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Gold Terra Announces Initial Gold Recovery of 92% on Yellorex Zone, Con Mine Option Property, Yellowknife, NWT

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 31, 2022 / Gold Terra Resource Corp. (TSXV:YGT)(Frankfurt:TX0)(OTCQX:YGTFF) ("Gold Terra" or the "Company") is pleased to announce excellent gold recovery from its initial metallurgical tests on the Yellorex zone part of the Campbell shear. The Yellorex zone is located approximately two (2) kilometers south of the former producer, the Con Mine, which is under option from Newmont Corporation (the "Con Mine Option Property"). The Yellorex zone is adjacent to the Company's 100% owned Yellowknife City Gold project (the YCG Project"), Northwest Territories.

Highlights

  • Total gold recovery of 92.1% achieved in our first testwork in the high-grade composite samples of 10 g/t Au, after flotation concentrate, pressure oxidation (POX), and cyanide leach.
  • Excellent gold assays reporting up to 98.8% of gold in the flotation concentrate with close to 7% sulphide content.
  • Results provide Gold Terra with two potential product paths for Yellorex mineralization either to:
    • produce a saleable concentrate, or
    • produce gold on site through the POX process

The Con mine (1938-2003) produced over 6M oz of gold over more than 50 years mine life. Historically gold mineralization encountered at shallower depths in the mine (generally above 1000m) was likely refractory gold, while deeper mining was free-milling gold, hence a gravity circuit was added by Nerco in 1989. In the more recent years (1987-2003), the former Con Mine operated with a flow sheet including a gravity circuit, a flotation circuit, follow by a Pressure Oxydation (POX) Circuit, or autoclave. Nerco, with selective free milling ores, achieved up to 95% recovery, while Miramar Mining increased the throughput from 800 ton per day (tpd) to 1400 tpd and achieved 88 to 90% recovery by mixing free milling ore with refractory ore after the acquisition from Nerco in 1993.

The Yellorex zone is currently drilled at shallow depths (surface to approximately 300 metres), and therefore was expected to be refractory. Metallurgical testwork was performed by SGS Lakefield (SGS) on core reject samples obtained from drill hole GTCM22-030 (6.41/t gold over 26.50 metres including 9.05 g/t over 4.00 metres; 10.66 g/t gold over 3.0 metres; and 14.15 g/t gold over 5.50 metres, (see news release April 6, 2022). This hole was designed to cross the Yellorex Zone obliquely to obtain a representative sample of the deposit. Core rejects were composited from high grade lodes (approximately 10 g/t Au), and a second composite generated from low grade material (approximately 1.5 g/t Au) adjacent to the high-grade composites.

The SGS metallurgical test program consisted of a coarser grind (80% passing approximately 100 microns) with an initial gravity recovery, followed by a sulphide flotation concentration of the gravity tails. This was followed by a finer grind of the flotation concentrate to 80% passing 28 microns, and a pressure oxidation (POX) of the reground concentrate. The results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 - POX Residue Cyanidation Test Results Summary

Gold
Sample


Test

Recovery
Gravity

Recovery
Flotation

Mass Pull
Flotation

Gold
Extract
24 hrs

Gold
Overall
Recovery

Tail
Grade
Au g/t

Concentrate
Head grade
Au g/t

L Grade
1.64 g/t

F9

94.2%

23.8%

70.7%

66.6%

2.05

5.77 g/t

H Grade
9.95 g/t

F11

2.9%

93.0%

28.0%

98.7%

92.0%

0.63

40.1 g/t

H Grade
10 g/t

F11

2.9%

93.0%

28.0%

98.8%

92.1%

0.56

39.6 g/t

Conditions that prevailed for current testwork are as follows: 30% solids (w/w), 1 gram/liter NaCN (cyanide), pH between 10.5 and 11.0; dissolved oxygen between 8-9 ppm; 24 hours retention time, and 4 grams of carbon added.

Overall recovery means including gravity, flotation, regrind, pressure oxidation, and cyanide.

Flotation rougher concentrate with a recovery of 95% for the high-grade composite graded up to 41 g/t Au with approximately up to a 7.0 % sulphide component.

Preliminary results of this initial testwork is very encouraging, with a combined total gold recovery of POX and cyanide leach of the sulphide concentrate of 92.1% in the high-grade composite samples. The high-grade composite gold recovery in the sulphide concentration of the gravity tails reported 93% gold recovery with 98.8% recovery in POX within 24 hours. These results provide Gold Terra with two potential product paths for Yellorex mineralization, either to produce a saleable concentrate, or to produce gold on site through the POX process. Commenting on these potential products, and potential trade-off studies, is Chris Fleming, Senior Consultant at SGS stated:

The main advantage/disadvantages of the float and flog option are:

  • Lower capex and simpler operation by avoiding POX/CIL etc.
  • Lower gold recovery in flotation when making a high-grade concentrate for sale to a smelter (reduce shipping costs etc).
  • Potential risk on gold losses to custom smelting charges.

The main advantage/disadvantages of the float/POX/CIL option are:

  • Higher gold recovery by allowing for higher mass pull in flotation.
  • Possibly lower grinding costs with a coarser primary grind.
  • Flexibility to treat lower gold grade feed to POX/CIL and recover gold from lower grade ore zones of the deposit
  • Higher capex and potential operational complexity."

Gold Terra is currently drilling via wedges in the area of Y88 at approximately 1000m below surface. The Company intends to return to the Yellorex area next winter, or earlier, once the extended all year road is approved south of the Con Mine. The Company's main objective is to achieve its target of 1.5 million ounces of gold in mineral resources as per the Con Mine option agreement with Newmont.

Technical Appendix

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Joseph Campbell, Chief Operating Officer, a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Option to Acquire the Con Mine Property (Con Mine Option Property)

Gold Terra entered into a definitive option agreement (the "Option Agreement") with Newmont Canada FN Holdings ULC ("Newmont FN") and Miramar Northern Mining Ltd. ("MNML"), both wholly owned subsidiaries of Newmont Corporation, which grants Gold Terra the option, upon meeting certain minimum requirements, to purchase MNML from Newmont FN (the "Transaction"), which includes 100% of all the assets, mineral leases, Crown mineral claims, and surface rights comprising the Con Mine, as well as the areas immediately adjacent to the Con Mine, as shown in Exhibit A (the "Con Mine Option Property" (see November 22, 2021 news release).

Under the Option Agreement, Gold Terra has agreed to incur a minimum of $8.0 million in exploration expenditures over a period of four (4) years, which will include all exploration expenditures incurred to date under the initial Exploration Agreement. Gold Terra has also agreed to complete a Pre-Feasibility Study of a Mineral Resource and a minimum of 1.5 million ounces in all categories; obtain all necessary regulatory approvals for the purchase and transfer of MNML's assets and liabilities to Gold Terra; and post a cash bond to reflect the status of the Con Mine reclamation plan at the time of closing. The closing of the Transaction will then be completed with Gold Terra making a final cash payment of $8.0 million.

Director & Founder Stuart Rogers retires from his position as Director

Mr. Stuart Rogers, Co-founder of the Company in 2008 has decided to retire as a Director of the Company effective today August 31, 2022. Mr. Rogers will remain as an advisor to the Company on an as needed basis.

Gerald Panneton, Chairman & CEO of Gold Terra stated, "We sincerely thank Mr. Rogers for being the founder of the Company with Mr. Joseph Campbell, our current COO. Both founders had a vision to explore the highly prospective Yellowknife greenstone belt, an underexplored area of Canada that has potential for multiple discoveries to come."

About Gold Terra's Yellowknife City Gold Project

The YCG project encompasses 800 sq. km of contiguous land immediately north, south and east of the City of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Through a series of acquisitions, Gold Terra controls one of the six major high-grade gold camps in Canada. Being within 10 kilometers of the City of Yellowknife, the YCG is close to vital infrastructure, including all-season roads, air transportation, service providers, hydro-electric power, and skilled tradespeople. Gold Terra is currently focusing its drilling on the prolific Campbell shear, where 14 Moz of gold has been produced, and most recently on the Con Mine Option claims immediately south of the past producing Con Mine (1938-2003).

The YCG lies on the prolific Yellowknife greenstone belt, covering nearly 70 kilometers of strike length along the main mineralized shear system that host the former-producing high-grade Con and Giant gold mines. The Company's exploration programs have successfully identified significant zones of gold mineralization and multiple targets that remain to be tested which reinforces the Company's objective of re-establishing Yellowknife as one of the premier gold mining districts in Canada.

Visit our website at www.goldterracorp.com.

For more information, please contact:

Gerald Panneton, Chairman & CEO
gpanneton@goldterracorp.com
Mara Strazdins, Manager of Investor Relations
Phone: 1-778-897-1590 | 604-689-1749 ext 102
Strazdins@goldterracorp.com

Neither the 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 release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements made and information contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation ("forward-looking information"). Generally, this forward-looking information can, but not always, be identified by use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotations thereof.

All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information regarding the current drilling on the Campbell Shear on the Newmont Con Mine Option potentially adding high grade ounces to the Company's current YCG mineral resource, future planned drilling on the Con Mine Option area and the Company's objective of re-establishing Yellowknife as one of the premier gold mining districts in Canada.

There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as the Company's actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's most recent MD&A and annual information form available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that would cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this news release. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All of the forward-looking information contained in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. Except as required under applicable securities legislation and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Gold Terra Resource Corp.



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