Marathon Reports High Metallurgical Process Recoveries of 92.8% to 95.0% for the Leprechaun Gold Deposit

TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2014 /CNW/ - Marathon Gold Corporation ("Marathon" or the "Company") (TSX: MOZ) today announced very positive metallurgical test program results based on a high process recovery of gold by preconcentration and cyanide leaching methods.  A technically viable metallurgical processing strategy for the production of gold doré from the Leprechaun Gold Deposit located in central Newfoundland has been developed by Thibault & Associates Inc. based on representative samples of drill core from the deposit.

On August 25, 2014, Marathon contracted Thibault & Associates Inc. to conduct bench scale metallurgical tests programs to assess and compare the overall recovery of gold using gravity and/or flotation for preconcentration followed by cyanide leaching of the gold concentrates and gravity tailings. The test program objectives were based on defining the optimum process technology to maximize gold recovery and provide a competitive process operating cost.

The results of several bench scale tests have indicated that direct sulphide-gold flotation followed by treatment of the concentrate by conventional cyanide leaching, carbon-in-pulp and gold electrowinning will provide an overall gold processing recovery in the range of 92.8% to 95.0%.  The range of the overall gold processing recovery is dependent on the range of process conditions used in the test program to assess both flotation and cyanide leaching.

Phillip C. Walford, P. Geo., President and CEO of Marathon stated, "Preliminary leach tests on the direct flotation concentrate using carbon-in-leach (CIL) without regrinding resulted in a significant increase in gold extraction and indicates that further improvements in gold recoveries may be made by using regrinding and CIL.  The processes of flotation followed by leaching of the concentrate are well known and cost effective; however, ultimate selection of the final flowsheet will have to balance grind size, recovery, capital costs and operating costs. Marathon would like to thank Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador for their financial support in this study and Mr. John Goode of J.R. Goode and Associates for providing an independent review of the metallurgical program." 

Metallurgical Test Representative Sample

A 100 kilogram master composite sample was prepared from a blend of drill core samples selected by Marathon to represent the overall metallurgical characteristics of the Leprechaun deposit (80% of drill core samples were selected from the Main Zone, 20% from the Hanging Wall Zone and less than 1% from the Footwall Zone). The Main Zone comprises 85% of the Measured and Indicated resource of the Leprechaun Gold Deposit. The gold head assay for the master composite sample used in the metallurgical test program was determined by direct assay, metallic screen assay and cyanide leach to extinction methods which assessed an average head grade of 3.26 g/t Au (with an accuracy range of plus / minus 0.05 g/t).  The average grade of the Main Zone is close to 3 g/t Au.  

A mineralogical assessment of the gold association has not been completed to date; however, the test program results indicate that the gold is non-refractory and amendable to cyanide leaching. In addition to a high gold leachability, the ore does not contain a significant amount of deleterious metals (such as copper, arsenic and mercury), organic carbon or sulphides. An industry standard "preg-robbing" test indicated that preg-robbing would not be an issue and the master composite sample is considered to be an ideal candidate for conventional gold processing technology.  

Qualified Person

J. Dean Thibault, P. Eng., Senior Process Chemical Engineer and Principal of Thibault & Associates Inc., (www.thibault-process-engineering.ca) located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, is a registered professional engineer in Newfoundland and Labrador and is acting as a Qualified Person in compliance with National Instrument 43-101, with respect to the metallurgical information contained in this release and has reviewed the contents for accuracy.

About Marathon Gold Corporation

Marathon Gold is a Toronto based gold resource company with exploration focused on its 100% owned Valentine Lake Property located in central Newfoundland. The Valentine Lake Property currently hosts two near-surface, mainly pit-shell constrained, NI 43-101 compliant gold resources totaling 816,000 oz gold at 2.24 g/t (Measured & Indicated) and 149,000 oz gold at 2.64 g/t (Inferred), (August, 2013). These resources, which are open along strike and to depth, cover less than 5% of the total length of the highly prospective Valentine Lake Thrust Fault and associated splay faults which host the majority of the gold mineralization within the property. Newly discovered gold zones, including the Sprite Zone and Marathon Zone, have returned wide intervals of near-surface good gold grades and have yet to be incorporated into new gold resources for the Valentine Lake Property. For more information please visit www.marathon-gold.com. 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Except for statements of historical fact relating to Marathon Gold Corporation, certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "considers", "intends", "targets", or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and "could". We provide forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about our current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes.  By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in Marathon Gold Corporation's public filings, which may be accessed at www.sedar.com.  Other than as specifically required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events, results or otherwise.

SOURCE: Marathon Gold Corporation

Christopher Haldane, Investor Relations Manager, Tel: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]