NTL Acquires Vanuatu Project

NEW TALISMAN GOLD MINES LIMITED SIGNS BINDING TERM SHEET TO ACQUIRE STRATEGIC HIGHLY PROSPECTIVE EPITHERMAL GOLD AND PORPHYRY COPPER-GOLD PROJECTS IN VANUATU HIGHLIGHTS o Coromandel Gold Limited to be listed on the NZX and or ASX o Strategic holding in underexplored and highly prospective nation of Vanuatu. o Potential for large epithermal gold and porphyry copper deposits on Pacific Rim o Analogous setting to the Hauraki Goldfield, NZ (14+ million ounces gold) o Near drill ready prospects o Extensive high-quality data sets o Supportive Government and landowner agreements in place. New Talisman Gold Mines Limited, (NTL) is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding term sheet to acquire the Vanuatu assets of Canterbury Resources Limited ASX:CBY. The strategic acquisition is the first step in the restructuring of the NTL group into exploration and development businesses which will be detailed further in the half year report to be released this week. The assets include the granted prospecting licence PL 1851 known as Santo 1, comprising 9,269 hectares and a prospecting licence application covering the Navaka or Ora prospect, both on the island of Espiritu Santo. Satellite image of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu showing prospects This acquisition represents a rare opportunity to acquire a strategic holding in a highly prospective part of the Pacific Rim of Fire that extends from Japan through the Philippines, PNG, Solomons, Vanuatu, Fiji to New Zealand. Vanuatu comprises a 700km long chain of approximately 80 volcanic islands located above the convergence zone of the Pacific and Australian Plates. This zone which extends from New Zealand to Japan hosts some of the world's largest copper and gold deposits, as epithermal or porphyry styles of mineralisation. Active mines in the region include OK Tedi (17Moz), Porgera (7 Moz), Lihir (30Moz) and Vatukoula (11Moz), Waihi (10 Moz), Talisman (3 Moz) plus several world class deposits slated for development such as Wafi Golpu, PNG, (28Moz), and Namosi, Fiji, (5.5Moz). The nearest significant deposits to Vanuatu are the Emperor (Vatukoula) gold mine to the east in Fiji and Gold Ridge gold deposit to the north in the Solomon Islands. Tectonic map showing major gold/copper deposits near Vanuatu on the Pacific Rim. (source Gold Rim Resources Ltd). By world standards Vanuatu is extremely underexplored. Modern exploration for gold started in the mid 1980's and with sporadic bursts mainly in the 1990's and briefly in the early 2000's. The Santo 1 prospecting license area consists of several prospects each at differing stages of exploration. The most advanced is Tafuse North which covers a 3km by 4km area of epithermal style mineralisation consisting of quartz veins, quartz vein stockworks, and hydrothermal breccias. Within this is a well-defined 800m by 250m alteration envelope. It has lain dormant since 1986. Canterbury Resources is the first company to explore since 1986 where it has ground truthed the historic exploration results in 2019.1 This work included taking petrological samples that showed typical low sulfidation epithermal mineralisation including visible gold and electrum as inclusions in quartz veining. The Tafuse North prospect has well defined drill targets and landowner agreements in place. https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/29 24-02299344-2A1259003?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4 There are several other prospects within the permit of similar dimensions and indications of gold mineralisation that, with well-directed exploration programmes, be brought to drill status rapidly. The Ora prospecting license application to the west of Tafuse was recognised by Placer Pacific in 1993 as having potential for structurally controlled intrusive related high grade copper gold mineralisation in porphyry intrusives and related skarns. Hauraki Goldfield Similarities The gold and copper mineralisation known in Vanuatu has been compared in the scientific literature to the Hauraki Goldfield in New Zealand, where gold production to date exceeds 14 million ounces of gold. By comparison there has been no recorded gold production from Vanuatu where there is a similar geological setting but only limited exploration. This compares to the Haruaki Goldfield where there has been over 160 years of production and exploration with recent new discoveries at WKP by Oceana Gold and redevelopment of the Talisman Mine by NTL. The table below shows this comparison and was first published in 2017 at the Gold17@Rotorua Conference. Comparison of deposit features of the Hauraki Goldfield with western islands of Vanuatu Hauraki Goldfield Santo-Malekula Islands Terrain dimensions 200km by 30km 200km by 30km Regional structural setting Above convergence zone of Australia-Pacific plate boundary Above convergence zone of Australia-Pacific plate boundary Local tectonic setting NW trending boundary faults NE trending secondary structures control mineralisation NW trending boundary faults NE trending secondary structures control mineralisation Host rocks Greywacke, andesite, dacite Andesitic lavas and volcanoclastics Age Miocene to Pliocene Miocene to Pliocene Prospect types Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo Epithermal Au-Ag (adularia-sericite) Porphyry Cu-Au Epithermal Au-Ag (adularia-sericite) Porphyry characteristics Dacite porphyry + intrusion breccias Potassic, propylitic, phyllic alteration with lithocap Disseminated chalcopyrite + molybdenum Partially drilled Felsic intrusives Alteration not specified, skarns Chalcopyrite Not drilled Epithermal characteristics Quartz ? calcite ? adularia ? illite type Productive veins in andesite host Vein dimensions 300-1300m strike, 170-700+m vertical, 1-5m wide Zoned Au-Ag->Cu-Pb-Zn with depth Multi-stage quartz veins - massive, banded (colloform), breccia. Bonanza style ore shoots Alteration halos ~5-120km? Propylitic - quartz, chlorite, illite, pyrite ? adularia ? albite ? calcite Associated with hydrothermal breccia, sinter Quartz ? adularia ? illite ? amethyst Best developed in andesite lavas <200m strike Au-basemetal association Banded (colloform), amethyst None 1-2km? Propylitic Associated with hydrothermal breccia, no sinter reported Number of porphyry prospects 4 5 known Number of epithermal prospects 50 4 known Production 14.1Moz Au No production Note: the lack of detail in many Vanuatu prospects is mainly due to poor documentation _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________ The information in this report that relates to exploration results, exploration targets and mineral resources is based on information compiled by or supervised by Mr Murray Stevens. Mr Stevens is a consulting geologist and director of New Talisman Gold Mines Ltd, who is a corporate member of the AusIMM. Mr Stevens has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 and 2012 Editions of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Mr Stevens consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which they appear. About New Talisman Gold Mines Ltd New Talisman Gold is a dual listed (NZSX & ASX: NTL) with over 2900 shareholders who are mainly from Australia and New Zealand and has been listed since 1986. It is a leading New Zealand minerals development and exploration company with a mining permit encompassing the Talisman mine, one of New Zealand's historically most productive gold mines. The company has commenced prospecting and upgrading activities at the mine and advance the exploration project to increase its considerable global exploration target into JORC 2012 resources. Its gold properties near Paeroa in the Hauraki District of New Zealand are a granted mining permit, including one of New Zealand's highest-grade underground gold mines. End CA:00364819 For:NTL Type:MKTUPDTE Time:2020-12-10 16:08:17