Meridian Drills High-Grade Mineralization Grading 16.0m @ 12.5g/t AuEq at Cabaçal Visible Gold Zone Intercept Returns 6.4m @ 30.6g/t AuEq From 53.3m Depth
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Meridian Drills High-Grade Mineralization Grading 16.0m @ 12.5g/t AuEq at Cabaçal
Visible Gold Zone Intercept Returns 6.4m @ 30.6g/t AuEq From 53.3m Depth
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM , May 07, 202 4 / Accesswire / Meridian Mining UK . S ( TSX: MNO ),
(Frankfurt/Tradegate: 2MM) (OTCQX: MRRDF) (“Meridian” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an
update on its drilling and exploration activities at its advanced Cabaçal copper-gold-silver VMS project
(“Cabaçal”) in Mato Grosso , Brazil. Drill hole CD-470 has returned a zone of high -grade mineralization
grading 16.0m @ 12.5g/t AuEq1 (12.1g/t Au, 0.3% Cu & 0.6g/t Ag) including a high-grade zone hosting
visible gold grading 6.4m @ 30.6g/t AuEq (29.9g/t Au, 0.5% Cu & 1.0g/t Ag) from 53.3m (“Figure 1”),
within the Cabaçal Mine’s Southern Copper Zone (“SCZ”). CD-470 is part of an ongoing program2 aimed at
testing visible gold-rich areas within historical drilling records but with incomplete assay data, which were
not incorporated into the Cabaçal Mineral Resource Estimate 3. Importantly, CD-470 is located below a
mining void, confirming that zones of significant mineralization remain. Results are progressively being
returned from the ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study’s4 (“PFS”) infill drill program. Further results are pending.
HIGHLIGHTS REPORTED TODAY
• Meridian drills strongest gold-dominant zone of mineralization within the Cabaçal Mine area to date;
• Drilling continues to support resource conversion, with high-grade gold & copper mineralization
intersected at Cabaçal;
o CD-470 returns 16.0m @ 12.5g/t AuEq (12.1g/t Au, 0.3% Cu & 0.6g/t Ag) from 53.3m; including:
▪ 6.4m @ 30.6g/t AuEq (29.9g/t Au, 0.5% Cu & 1.0g/t Ag) from 53.3m;
• Cabaçal PFS drill program continues to deliver robust grades and widths of gold -copper
mineralization;
• The Caba çal metallurgical program continues to show the potential for optimised and improved
recoveries of the copper concentrate; and
• The Santa Helena metallurgical program will shortly be launched to expedite Santa Helena towards
an Initial Mineral Resource Estimate in Q4 2024.
Mr. Gilbert Clark, CEO, comments: “Today's remarkable drill results, under the skilled technical guidance
of our team, demonstrate Cabaçal's potential to capitalize on the current gold and copper price surge .
High-grade results, such as 6.4m @ 30.6g/t AuEq, emphasize the deposit’s capacity to deliver value for
shareholders. Within the historical mine records, there are various holes referencing visible gold where
assay records were lost in whole or in part , for some of which only graphical estimates were available
from bar charts. CD-470 is the first result of an ongoing program to test such areas and future results will
be included in Cabaçal’s resource update. Importantly, the high-grade mineralization extend s past the
underground mining voids and shows that Meridian’s drill program is highly efficient in targeting this
missed upside. The result illustrates well the broad zones of gold-copper mineralization that are found at
the Cabaçal mine.”
1 Refer to technical note for AuEq equation
2 See Meridian news release April 23, 2024
3 See Meridian news release September 26, 2022
4 See Meridian news release January 10, 2024
Figure 1: Overview of core tray beneath mining void intersected in CD -470, with detail of sample
CBDS65674 (53.3 - 54.0m).
CABAÇAL DEPOSIT DRILL PROGRAM UPDATE
The Cabaçal drill program (“Figure 2”) continues, with today’s reported results bringing a new interval
returned under the accelerated drilling program5. Results reported include intervals from the peripheral
areas of the resource where drilling has been sparse , and from select areas of the Cabaçal mine zone
where several results from the last phase of BP drilling have been lost. The first of these results from CD-
470 has encouraging mineralization. Results emphasise that the previous room and pillar underground
mining method left behind significant high-grade mineralization due to the structural variability and grade
variances in the deposit.
The CD-470 hole commenced with a shallow copper-dominant interval, including a zone of 2.2m @ 1.1%
Cu & 6.4g/t Ag from 16.1m. The hole passed through a mining void from 48.7 - 53.3m. Data compiled by
the Cabaçal project vendors indicates that 3.8m @ 90.0g/t Au, 0.4% Cu & 20.6g/t Ag from 48.8m were
intersected in this mining void position. The source data for these analyses w ere subsequently lost, and
5 See Meridian news release April 23, 2024
to date, Meridian has not been able to locate an alternative archival copy. Encouragingly, the interval
below the void in Meridian’s drilling has returned mineralization at grades significantly higher than the
historical underground mining cut -off grade of 3.0g/t Au. CD -470 has returned 16.0m @ 12.5g/t AuEq
(12.1g/t Au, 0.3% Cu & 0.6g/t Ag) from 53 .3m, including 6.4m @ 30.6g/t AuEq (29.9g/t Au, 0.5% Cu &
1.0g/t Ag) from 53.3m.
Figure 2: Cabaçal Mine drill results
CD-470 is one of several planned verification holes that will contribute to the PFS database. The initial
verification program of 2021-2022 targeted areas where comparative historical assay data existed for twin
drilling. The current holes are designed to better understand grade distribution where data has been lost
or was only partially digitized by the project vendors . The information gaps for certain historical results
were more prevalent in the SCZ where the later generation of BP Minerals infill holes were drilled ,
although a number of infill holes were also missing from the Central Copper Zone and the Eastern Copper
Zone. Amongst this lost data are holes which are recorded to have intersected visible gold. For some of
these, graphic assay bar charts on old cross sections denote high grades as >5 g/t Au, but the true grades
are unknown.
The Company remains grateful to past professionals who have contributed material . In particular, the
Company is currently working to incorporate assays from recently retrieved underground grade control
data, amongst which are historical gold assay records (Figure 3). Examples of results include:
• CH17: 2.04m @ 142.3g/t Au (RI1936 NE Wall)
• CH10: 2.18 m @ 21.7g/t Au (RI1936 SW Wall)
• CH11: 2.23 m @ 84.1g/t Au (RI1936 SW Wall)
• CH14: 1.86 m @ 76.1g/t Au (RI1936 SW Wall)
• CH6: 2.96 m @ 31.6 g/t Au (RI1938 SW Wall)
• CH3: 2.87 m @ 54.9 g/t Au (SN1943 Nth Wall)
• CH1: 3.25 m @ 85.5 g/t Au (SN1943 Sth Wall)
The results provide an indication of mineralization that we expect to encounter in pillars, and projecting
between levels, as shown by the CD-470 intersection.
Figure 3: Example of historical underground grade control data for gold in channel sampling.
The current phase of drilling and field activities in the mine area will focus on assessing areas where data
has been partially lost in the mine sphere , and refining the void model through addition al survey
programs, with some ongoing drilling in the peripheral areas of the resource. Future drilling may also
target the corridor extending from the southern limits of Cabaçal towards the C4-A gold-silver discovery
area6 where drilling is sparse and some areas may be considered for site infrastructure. Additional results
from the infill program have included:
Eastern Copper Zone:
• CD442: 39.9m @ 0.5g/t AuEq from 8.1m;
o 29.3m @ 0.6g/t AuEq from 60.8m;
Including:
▪ 6.9m @ 1.1g/t AuEq from 80.0m;
6 See Meridian news releases February 3, April 5 & June 21 2022
Cabaçal Northwest Extension:
• CD441: 21.4m @ 0.5g/t AuEq from 48.7m;
Including:
▪ 5.0m @ 1.2g/t AuEq from 60.5m;
Southern Copper Zone:
• CD440: 7.9m @ 1.1g/t AuEq from 131.1m;
o 16.4m @ 0.4g/t AuEq from 144.1m; and
o 8.0m @ 0.4 AuEq from 167.3m.
UPDATE ON CABAÇAL METALLURGICAL PROGRAM
The metallurgical and engineering aspects of the PFS preparations are ongoing. Testwork on Cabaçal
samples is in progress using a combined collector (3418A and Aero208) . Initial results suggest this
combination has potential to improve copper recoveries and concentrate grades compared to the initial
phase of testwork, with further results pending.
INITIATION OF SANTA HELENA METALLURGICAL PROGRAM
The Company’s metallurgical advisors are currently reviewing available drilling data and processing data
to define Santa Helena’s first round of metallurgical testwork to determine the metal recoveries and
associated flow sheet. Historic operations data and testwork indicates the potential to produce up to four
products: gold doré from gravity concentration, copper concentrates with high gold & silver credits, zinc
concentrates, and a silver-gold rich lead concentrate.
ABOUT MERIDIAN
Meridian Mining UK S is focused on:
• The development and exploration of the advanced stage Cabaçal VMS gold‐copper project;
• Regional scale exploration of the Cabaçal VMS belt; and
• Exploration in the Jaurú & Araputanga Greenstone belts (the above all located in the State of
Mato Grosso, Brazil).
Cabaçal is a gold -copper-silver rich VMS deposit with the potential to be a standalone mine within the
50km VMS belt. Cabaçal’s base and precious metal -rich mineralization is hosted by volcanogenic type,
massive, semi-massive, stringer, and disseminated sulphides within deformed metavolcanic-sedimentary
rocks. A later-stage gold overprint event has emplaced high-grade gold mineralization.
The Preliminary Economic Assessment technical report (the “PEA Technical Report”) dated March 30,
2023, entitled: "Cabaçal Gold -Copper Project NI 43 -101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic
Assessment, Mato Grosso, Brazil” outlines a base case after-tax NPV5 of USD 573 million and 58.4% IRR
from a pre -production capital cost of USD 180 million, leading to capital repayment in 10.6 months
(assuming metals price scenario of USD 1,650 per ounces of gold, USD 3.59 per pound of copper, and USD
21.35 per ounce of silver). Cabaçal has a low All-in-Sustaining-Cost of USD 671 per ounce gold equivalent
for the first five years, driven by high metallurgical recovery, a low life -of-mine strip ratio of 2.1:1, and
the low operating cost environment of Brazil (see press release dated March 6, 2023).
The Cabaçal Mineral Resource estimate consists of Indicated resources of 52.9 million tonnes at 0.6g/t
gold, 0.3% copper and 1.4g/t silver and Inferred resources of 10.3 million tonnes at 0.7g/t gold, 0.2%
copper & 1.1g/t silver (at a 0.3 g/t gold equivale nt cut-off grade), including a higher-grade near-surface
zone supporting a starter pit.
Readers are encouraged to read the PEA Technical Report in its entirety. The PEA Technical Report may
be found on the Company's website at www.meridianmining.co and under the Company's profile on
SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
The qualified persons for the PEA Technical Report are: Robert Raponi (P. Eng), Principal Metallurgist with
Ausenco Engineering), Scott Elfen (P. E.), Global Lead Geotechnical and Civil Services with Ausenco
Engineering), Simon Tear (PGeo, EurGeol), Principal Geological Consultant of H&SC, Marcelo Batelochi,
(MAusIMM, CP Geo), Geological Consultant of MB Geologia Ltda, Joseph Keane (Mineral Processing
Engineer; P.E), of SGS, and Guilherme Gomides Ferre ira (Mine Engineer 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
Email: [email protected]
Ph: +1 778 715-6410 (PST)
Stay up to date by subscribing for news alerts here: https://meridianmining.co/contact/
Follow Meridian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeridianMining
Further information can be found at: www.meridianmining.co
Technical Notes
Samples have been analysed at SGS laboratory in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and ALS laboratory in Lima, Peru.
At SGS, samples are dried, crushed with 75% passing <3 mm, split to give a mass of 250-300g, pulverized
with 95% passing 150#. Gold analyses are conducted by FAA505 (fire assay of a 50g charge), and base
metal analysis by methods ICP40B and ICP40B_S (four acid digest with ICP-OES finish). Visible gold intervals
are sampled by metallic screen fire assay method MET150 -FAASCR. At ALS, Samples are dried, crushed
with 70% passing <2mm, split off to give a mass of approximately 250g, and pulverized to >85% passing
200#. Routine gold analyses have been conducted by Au-AA23 (fire assay of a 30g charge with AAS finish).
High-grade samples (>10g/t Au) are repeated with a gravimetric finish (Au -GRA21). 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 (except for some scissor holes in the CNWE : CD-443, CD-447, CD-450, CD-452, where
widths may be 10-20% of intersection widths). Assay figures and intervals are rounded to 1 decimal place.
Gold equivalents for Cabaçal are calculated as: AuEq(g/t) = (Au(g/t) * %Recovery) + (1.492*(Cu% *
%Recovery)) + (0.013*(Ag(g/t) * %Recovery)), where:
• Au_recovery_ppm = 5.4368ln(Au_Grade_ppm)+88.856
• Cu_recovery_pct = 2.0006ln(Cu_Grade_pct)+94.686
• Ag_recovery_ppm = 13.342ln(Ag_Grade_ppm)+71.037
Recoveries based on 2022 metallurgical testwork on core submitted to SGS Lakefield
Qualified Person
Mr. Erich Marques, B.Sc., MAIG, Chief Geologist of Meridian Mining and a Qualified Person as defined by
National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and verified the technical information in this news release.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
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 info rmation, future events, or results or
otherwise.
Table 1: Assay results reported in this release.
Hole-id Dip Azi EOH
(m) Zone Int
(m)
AuEq
(g/t)
CuEq
(%)
Au
(g/t)
Cu
(%)
Ag
(g/t)
From
(m)
CD-470 -90 000 104.0 SCZ
6.6 0.8 0.6 0.0 0.6 3.0 15.1
Including 2.2 1.8 1.2 0.1 1.1 6.4 16.1
16.0 12.5 8.4 12.1 0.3 0.6 53.3
Including 6.4 30.6 20.5 29.9 0.5 1.0 53.3
Including 2.1 90.4 60.6 88.7 1.2 2.2 53.3
14.0 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.6 75.4
CD-457 -45 059 183.6 CWNE
2.2 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.2 126.0
4.8 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.5 147.0
9.5 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4 157.0
CD-456 -43 061 150.7 CWNE
3.5 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.3 0.7 120.3
CD-455 -65 055 163.5 CWNE
3.1 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.2 96.8
3.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.3 125.3
CD-454 -21 054 150.2 CWNE
2.2 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.2 15.3
7.0 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.9 114.5
CD-453 -45 057 132.8 CWNE
0.8 0.9 0.6 0.6 0.3 0.7 112.8
CD-452 -46 237 228.7 CWNE Subparallel hole
4.0 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.4 37.0
3.1 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.7 51.0
3.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.9 72.0
1.6 1.2 0.8 0.1 0.8 1.0 181.9
CD-451 -76 237 82.6 CWNE
2.6 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.7 29.8
1.4 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.6 45.4
1.1 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.9 51.6
CD-450 -50 243 253.0 CWNE Subparallel hole
3.2 0.6 0.4 0.0 0.4 0.4 45.5
7.4 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.3 54.5
3.5 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.9 111.2
7.0 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.2 1.0 125.0
22.0 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.3 1.2 138.0
Including 2.0 2.6 1.7 1.5 0.8 4.2 158.0
2.5 3.1 2.0 0.6 1.6 13.7 200.5