Northern Superior Reports 3.59 G/T AU Over 7.7 Metres 800 Metres East of Resource Pit and 2.89 G/T Over 10.6 Metres From Under Resource Pit at Philibert, Mobilizes Second Drill Rig, and Comments on New Nelligan Resource Estimate

Associated Press

03-03-2025

TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / March 3, 2025 / Northern Superior Resources Inc. ('Northern Superior' or the 'Company') (TSXV:SUP)(OTCQX:NSUPF)(GR:D9M1) is pleased to announce additional results from its 20,000 metres expansion drilling campaign at the Philibert gold property, located only 9 km from IAMGOLD Corporation Ltd. ('IAMGOLD')'s Nelligan project, and 60 km southwest of Chibougamau, Quebec (the 'Philibert Project": Northern Superior: 75%, SOQUEM: 25%[1]).
Highlights Include (Grades uncut; lengths measured along hole, Table 1):
'Considering that the current Mineral Resource at Philibert, consisting of 1.7 million ounces inferred and 278,000 ounces indicated, is confined within a 3 km pit, today's results demonstrating the presence of high-grade mineralization 800 metres beyond the pit eastern boundary further underscore the significant untapped potential of the deposit andfurtherreinforces our confidence in the broader mineralized system. This follows our recently announced intercept of 2.6 g/t over 26.5 metres, located 200 metres east of the pit,' said Simon Marcotte, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Additionally, the Company has submitted 1,800 metres of historical drill core for analysis. These core samples, originally drilled by Soquem, the project's previous operator, were not a priority at the time, as the resource model was then focused on underground high-grade potential. Historical core analysis has proven valuable in refining the deposit model and enhancing geological understanding. The processing of these historical samples has contributed to a delay in receiving assay results for the current drill program; further results should be expected shortly.
Below are new assay results from a combination of newly collected core samples and re-evaluated historical drill core. These results include assays from previously unsampled core intervals, as well as recalculated composite grades from historical drilling, applying updated methodologies to ensure consistency with modern standards. This work has successfully identified new areas of mineralization especially in the central part of the western extent of the MRE pit with drill hole 981-89-142 returning 20.4 metres of 1.12 g/t Au and improved grade continuity in the Red Fox and Arctic Fox zones with results such as hole 981-14-281 returning 81.2 metres of 0.56 g/t Au and from drill hole 981-87-043 with 29.0 metres of 1.12 g/t Au.
Table 1: Significant Historic Drillhole Intersections
981-88-100
242.1
261.2
19.1
1.89
36.1
Arctic Fox Footwall
981-88-103
271.3
279.0
7.7
0.79
6.1
Arctic Fox Footwall
981-88-110
199.3
231.0
31.7
0.75
23.8
Fennec Fox Footwall
981-88-126
84.0
91.5
7.5
0.39
2.9
New Zone
981-89-142
40.5
60.9
20.4
1.12
22.8
New Zone
981-89-145
19.5
37.0
17.5
0.44
7.7
New Zone
981-90-156
239.0
252.5
13.5
0.49
6.6
Corsac Fox - Hanging Wall
PH-93-203
599.4
640.2
40.8
0.64
26.1
Red Fox Footwall
including
677.8
682.6
4.8
1.77
8.5
Red Fox Footwall
PH-93-217
354.5
357.5
3.0
0.75
2.3
Corsac Fox - Hanging Wall
981-12-260
111.9
146.4
34.5
0.62
21.4
Red Fox Footwall
981-12-264
101.0
123.0
22.0
0.36
7.9
Red Fox Footwall
including
114.0
123.0
9.0
0.63
5.7
Red Fox Footwall
981-14-277
72.7
87.5
14.8
0.34
5.0
Arctic Fox Footwall
981-14-280
206.5
239.0
32.5
0.43
14.0
Arctic Fox Footwall
981-14-281
189.3
270.5
81.2
0.56
45.5
Red Fox Footwall
including
189.3
206.6
17.3
0.85
14.7
Red Fox Footwall
and including
231.3
234.3
3.0
4.07
12.2
Red Fox Footwall
981-12-240
112.0
118
6.0
0.6
3.6
Red Fox Footwall
981-12-256
174.6
184.5
9.9
0.33
3.3
Red Fox Footwall
981-14-289
123.5
134.1
10.6
0.26
2.8
Red Fox Footwall
981-14-315
63.0
71.0
8.0
0.55
4.4
New Zone
981-87-043
25.0
54.0
29.0
1.12
32.5
Arctic Fox Footwall
including
27.5
27.7
0.2
69.65
13.9
Arctic Fox Footwall
PH-93-202
391.0
392.5
1.5
1.32
2.0
Corsac Fox - Hanging Wall
Northern Superior is also pleased to announce the arrival of a second drill rig at the Philibert property, which began operation last week. Since the launch of the drilling campaign, Northern Superior has completed approximately 8,500 metres in 2024 and 4,800 metres in 2025, totaling over 13,000 metres, primarily targeting the southeast extension and expansion of the Philibert pit.
IAMGOLD's Updated Nelligan Resource
On February 20, 2025, IAMGOLD Corporation announced a resource update for its 100%-owned Nelligan Project, located just 9 km from Northern Superior's Philibert Project and less than 2 km east of Northern Superior's Lac Surprise property.[2]
'With this new resource calculation at Nelligan, the Chibougamau Gold Camp now hosts over 12 million ounces across various categories, collectively owned by IAMGOLD and Northern Superior, making it one of the largest gold camps globally that is not controlled by a major producer. The camp increasingly draws comparisons to Kinross' Fort Knox mining complex in Alaska,[3]' said Simon Marcotte, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Northern Superior firmly believes that its projects in the area, namely Philibert, Lac Surprise, and Chevrier, hold strategic value where the camp could benefit from optimization by prioritizing both higher-grade material and material with higher recovery to enhance the camp's economics.
Notably, Philibert already boasts an average grade of 1.1 g/t, but when applying a 0.5 g/t cutoff, the grade increases by more than 20% to approximately 1.33 g/t while retaining approximately 90% of its total ounces.[4] Furthermore, metallurgical testing at Philibert showed flotation concentrate recoveries of up to 95.6% (see press release dated July 6, 2023). Northern Superior also views the Lac Surprise Project as having a strong geological continuity with Nelligan, reinforcing its potential as a high-value exploration target
Drilling Results
Drillholes PB-24-457 through PB-24-463 targeted the hanging wall zone from 700 to 900 metres east of the current Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE') pit. Results confirm the potential for further expansion along strike, demonstrating both higher-grade intervals and broader zones of lower-grade mineralization. These drillholes extended exploration beyond the pit boundary and tested potential mineralization in previously unexamined sections over a 185-metre strike length. Drill hole PB-25-476 tested the Grey Fox zone under the current Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE') pit. See Figure 1 for a plan map of the drilling.
Figure 1: Plan Map of Philibert 2024 Diamond Drilling
Drill hole PB-25-476 returned 2.5 g/t Au over 8.4 metres, including 6.47 g/t Au over 1 metre from the upper footwall of the Grey Fox zone and 2.89 g/t Au over 10.6 metres, including 5.15 g/t Au over 5.3m from the footwall of the Grey Fox Zone. The intersection tested mineralization at 160 metre vertical depth and approximately 40 metres below the current MRE pit. The 2025 program has focused on expanding the depth of the mineralization in the southeast end of the current pit. More results are expected to be reported in the near future.
See Figure 2 below for section L08880W including drill holes PB-24-457, PB-24-458 and PB-24-462. Drill hole PB-24-462 returned 0.78 g/t Au over 21.5 metres including 7.45 g/t over 0.8 metres and 6.55 g/t Au over 1.0 metre focused along the litho-structural contact of mafic volcanic, argillite and the Philibert gabbro. The intersection is highly fractured, silicified with variable sulphide abundances. Drill holes PB-24-457 and PB-24-458 intersected the contact up-dip over narrow widths returning 2.2 g/t Au over 2.1 metres and 0.53 g/t Au over 8.7 metres respectively.
Figure 2: Section L08880W at 80 metres width, looking northwest, Au g/t filtered > 0.1 g/t Au
See Figure 3 below for section L08800W including drill holes PB-24-459, PB-24-460 and PB-24-463. Drill hole PB-24-459 returned 3.59 g/t Au over 7.7 metres including 8.53 g/t over 3.0 metres focused along the hanging wall litho-structural contact. The intersection is highly fractured, silicified and host variable sulphide abundances. Drill hole PB-24-463 intersected the contact up-dip across significant widths with modestly anomalous grades and further downhole intersected some isolated anomalous values that correspond to mineralized zones along strike from historic drilling. PB-24-463 also intersected a quartz feldspar porphyry interval at the base of the hole that returned some weakly anomalous background gold values. Drill hole PB-24-458 intersected the contact down dip although at lower grades and widths but may have been drilled short of the new interpreted zone. This is also the case for drill hole PB-24-461 drilled 80 metres east of section L08800W where the last sample returned 0.40 g/t over 1 metre. The Company is planning to extend this hole in the near future.
Figure 3: Section L08800W at 80 metres width, looking northwest, Au g/t filtered > 0.1 g/t Au
The drilling confirmed that the northern contact of the Philibert gabbro remains a highly prospective target, with strong deformation, silicification, and sulphide mineralization associated with litho-structural contact. Additional work, including litho-geochemical sampling and structural analysis, is ongoing to refine future drill targeting. Further drilling is planned to better delineate these zones and assess their strike extensions to the east and west.
Table 2: Significant Drillhole Intersections
Table 2: Drill holes collars and parameters
Drilled Name
Easting
Northing
Elevation
Azimuth
Dip
Final Depth
PB-24-457
530404
5479752
384
210
-55
252
PB-24-458
530482
5479827
385
210
-55
252
PB-24-459
530552
5479789
385
210
-50
252
PB-24-460
530644
5479953
385
210
-50
372
PB-24-461
530717
5479917
385
210
-48
363
PB-24-462
530577
5479986
375
210
-48
375
PB-24-463
530479
5479683
385
210
-55
291
PB-24-464
530297
5479832
384
210
-50
225
PB-25-476
529582
5480358
380
210
-50
285
Chibougamau Gold Camp
The Chibougamau Gold Camp is rapidly emerging as one of the world's most sought-after gold destinations with several complementary gold resources reaching viable scale. Only two years ago, these critical assets were divided amongst five different companies. Today, largely due to Northern Superior's acquisitions and corporate transactions,[5] ownership has been streamlined, with only IAMGOLD and Northern Superior holding these assets. The proximity of these deposits to each other makes them ideally suited to feed a single mill, and their consolidation enhances their viability, thereby increasing their value.
Below is a table showing the resources of the camp having been formalized to date.
Note: see NI-43-101 information below in notes 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Qualified Person ('QP')
The technical content and drilling results contained in this news release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ('NI 43-101"). The content has been reviewed and approved by Ms. Melanie Pichon, P.Geo., Senior Geologist for Northern Superior. Ms. Pichon is a QP under the NI 43-101 and is not considered independent.
Northern Superior adheres to strict protocols following the NI 43-101 best practices when conducting exploration works. Sampling and assay results are monitored with a strict QAQC protocols. Drilled core is processed and assayed in Northern Superior's facilities in Chapais, Quebec. Core samples (half core) are transported to Agat Laboratory in Val d'Or.Samples are analyzed by fire assay with a 50-gram charge with an Atomic Absorption (AA) finish. Samples returning assay values over 10.0 grams are re-assayed with a gravimetric finish. QAQC consists of 4% of blank material, certifies standards and duplicates inserted in the assay sequences by Northern Superior.
About Northern Superior Resources Inc.
Northern Superior is a gold exploration company focused on the Chibougamau Camp in Québec, Canada. The Company has consolidated the largest land package in the region, with total land holdings currently exceeding 62,000 hectares. The main properties include Philibert, Lac Surprise, Chevrier and Croteau. Northern Superior also owns 72% of ONGold Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ONAU) which is advancing promising exploration assets in Northern Ontario, including the district scale TPK Project.
The Philibert Project is located 9 km from IAMGOLD Corporation's Nelligan[6] Gold project. Philibert hosts a maiden 43-101 inferred resource of 1,708,800 ounces Au and an indicated resource of 278,900 ounces of Au.[7] Northern Superior holds a majority stake of 75% in the Philibert Project, with the remaining 25% owned by SOQUEM, and retains an option to acquire the full 100% ownership of the project. Chevrier hosts an inferred mineral resource of 652,000 ounces Au (underground and open pit) and an indicated mineral resource of 260,000 ounces Au.[8] Croteau hosts an inferred mineral resource of 640,000 ounces Au.[9] Lac Surprise hosts the Falcon Zone Discovery, interpreted to be the western strike extension of IAMGOLD Corporation's Nelligan Gold project.
Northern Superior is a reporting issuer in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Québec, and trades on the TSXV under the symbol SUP and the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol NSUPF. For further information, please refer to the Company's website at www.nsuperior.com or the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
About SOQUEM
SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Québec, is dedicated to promoting the exploration, discovery, and development of mining properties in Québec. SOQUEM also contributes to maintaining strong local economies. Proud partner and ambassador for the development of Québec's mineral wealth, SOQUEM relies on innovation, research, and strategic minerals to be well-positioned for the future.
Northern Superior Resources Inc. on Behalf of the Board of Directors
Simon Marcotte, CFA, President and Chief Executive Officer
Contact Information
Katrina Damouni
Director - Corporate Development
Tel: [phone] (Mobile/WhatsApp)
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this news release. The information in this news release about the proposed transaction; and any other information herein that is not a historical fact may be 'forward-looking information'. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as 'expects', or 'does not expect', 'is expected', 'interpreted', 'management's view', 'anticipates' or 'does not anticipate', 'plans', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'forecasts', 'estimates', 'believes' or 'intends' or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results 'may' or 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will' be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward- looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of Northern Superior, at the time it was made, involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the companies to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, risks relating to the ability of the parties to execute the proposed transaction. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the parties cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither party nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward-looking information. Neither party undertakes, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law.
[1] Northern Superior has the option to acquire from Soquem the remaining 25% (to own 100%) of the Philibert Project for a cash payment of CAD$3.5 million.
[2] Results at Nelligan are not indicative of the potential of any neighbouring properties
[3] See National Bank Financial research note dated June 17, 2024
[4] See Philibert Technical Report dated September 22, 2023, page 112, available on Sedar+
[5] Including Northern Superior acquisitions of Genesis Metals Corp. and Royal Fox Gold Inc.
[6] 'lAMGOLD Announces Significant Increase in Nelligan Ounces & Update of Global Mineral Reserves and Resources"; IAMGOLD reports increase in mineral reserves and resources at existing assets, with increase in resources at Gosselin; IAMGOLD Corporation News Release dated February 15, 2024, October 23, 2024, and February 20, 2025.
[7] Northern Superior announces 1,708,809 gold ounces in inferred category and 278,921 gold ounces in indicated category at 1.10 g/t in maiden NI 43-101 pit constrained resource estimate at Philibert; Northern Superior's press release dated August 08, 2023.
[8] NI 43-101 Technical Report Mineral Resource Estimation for the Chevrier Main Deposit, Chevrier Project Chibougamau, Quebec, Canada, October 20, 2021, Prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 by Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc. IOS Services Géoscientifiques Inc. for Northern Superior.
[9] Chalice Gold Mines Limited and Northern Superior Resources Inc. Technical Report on the Croteau Est Gold Project, Québec, September 2015, Prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 by Optiro Pty Ltd ('Optiro') to Chalice Gold Mines Limited and Northern Superior.SOURCE: Northern Superior Resources Inc.