Sierra Nevada Gold announced first assays from its maiden New Pass reverse circulation (RC) drilling program with 1.22m at 26.7g/t gold from 186.53m downhole in NP001RC. This hole has intersected the Superior Vein down dip beneath the current level of mining and represents an 80m depth extension of this high-grade gold structure. The impressive first results attest to SNX's belief that New Pass has the potential to host a significant high-grade gold vein system. NP001RC also intersected 1.22m at 7.79g/t gold from the near-surface expression of the True Blue Vein, a sub-parallel vein to the Superior Vein that has only seen minor historical mining. This is the first exploration
drill hole to intersect the True Blue vein structure. Given this strong first drilling result, SNX will further test the True Blue structure as part of its ongoing explorations of the New Pass Project. SNX has completed six holes of its planned 16-hole program before drilling was suspended due to inclement winter weather. Drilling will resume as soon as practical after the winter weather conditions have passed. The New Pass Project is prospective for vein style gold deposits and jasperoid-hosted Carlin style gold deposits within the NW orientated Austin Trend. The Austin Trend is south of and parallel to the prolific Carlin and Battle Mountain Trends of central Nevada. The Project is centred on the New Pass Mine which until recently produced gold at an average grade of 17g/t Au from two parallel NS striking quartz veins. About 40,000oz of gold (non-JORC)1 is estimated to have been extracted by private operators over its mining history. SNX expects the remaining assay results from this first program of RC drilling to be returned during First Quarter 2023, with the resumption of drilling to commence 2023 once weather conditions allow. In the coming months, SNX will continue work on the project, including detailed 3D infrastructure and void modelling of historic workings, together with geomechanically investigations. Once these studies are complete and the mine workings declared safe, SNX will commence a program of detailed underground mapping and sampling of available ore positions with a view to confirming the historic estimates of past production and prospective remaining remnant mineralization. SNX is confident that a pathway to a high-grade gold resource can be established within 18 months. The New Pass Project is prospective for vein style gold deposits and jasperoid-hosted Carlin style gold deposits within the NW orientated Austin Trend. The Austin Trend is south of, and parallel to, the prolific Carlin and Battle Mountain Trends of central Nevada. The New Pass Project is centred on the New Pass Mining centre which until recently produced gold at an estimated average grade of 17g/t Au from two parallel NS striking quartz veins. Approximately 40koz's of gold (non-JORC) is estimated1 to have been extracted by various private operators over its history. Discovered in 1864, a five-stamp steam-powered amalgamation mill was erected at Warm Springs in 1868. The ore was primarily extracted by stoping along two short tunnels from a 45.7m deep shaft on the Superior vein. In 1917 a 75 ton-per-day cyanide mill was erected by the New Pass Mining Company, however this mill was dismantled due to WWI, with only 5,500 tons treated. By 1939 mining on the Superior vein had developed three main adits, up to 457m long, with a 107m shaft. Underground mining development continued in 1946, with active development along the Thomas W vein and underground rock-chip sampling undertaken by the Silver King Divide Mining Company. Don Jung, a local miner, acquired an interest in the New Pass property in 1965, and he continued mining the property up until he retired and sold the property to Sierra Nevada in 2012. Prior to Sierra Nevada's involvement, the last modern exploration occurred in the early 1980's by E&B Explorations which conducted mapping and sampling of the underground workings and limited drilling of the Superior and Thomas West veins. This drilling demonstrated the down dip and strike continuity of the veins with numerous high-grade intersections reported. This work provides the basis for Sierra Nevada's planned follow up drilling of the vein targets. The New Pass Project contains 6.5km's of largely unexplored structurally prospective strike, most of which is covered by thin post mineral sediments and volcanics. Large scale argillic alteration with highly anomalous zinc is present 1km northwest from the main mining centre and presents Sierra Nevada with an immediate prospective area to test. The New Pass mining centre displays all the characteristics of a large-scale mineral system. It has witnessed both historic and more recent mining with high grade, vein-hosted gold mineralization exposed at surface and exploited to approximately 150m below surface. North-south oriented gold-bearing veins are present at the historically and recently worked Superior, Thomas West, Gold Belt and Valley View mines and the lightly prospected and exploited Julie, Lander, True-Blue, and Wildcat zones. Complementary datasets across the project indicate a large-scale and highly prospective structural, hydrothermal, and geochemical setting for the formation of vein deposits. With targeted drilling both down dip and along strike of already defined veins, SNX believes that a pathway to a high-grade gold resource can be mapped within 18 months. Considerable potential also exists north of the mine area within the "Saddle Target", an area of extensive argillic and sulphide alteration displaying highly enriched zinc anomalism.