Orford Intersects New Mineralized Zone on its Carolina Gold Properties and Completes Airborne Magnetic Survey on its Qiqavik Gold Property

TORONTO, June 4, 2018 /CNW/ - Orford Mining Corporation ("Orford") (TSX-V: ORM) is pleased to announce preliminary results from drilling on the Jones-Keystone Property in North Carolina, along with the completion of a helicopter-borne magnetic survey covering the entire 248 km² extent of its Qiqavik Project located in the Cape Smith Belt of northern Quebec. Drilling at Jones-Keystone has confirmed historical mineralization, extended mineralization into a previously unexplored zone, and confirmed an alternative structural interpretation based on IP geophysics which opens up the size potential of this mineralized system.  The Qiqavik airborne magnetic survey has yielded detailed structural information on the geology of the Qiqavik Property which will be integrated into the drill targeting process. 

David Christie, President and CEO of Orford, commented, "We are excited to finally be drilling mineralization on the Jones-Keystone property and look forward to receiving full results of this work. The helicopter-borne magnetic survey at Qiqavik is proving to be an extremely useful tool in focusing our efforts for the summer 2018 field season."

Carolina Gold Properties
At the Jones-Keystone property in North Carolina, drilling of strong chargeability anomalies that not only coincide with historically drilled mineralization but also extend at depth and along strike beyond this mineralization (reported in Orford's press release of March 1, 2018), has yielded promising results.

JK-18-053 was drilled to a depth of 200m to test a new zone 400m to the south of, and parallel to, the historic Jones-Keystone gold trend.  Mineralization here was predicted by surface mapping and by both shallow and deep chargeability anomalies. The hole penetrated altered volcaniclastic rocks with 1-5% pyrite and pyrrhotite from surface to 47.9m¹. This disseminated style of mineralization is similar to known gold-bearing rocks elsewhere on the property. Additional disseminated pyrrhotite mineralization from trace to 10% was noted to the bottom of the 200m-deep hole with greatest concentrations between 163m-174m. This deeper sulfide mineralization appears to be the source of the deeper chargeability anomaly indicated by the induced polarization survey. Assays are pending for this hole.

JK-18-054 was drilled to a depth of 203m to test the historic gold trend associated with historical drill hole JK-11-017 (104m @ 1.27 g/t Au from 28m to 132m, including 40m @ 2.33 g/t from 64 to 104m)².  The purpose of this hole was to investigate a deep chargeability anomaly, and to acquire oriented structural information on shallower historical mineralization to test an alternative structural model of the mineralized trend.  Altered and mineralized mafic volcanic flows with up to 20% pyrrhotite, pyrite and arsenopyrite, both disseminated and in veinlets, were observed from 65.8m to 154m. From 154m to 188m, intensely altered sedimentary rocks contained up to 20% disseminated and veinlet-hosted pyrrhotite and pyrite which confirmed a mineralized source for the deep chargeability target. This style of mineralization is similar to the Haile and Ridgeway deposits to the south in the Carolina Gold Belt³. Oriented core from hole JK-18-54 supports the geophysics-based interpretation that stratigraphy dips to the south in this area which opens up the potential for additional stratigraphically controlled mineralization to the south of the historical Jones-Keystone trend.  Assays are pending for this hole.

Drilling on the Carolina Gold Properties continues on the Jones-Keystone property with one more hole to be completed 200m to the West on the same trend as JK-18-054. The drill will then move to the Landrum-Faulkner Property in South Carolina to complete a 3-hole program on multiple parallel zones of sericitic and silicic alteration associated with gold mineralization up to 6 g/t in grab samples⁴ at surface.

Qiqavik Gold Property
In April and May 2018, BECI Exploration Consultants performed a survey using the Triumph Instruments Magnetic Gradiometer System. The survey totals 6067 line-km, was conducted at 50m line spacing and covers the entire Qiqavik Property. The survey has provided high quality detailed magnetic data that outlines structures that may control gold mineralization on the Qiqavik Trend.

About the Carolina Gold Properties
Orford has entered into an option agreement with Carolina Gold Resources Inc. to earn a 70% interest in both the Jones-Keystone and Landrum-Faulkner Properties located respectively in North Carolina and South Carolina in the southeastern US. The properties are located in the Carolina Gold Belt, home to Oceana Gold's producing Haile Mine (3.7 Moz resource at 1.8 g/t Au⁵), and the past-producing Ridgeway Mine. 

The Jones-Keystone and Landrum-Faulkner Properties occur at or near the same regional geological contact as the Haile and Ridgeway mines.  At Jones-Keystone, mineralization is exposed at surface and historical drilling has yielded multiple drill hole intercepts in the 1 to 3 g/t range including an interval of 1.56 g/t Au over 54m core length including 3.01 g/t Au over 28m core length in historical hole JK-10-006, and an interval of 1.27 g/t Au over 104m core length including 3.03 g/t Au over 14m core length in historical hole JK-11-017^1,2.

About the Qiqavik Property
The Qiqavik Property covers the 40-km long Qiqavik Break, part of the Cape Smith Belt event which is of Paleoproterozoic age (1.8-1.9 billion years).  This geologic era is marked by its significant metal endowment as illustrated by the important gold districts that occur worldwide related to geological events of Paleoproterozoic age.  These include the Flin Flon-Snow Lake Belt, the Ashanti Gold Fields of West Africa, the Tapajos-Parima Belt of Brazil, and the Tanami Region in Australia.  The Cape Smith Belt is also home to Glencore's world class Raglan Mine.

Early-stage exploration work completed to date on the Qiqavik Property shows that high-grade gold and copper occurrences are associated with secondary splay structures located along the district-scale Qiqavik Break Shear Zone which extends the full 40 km length of the Qiqavik Property. Geological data indicate that gold mineralization at Qiqavik is structurally controlled and associated with porphyry intrusions in places.  

Qualified Person
The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Alger St-Jean, Vice President, Exploration of Orford, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. 

The information concerning the Carolina Gold properties in this release has been prepared by management of Orford based on current work and available historical information.  There is no current report prepared in conformance with NI 43-101.  Reference is made to the Management Information Circular dated September 18, 2017 filed on Orford's profile on SEDAR.

The information regarding work disclosed herein in respect of the Qiqavik Property is based on the independent report of Clement Dombrowski, P.Geo of IOS Services Geoscientifiques Inc. titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on Qiqavik Project, Northern Quebec, Canada" effective September 14, 2017, and on Orford Mining's press releases of October 26^th, 2017 and November 15^th, 2017 available on Orford Mining's website and on SEDAR.

About Orford Mining Corporation

Orford Mining is a mineral explorer focused on highly prospective and underexplored areas of Northern Quebec and the Carolina Gold Belt in United States. Orford's principal assets are the Qiqavik and West Raglan projects comprising of a land package totaling over 70,000 hectares in the Cape Smith Belt of Northern Quebec and properties in the U.S. Carolina Gold Belt. The Qiqavik Project hosts several new high-grade gold discoveries along a mineralized trend in excess of 40 km. Orford's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ORM.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" including without limitation statements relating to the liquidity and capital resources of Orford and potential of one or more of the Qiqavik, West Raglan, Jones-Keystone Loflin and Landrum-Faulkner exploration properties.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Orford to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals; the results of drilling; inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the properties; environmental liabilities (known and unknown); general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; political instability, terrorism, insurrection or war; or delays in obtaining governmental approvals, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Orford's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although Orford has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Orford disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

SOURCE Orford Mining Corporation