• 3.68 g/t Au over 11.35 m extending higher grade envelope 30 m towards east
• Gold mineralization encountered in 15 out of 16 drill holes drilled by Aurion since 2022 at Vanha
• Gold intersected over 500 m along strike and to 200 m depth – open in all directions
• 15 km prospective structural trend between the Kaaresselkä and Vuoma (Aurion-B2Gold JV) discoveries mainly unexplored
• Selected targets to be tested during the winter drilling program at Risti
• Aurion-B2Gold JV: 10,000 m drilling program ongoing, results pending

ST. JOHN'S, NL, Feb. 27, 2024 /CNW/ - Aurion Resources Ltd. (TSXV: AU) (OTCQX: AIRRF) ("Aurion" or the "Company") announces results for four holes from the 2023-24 drilling program at the Vanha prospect in the Kaaresselkä area of its wholly owned Risti property located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in northern Finland.

Summary

• All recent holes intersected gold at the Vanha prospect including:
  • 3.68 g/t Au over 11.35 m from 94.55 m (KS23071)
    • Extending interpreted higher-grade envelope 30 m towards east from KS23027 (2.41 g/t Au over 56.55 m) at Vanha
  • 2.87 g/t Au over 4.80 m from 38.45 m (KS23071)
  • Broad zones of strongly deformed and hydrothermally altered rocks in all holes
• Gold mineralization (over 1.0 g/t Au) encountered in 15 out of 16 drill holes drilled by Aurion since 2022 at Vanha
  • Growing gold mineralized system resembling the Helmi (Aurion-B2Gold JV) and Ikkari (Rupert Resources) discoveries
  • Gold intersected over 500 m along strike and to 200 m depth - open in all directions
  • 15 km prospective structural trend between Kaaresselkä and Vuoma (Aurion-B2Gold JV) discoveries mainly unexplored
• Selected targets to be tested during the winter drilling program at Risti
• Aurion-B2Gold JV: 10,000 m drilling program ongoing, results pending

Comments
"The mineralized system at Kaaresselkä (Vanha prospect) is growing favorably and efficiently with 15/16 holes drilled since 2022 intersecting gold." commented Matti Talikka, CEO of Aurion. "The mineralized system is open along strike and at depth, and is associated with the mainly unexplored structural trend that extends 15 km between Kaaresselkä and the recent Vuoma (Aurion-B2Gold JV) discovery."

Link to Figures: https://aurionresources.com/site/assets/files/1533/nr24-2figures.pdf.

Kaaresselkä Prospect
Aurion drilled four holes, totaling 687.4 m, in the Kaaresselkä area. The holes targeted interpreted structural features with an aim to identify and extend the gold mineralized system.

All three holes drilled at the Vanha prospect and reported in this press release intersected zones of gold mineralization. The high-grade envelope is interpreted to extend 30 m towards east. All Vanha holes intersected broad zones of strongly deformed and hydrothermally altered rocks associated with gold mineralization.

The gold mineralized system at Vanha extends over 500 m along strike and at least 200 m depth. The gold mineralization is open along strike and at depth. Recent scout drill holes intersected gold 1.8 km to the west and 600 m to the east of the Vanha prospect (press release Nov 13, 2023) highlight the potential for an extensive gold mineralized system in the Kaaresselkä area.

The Kaaresselkä area is located 15 km east of the recent Vuoma discovery (28.64g/t Au over 4.90 m) by Aurion-B2Gold JV, along the mainly unexplored, structural corridor that extends over 25 km within Aurion's fully owned Risti property and the JV with B2Gold.

The gold mineralization at Vanha is mainly hosted by highly deformed and altered (silica, sericite, albite) mafic volcanic and metasedimentary rocks with minor to moderate amounts of fine-grained sulphide minerals including pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite and arsenopyrite in varying quantities. The higher-grade intervals are mainly hosted within silicified and brecciated zones with a moderate amount of sulphides. Elevated levels of base metals, including copper, were encountered in several holes.

The geologic setting and the style of mineralization at Kaaresselkä resembles several recent and past discoveries such as Helmi (Aurion-B2Gold JV) and Ikkari (Rupert Resources) as well as the past producing Saattopora mine.

Drill hole descriptions
Drill hole KS23069 is located in the central Vanha area and was collared 40 m southwest of KS23036. The hole was drilled on section to the southwest targeting above mineralization intersected in KS23036 (0.76 g/t Au over 7.40 m). KS23069 intersected numerous mineralized intervals including 8.03 g/t Au over 0.80 m from 35.00 m, 0.61 g/t Au over 4.45 m from 75.25 m, and 0.41 g/t Au over 7.50 m from 108.10 m. Other samples with elevated gold (≥0.1 g/t) were also encountered resulting in an extended interval of 0.26 g/t Au over 80.60 m from 35.00 m. Elevated Cu values up to 0.22% were intersected within this combined interval.

Drill hole KS23070 is located in the western Vanha area and was collared 40 m northeast of KS23037. The hole was drilled on section to the southwest targeting below mineralization intersected in KS23037 (0.40 g/t Au over 49.45 m). KS23070 intersected numerous mineralized intervals such as 0.39 g/t Au over 5.65 m from 95.90 m and 0.60 g/t Au over 2.95 m from 127.25 m including 1.60 g/t Au over 0.85 m from 127.25 m. Other samples with elevated gold (≥0.1 g/t) were also encountered resulting in an extended interval of 0.15 g/t Au over 55.30 m from 95.90 m. Elevated Cu values up to 0.24% were intersected within this combined interval.

Drill hole KS23071 is located in the eastern Vanha area and was collared from the same position as KS23032. The hole was drilled on section to the southwest targeting the potential extension of the higher-grade mineralization intersected in KS22027 (2.41 g/t Au over 56.55 m including 17.12 g/t Au over 5.90 m). KS23071 intersected numerous mineralized intervals such as 2.87 g/t Au over 4.80 m from 38.45 m including 5.43 g/t Au over 2.35 m from 39.45 m and 3.68 g/t Au over 11.35 m from 94.55 m including 11.04 g/t Au over 2.25 m from 96.55 m. Other samples with elevated gold (≥0.1 g/t) were also encountered and Cu values up to 0.87% were intersected. This hole is interpreted to have extended the higher-grade mineralization intersected in KS22027 approximately 30 m to the east.

Scout hole KS24072 is located 1.5 km east of the Vanha area. The hole was drilled to the southwest and targeted the interpreted domain boundary and associated anomalous base of till geochemistry. KS24072 did not intersect the targeted domain boundary and returned anomalous gold values up to 0.077 g/t.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control
All drill core samples were delivered to the ALS preparation facility in Sodankylä, Finland where sample preparation work was completed. All analytical work was completed at ALS facilities in Loughrea, Ireland and Rosia Montana, Romania. ALS is an internationally accredited lab and is ISO compliant (ISO 9001:2008, ISO/IEC 17025:2005). Samples were analyzed for gold using either the Au-AA26 procedure (50 g fire assay with AAS finish: Lower Detection Limit ("LDL") 0.01 g/t gold; Upper Detection Limit ("UDL") 100 g/t gold) or they were analyzed for gold, platinum and palladium using the PGM-ICP24 procedure (50 g fire assay with ICP-AES finish: LDL 0.001 g/t gold, 0.005 g/t platinum, 0.001 g/t palladium; UDL 10 g/t gold, 10 g/t platinum, 10 g/t palladium) or the PGM-ICP23 procedure (30 g fire assay with ICP-AES finish: LDL 0.001 g/t gold, 0.005 g/t platinum, 0.001 g/t palladium; UDL 10 g/t gold, 10 g/t platinum, 10 g/t palladium). Multi-element analysis (ME-ICP61, four-acid digestion, 35 element ICP-AES) was completed on all samples. Certified standards and blanks were inserted every 10 samples. ALS has its own QA/QC protocol using standards, blanks and duplicates. 

This news release has been reviewed by Andrew Hussey, P.Geo., GIS Geologist and Database Manager for Aurion Resources, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. For more information on these projects please visit our website at www.aurionresources.com.

Aurion Resources Ltd. (Aurion) is a well-funded, Canadian exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V: AU) and the OTCQX Best Market (OTCQX: AIRRF). Aurion's strategy is to generate or acquire early-stage precious metals exploration opportunities and advance them through direct exploration by our experienced team or by business partnerships and joint venture arrangements. Aurion's current focus is exploring on its Risti project, as well as advancing its joint venture properties with B2Gold Corp. and Kinross Gold in Finland.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Matti Talikka, CEO

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. 

SOURCE Aurion Resources Ltd.

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