Mawson Finland Limited (‘ Mawson ‘ or the ‘ Company ‘) (TSXV:MFL) is pleased to provide an exploration summary of the highly successful 38 hole, 11,376 metre 2024 exploration drilling programme at the Company’s wholly-owned Rajapalot gold-cobalt project in Finland (see Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and Figure 1 in Schedule ‘A’ hereto). Additionally, the balance of outstanding cobalt results are also presented.
2024 Drilling Highlights:
- Discovery of a new zone of high-grade mineralization, ‘New Lens’ , located in the footwall below the South Palokas mineralized zone: PAL0335 drilled a thick 21.75m interval grading 5.25 g/t gold and 515 ppm cobalt from 295.05 m ( 21.75 m @ 5.25 g/t Au & 515 ppm Co , including 3.2 metres @ 21.61 g/t Au and 373 ppm Co
- Shallow and high-grade step-out intercept at Palokas zone: PAL0346 intercepted 7 m @ 9.1 g/t gold and 706 ppm cobalt from 88.75 m demonstrating that thicker and higher-grade mineralization exists in the southern margin of the Palokas gold-cobalt system
- Significant gold-cobalt mineralized intercepts drilled at depth at Palokas and South Palokas zones, with multiple intercepts in step-out holes PAL0354 (Palokas) and PAL0361 (South Palokas), expanding and opening the ‘at depth’ strike-length of each of these mineralized bodies – both mineralized zones remain open at depth
- Drilling at Raja, The Hut, Terry’s Hammer and Joki expanded the mineralized footprint of these zones which are expected to contribute to the inferred gold and cobalt resource inventory in future updates to the resource calculation
Ms. Noora Ahola, Mawson Finland CEO, states: ‘ We regard our latest drilling season at Rajapalot a success and believe that the gold-cobalt resource at Rajapalot has a great potential to be extended beyond its current size. The most significant highlights reported here demonstrate that depth potential at South Palokas remains open, with 2 gold-cobalt mineralized horizons now present in this new, deeper drilling. Similarly, an additional thick intercept on ‘New lens’ follows-up our previously reported discovery of this mineralization, demonstrating geological and grade continuity of this zone of gold-cobalt mineralization of which we are eager to follow-up at depth in this coming 2025 winter drilling season. Our work continues with ongoing geophysical measurements and planning of a new extensive drill program starting in January 2025. We anticipate that our success should continue into 2025 as we work towards our goal of adding ounces to the resource’.
Detailed Summary
During January to April 2024, 3 drill-rigs drilled a total of 11,376 metres of diamond core from 38 drillholes around the Palokas, South Palokas, The Hut, Raja and Joki zones of gold-cobalt mineralization (Figure 1). Primary aims of this 2024 drilling campaign at the Rajapalot project were to further delineate additional gold-cobalt mineralization in order to enlarge the inferred category mineral resource over the property beyond its presently defined size of 9.78 mt @ 2.8 g/t gold and 441 ppm cobalt, with total contained metal of 867 koz of gold and 4311 tonnes of cobalt.
Palokas Area: Twenty drillholes were drilled around the Palokas and South Palokas mineralized zones, with several intercepts encountering significant gold-cobalt mineralization. Along the southern margin of the presently defined limits of the Palokas zone, several significant intercepts were drilled, including a shallow high-grade intercept of 7 m @ 9.1 g/t gold and 706 ppm cobalt approximately 70 metres below surface (PAL0346), and a deeper intercept of 12 m @ 1.7 g/t Au approximately 300 metres below surface (see Figure 2). At South Palokas, significant intercepts were also recorded along the southern margin of its presently defined limits, with holes PAL0335, PAL0340, PAL0344, PAL0361 and PAL0364 all intercepting multiple significant intercepts from approximately 100 metres, to 450 metres below surface (see Figure 2). A new zone of high-grade mineralization was discovered in the footwall of South Palokas, approximately 100 metres below the presently defined gold-cobalt mineralized envelope of the South Palokas. Here, a thick 21.75 metre lens of high-grade mineralization was intercepted in PAL0335, grading at 5.25 g/t Au & 515 ppm Co. A follow-up intercept on this ‘New Lens’ of mineralization, located 50 metres up-plunge from the PAL0355 intercept, drilled a 17 metre thick interval grading 1.05 g/t Au and 224 ppm Co, confirming both the local geological and grade continuity of ‘New Lens’ (see Table 1, Table 2, Figure 2 and Figure 3).
Raja Area: Six drillholes were drilled around the Raja zone of mineralization in an effort to extend the mineralized envelope here to both the north-east, and south-west of its presently defined limits. Five of 6 drillholes intercepted significant mineralization, with drillholes PAL0355, PAL0353, and PAL0358 extending the known limits of gold-cobalt mineralization between 40 metres and 90 metres to the north-east (see Table 1, Table 2 and Figure 4)
The Hut Area: Drilling around The Hut area consisted of 8 drill holes; 4 holes investigating potential extensions to The Hut inferred resource, 2 drillholes below the Terry’s Hammer mineralized zone, and a further 2 drillholes in the unexplored area located between South Palokas and The Hut zones of mineralization (See Table 1, Table 2 and Figure 2). Drillholes PAL0363 and PAL0368 extended the mineralized strike-length at The Hut in both the north and south directions, while drillhole PAL0371 encountered gold-cobalt mineralization below Terry’s Hammer.
Joki Area: Drilling around the Joki mineralized zone consisted of 4 drillholes, of which 3 holes were designed to further design gold-cobalt mineralization up-dip of the main lens, while an additional drillhole was located to the north-east in order to step-out from the known limits of mineralization. The 3 drillholes placed up-dip or mineralization returned no significant intercepts, while the remaining north-east step-out drillhole (PAL0338) returned only a single significant intercept (see Table 1, Table 2 and Figure 5).
Technical Background, Data Verification and Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Three diamond drill rigs from MK Core Drilling Oy, Comadev Oy and Arctic Drilling Company Oy, all with water recirculation and drill cuttings collection systems, were used in this drill program. Core diameter is NQ2 (50.7 mm). Core recoveries are excellent and average close to 100% in fresh rock. After photographing and logging in Mawson’s Rovaniemi facilities, core intervals of between 0.5 to 2 metres are taken, then half-sawn by independent contractors the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) in Rovaniemi, Palsatech Oy in Kemi and Geopool Oy in Sodankylä. The remaining half core is retained for verification and reference purposes. Analytical samples are transported by commercial transport from site to the independent contractor CRS Minlab Oy (‘ CRS ‘) facility in Kempele, Finland. Samples were prepared and analyzed for gold using the PAL1000 technique which involves grinding the sample in steel pots with abrasive media in the presence of cyanide, followed by measuring the gold in solution with flame AAS equipment. Samples for multi-element analysis (including cobalt) are pulped at CRS, then transported by air to MSALABS in Vancouver, Canada and analyzed using four acid digest ICP-MS methods. All the foregoing laboratories are independent of the Company. The quality assurance and quality control program of Mawson consists of the systematic insertion of certified standards of known gold content, duplicate samples by quartering the core, and blanks placed within sample runs in interpreted mineralized rock. In addition, CRS inserts blanks and standards into the analytical process. In addition to the sample preparation and security measures described above, data verification procedures are well integrated into the Company’s quality assurance and quality control program. Routine ongoing checking of all data is undertaken prior to being uploaded to the database. This will be followed by independent data verification audits at exploration milestones throughout the Rajapalot project’s development. Dr. Fromhold (see ‘ Qualified Person ‘ below) has also reviewed the qualifications and analytical procedures of the above-mentioned laboratories, photographs of drill cores, and the PEA in connection with verifying the exploration information presented herein.
All maps have been created within the KKJ3/Finland Uniform Coordinate System (EPSG:2393). Tables 1-3 in Schedule ‘A’ hereto provide collar and assay data. Due to the typically low angles of drill intercepts, the true thickness of the mineralized intervals are interpreted to be approximately 80-90% of the drilled thickness. Table 3 gives detailed individual assay data of all intervals reported in this press release. Intersections are reported with a lower cut of 0.3 g/t Au over 1 metre intervals, with composite data (Table 2 in Schedule ‘A’ hereto) containing no more than 2 consecutive 1 m intervals of waste-rock (i.e., 1 m intervals with <0.3 g/t Au). No upper-cut was applied.
Deposit Model
At Rajapalot, mineralization is regarded as orogenic in nature. All examples of gold-cobalt mineralization are consistently located within highly-sheared and foliated wall-rocks adjacent to strongly hydrothermally altered, northwest to north dipping shear-zones. Mineralization is typically encountered as disseminated to semi-massive sulfide lenses (predominantly pyrrhotite and lesser pyrite ± cobaltite), hosted within strongly deformed and altered, mafic volcanic and volcaniclasitic stratigraphy of the upper portions of the Paleoproterozoic-aged Kivalo Group of the Peräpohja Greenstone Belt. Prospects with high-grade gold and cobalt mineralization at Rajapalot occur across a 3 km (east-west) by 2 km (north-south) area within the larger Rajapalot project area measuring 4 km by 4 km with multiple mineralized boulders, base-of-till (BOT). Gold-Cobalt mineralization at Rajapalot has been drilled to approximately 470 metres below surface at both South Palokas and Raja prospects, and mineralization remains open at depth across the entire project.
Rajapalot Mineral Resource
An Inferred Mineral Resource (‘MRE’) has been calculated for the Rajaplot project (effective date August 26, 2021), and is based on an ‘underground only’ scenario containing 9.8 million tonnes @ 2.8 g/t gold (Au) and 441 ppm cobalt (Co), equating to 867 thousand ounces (‘koz’) gold and 4,311 tonnes of cobalt.
Rajapalot Inferred Mineral Resource Effective August 26, 2021
- The independent geologist and Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 for the mineral resource estimates is Mr. Ove Klavér (EurGeol). The effective date of the MRE remains unchanged to the Previous MRE (August 26, 2021, available on SEDAR as filed by the previous owner, Mawson), and will be restated in the PEA technical report when it is filed.
- The mineral estimate is reported for a potential underground only scenario. Inferred resources were reported at a cut-off grade of 1.1 g/t (AuEq 1 Au g/t + Co ppm /1005) with a depth of 20 meters below the base of solid rock regarded as the near-surface limit of potential mining.
- Wireframe models were generated using gold and cobalt shells separately. Forty-eight separate gold and cobalt wireframes were constructed in Leapfrog Geo and grade distributions independently estimated using Ordinary Kriging in Leapfrog Edge. A gold top cut of 50 g/t Au was used for the gold domains. A cobalt top cut was not applied.
- A parent block size of 12 m x 12 m x 4 m (>20% of the drillhole spacing) was determined as suitable. Sub-blocking down to 4 m x 4 m x 0.5 m was used for geologic control on volumes, thinner and moderately dipping wireframes.
- Rounding of grades and tonnes may introduce apparent errors in averages and contained metals.
- Drilling results to 20 June 2021.
- Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Qualified Person
The technical and scientific information in this news release was reviewed, verified and approved by Dr. Thomas Fromhold, an employee of Fromhold Geoconsult AB, and Member of The Australian Institute of Geosciences (MAIG, Membership No. 8838). Dr. Fromhold is a ‘qualified person’ as defined under NI 43-101. Dr. Fromhold is not considered independent of the Company under NI 43-101 as he is a consultant of the Company.
About Mawson Finland Limited
Mawson Finland Limited is an exploration stage mining development company engaged in the acquisition and exploration of precious and base metal properties in Finland. The Company is primarily focused on gold and cobalt. The Corporation currently holds a 100% interest in the Rajapalot Gold-Cobalt Project located in Finland. The Rajapalot Project represents approximately 5% of the 100-square kilometre Rompas-Rajapalot Property, which is wholly owned by Mawson and consists of 11 granted exploration permits for 10,204 hectares and 2 exploration permit applications and a reservation notification area for a combined total of 40,496 hectares. In Finland, all operations are carried out through the Company’s fully owned subsidiary, Mawson Oy. Mawson maintains an active local presence of Finnish staff with close ties to the communities of Rajapalot.
Additional disclosure including the Company’s financial statements, technical reports, news releases and other information can be obtained at mawsonfinland.com or on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca .
Media and Investor Relations Inquiries
Please contact: Neil MacRae Executive Chairman at neil@mawsonfinland.com or +1 (778) 999-4653, or Noora Ahola Chief Executive Officer at nahola@mawson.fi or +358 (505) 213-515.
Neither 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 news release. No securities regulatory authority has reviewed or approved of the contents of this news release.
Forward-looking Information
This news release includes certain ‘forward-looking information’ and ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, ‘forward-looking information’) which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, estimates and statements that describe the Company’s future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking information may be identified by such terms as ‘believes’, ‘anticipates’, ‘expects’, ‘estimates’, ‘aims’, ‘may’, ‘could’, ‘would’, ‘will’, ‘must’ or ‘plan’. Since forward-looking information is based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, and management of the Company believes them to be reasonable based upon, among other information, the contents of the PEA and the exploration information disclosed in this news release, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company’s objectives, goals or future plans, any expected receipt of additional assay results or other exploration results and the impact upon the Company thereof, any expected milestone independent data verification, the continuance of the Company’s quality assurance and quality control program, potential mineralization whether peripheral to the existing Rajapalot resource or elsewhere, any anticipated disclosure of assay or other exploration results and the timing thereof, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, including drilling, soil sampling, geophysical and geochemical work, any expected search for additional exploration targets and any results of such searches, potential acquisition by the Company of any property, the growth potential of the Rajapalot resource, all values, estimates and expectations drawn from or based upon the PEA, and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: any change in industry or wider economic conditions which could cause the Company to adjust or cancel entirely its exploration plans, failure to identify mineral resources or any additional exploration targets, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, any failure to receive the results of completed assays or other exploration work, poor exploration results, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary and uncertain nature of the PEA, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company’s public documents filed on SEDAR+. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.
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