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Meridian Mining Drills Further High-Grade Au-Cu-Ag & Zn Mineralization at Santa Helena and Opens New Gold Exploration Frontier at Santa Fe
Meridian Mining Drills Further High-Grade Au-Cu-Ag & Zn Mineralization at Santa Helena and Opens New Gold Exploration Frontier at Santa

About this update from Meridian Mining Plc
LONDON, United Kingdom - Meridian Mining UK S (TSX: MNO), ( Frankfurt /Tradegate: N2E) (OTCQX: MRRDF) ('Meridian' or the 'Company') is pleased to provide an update on its Santa Helena Au-Cu-Ag & Zn project ('Santa Helena'). Drilling has returned multiple intersections of high-grade Au-Cu-Ag & Zn mineralization from Santa Helena's ongoing resource delineation drill program1. This is highlighted by CD-727 where a greater than 100 gram-metre interval is being reported. Meridian is also reporting that Santa Fe's first reconnaissance exploration program has discovered gold mineralization hosted by the overlying basal conglomerates of the Aguapei Formation ('Aguapei'). The Aguapei has been actively mined for gold in the Alto Guapore gold province west of Cabacal. This opens a new frontier for gold exploration in the southeastern areas of the Cabacal project. The Company is also reporting on the expansion of the exploration program, and the commencement of regional drilling at the Cigarra Cu-Au prospect. Mr. Gilbert Clark , CEO, comments: 'Today's results are confirming that significant and near-surface extensions of open mineralization extend out from the historical Santa Helena mine. This resource potential I see as being the base of a future second processing hub at Santa Helena, supported by the expanding near mine exploration upside. Santa Fe's first exploration program has hit the Cabacal mine sequence, indicating the presence of a large open hydrothermal system. In addition, Santa Fe's exploration program has opened a new greenfields exploration frontier, following the assaying of gold hosted by the overlying and highly prospective Aguapei Formation. The Aguapei Formation is a prodigious gold host for the Alto Guapore gold province to the west. Our confidence that the Cabacal Au-Cu belt is the pre-eminent VMS Au-Cu development project of South America has never been stronger.' SANTA HELENA DRILLING The Santa Helena infill drill program continues, delivering strong results, with recent infill drilling focussed in the western sectors of the deposit. Drilling is being conducted to increase confidence in the Au-Cu-Ag & Zn mineralization's geometry and grade continuity characteristics. The recent focus has been particularly in the western limits and extensions of the historical mining area where spacing information from historical programs reduces. The underground grade control information did not fully project into these areas in the later stages of the past operation, and a number of diamond holes drilled from underground were not assayed in part or in full. The drilling is proving useful in approaching the resource modelling in clarifying geometries and testing the void model. The void hole has been largely as predicted from underground Total-Station survey control, although voids intersected in CD-742 and CD-749 showed some minor dislocations from the available end-of-mine model. Some reviews will be made to check on the completeness of the records, or whether those positions could have been influenced by local subsidence. In the same way that mineralization is intersected above the voids that was not incorporated into the mine schedule before closure, it is suspected that there are fold keels and flexures where sulphides may be positioned below. CD-742 for example, being on the same section as JUCHD031, but with a thinner interval. Some further reviews are underway to evaluate whether possible keel positions can be approached from another angle. The JUCHD-031 - CD-727 position appears to be the focus of the system, with the sheet branching laterally into lobes (e.g. - up dip hole CD-738: 7.1m @ 5.7g/t AuEq (3.8% CuEq) from 24.6m, including 5.5m @ 7.2g/t AuEq (4.8% CuEq) and 12.1m @ 1.6g/t AuEq (1.1% CuEq) from 33.9m. Resource definition will be ongoing, although some drilling with the low-impact portable rigs is being conducted at Santa Fe, and at Cigarra, and to test strike upside from Santa Helena at Sucuri. The recognition of the Cabacal greenstone sequence in a down-cut valley at Santa Helena North (see below), in an area largely covered by colluvial sediments, indicates that further exploration is needed to delineate the geometry of its contact with the Aguapei. A field mapping program is evaluating this unconformable contact. The basal sedimentary unit of the Aguapei Group flanking the Cabacal Belt is assigned to Fortuna Formation, the same formational unit as that in the Guapore Belt although the structural histories of the units may have some local variances. A series of short holes were drilled in an area of 100Ha where the channel sampling detected the gold mineralization in the Aguapei, most positioned to the west in more localized channels with only two to the east where the bulk of the formation is developed. Little is known about the geometry of the contact and potential focus of the main channel positions above the unconformity and a different style of geophysical exploration such as seismic or deep ground penetrating radar may be required to map the more favourable sites for mineralization. The drilling did confirm that the Aguapei with relatively shallow depths of 10-30m, including a previously unmapped felsic intrusive phase. Low level gold (CD-737: 13ppb Au from 14.1 - 14.7m) and silver (CD-737: 2.6g/t Ag from 12.1 - 12.6m) support some input from an eroding precious metal source rock into the system. Drilling was paused in this area whilst the Company evaluates the best methodologies for mapping the unconformable contact. The Company has been greatly encouraged by this new gold occurrence identified by its ongoing exploration campaigns. SANTA HELENA NORTH UPDATE Further gradient-assay induced polarization surveys have been conducted to the northeast of Santa Helena . The Company previously reported the presence of a 1.0 km strike-length chargeability anomaly - Santa Helena North - with associate sulphide mineralization in this region2 . The survey has been extended and a further greenstone enclave with an associated chargeability anomaly has been defined - Santa Helena Far North - with a strike length of 0.5 km strike One drill hole was completed over the Santa Helena North anomaly CD-767, for which assays are pending. The anomaly shows some suggestions of structural disruption and some further work will be required to ensure a complete stratigraphic profile is being intersected. A second hole - CD-762 - was completed as a first test of an area off the main geophysical anomaly, but where some gold in rock chip anomalous float has been detected (to 1.6pm Au). The hole contained trace mineralization (peak of 144 ppb Au over 1.0m from 48.0m, detached from base metal zones, and minor base metal bands. The area is yet to be covered systematically with a full set of techniques but importantly highlights the presence of greenstone in erosionally down-cut area of the Proterozoic Aguapei Group sandstone, with potential for strike extension. Surveying with the Geonics probe detected a broad off-hole conducted to the west of CD-762, measuring 75 x 75m, dipping at 35o to the northwest, with a conductivity thickness of 8 Siemens . SANTA FE UPDATE The Company has drilled a first campaign now at the Santa Fe area, with 1,212 m completed - partly to test the Santa Fe chargeability corridor which extends over 2.5km in broad spaced drilling. Partly as an initial broad test in the channel sampling, although drill positions were limited to the east of the channel where the bulk of the Aguapei unit extends. Importantly, the Company believes that the chargeability corridor represents a correlative to the mine sequence unit and bounding lithologies. There is lateral variation in metal contents, varying from pyrite dominated sequences, to more copper dominated sequences. CD-759 and CD-674 at the southern end of the conductivity trend intersected pyritic halo zones, up to 40-50m wide, with sulphur content reaching up to 16.1% S. There are elevated levels of molybdenum which can act as a VMS pathfinder, along with sodium depletion which is consistent with hydrothermal leaching processes. Correlative positions along strike show variance in the metal assemblage including still pyritic zones, but with more copper dominated intervals such as CD717's, containing intervals of 4 - 21m at grades between 0.1 - 0.3% Cu. ABOUT MERIDIAN Meridian Mining is focused on: The development and exploration of the advanced stage Cabacal VMS gold-copper project; The initial resource definition at the second higher-grade VMS asset at Santa Helena as the first stage of the Cabacal Hub development strategy; Regional scale exploration of the Cabacal VMS belt to expand the Cabacal Hub strategy and Exploration in the Jauru & Araputanga Greenstone belts (the above all located in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil ). The Pre-feasibility Study technical report (the 'PFS Technical Report') dated March 31, 2025 , entitled: 'Cabacal Gold-Copper Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Pre-feasibility Study' outlines a base case after-tax NPV5 of USD 984 million and 61.2% IRR from a pre-production capital cost of USD 248 million , leading to capital repayment in 17 months (assuming metals price scenario of USD 2,119 per ounces of gold, USD 4.16 per pound of copper, and USD 26.89 per ounce of silver). Cabacal has a low All-in Sustaining-Cost of USD 742 per ounce gold equivalent & production profile of 141,000 ounce gold equivalent life of mine, driven by high metallurgical recovery, a low life-of-mine strip ratio of 2.3:1, and the low operating cost environment of Brazil . The Cabacal Mineral Reserve estimate consists of Proven and Probable reserves of 41.7 million tonnes at 0.63g/t gold, 0.44% copper and 1.64g/t silver (at a 0.25 g/t gold equivalent cut-off grade). Readers are encouraged to read the PFS Technical Report in its entirety. The PFS Technical Report may be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at www.meridianmining.co The PFS Technical Report was prepared for the Company by Tommaso Roberto Raponi ( P. Eng ), Principal Metallurgist with Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC; Scott Elfen (P. E.), Global Lead Geotechnical and Civil Services with Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC; John Anthony McCartney , C.Geol., Ausenco Chile Ltda.; Porfirio Cabaleiro Rodriguez (Engineer Geologist FAIG), of GE21 Consultoria Mineral; Leonardo Soares (PGeo, MAIG), Senior Geological Consultant of GE21 Consultoria Mineral; Norman Lotter (Mineral Processing Engineer; P.Eng .), of Flowsheets Metallurgical Consulting Inc. and, Juliano Felix de Lima (Engineer Geologist MAIG), of GE21 Consultoria Mineral. Contact: Mr. Gilbert Clark CEO and Director Meridian Mining UK S Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 778 715-6410 (BST) CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements for the purposes of applicable securities laws. These statements address future events and conditions and so involve inherent risks and uncertainties, as disclosed under the heading 'Risk Factors' in Meridian's most recent Annual Information Form filed on www.sedarplus.ca. While these factors and assumptions are considered reasonable by Meridian, in light of management's experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, Meridian can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Meridian disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or results or otherwise. (C) 2025 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire
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