TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 30, 2012) -Seafield Resources Ltd. ("Seafield" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE:SFF) is pleased to announce further results from the completed 5,000-metre diamond drill program at the Company's Miraflores Deposit in the Quinchía District, Department of Risaralda, Colombia.
Highlights:
- Drill hole QM-DH-34 intersected 161.15 m of 3.23 g/t Au, including 60 m of 5.48 g/t Au;
- QM-DH-34 was drilled from southeast of the breccia pipe to the west as part of Seafield's infill drilling program aimed at improving the confidence in the current resource at Miraflores. This drill hole confirms the horizontal extension of mineralization previously intersected in drill hole QM-DH-32A (194 m at 1.57 g/t Au, press released June 7, 2012), 30 m north of QM-DH-34. QM-DH-34 also confirms the vertical continuity of mineralization intersected 65 m above drill hole QM-DH-25 (161 m at 0.78 g/t Au, press released January 25, 2012).
Details:
Seafield's Miraflores Deposit ("Miraflores" or the "Deposit") is situated in the Company's 100%-owned, 6,757-hectare, Quinchía Gold Project. Miraflores is a low sulphidation epithermal deposit located in Colombia's mineral-prolific Mid-Cauca gold belt. The deposit's mineralization is characterized by a hydrothermal breccia pipe with free gold associated with cement materials (the matrix) and high grade structures where gold is associated with zinc, lead, copper and iron. At surface, the breccia pipe has a drill-tested diameter of 250 metres by 280 metres. The breccia pipe widens and remains open at depth with a drill-tested vertical extent of 600 metres.
"We are extremely pleased with the results of drill-hole QM-DH-34," commented Cesar Lopez, President and CEO of Seafield. "This confirms the merit of the underground drill program that we are planning to initiate in Q1 2013. The next phase of drilling will be a key component in the process of moving Miraflores towards feasibility level."
The assays reported in this press release represent the results from one diamond drill hole, which accounts for 440 m of a total 3,682 m drilled since January 2012 (See Figure 1).
QM-DH-34 (See Figure 2) was completed as part of Seafield's infill drilling program at Miraflores. The Company's 5,000-metre drill program was completed in June, which included infill as well as step-out drilling, is aimed at further verifying the geometry and continuity of the high-grade structures found within the breccia. All information from the drill program will be used to develop a more robust geological model for Miraflores' resource.
Table 1 below summarizes the results of diamond drill hole QM-DH-34:
| Table 1 - Drill Results: | ||||
| Drill Hole | From (m) | To (m) | Interval (m) | Au (g/t) |
| QM-DH-34 | 109 | 122 | 13 | 0.38 |
| AND | 129.5 | 145.1 | 15.6 | 0.32 |
| AND | 149.1 | 178 | 28.9 | 0.95 |
| AND | 183 | 344.15 | 161.15 | 3.23 |
| including | 225 | 285 | 60 | 5.48 |
| AND | 360.9 | 376.9 | 16 | 3.89 |
| AND | 383.75 | 406.6 | 22.85 | 2.11 |
| AND | 412.6 | 440 | 27.4 | 2.09 |
| Note: Intervals reported are cut to 20 g/t and affect intervals 183 m to 344.15 m, 360.9 m to 376.9 m, 383.75 m to 406.6 m and 412.6 m to 440 m. |
| Hole QM-DH-34 includes samples of 23.35 g/t Au over 2.00 m, 31.85 g/t Au over 2.00 m, 21.8 g/t Au over 2.00 m and 56.73 g/t Au over 2.00 m between 183 m to 344.15 m. |
| Hole QM-DH-34 also includes samples of 24.16 g/t Au over 2.00 m in the interval 360.9 m to 376.9 m, 44.69 g/t Au over 2.05 m in the interval from 383.75 m to 406.6 m, and 58.5 g/t Au over 2.00 m in the interval from 412.6 m to 440 m. |
| Only continuous intervals of mineralization greater than 6 metres with a cut-off grade of 0.2 g/t Au are reported. |
QM-DH-34 was drilled to a total depth of 440 m from a collar outside of the southeastern portion of the breccia pipe and was drilled to the west, intersecting 161.15 m at 3.23 g/t Au, including 60 m at 5.48 g/t Au. This drill hole continues to confirm the continuity and geometry of high grade mineralization in the veins and matrix inside the breccia. A previous drill hole, QM-DH-32A (press released, June 7, 2012), intersected 194 m at 1.57 g/t Au 30 m north of QM-DH-34, confirmed further horizontal continuity of mineralization within the breccia body. QM-DH-34 also confirmed the vertical continuity of mineralization found 65 m above of QM-DH-25 (press released, January 25, 2012), which intersected 161 m at 0.78 g/t Au.
In Q4 2012, Seafield plans to commence construction on extending the existing tunnel at Miraflores by 150 metres, with an aim to execute a 5,000-metre underground drill program in Q1 2013 to further delineate the high-grade veins found within Miraflores.
The Deposit currently hosts a NI 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated resource of 77.8 million tonnes averaging 0.8 g/t Au for contained gold of 1.9 million ounces and an Inferred resource of 5.5 million tonnes averaging 0.6 g/t Au for 103,043 ounces of contained gold. A 0.3 g/t Au cut-off grade was used for the estimate as reported in the Company's press release on January 31, 2012. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
A Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") on the Deposit was completed by SRK Consulting in Denver on April 23, 2012. The indicated economics for the Deposit include a pre-tax IRR of 50%, an NPV (8%) of $249 million and a payback period of 1.8 years. SRK considers that portions of the Miraflores gold deposit are amenable to open pit mining, while other portions are amenable to underground mining methods. The proposed mine development in the PEA was prepared to best fit Seafield's corporate strategy, focusing on a medium sized operation that results in solid value accretion (as measured by NPV), moderate capital usage, and manageable environmental and social programs.
The proposed operation will extract 20.29 million tonnes ("Mt") of materials over a 14-year mine life. Materials extracted will comprise 6.97 Mt at an average grade of 1.38 g/t Au from open pit mining (years 1-8), 5.0 Mt at an average grade of 2.27 g/t Au from underground mining (years 1-10) and 8.32 Mt at an average grade of 0.43 g/t Au from stockpile processing (years 10-14). At an initial throughput rate of 4,000 tonnes per day, an annual production of 71,000 ounces, and at a below-industry average cost of $524 per ounce of gold, the PEA was completed using a gold price per ounce of $1,500 and a recovery rate of 90% (See Company's press release dated March 26, 2012). All of the Company's technical reports are available on SEDAR and the Company's website.
To view Figure 1 - Plan View of Miraflores Deposit, please visit the following link: media3.marketwire.com/docs/Figure1-PlanView.pdf.
To view Figure 2 - Cross Section of Miraflores Deposit, please visit the following link: media3.marketwire.com/docs/Figure2-CrossSection.pdf.
Review by Qualified Person, Quality Control and Reports
Tom Henricksen, Consulting Geologist of Seafield Resources Ltd., is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and prepared or reviewed the preparation of the scientific and technical information in this press release with respect to the assay results from the drilling program. Dr. Henricksen is a Registered Professional Geologist in the State of Wyoming, USA (Membership # PG-3069) a professional association and designation recognized by the Canadian regulatory authorities. Dr. Henricksen verified the data disclosed in this release, including the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information contained in this release. Verification included a review and validation of the applicable assay databases and reviews of assay certificates.
The core samples were split by rock saw, and half of the core was sampled. Core samples were prepared by SGS laboratory in Medellin and were assayed at the SGS laboratory in Lima, Peru. Gold was analyzed by fire assay on a 30 gram sample with atomic adsorption spectrophotometer (AAS) finish. Samples above 5.0 g/t Au were repeated by fire assay on a 30 gram sample with gravimetric finish. Multi-elements were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) following multi-acid digestion. Blank, standard and duplicate samples were routinely inserted for quality assurance and quality control.
For additional technical information on the Miraflores Deposit, please refer to the Company's technical report (the "Technical Report") entitled "Technical Report, Seafield Resources Ltd., Quinchía Project, Quinchía District, Republic Colombia" dated January 31, 2012, prepared by Scott E. Wilson, C.P.G., of Scott E. Wilson Consulting, Inc., available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company website at www.sffresources.com.
About Seafield Resources Ltd.
Seafield Resources Ltd. is a mineral exploration company currently focused on advancing its Miraflores Gold Deposit towards feasibility level. Seafield's 100%-owned 6,757-hectare Quinchía Gold Project is located in the Department of Risaralda of Colombia. SRK Consulting Inc's (Denver) Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Miraflores Deposit indicates robust economics with a pre-tax internal rate of return of 50% and a pre-tax net present value (8%) of $249M (see corporate PEA presentation at bit.ly/MFeL7q). Miraflores currently has a NI 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated resource estimate of 1,925,542 ounces gold at 0.8 g/t Au and an Inferred resource estimate of 103,043 ounces gold at 0.6 g/t Au. Additionally, the Company has a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for its Dosquebradas Deposit, also part of the Quinchía Gold Project, with an Inferred resource estimate totalling 920,772 ounces gold at 0.5 g/t Au. Seafield Resources Ltd. trades its shares on the Toronto Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under the symbol SFF and in the United States using CUSIP 81173R101. For more details on the Company, please visit www.sffresources.com.
