Drilling Commences on Orford's Qiqavik Gold Property with First Hole Intersecting Sulphides at the Interlake Trend

TORONTO, Aug. 8, 2019 - Orford Mining Corp. ("Orford") (TSX-V: ORM) is pleased to announce that it has begun the third phase of the 2019 Exploration program on its 100% controlled Qiqavik gold project in the Cape Smith Belt in northern Quebec. Following the completion of the first and second phase exploration program, consisting of an Airborne Electromagnetic (EM) Survey, Ground Induced Polarization (IP) Survey and detailed prospecting and structural mapping focused at Esperance, Interlake and IP Lake (Figure 1), Orford has begun testing drill targets as part of the 1,500m drill program announced on August 2, 2019. 

David Christie, President and CEO of Orford, commented, "Our exploration program is off to an excellent start with the discovery of new gold boulder showings up to 648 g/t¹ at surface and a sulphide intersection in the first hole drilled at Interlake this year.   This detailed geophysical and geological work has provided fundamental targeting information in high priority exploration areas on the Qiqavik Property, including Interlake, Interlake South, IP Lake, and Esperance. The July surveys have refined targets defined during the spring IP program at Interlake, where large thicknesses of gold mineralization were intersected during the 2018 drilling program (see Orford news release dated October 16, 2018). We look forward to continuing to explore the potential of this new 40 km long camp-scale gold belt located in a previously unexplored region of Canada. Our understanding of this new gold belt has evolved since the 2016 field program, and we are eager to put our knowledge to work in the 2019 field program."

This field work has resulted in:

• Extension of the 2018 mineralized and structural trend at Interlake to 5 km with the identification of a thick (approximately 500m) structural package of multiple shears and crosscutting structures associated with potentially gold bearing mineralization associated with sulphide minerals containing copper, zinc, and lead (pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena) (Figure 2).
• Identification of new Au anomalies in boulders of up to 648 g/t Au¹ (Figure 2) north of the IP Lake Shear Corridor.
• Identification of a large new structural corridor (approximately 75-100m wide) that extends from IP Lake westward for approximately 10 km. The shear is hosted in basalt and meta-sediments and contains decimetre-scale quartz vein boulders with sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and pyrite (Figure 2) that report Au values by portable XRF.
• Identification of several IP anomalies associated with surface mineralization at Interlake and IP Lake that will be tested by drilling (Figure 2).
• Identification of new untested EM drill targets along the main Esperance trend, and additional EM anomalies to the south of the main trend (Figure 3).

Figure 1: Overview of 2019 Work Completed at Qiqavik

Orford has completed an IP survey using Abitibi Geophysics' Orevision^TM system at Interlake and the SE Grid for a total of 34.8 l-km (Figure 1). The survey was conducted at various line spacings in a pole-dipole configuration with an "a"-spacing of 25m. Results received to date have identified high priority drill targets INT-01, IPL-04B and IPL06C (Figure 1), the IP results for the Western Part of the Interlake grid are pending and are expected to generate additional drill targets. Orford has completed an 1128 km airborne EM survey using Geotech's VTEM^TM plus time-domain system covering Esperance, Interlake and West Gerfaut at 100m line spacing (Figure 1). Conductors of interest are in the process of being modelled at Esperance and are expected to generate additional drill targets on the Esperance trend.

Figure 2: Interlake Structural Package and IP Lake Shear Corridor
(Ice direction is SW to NE)

Figure 3: Plan map of EM "Lenses" at Esperance and Past Drilling²

A total of 545 Grab samples, and 289 frost boil samples have been collected for geochemistry. In addition,118 till samples have been collected at Gerfaut and the Interlake/SE grid area of Qiqavik, a subset of which will be analysed post-program for gold grain count and associated mineralogy. The first batch of rush grab samples results identified two gold anomalies in angular boulders grading 648.0g/t Au and 25.4 g/t Au (Figure 3)¹.

Additional drill targets will be generated over the coming days as IP inversions, EM Models and rush assay results are received.

Diamond drilling commenced on August 3, 2019, with hole QK-19-001 (target # INT-01A; Figure 2) and the drill is currently on its second hole at IP lake (Target # IPL-04B/QK-19-002).  Drill hole QK-19-001 was successful in intersecting the IP chargeability anomaly with disseminated to massive sulphides in sheared lapilli volcanic tuff. A summary of the intersection and the hole is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Drill Hole Section (looking west) for QK-19-001 (Target INT-01A)

Targets IPL-4B and IPL-6C (Figure 2), consist of a chargeability anomaly in a resistive body and are both one of the potential source areas for the Au boulder train to the NE. Drilling of these targets is in progress. All assays are pending.

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 Australia³. 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 structurally controlled and 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.

About Orford Mining Corporation
Orford Mining is a mineral explorer focused on highly prospective and underexplored areas of Northern Quebec. 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. 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.

To view further details about the Qiqavik and West Raglan Projects please visit Orford's website, www.orfordmining.com.

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

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's news releases available on Orford's website and on SEDAR.

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, and West Raglan, 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 Corp.