified Person Statement
Mr. Erich Marques, B.Sc., FAIG, Chief Geologist of Meridian Mining and a Qualified Person as defined
by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, verified and approved the technical information in this
news release.
About Meridian
Meridian Mining is focused on:
The development and exploration of the advanced stage Cabaçal VMS gold-copper project;
The initial resource definition at the second higher-grade VMS asset at Santa Helena as the first
stage of the Cabaçal Hub development strategy;
Regional scale exploration of the Cabaçal VMS belt to expand the Cabaçal Hub strategy; and
Exploration in the Jaurú & Araputanga Greenstone belts (the above all located in the State of Mato
Grosso, Brazil).
The Pre-feasibility Study technical report (the "PFS Technical Report") dated March 31, 2025, entitled:
"Cabaçal Gold-Copper Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Pre-feasibility Study" outlines a base
case after-tax NPV5 of USD 984 million and 61.2% IRR from a pre-production capital cost of USD 248
million, leading to capital repayment in 17 months (assuming metals price scenario of USD 2,119 per
ounces of gold, USD 4.16 per pound of copper, and USD 26.89 per ounce of silver). Cabaçal has a low
All-in-Sustaining-Cost of USD 742 per ounce gold equivalent & production profile of 141,000-ounce gold
equivalent life of mine, driven by high metallurgical recovery, a low life-of-mine strip ratio of 2.3:1, and the
low operating cost environment of Brazil.
The Cabaçal Mineral Reserve estimate consists of Proven and Probable reserves of 41.7 million tonnes
at 0.63g/t gold, 0.44% copper and 1.64g/t silver (at a 0.25 g/t gold equivalent cut-off grade).
Readers are encouraged to read the PFS Technical Report in its entirety. The PFS Technical Report
may be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at
www.sedarplus.ca
and on the Company's
website at
www.meridianmining.co
.
The PFS Technical Report was prepared for the Company by Tommaso Roberto Raponi (P. Eng),
Principal Metallurgist with Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC; Scott Elfen (P. E.), Global Lead
Geotechnical and Civil Services with Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC; John Anthony McCartney,
C.Geol., Ausenco Chile Ltda.; Porfirio Cabaleiro Rodriguez (Engineer Geologist FAIG), of GE21
Consultoria Mineral; Leonardo Soares (PGeo, MAIG), Senior Geological Consultant of GE21
Consultoria Mineral; Norman Lotter (Mineral Processing Engineer; P.Eng.), of Flowsheets Metallurgical
Consulting Inc.; and, Juliano Felix de Lima (Engineer Geologist MAIG), of GE21 Consultoria Mineral.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Meridian Mining UK S
Mr. Gilbert Clark - CEO and Director
Meridian Mining UK S
8th Floor, 4 More London Riverside
London SE1 2AU
United Kingdom
Email:
Ph: +1 778 715-6410 (BST)
Stay up to date by subscribing for news alerts here:
https://meridianmining.co/contact/
Follow Meridian on X:
https://X.com/MeridianMining
Further information can be found at:
www.meridianmining.co
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements
for the purposes of applicable securities laws. These statements address future events and conditions
and so involve inherent risks and uncertainties, as disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in
Meridian's most recent Annual Information Form filed on
www.sedarplus.ca
. While these factors and
assumptions are considered reasonable by Meridian, in light of management's experience and
perception of current conditions and expected developments, Meridian can give no assurance that such
expectations will prove to be correct. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which
it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Meridian disclaims any intent
or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future
events, or results or otherwise.
Table 1: Assay Results from
Cabaçal
Drilling
Hole-id
Dip
Azi
EOH
Zone
Int
AuEq
CuEq
Au
Cu
Ag
Zn
From
(m)
(m)
(g/t)
(%)
(g/t)
(%)
(g/t)
(%)
(m)
CD760
-66
324
160.3
SCZ
4.0
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.2
0.6
0.0
55.7
6.8
0.6
0.5
0.6
0.1
0.2
0.0
88.8
27.5
1.9
1.4
1.4
0.4
1.5
0.1
98.4
Including
0.9
36.8
27.3
35.8
1.5
3.3
0.1
105.1
Including
4.5
2.3
1.7
0.9
1.1
4.1
0.4
112.6
12.8
4.9
3.6
0.9
3.0
14.1
0.4
131.3
Including
6.4
8.2
6.1
1.4
5.1
23.3
0.6
136.3
Including
2.9
12.3
9.1
2.4
7.4
32.1
0.6
138.9
Including
1.1
17.2
12.8
3.7
10.1
43.3
0.8
139.9
CD752
-63
055
130.5
CCZ
37.6
0.5
0.3
0.1
0.3
0.7
0.0
19.4
3.0
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.0
60.0
2.8
0.8
0.6
0.5
0.2
0.2
0.0
65.7
12.5
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.2
0.1
0.0
72.5
32.2
1.2
0.9
0.3
0.7
2.9
0.1
87.9
Including
17.6
1.8
1.3
0.5
1.0
4.9
0.2
98.5
Including
3.1
6.5
4.8
1.7
3.6
18.4
0.3
105.9
Including
0.8
12.0
8.9
3.2
6.6
30.2
0.4
108.1
CD748
-52
098
120.7
SCZ
22.5
0.7
0.5
0.2
0.4
0.8
0.1
65.0
Including
2.9
2.9
2.1
1.1
1.5
3.2
0.3
84.6
Including
1.2
4.6
3.4
1.4
2.5
5.6
0.6
85.8
16.4
1.0
0.7
0.9
0.1
0.2
0.0
103.6
Including
3.2
4.1
3.1
4.2
0.1
0.3
0.0
116.8
CD745
-60
044
100.6
SCZ
2.3
0.4
0.3
0.0
0.3
1.7
0.0
13.9
2.9
0.7
0.5
0.1
0.5
1.1
0.0
31.3
4.4
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.5
0.0
37.3
17.9
1.1
0.8
0.5
0.5
0.9
0.0
43.5
Including
8.1
1.9
1.4
0.8
1.0
1.8
0.0
53.3
Including
0.8
10.9
8.1
3.1
6.0
11.4
0.1
59.8
13.8
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.7
0.0
68.1
CD743
-60
045
90.6
CCZ
2.9
0.6
0.4
0.0
0.4
0.3
0.0
13.8
8.7
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.1
0.3
0.1
19.3
Including
2.6
1.2
0.9
0.9
0.3
0.6
0.0
19.3
24.5
1.9
1.4
1.8
0.2
0.4
0.0
40.3
Including
9.4
4.4
3.3
4.2
0.3
0.5
0.0
50.0
1.5
0.6
0.5
0.2
0.4
2.0
0.2
67.6
4.2
0.5
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.9
0.0
71.2
CD740
72-.41
045
90.1
SCZ
1.6
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.4
0.0
11.1
11.7
1.2
0.9
0.4
0.6
1.2
0.0
17.0
Including
2.8
3.5
2.6
1.5
1.6
2.4
0.1
25.8
4.0
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.0
32.0
1.8
1.3
0.9
0.7
0.5
1.5
0.0
46.0
7.4
1.5
1.1
0.9
0.5
1.5
0.0
50.3
Including
4.1
2.4
1.8
1.6
0.7
2.3
0.0
53.6
2.3
0.5
0.3
0.1
0.3
0.8
0.0
64.5
6.7
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.3
1.9
0.0
75.0
CD733
-63
044
90.1
CCZ
2.2
1.9
1.4
0.4
1.2
3.8
0.2
17.4
5.6
3.5
2.6
2.2
1.1
2.4
0.2
28.4
Including
2.8
6.7
4.9
4.1
2.0
4.3
0.2
28.9
20.7
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.3
1.1
0.0
37.4
Including
1.1
3.9
2.9
2.7
1.0
3.6
0.0
43.0
2.1
0.8
0.6
0.2
0.5
1.7
0.0
72.8
0.5
2.0
1.5
0.4
1.3
5.7
0.4
78.0
CD731
-44
046
101.7
SCZ
68.1
0.5
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.8
0.0
22.3
Including
2.1
4.4
3.3
1.8
2.1
3.2
0.1
31.2
Including
4.4
1.1
0.9
0.4
0.6
3.4
0.0
64.2
CD726
-59
044
94.8
SCZ
5.8
0.2
0.2
0.0
0.2
0.3
0.0
14.2
2.9
0.4
0.3
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.0
24.7
19.1
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.2
0.4
0.0
45.1
Including
1.9
3.7
2.8
2.7
0.9
1.6
0.0
58.7
0.3
1.0
0.7
0.3
0.6
1.8
0.0
69.9
4.8
1.8
1.4
1.1
0.6
4.2
0.0
73.3
Hole-id
Dip
Azi
EOH
Zone
Int
AuEq
CuEq
Au
Cu
Ag
Zn
From
(m)
(m)
(g/t)
(%)
(g/t)
(%)
(g/t)
(%)
(m)