HALIFAX, Nova Scotia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brigus Gold Corporation (“Brigus Gold” or the “Company”) (NYSE MKT: BRD; TSX: BRD) is pleased to release results from the first underground drilling at the Black Fox mine since the Company was formed in June 2010. The Company is also pleased to provide an update on its exploration drilling program at the Grey Fox property.
The Black Fox Complex covers an area of approximately 18 square kilometres within the Timmins Mining District, Ontario, and includes the producing Black Fox gold mine and the Grey Fox property. The Grey Fox property hosts a series of prolific gold zones that are within close proximity, including the Contact, 147 and Grey Fox South zones. The Grey Fox property is located about four kilometres southeast of the Black Fox mine.
BLACK FOX MINE
An underground exploration program at the Black Fox mine commenced in June of this year, with two rigs. The drilling is being performed from a new exploration drift at the 9670 metre (m) level on the East side of the mine, and has returned excellent gold grades over significant widths. The objective of the drilling program is to extend the Black Fox orebody and increase the current gold resource at the mine.
The Black Fox orebody remains open at depth and along strike and includes gold reserves to a maximum depth of 500 metres. Orebodies in the region, along the Destor Porcupine Fault, often extend to depths of more than 1,000 metres. The ongoing underground drilling program at the Black Fox mine will drill beyond 500 metres and will continue into 2013 with the goal of expanding the underground resource.
Results from the initial holes include (all assays cut to 150 grams per tonne (gpt), average gold grades over core length widths):
| Hole | Core Width (m) | Gold Assay (gpt) | ||||
| 672-01-E | 3.40 | 18.03 | ||||
| 672-09-E | 3.00 | 14.93 | ||||
| 672-10-E | 2.30 | 19.93 | ||||
| 672-11-E | 2.00 | 16.72 | ||||
| and | 5.94 | 3.27 | ||||
| 672-13-E | 7.82 | 4.66 | ||||
| 672-14-E | 8.40 | 7.01 |
“The initial results from our new underground drill program at the Black Fox mine are excellent,” commented Wade Dawe, Brigus Gold’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This is the first exploration drilling at the mine since 2007, and we look forward to increasing both the minable gold reserves and the mine life as a result of the drill program. We are confident this drill program will have a positive and material impact on the value of the known gold resource at the mine.”
GREY FOX PROPERTY
In addition to ongoing drilling at the Black Fox mine, the Company currently has three drills working at the Grey Fox property with a fourth being added next month. The Company's exploration program at Grey Fox over the past two years has been extremely successful with the definition of a new 571,000 ounce resource including 480,850 ounces in the indicated category from the Contact and 147 zones, and the recent announcement of a new discovery named the Grey Fox South Zone (see attached map). All three zones remain open for expansion.
Brigus recently announced $10 million in flow-through financing which will fully fund an increased exploration program for 2013.
“We are very pleased with our exploration success year over year at the Black Fox Complex,” said Howard Bird, Senior Vice President of Exploration. “With ongoing drilling on the Contact and 147 zones we will continue to increase our stated gold resources on the property, and now with the recent discovery of the Grey Fox South Zone, we look forward to demonstrating a significantly larger gold resource during 2013.”
The zones within the Grey Fox property provide Brigus with near term production growth opportunities because of their proximity to the Black Fox mine infrastructure.
Grey Fox Property: Contact and 147 Zones
The following drill results include highlights of new high-grade assays at increased depth:
| Zone | Hole | Core Width (m) | Gold Assay (gpt) | Vertical Depth From Surface (m) | |||||||||||||||
| 147 | GF12-561 | 57.00 | 5.17 | 280 | |||||||||||||||
| Contact | GF12-376 | 20.90 | 4.79 | 425 |
A location map showing the gold zones on the Grey Fox property within the Black Fox Complex can be found on the Company’s website.
Surface drilling was conducted by Norex Drilling and was supervised by the Brigus exploration team. All surface drill hole sample analyses reported herein were performed by Polymet Labs of Cobalt, Ontario, which is ISO 9001:2000 certified in North America using standard fire assay procedures. The Black Fox mine underground drilling was conducted by Boreal Drilling and drill hole sample analyses were performed by Accurassay Laboratories in Thunder Bay, Ontario using standard fire assay procedures. Intercepts cited do not necessarily represent true widths, unless otherwise noted. Brigus Gold’s quality control checks include insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates to ensure laboratory accuracy. Senior Exploration Project Manager John A. Dixon, P. Geo., reviewed the technical exploration information in this release as the Qualified Person for the Company.
About Brigus Gold
Brigus is a growing Canadian gold producer committed to maximizing shareholder value through a strategy of efficient production, targeted exploration and select acquisitions. The Company operates the wholly owned Black Fox Mine and Mill in the Timmins Gold District of Ontario, Canada. The Black Fox Complex encompasses the Black Fox Mine, the new Grey Fox property and adjoining properties in the Township of Black River-Matheson, Ontario, Canada. The Black Fox mine is in production and the Grey Fox mine, located four kilometres from Black Fox is in development. Brigus is also advancing the Goldfields Project located near Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Canada, which hosts the Box and Athona gold deposits. In Mexico, Brigus owns the Ixhuatan Project located in the state of Chiapas. In the Dominican Republic, Brigus has signed an agreement to sell its remaining interests in three mineral exploration projects.
Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements that involve risk, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements regarding the Company's ability to successfully expand the Black Fox Complex gold resource, add to Black Fox resources, advance new discoveries to production, convert resource estimates into near-term production, release of an updated mineral resource estimate in 2012 and the Black Fox underground mine exploration drilling program and continue to obtain positive down dip continuity of significant gold mineralization are forward-looking statements and estimates that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include environmental risks and other factors disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Brigus Gold’s most recent Annual Information Form and Management Discussion and Analysis filed under the company’s name at www.sedar.com and annual report on Form 40-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and elsewhere in Brigus Gold’s documents filed from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the NYSE Amex, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. All forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws.