Midland Identifies Copper-Gold-Molybdenum-Silver Occurrences on the Saruman Project

30 October 2024

Montreal, October 30, 2024. Midland Exploration Inc. (“Midland”) (TSX-V: MD) is pleased to report that copper-gold-molybdenum-silver (Cu-Au-Mo-Ag) occurrences were identified on its Saruman project. Located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, approximately 75 kilometres north of the Troilus Gold Corp. copper-gold (Cu-Au) project, the Saruman project was acquired by map designation in November 2023, is wholly owned by Midland and consists of 121 claims covering a surface area of 64 square kilometres.

Highlights:

  • Strong copper anomalies particularly concentrated within an area of 5 by 3 kilometres, defined in a high-density lake-bottom sediment survey published in 2023 by the Ministère des Ressources Naturelles et des Forêts du Québec (MRNF):
    • 7 copper anomalies above the 99.5th percentile based on statistical processing;
    • 8 additional copper anomalies above the 97th percentile based on statistical processing;
  • Identification of Cu-Au-Mo-Ag occurrences on outcrop (grab samples):
    • 0.32% Cu, 0.35 g/t Au, 13.8 g/t Ag (sample L880271);
    • 0.12% Cu, 0.1 g/t Au, 7.1 g/t Ag (sample L880270);
    • 0.12% Cu, 0.06 g/t Au, 2.05 g/t Ag, 0.39% Mo (sample L880272);
    • 0.11% Cu, 0.03 g/t Au, 1.62 g/t Ag (sample L880273);
  • Project located in a relatively unexplored area, where the geological context remains poorly defined;
  • Mineralization observed on outcrop appears insufficient to explain the scope of copper anomalies in lake-bottom sediments, which thus remain unexplained.

This designation follows the publication, by the MRNF, of strong copper anomalies in a high-density lake sediment geochemistry survey published in November 2023. These strong copper anomalies in lake sediments are particularly concentrated within an area of five (5) by three (3) kilometres, which contains fifteen (15) anomalous samples (>95th percentile). A single day of reconnaissance work by Midland teams in the summer of 2024 resulted in anomalous Cu-Au-Mo-Ag values on outcrop, reaching 0.32% Cu, 0.35 g/t Au, 0.39% Mo, and 13.8 g/t Ag (in grab samples). These occurrences consist of disseminated, veinlet and fracture-filling chalcopyrite, pyrite and molybdenite, and are observed in tonalites. To date, only two outcropping areas exposed over a few hundred metres in diameter, have been prospected by Midland. Following these results, an additional total of 71 claims were recently map designated to increase Midland’s land position in the area to 121 claims.

The mineralization identified to date appears insufficient to explain the extent and scope of the lake sediment copper anomalies described above. These observations suggest a Cu-Au-Mo-Ag system may be present on the property. Additional prospecting and geological mapping are planned for 2025 to collect additional information.

The Saruman project is in the Opatica geological Subprovince. Specifically, it is located in the Theodat Complex, an assemblage of undifferentiated tonalitic gneisses and gneissic tonalites, which covers vast expanses within the region and which remains poorly known. According to MRNF data, no previous exploration is reported within the project area.

Copper anomalies in lake-bottom sediments

Lake sediment copper anomalies discussed in this press release are derived from statistical processing via spatial regression (regression residuals and residual percentiles) conducted by the MRNF. The results and methodology are described in detail in reports RP 2023-02 and RP 2024-04, available in SIGEOM.

Quality Control

Exploration programs are designed, and results are interpreted by Qualified Persons employing a Quality Assurance/Quality Control program consistent with industry best practices, including the use of standards and blanks for every 20 samples. Rock samples from the project are analyzed for gold by standard fire assay on 30-gram fractions, with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy finish (ICP-AES; PGM-ICP23) or gravity finish (Au-GRA21) at ALS Minerals laboratories in Vancouver, British Columbia. All samples are also analyzed for multi-elements by ICP-MS with four-acid digestion (ME-MS61) at ALS Minerals laboratories in Vancouver, British Columbia. Samples with a copper, zinc, molybdenum or nickel grade above 1% are reanalyzed by ICP-AES with four-acid digestion optimized for high grades.

Cautionary statements

Grab samples are selective by nature and are not necessarily indicative of mineralized zones.

Copper-gold mineralization occurring at deposits mentioned in this press release is not necessarily indicative of mineralization that may be found on projects held by Midland described in this press release.

About Midland

Midland targets the excellent mineral potential of Quebec to make the discovery of new world-class deposits of gold and critical metals. Midland is proud to count on reputable partners such as Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc., BHP Canada Inc., Barrick Gold Corporation, Wallbridge Mining Company Ltd, Probe Gold Inc., Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, Electric Elements Mining Corp., SOQUEM Inc.,  Nunavik Mineral Exploration Fund, and Abcourt Mines Inc. Midland prefers to work in partnership and intends to quickly conclude additional agreements in regard to newly acquired properties. Management is currently reviewing other opportunities and projects to build up the Company portfolio and generate shareholder value.

Qualified Person and Chief Geologist Jean-François Larivière, P.Geo, Ph.D., prepared this press release and verified data for the Saruman project as Midland’s qualified person (QP) within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. 

For further information, please consult Midland’s website or contact:

Gino Roger, President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel.: 450 420-5977
Fax: 450 420-5978
Email: info@midlandexploration.com
Website: https://www.midlandexploration.com/

Neither 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 release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in Midland’s periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by Midland from time to time with securities regulatory authorities.

Documents:

MARIO MASSON, P. GEO.

V.P. Exploration

More than 30 years of experience in mineral exploration in Quebec.

Mario Masson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from the Université de Montréal. Before joining Midland’s team, Mario worked several years has a geologist at Nipadex and Muscocho. In 1990, he started working for Noranda Exploration in Matagami has a Project Geologist and was a part of the team that found the Orchan West and Bell Allars deposits. He was also involved in the discovery of the Perseverance deposit in the Matagami Mining Camp in 2000. After this discovery, Mario and his team win the PDAC Bill Dennis Award in 2001. From 2002 to 2007, he was in charge of the exploration activities in the Noranda Mining Camp has a Senior Geologist for Noranda Inc – Falconbridge ltée – Xstrata Copper. In addition, he was also involved in the discovery of the West Ansil deposit in the Noranda Mining Camp in 2005, which allowed the Falconbridge ltée exploration team to win the Prospector of the Year award at the QMEA. Since January 2008, he is a part of Midland Exploration team as VP Exploration.

Gino Roger, ing.

President,CEO, Director

Since November 1, 2006, Gino Roger has been President and CEO of Midland Exploration Inc. In 1990, he obtained his Bachelor’s degree from Laval University in Geological Engineering. . From May 1990 to October 2006, Mr. Roger was a senior and regional project geologist for Xstrata, Falconbridge and Noranda. He actively participated in the generation, acquisition and negotiation of a number of projects and the discovery of base metal deposits. He mainly worked in Quebec, Ontario, BC-Yukon and Sweden on different metallogenic projects and environments: gold, VMS, Sedex, MVT and IOCG. He and his team received the prestigious QMEA prospector of the year award in 2005 for the discovery of the West-Ansil deposit. Mr. Roger is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec. He acted as an administrator of the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association (QMEA) for more than 28 years and is still an administrator of CONSOREM.

Jean-Pierre Janson

Chairman of the Board

Since 2019, Jean-Pierre Janson has been a consultant for Richardson Wealth Limited. From 2005 to 2019, he was Senior Director, National Wealth Management, at Richardson GMP Limited. He has also been a director and Chairman of the Board of Midland Exploration Inc. since 2005. Over the past 30 years, Mr. Janson has served as Managing Director at CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services (Quebec) Inc. (Eastern Canada) and held executive positions at Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. and Midland Walwyn Inc. He has also been a director of Tri Origin Exploration Ltd. since May 2004 and a trustee of BTB Real Investment Trust since September 2007. In addition, he is a director of SIDEX s.e.c. and Harfang Exploration. In over 30 years in the financial services industry, he has built a reputation of trust and respect.

RENÉ BRANCHAUD

Secretary and Director

René Branchaud holds an LLB from Université Laval obtained in 1982. He has been a lawyer since 1983 and is a partner of the law firm Lavery, de Billy L.L.P. He has a vast experience as secretary and director of mining corporations.

INGRID MARTIN

Chief Financial Officer

Ingrid Martin holds a Bachelor in Business Management from the École des hautes études commerciales (HEC), in Montréal, Quebec. She is a member of the Order of Chartered professional accountants of Quebec since 1990 and possesses a vast experience as consultant for public companies. She acts, also, as Chief Financial Officer of Vior Inc. Mrs. Martin is devoting 40% of her time to Midland Exploration.

PAUL ARCHER

Director

Paul Archer has a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering and a Master’s degree in Earth Science. He has more than 35 years of experience in the mining industry, particularly in exploration for gold and base metals in Archean terrains. He developed his expertise working with various companies, including Shell Minerals, Noranda Exploration, Northgate Explorations, Westminer Canada and SOQUEM, where he was Regional Manager for Northern Quebec. On May 1, 1996, Mr. Archer joined Virginia Mines as Vice-President of Exploration and Acquisitions and Director. Mr. Archer was actively involved in the discovery and development of the Eleonore project, from the preliminary field campaign through to the sale of the deposit to Goldcorp. In November 2014, he joined Osisko’s management team following the Osisko/Virginia merger. He was elected President of the Quebec Prospectors Association in 1996 and 1997. Over the years, Mr. Archer has received, on behalf of Virginia, several prestigious prizes, including the Bill Dennis Award from the PDAC in 2006 for the discovery of the Eleonore deposit.

ANNIE DUTIL

Director

Annie Dutil is a member of the Quebec CPA Order and is Nomad’s corporate controller. Ms. Dutil brings over 15 years of extensive mining knowledge, specifically in the areas of public accounting, compliance with financial information obligations and regulatory matters. Prior to joining Nomad, Ms. Dutil has held a number of positions at PwC, including a role as director where she has led the Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services group in Montréal. In her current and previous roles, she has assisted several companies in their capital markets activities, including initial public offerings, financings, cross-border transactions and complex accounting and regulatory matters. Ms. Dutil is the co-founder of the Montreal chapter of Women in Mining and is involved in many community and philanthropic activities, currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors of Factry, the School of the Creative Sciences, and Théâtre de la Banquette Arrière.

Jean des Rivières

Director

Mr. Jean des Rivières holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Université du Québec à Montréal and a Master’s degree of Science in Geology from École Polytechnique de Montréal affiliated to the University of Montreal. He has over 35 years of diversified experience in the exploration and mining industries while working in more than 50 countries touching base and precious metals. He most recently held the position of global Vice President Metals Exploration at BHP and previously held managerial and technical positions at Rio Algom, BHP, and Noranda. With BHP, Mr des Rivières chaired the Inclusion and Diversity committee of the Americas. After a successful career, he recently joined the board of directors of First Majestic Silver Corp., Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd., and Midland Exploration Inc.

JEAN-FRANÇOIS LARIVIÈRE, P.GEO.

Project geologist

More than 20 years of experience in mineral exploration in Quebec.

Project geologist for Midland Exploration, Jean-François holds a PhD from Université du Québec à Chicoutimi in Mineral resources, specialist in zinc-bearing mineralization with an expertise in metallogeny of metalliferous deposits.

RICHARD ST-CYR, P. GEO.

Project geologist

More than 30 years of experience in mineral exploration in Quebec, British Colombia and Dominican Republic.

Project Geologist for Midland Exploration since 2012, Richard holds a Bachelor degree in Resources Geology from Université du Québec à Montréal. Before joining Midland’s team, he was a Project Geologist for Services Technominex – Aurizon Mines, Sirios and Unigold on several gold exploration projects. Between 1997 and 2006, he worked has a Project Geologist (5 years) and Technical Director (4 years) for the Nunavik Mineral Exploration Fund. At the beginning of his career, Richard worked as a Prospector for SOQUEM, Virginia Gold / Barrick Gold on gold projects in James Bay and Northern Quebec. He was also involved in the exploration of the Eskay Creek discovery in British Colombia.

LOUIS-PHILIPPE RICHARD, P.GEO.

Project geologist

More than 10 years of experience in mineral exploration in Quebec.

Project geologist for Midland Exploration, Louis-Philippe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Université Laval. Prior to joining the team, he worked 4 years for Nemaska Exploration / Monarch Resources / Nemaska Lithium in the Nemiscau area where he managed and participated exploration campaigns for lithium, gold and base metals. He also participated in the development of the Whabouchi lithium project.

Romain Deflin, P.Geo.

Project Geologist

Project Geologist for Midland Exploration, Romain Deflin holds a degree in geological engineering from l’ENSG (École National Supérieure de Géologie in Nancy) and a master degree in Mineral Resource Exploration from Université de Lorraine. He completed a 4 months internship with Midland before joining the team permanently in 2019.

Philippe Allard, Geo. M.Sc.

Project geologist

More than 20 years of experience in mineral exploration in Québec, Canadian Arctic, and Dominican Republic.

Project Geologist for Midland Exploration since May 2019, Philippe holds a Bachelor degree in Geology and a master in Earth Sciences from UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal). Before joining Midland’s team, Philippe worked as an Exploration Geologist for Goldcorp, Ressources Sirios, Unigold and the Nunavik Mineral Exploration Fund (NMEF). At the beginning of his career, he also worked as an assistant geologist and a geologist for Virginia Gold Mines, Cambiex, Miramar Mining, Noranda Exploration, SOQUEM and Services Miniers du Nord on gold and base metals projects, mainly in James Bay. Moreover, he was at the origin of the discovery by prospection of the Cheechoo deposit in James Bay in 2010.

SYLVAIN TRÉPANIER, P.GEO.

Geologist Consultant

More than 20 years of experience in mineral exploration and research in Quebec.

Sylvain Trépanier holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology, a Master’s degree in Earth Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Software Engineering from Université du Québec à Montréal. Sylvain began his career for Noranda in 1995 and worked on various projects in Quebec until 2001. From 2004 to 2012, he worked has a research geologist at CONSOREM. During his years working at CONSOREM, he has carried out numerous research projects applied to mineral exploration and has developed expertise recognized in Quebec in various fields related to exploration: lake-bottom, streams and tills sediments geochemistry, alterations lithogeochemistry, statistical data processing and potential mineral evaluation by artificial intelligence. He is the author of several scientific articles, research reports and public presentations. He designed and developed the Lithomodeleur software for geochemistry treatment, which is now widely used in Quebec by exploration companies, governments and universities. From 2012 to 2016, he worked for Virginia Mines and Osisko Gold Royalties as a Senior Research Geologist and was involved in most of the company’s projects in James Bay and the Labrador Trough. He is co-recipient of the QMEA Jean-Descarreaux Award in 2011 with the CONSOREM team. Mr. Trépanier joined Midland in November 2016 as a VP Exploration James-Bay/Northern Quebec.