Categories: Precious Metals
Topics: General Precious Metals

Almaden Minerals (TSX: AMM) CEO Morgan Poliquin on Hitting Further High-Grade Gold and Silver Mineralization Inside and Outside the Amended PEA Pit; Upcoming PFS

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is President and CEO of Almaden Minerals (TSX: AMM)(NYSE: AAU), Mr. Morgan Poliquin. Morgan, thank you for joining me this evening.

Morgan Poliquin: Thanks again for having me on.

Gerardo Del Real: Oh, I had to have you back on. You had a new release just recently, a few hours ago, actually. The headline reads, "Almaden drills further new high-grade mineralization within and outside amended PEA pit." You hit a 105 meters of 1.20 grams per tonne gold, and 87.1 grams per tonne silver, and 38.6 meters of 1.08 grams per tonne gold, and 106.2 grams per tonne silver. Those are excellent widths, excellent grades, it appears to be a deposit, a gold-silver deposit that's growing. What can you tell us about the results today, Morgan?

Morgan Poliquin: Well, more of the same, in terms of what we've been announcing since we started this drill program, which is focused on some veins that were poorly defined. Meaning, we didn't really understand what controlled them and they're just immediately North of the Main Ixtaca Zone, which our deposit that we're currently working on a prefeasibility study. So this is really exciting, to be hitting things right next to a deposit. The drill program is targeting holes that ended in mineralization or again, hit veins that weren't fully understood. We think that this is a good indication, a good way of communicating the fact that the deposit is not totally defined, and it is a discovery we made in 2010, and is open for the possibility of expansion.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Now you mentioned the prefeasibility study, which if I understand correctly, is due either in Q1 or Q2 of this year. I mean, what's exciting to me about that, I know that early in 2016, you had a PEA and if I'm not mistaken, approximately 97% of the mineral resources were incorporated in the measured and indicated category, so with the prefeasibility study, what are you hoping to achieve as far as adding additional ounces or bringing some more of these ounces into that?

Morgan Poliquin: Well, the prefeasibility study, the holes that we've drilled subsequent to the PEA of last year, will not make a huge impact on the PEA. I'm not expecting that. The PFS, rather, because a material change in resource in 43101 terms is a 50% increase. So in that kind of context, this is just the beginnings of a program of defining these new veins. But as you can see, the intersections, the grades that we're hitting here are very, very significant. These intersections are both either within or immediately adjacent to that PEA pit that you just described, so it will impact the PFS, but I think the real potential here is what we can do in terms of exploring these things that we have hit in the future. That's going to the be the focus of an exploration program that will be ongoing this year.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent, and are you currently drilling, or are you looking to get back to drilling here soon, Morgan?

Morgan Poliquin: We're not drilling at the moment. We have a Roundup Convention next week here in Vancouver. We just got all the results in from last year now, and we'll be sitting down, and designing this year's drill program, but we expect it to start probably in February.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent, and that PFS, are you expecting in the late-Q1, early-Q2?

Morgan Poliquin: Yeah, right now we're expecting, and I think the way you laid it out there is pretty good, but I'm certainly hoping that we can produce this in Q1.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Well, between the drilling and the PFS, I think it's going to be an exciting 2017 for Almaden Minerals. I'm looking forward to having you back on, as you get back drilling, and we advance that study, and get that published.

Morgan Poliquin: Excellent. Well, thank you very much. That's precisely the way we see things, as well, and we're looking forward to an exciting year.

Gerardo Del Real: Morgan, thank you so much. Thank you for your time this evening.

Morgan Poliquin: I appreciate it. Thank you.