SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwired - February 03, 2017) - TriStar Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE: TSG) (the "Company" or "TriStar") has now received all assay results from the step-out holes in the Esperança South and Esperança Center areas of the Castelo de Sonhos gold project. These assays confirm that gold mineralization extends well beyond the resource area defined by the Company in 2014.
The significant intervals for all the drill holes completed in Esperança South (all previously disclosed) are shown in Table 1, and for Esperança Center (none previously disclosed) in Table 2. Not included in these tables are: CSH-16-148, which was abandoned at 78m with rods stuck in the hole and redrilled as CSH-16-150; and CSH-16-153 and CSH-16-155, which did not contain any significant intervals exceeding 0.6 g/t.
Mr. Nick Appleyard, TriStar's President and CEO, commented: "The recent drilling has supported our view that the deposit has a strike length considerably longer than was apparent at the time of the 2014 resource, and allows us to prioritize the Esperança South extension as the first target for expanding the resource. We will begin RC drilling next week to fill in the gaps between these long step-out holes so that we can update the resource for the preliminary economic assessment later this year."
| Hole ID | Thickness and gold grade | Downhole depth | Grade x Thickness | |||
| CSH-16-144 | 3.10 m @ 3.90 g/t | 121.80 - 124.90 m | 12.1 gm/t | |||
| CSH-16-145 | 3.90 m @ 0.70 g/t 1.85 m @ 1.10 g/t 2.00 m @ 4.96 g/t | 12.70 - 16.60 m 163.40 - 165.25 m 177.20 - 179.20 m | ||||
| Total: 7.75m @ 1.89 g/t | 14.7 gm/t | |||||
| CSH-16-146 | 2.10 m @ 7.51 g/t | 144.90 - 147.00 m | 15.8 gm/t | |||
| CSH-16-147 | 1.80 m @ 0.63 g/t 4.10 m @ 3.68 g/t | 65.10 - 66.90 m 182.30 - 186.40 m | ||||
| Total: 5.90m @ 2.75 g/t | 16.2 gm/t | |||||
| CSH-16-149 | 1.85m @ 3.28 g/t | 67.2 - 69.05 m | 6.1 gm/t | |||
| CSH-16-150 | 1.95m @ 1.95 g/t | 21.85 - 23.80 m | 3.8 gm/t | |||
| 2016 Southwestern extension average: | 3.78 m @ 3.03 g/t | 11.4 gm/t | ||||
| 2014 resource area average: | 4.14 m @ 2.43 g/t | 10.1 gm/t | ||||
| CSH-16-151 North end of Esperança South (Figure 2) | 2.00 m @ 1.12 g/t 2.00 m @ 0.71 g/t | 63.80 - 65.80 m 214.35 - 216.35 m | ||||
| Total: 4.00m @ 0.92 g/t | 3.7 gm/t |
Table 1. Significant gold intervals from holes completed in Esperança South in 2016. Drill holes were drilled towards an azimuth of 140 degrees (except Hole CSH-16-151, which has an azimuth of 90 degrees), with a dip of 55 degrees. The downhole intersections are approximately true width of the mineralization.
| Hole ID | Thickness and gold grade | Downhole depth | Grade x Thickness |
| CSH-16-152 | 4.00 m @ 0.67 g/t 2.00 m @ 1.16 g/t | 158.60 - 162.60 m 178.60 - 180.60 m | |
| Total: 6.00m @ 0.83 g/t | 5.0 gm/t | ||
| CSH-16-154 | 1.80m @ 0.73 g/t | 90.3 - 92.1 m | 1.3 gm/t |
| 2016 Central extension average: | 3.90 m @ 0.81 g/t | 3.2 gm/t | |
| 2014 Central resource area average: | 4.82 m @ 1.98 g/t | 9.5 gm/t |
Table 2. Significant gold intervals from holes completed in Esperança Center in 2016-2017. Drill holes were drilled perpendicular to mineralization, at a dip of 60 degrees, making the downhole intersections approximately the true width of mineralization. CSH-16-152 was drilled with an azimuth of 90°, and CSH-16-154 with an azimuth of 25°.
Locations of the drill holes are shown in Figures 1 and 2. The step-out holes on the southern extension of Esperança South (Figure 1) all contain significant intervals and extend the strike length by a least two kilometers. On the northern extension of Esperança Center (Figure 2), the furthest step-out hole contains one significant interval; but two other holes drilled on the footwall side of the conglomerate band show only weak gold mineralization, none of which reaches 0.6 g/t. Detailed definition of the edges of strong mineralization in this area will come from infill drilling.
Sample analysis procedures and QA/QC protocols
Sample preparation and analytical work for the Castelo de Sonhos drilling program were carried out by SGS Geosol in Parauapebas, Pará State (sample preparation) and Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (analysis), an ISO 9001:2008 and 14001:2004 certified laboratory. Analysis was by 50g fire assay. As part of TriStar´s QA/QC protocol, standard samples and blanks were inserted into the sample processing stream at a rate of one per 10 samples. Duplicate and alternate laboratory check samples also form part of this sampling protocol.
TriStar's Vice-President, R. Mohan Srivastava (P.Geo.), is the QP for this press release and has prepared or supervised the preparation of the scientific or technical information in this press release and approves its publication.
About TriStar:
TriStar Gold is an exploration and development company focused on precious metals properties in the Americas that have potential to become significant producing mines. The Company's current flagship property is Castelo de Sonhos in Pará State, Brazil. The Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol TSG. Further information is available at www.tristargold.com.
