TORONTO, June 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Idaho Champion Gold Mines Canada Inc. (CSE: ITKO) (“Champion” or the "Company"), a discovery-focused gold exploration company, is pleased to announce that metallurgical work at the Company’s Baner Project returned favourable scoping level leach test results of 87.1% Au recovery at 10 mesh.  The metallurgical testing work was conducted by Resource Development Inc. (“RDI”), in Lakewood, Colorado.

Highlights of the metallurgical testing results are as follows:

• Gold readily leached from the sample. Gold extractions ranged from 87.1% to 93.2% with higher extractions coming from the finer ground material. The majority of gold was extracted in the first 24 hours with slower kinetics observed with the 10 mesh leach test.
• Little silver was extracted from the sample. Silver extractions ranged from 19.7% to 30.5%, which appeared to be independent of grind size.
• Cyanide consumptions ranged from 0.19 kg/mt to 1.45 kg/mt, with the higher consumption coming from the finer ground material. Lime consumptions ranged from 3.4 kg/mt to 4.53 kg/mt.
• Head analyses indicate that the composite sample contains approximately 1.0 g/mt Au and 2 g/mt Ag. There is virtually no organic carbon or sulfides present in the sample.
• The gold present in the composite sample is free milling with extractions over 87% even at a coarse particle size of 10 mesh. A maximum gold extraction of 93% was achieved at 100 mesh and 200 mesh grinds, but with significantly higher cyanide consumption than observed at the 10 mesh particle size.

Jonathan Buick, Champion’s President and CEO, explains that: “The favourable leach test result compares to similar projects in North America and adds further positive understanding to Idaho’s newest gold discovery. We will continue with additional leaching test work to characterize the deposit. We will look at static leach tests with the coarse material to determine if heap leaching would be a reasonable processing option.”

Samples for metallurgical testing were split from drill core reject material returned from American Analyatical’s assay lab.  Twenty-five kilograms were split from four drill holes; IGC2018-6,9,10, & 13.  The split material was kept in a secure location until delivery to RDI in Lakewood, Colorado. 

Metallurgical Test Work  - Sample preparation and  Characterization

The primary objective of the metallurgical test program was to determine leach extractions of precious metals at various particle sizes.

RDi received twenty-three intervals of material for testing, at a combined weight of approximately 25 kilograms. The individual samples of material were inventoried and split in half to be combined to create a composite sample. The composite sample was stage crushed to minus 6 mesh utilizing a jaw crusher and cone crusher. The composite sample was then thoroughly blended, and representative 1 kilogram samples were split out for testing utilizing sample splitters. The description of samples that were used to create the composite are given in Appendix A.

Approximately 1 kilogram of material from the composite sample was split out for head assay. The material was pulverized and submitted for gold, silver, forms of carbon, forms of sulfur, and ICP analysis. The head assay results are summarized in Table 1.

Head analyses indicate that the composite sample contains approximately 1.0 g/mt Au and 2 g/mt Ag. There is virtually no organic carbon or sulfides present in the sample.

Bottle Roll Leach Tests

Cyanide leaching tests were completed with one-kilogram charges of the composite sample to determine precious metal extractions at particle sizes of P80 10 mesh, 100 mesh, and 200 mesh. The bottle roll tests were conducted with 1 g/L sodium cyanide maintained for 72 hours and at 40% solids and pH 11. Kinetic leach solutions samples and leach residues were submitted for gold and silver analysis. The leach results are summarized in Table 2.

Table 1

Table 1. Head Analysis of Composite Sample including ICP Data
Element	Composite
Au, g/mt	1.01
Ag, g/mt	2
Total Carbon, %	0.03
Organic Carbon, %	0.03
Inorganic Carbon, %	<0.01
Total S, %	0.03
Sufide S, %	<0.01
Sulfate S, %	0.03
%
AI	4.28
Ca	0.01
Fe	2.22
K	3.08
Mg	0.13
Na	0.12
Ti	0.09
ppm
As	685
Ba	1080
Bi	<10
Cd	3
Co	6
Cr	141
Cu	33
Mn	118
Mo	<1
Ni	13
Pb	29
Sr	80
V	37
W	<10
Zn	57

Table 2

Table 2. Bottle Roll Leach Results
Test	Grind (P80)	Au Extraction %	Ag Extraction %	Residue Grade Au (g/mt)	Residue Grade Ag (g/mt)	Calc Head Grade Au (g/mt)	Calc Head Grade Ag (g/mt)	NaCn consumption kg/mt	Lime Consumption kg/mt
BR1	10 Mesh	87.1	19.9	0.11	2.0	0.86	2.5	0.187	3.362
BR2	100 Mesh	93.6	30.5	0.06	2.0	0.89	2.9	0.542	3.200
BR3	200 Mesh	93.2	19.7	0.07	3.9	0.96	4.9	1.447	4.529

About the Baner Project

The Baner Project is located within the Orogrande shear zone (OSZ), a 20-kilometre-long and up to 1 kilometre wide regional shear zone located in Central Idaho.  The OSZ resembles a series of grabens composed of metamorphosed Proterozoic belt sedimentary rocks, Cretaceous Idaho batholith intruded by Tertiary rhyolites and dacitic dikes.  The BC claim block covers a series of parallel shear zones on the eastern margin of the OSZ. Hydrothermal alteration is spatially associated with the OSZ and consists of silicification, seritization, and chloritization. Mineralization is hosted by three types of broadly defined deposit types; Tertiary epithermal deposits, Cretaceous intrusive related gold systems and orogenic shear zone deposits hosted within the batholith. Mineralization includes disseminated low-grade precious metal mineralization in associated stockwork veins, hydraulic breccias and extensive widespread alteration; high-grade gold associated with discreet structurally controlled quartz veins and silicified zones.

The Baner/Sally Project is in the central Idaho Gold Belt, 8 km south of Elk City, Idaho. Elk City is an historic gold mining region dating back to the 1860s and once supported more than 20 underground mines and extensive placer operations.  During the 1930’s there were three cyanide gold mills along Crooked River processing open pit and underground sulfide ore.  Exploration in the district during the 1980’s and 1990’s included Cypress-Amax, Kinross Gold, and Bema Gold primarily focused on near-surface bulk-tonnage gold potential. Premium Exploration conducted extensive drilling, soil sampling, and airborne and surface geophysics in the 2010 era. Currently a Finnish gold producer, Endomines AB is developing the Friday project at Orogrande into an underground gold operation and is constructing a gold processing mill.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Peter Karelse P.Geo., a consultant to the Company, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Karelse has more than 30 years of experience in exploration and development.

ABOUT IDAHO CHAMPION

Idaho Champion is a discovery-focused gold exploration company that is committed to advancing its 100% owned highly prospective mineral properties located in Idaho, United States. The Company’s shares trade on the CSE under the trading symbol "ITKO". Idaho Champion is vested in Idaho with the Baner Project in Idaho County, the Champagne Project located in Butte County near Arco, and four cobalt properties in Lemhi County in the Idaho Cobalt Belt. Idaho Champion strives to be a responsible environmental steward, stakeholder and a contributing citizen to the local communities where we operate. Idaho Champion takes our social license seriously and employ local community members and services in our operations.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

“Jonathan Buick”

Jonathan Buick, President and CEO

For further information, please visit the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com or the Company’s corporate website at www.idahochamp.com.

For further information please contact:
Nicholas Konkin, Marketing and Communications
Phone: (416) 477-7771ext. 205,
Email: nkonkin@idahochamp.com

THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION, NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION OF SECURITIES IN ANY STATE IN THE UNITED STATES IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

Cautionary Statements

This News Release includes certain “forward-looking statements” which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company’s future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “will”, or “plan”. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company’s objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company’s public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.