Toronto, December 24, 2021 – Warrior Gold Inc. (TSX-V - WAR) (“Warrior Gold” or the “Company”) is pleased to report the results of the Company’s Fall 2021 eight-hole diamond drill program (2,829 m) at the Goodfish-Kirana Project (the “Property”) located in the Kirkland Lake Camp, Ontario. Seven holes targeted the A Zone extension and one hole tested a geophysical / structural target to the northeast of the A Zone. All seven A Zone drill holes intersected gold mineralization and high grade gold was intersected in the hanging wall, north of the A Zone structure.
Program Highlights:
Drilling on the west side of the A Zone has extended mineralization 100 metres down dip and confirmed the continuity of a high grade trend and integrity of the geology model. The A Zone remains open to the west and at depth.
Drill holes GK21-049 and GK21-050 intersected high grade gold in addition to visible gold in the quartz veins immediately to the north of the A Zone in the hanging wall of the structure.
Significant Results:
A Zone HW (North of A Zone, hanging wall)
GK21-049: 155.00 g/t Au over 0.75 m
GK21-050: 17.38 g/t Au over 2.25 m
Including 72.10 g/t Au over 0.50 m (the other half of core for this sample assayed 561 g/t Au over 0.50 m)
A Zone
GK21-046: 1.10 g/t Au over 7.00 m
GK21-047: 1.30 g/t Au over 3.00 m
GK21-049: 2.93 g/t Au over 7.78 m
GK21-050: 1.36 g/t Au over 2.60 m
Danièle Spethmann, President and CEO, stated, “We are extremely pleased with the success of the Fall drill program that not only intersected fantastic grades of gold just north of the Main Break but also reconfirmed our geological model that second and third order structures in the Kirkland Lake camp host high grade gold. Warrior’s Goodfish-Kirana Property is roughly six kilometres north of the structures that host the deposits that make up the Macassa Mine, one of the richest gold mines in Canada [1]. Geological structures on Warrior’s properties have likely benefited from the gold mineralizing events that enriched the nearby deposits. As well, exploration work to date supports our belief that the gold grades at Goodfish-Kirana increase with depth as is common in the Abitibi Greenstone belt.”
Figure 1. Warrior Gold Land Position in the Kirkland Lake Camp
Table 1. Significant Assay Intercepts from Fall 2021 Drill Program
A Zone
The A Zone consists of vein-hosted gold mineralization in a shear zone that strikes 300° and dips steeply to the north. The shear zone varies from 1 m to 20 m in width and is spatially associated with the contact between Mg-tholeiitic mafic volcanic rocks to the south and a Fe-tholeiitic mafic volcanic rocks to the north. This shear zone has been intersected to a vertical depth of 375 m below surface and has a drill-defined strike length of approximately 650 m. The zone is characterized by moderate to strong deformation textures and structures with pervasive sericite ± carbonate ± silica alteration (Figure 2).
GK21-046 and GK21-047 were drilled to test the down dip mineralization in the east side of the A Zone and confirmed the continuity of the favourable gold bearing structure and alteration previously intersected in historical drill holes GF92-017 (4.67 g/t over 7.6 m) and GF95-022 (1.41 g/t over 4.3 m) at around 200 m below surface (Figure 3).
GK21-048 was planned to test a target identified by study work from Mira Geoscience based on density of veining and fracturing. This hole confirmed the continuity of the A Zone structure to the west and intersected 0.57 g/t over 1.58 m at around 173 m below surface.
GK21-049, GK21-050 and GK21-053 were drilled in the west side of the A Zone to test extensions of a higher grade trend that plunges steeply to the southwest and was identified in previous drill holes including GK21-044, GK19-022, and GK19-019 (Figure 3). All three holes intersected typical A Zone structures and alteration. GK21-049 intersected a highly brecciated silica zone (from 375.95 m downhole) that typifies the higher gold results found in this trend with 2.93 g/t over 7.78 m.
GK21-051 is a 50 metre step out on the east side of the A Zone that tested a target defined by vein density and fracturing identified by a study from Mira Geoscience. The hole intersected a zone of intense veining and although the strong alteration typically associated with the A Zone structure was not present, the intersection assayed 0.30 g/t over 2.0 m.
A Zone HW (North of A Zone, hanging wall)
On the north side of the A Zone, hanging wall, gold mineralization was intersected in discrete quartz carbonate veins in the Fe-tholeiite rocks that predominate in this area. GK21-049 intersected 155.0 g/t over 0.75 m. Visible gold was observed in the quartz vein in GK21-050 during core logging and a 0.50 m segment returned assays 72.10 g/t in one half of the core and 561.00 g/t Au from a sample of the other half of the core.
Geophysics and Structural Target 200 m NE of A Zone Area
GK21-052 was drilled to test a geophysical and structural target that is located approximately 200 m northeast of the eastern limit of the A Zone. This hole intersected 3.5 m of strong shearing and foliation with coincident sericite and carbonate alteration with quartz/carbonate veining; the assays did not return any significant gold results.
Figure 2. Plan View of the A Zone with Fall 2021 Drill Hole Locations and Assay Results
Figure 3. Longitudinal Section of the A Zone
Drilling Contract, Analytical Protocol and QA/QC The Fall 2021 drilling program, undertaken by SMP Drilling based in Rouyn, Quebec, was undertaken from October 14 through November 16, 2021. The drill hole diameter is NQ. An Optical Televiewer imaging (OTV) survey of the eight drill holes (2,829 m) from the current drill program was completed at the end of the drill program. The data is still being processed and will assist in advancing the modelling of the geology, structural domains, and the controls of gold mineralization. Program design, management, supervision, and Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QA/QC) were conducted by Warrior Gold’s exploration group under the direction of Susan Lomas, P.Geo., Principal Technical Advisor. Mike Kilbourne, P.Geo. managed all aspects of the core logging which included: photography, geology, structural measurements, magnetic susceptibility, core recovery and the insertion of standards and blanks. Standards were obtained from OREAS North America Inc. Drill core samples were cut by diamond saw at Warrior Gold’s core logging facility. Field duplicate samples, blank rock samples and certified reference materials were inserted into the sample sequence at a frequency of one per 20 samples. A halved core sample was left in the core box with the other half core sent for sample analysis and either transported by Warrior Gold’s personnel in securely sealed bags or picked up by ALS. Samples were prepared at ALS Limited’s sample laboratory in Timmins, Ontario and then shipped to ALS's Vancouver facility for gold analysis by Fire Assay (50 gm subsample) with atomic absorption (AA) and gravimetric finish for samples greater than 3.0 g/t Au. ALS is a certified and accredited laboratory service. ALS routinely inserts certified gold reference materials, blanks and pulp duplicates, and results of all QC samples are reported. The QA/QC results from the drilling program and the technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Susan Lomas, P.Geo. who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Warrior Gold Inc. Warrior Gold is a TSX Venture Exchange listed company that has consolidated significant and prospective land packages in the Kirkland Lake Gold Camp in Ontario, Canada. The properties are hosted in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, one of the world’s best-endowed greenstone belts with +200 million ounces of gold produced to date [2]. The properties are host to regional and property-scale mineralized structures that are considered to be second-order structures off the Larder Lake Cadillac Deformation Zone – LLCDZ – the regional structure in the belt known to be spatially associated with the gold mines hosted in the camp. The properties assembled include: the 100%-owned Goodfish-Kirana, the Arnold property and the recently optioned KL West (KLW) and KL Central (KLC). Warrior’s land position in the Kirkland Lake Gold Camp comprises 19,350 ha, over 378 claims and 29 patented claims and ranks the Company as one of the largest landholders in the Kirkland Lake region. For additional information please contact: Danièle Spethmann, P.Geo. President & CEO Warrior Gold Inc. +1 647 344-3433 dspethmann@warriorgoldinc.com Daniel Rodriguez Corporate Development Warrior Gold Inc. +1 604 353-4080 drodriguez@warriorgoldinc.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. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", “anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. The forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company. Although Warrior Gold believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because Warrior Gold can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. In addition to other risks that may affect the forward-looking statements in this press release are those set out in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis of the financial condition and results of operations for the year ended March 31, 2021 and the second quarter ended September 30, 2021, which are available on the Company profile on SEDAR - www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and Warrior Gold undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.
[1] https://www.kitco.com/news/2022-01-21/Macassa-shines-as-richest-gold-mine-in-Canada-in-Q3-2021-report.html [2] https://mmsd.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/PDF/MIS2020TableG01a-en.pdf