VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Oct. 18, 2016) - Marlin Gold Mining Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:MLN) ("Marlin" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an operating update from its wholly owned La Trinidad mine in Sinaloa, Mexico ("La Trinidad"). Since hitting a vertical projection of the high grade HS Zone in May 2016, Marlin has mined through seven complete six-meter benches and has been consistently mining high grade since September 15, 2016.
Since September 15th, we have placed over 5,890 ounces of gold onto the leach pad with approximately 4,400 ounces coming in October alone. Grades sampled at the crusher are up over 270% from earlier this year at approximately 2.61 grams per tonne compared to approximately 0.70 grams per tonne. Going forward we will crush on average one tonne of mineralized material for each three tonnes of waste mined.
This year's rainy season was similar to last year where 1,507 millimeters of rain fell from June through September compared to 1,386 millimeters for the same period in 2015. Fortunately, we did not sustain any property damage; however access to the mineralized zone at the bottom of the pit was frequently impeded. There has been virtually no rainfall since October 4th, and we are hopeful that the worst of the rainy season is behind us.
The negative 8 level bench is currently being mined around exploration hole 15TRD05 which hit 8.59 grams per tonne over 23 meters (please see the news release on July 30, 2015 for important technical disclosures about hole 15TRD05). Mined grades around this hole are confirming these grades.
Akiba Leisman, Chairman and Interim CEO of Marlin states, "consistently mining high grade material at
La Trinidad is transforming the Company. We went through another tough rainy season, which slowed production, but we couldn't be more pleased with how the mine is performing now. To put this in perspective, October is a record month for placing gold onto the leach pad- a record we broke just 12 days into the month."
In addition, total costs at La Trinidad have trended down since May as highlighted in the table below.
| Total Costs at La Trinidad* | |
| May | $4.2 million |
| June | $3.4 million |
| July | $3.1 million |
| August | $2.4 million |
| September | $1.8 million |
| *All dollar amounts in the table above are in USD. | |
Expectations are that costs will track between USD2.25-2.5 million per month going forward.
About Marlin Gold
Marlin is a publicly-traded gold and silver mining company with properties located in Sinaloa, Mexico and Arizona, USA. Marlin's priority is to advance its properties toward commercial production and enhance shareholder value through the growth of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sailfish Royalty Corp. The La Trinidad property in Sinaloa, Mexico, declared commercial production on November 1, 2014. A NI 43- 101 mineral resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment for the La Trinidad mine and Commonwealth project can be found at www.sedar.com or at www.marlingold.com.
