TORONTO, Jan. 7, 2020 /CNW/ - Nighthawk Gold Corp. ("Nighthawk" or the "Company") (TSX: NHK; OTCQX: MIMZF) is pleased to report drill results from seven holes (2,676 metres) recently completed within high-grade Zone 3.5 and the southern area of Zone 3.0, part of the Colomac Gold Project ("Colomac") centrally located within its Indin Lake Gold Property, Northwest Territories, Canada. Zone 3.5 is located within the southern portion of the Colomac Main sill (Figure 1) and represents one of the better-defined higher-grade areas. Current drilling focused on expansion and infill drilling in areas within Zone 3.5's down-plunge extension to the north and testing the underexplored southern region of Zone 3.0 located immediately north of Zone 3.5. Results to-date have confirmed that the mineralized sill shows a distinct widening to depth at Zone 3.5, and that a similar expansion of the deposit's host rock (the mineralized top of the sill) to depth may exist for upwards of 3.5 kilometres of strike to the north. Dr. Michael Byron, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "Previous drilling confirmed that the well mineralized stratigraphic top of the sill (which faces east) at Zone 1.5 and the northern part of Zone 2.0 resembles a wedge form that widens significantly to depth. Recent drilling has now confirmed that the top of the sill also appears to broaden exponentially to depth at Zone 3.5. "Additional drilling over the 3.5 kilometres of sill that separates these two areas is expected to continue to confirm a universal widening of the mineralized portion of the intrusion to depth. Should this hold true, Colomac may become a much larger gold deposit and a stronger prospect for resource development with accelerated growth potential, as some areas have already shown expansions at depth to upwards of 3 times its near-surface true width." Drilling Highlights: Zone 3.5

• Drilling at Zone 3.5 continues to deliver both higher-grade intercepts similar to those reported in the Company's 2012 and 2018 programs and broad regions of continuous mineralization that show a distinctive widening of the mineralized portion of the Colomac Main sill to depth.

• C19-50 was drilled below previously reported holes C18-12 and C18-12B (see press release dated September 11, 2018), and intersected 105.00 metres (45 metre true width) of 1.35 gpt Au, including 34.50 metres of 2.38 gpt Au, and including 12.75 metres of 3.23 gpt Au, extending mineralization an additional 60 metres to depth (Figures 1, 2).

• C19-27 was intended to be drilled beneath mineralization reported in hole C18-09 (see press release dated September 11, 2018), however due to topographical constraints the hole had to be moved to the east which resulted in a shallower intercept than intended and intersected 71.50 metres (36 metre true width) of 1.33 gpt Au, including 10.00 metres of 2.06 gpt Au, and including 3.75 metres of 4.59 gpt Au; and a lower intercept of 17.50 metres of 2.26 gpt Au, including 4.50 metres of 4.50 gpt Au (Figures 1, 3).

• Previously drilled hole C18-09 established an 80-metre true width to the mineralized portion of the sill at a vertical depth of 450 metres, while hole C19-50 recorded a 45-metre true width intersection at 270 metres vertical depth. The documented increase in width with depth is consistent with what was observed at Zones 1.5 and 2.0, suggesting that a significant thickening of the mineralized top of the sill may occur to depth along the 3.5-kilometre-long section of the intrusion that separates the two areas (Figure 1).

Zone 3.0

• Hole C19-44 infilled a gap in drilling below historical near-surface holes and above previously drilled Nighthawk holes, intersecting 30.65 metres of 1.81 gpt Au, including 16.95 metres of 2.33 gpt Au, and including 5.85 metres of 3.64 gpt Au (Figures 1, 4).

• Additional drilling along the sill will help confirm that the wedge-shaped panel of mineralization that spans Zone 1.5 and the northern part of Zone 2.0 (see press release dated December 3, 2019), can be extended along strike and that a general widening to depth may reflect the morphology of the sill over its entire length. A significant expansion of the sill's mineralized host to depth would provide ample opportunity for accelerated resource growth.

Note: All assays are uncut (see Table 1)

Table 1. Colomac Drill Results – Summary Table (uncut)

Please follow this link to access the FULL ASSAY TABLE on the Company's website at https://www.nighthawkgold.com/news

Drill Summary Zone 3.5 Nighthawk's previous drilling at Zone 3.5 targeted mineralization to depth and along strike of the historical drilling that had first identified the zone's higher-grade nature (see press releases dated August 30, 2012; September 19, 2012; October 10, 2012; September 11, 2018; and December 3, 2019). The work also established a northward expansion to the zone (see press release dated August 20, 2012), and led to the discovery of another higher-grade area plunging beneath Zone 3.0 near the border region of Zone 3.5. Hole C19-26 was collared in the north-central region of the zone (Figure 1). It was drilled on the same section as previously drilled holes C18-12 and C18-12B (see press releases dated September 11, 2018) to explore a 100 metre mid-level gap in coverage between the two holes (Figure 1) and intersected 49.95 metres of 0.93 gpt Au, including 7.50 metres of 1.75 gpt Au, and 3.95 metres of 2.94 gpt Au. Hole C19-27 was established 50 metres south of C19-26 to drill below broad mineralization previously intersected in hole C18-09 (see press release dated September 11, 2018). Due to  topographical restrictions the hole was moved further east resulting in a shallower intercept than planned, returning 71.50 metres (36 metre true width) of 1.33 gpt Au, including 10.00 metres of 2.06 gpt Au, and including 3.75 metres of 4.59 gpt Au; and a lower intercept of 17.50 metres of 2.26 gpt Au, including 4.50 metres of 4.50 gpt Au (Figures 1, 3). Historical drilling constrains the width of the quartz diorite at shallow depths above the hole C19-27 intercept, however C19-27 shows that the width of the mineralized host has almost doubled to 65 metres at 350 metres vertical depth (Figure 3).

Hole C19-29 was drilled 40 metres north of C19-26 to explore the zone to depth along the northern extremity of Zone 3.5 (Figure 1) and intersected narrow patches of weak to moderate mineralization (Table 1). Additional drilling in is needed in this area, where these two zones merge, in order to better understand this underexplored region of the sill.

Hole C19-50 was collared 15 metres north of C19-26 to test the mineralized portion of the sill deeper on section below previously reported holes C18-12 and C18-12B (see press release dated September 11, 2018), and intersected 105.00 metres (45 metre true width) of 1.35 gpt Au, including 34.50 metres of 2.38 gpt Au, and including 12.75 metres of 3.23 gpt Au, extending mineralization an additional 60 metres to depth where it remains open (Figures 1, 2). Nighthawk's hole C18-09 established an 80-metre mineralized true width to the sill at a vertical depth of 450 metres, while hole C19-50, located 60 metres to the northwest, intersected a 45-metre true width at 270 metres vertical depth. C19-50 also clearly shows that at a depth of 350 metres, the true width of the mineralized portion of the sill has more than doubled up to 71 metres. This steady increase in true thickness of the mineralized portion of the sill to depth is consistent with what was observed throughout drilling at Zones 1.5 and 2.0 and has led to the understanding that the sill's expansion to depth takes on a "wedge shaped" configuration. Zone 3.0 Hole C19-44 was collared 120 metres north of C19-29 within the southern section of Zone 3.0 to infill a 130-metre gap in drilling between shallow historical holes and previously drilled Nighthawk holes C12-11 and C12-11B (see press release dated September 19, 2012) and intersected 30.65 metres of 1.81 gpt Au, including 16.95 metres of 2.33 gpt Au, and including 5.85 metres of 3.64 gpt Au at 125 metres depth (Figures 1, 4). This intersect has confirmed that mineralization on this section exists to 350 metres vertical depth where it remains open. The southern part of Zone 3.0 remains largely unexplored to depth and will be tested to a greater extent in the upcoming 2020 drill program. Holes C19-34 and C19-34B tested an unexplored area within central Zone 3.0, 220 metres north of C19-44 (Figure 1). Hole C19-34 was drilled beneath historical shallow holes to trace the shallow mineralization to depth. It intersected 24.50 metres of 0.66 gpt Au at 125 metres vertical depth but lacked internal higher-grade intercepts (Table 1). The steeper hole, C19-34B, bracketed two previously drilled holes C12-12 and C12-12B that had recorded significant intercepts over large widths (see press release dated September 19, 2012). Grade appears to improve with depth on this section as the hole intersected 13.25 metres of 1.70 gpt Au, including 4.50 metres of 2.82 gpt Au at 370 metres below surface.

Drilling has established Zone 3.5 as a higher-grade domain of strong continuity and expansion potential, whose mineralized portion of the sill shows progressive expansion to depth. This characteristic aligns with what is known for Zones 1.5 and 2.0 and opens up the distinct possibility that the entire mineralized sill has a similar "wedge shaped" morphology for upwards of 3.5 kilometres in strike and remains open laterally.

Technical Information

Nighthawk has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the sampling and analysis of drill core.  Drill core samples were transported in security-sealed bags for analyses at ALS Global Assay Laboratory in Vancouver, BC ("ALS Global"). ALS Global is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory. Pulp and metallics assaying for gold was conducted on the entire pulverized sample.

As part of its QA/QC program, Nighthawk inserts external gold standards (low to high-grade) and blanks every 20 samples in addition to the standards, blanks, and pulp duplicates inserted by ALS Global.

About Nighthawk Nighthawk is a Canadian-based gold exploration company with 100% ownership of a district-scale land position within the Indin Lake Greenstone Belt, located approximately 200 km north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Nighthawk is focused on advancing the Colomac Gold Project with a current inferred resource of 2.6 million ounces of gold (50.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.62 grams per tonne gold), as well as advancing its other regional gold deposits and showings within this largely underexplored Archean gold camp.

The Company has an experienced and dedicated team and is well funded to complete its goals and objectives over the next 12 months.

Qualified Person Dr. Michael J. Byron, Ph.D., P.Geo., President & Chief Executive Officer of Nighthawk, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 for this project, has reviewed and approved of the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Please refer to NI 43-101 technical report "Technical Report and mineral resource estimate update on the Colomac Property of the Indin Lake Project", dated July 26, 2018, as filed under the company's profile on www.sedar.com.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange has neither reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to the Company's continued exploration programs (including size and budget) and the ability to advance targets and the timing and results thereof; and the ability to expand the current resource at Colomac with additional drilling. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved".

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Nighthawk to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with the exploration, development and mining such as economic factors as they effect exploration, future commodity prices, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, actual results of current exploration activities, government regulation, political or economic developments, environmental risks, permitting timelines, capital expenditures, operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities, employee relations, the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves, contests over title to properties, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as those risk factors discussed in Nighthawk's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2018, available on www.sedar.com.  Although Nighthawk has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Nighthawk does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Nighthawk Gold Corp.