Osisko Metals Intersects 19.42% Zinc+Lead Over 13.11 Metres at Pine Point

MONTREAL, May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Osisko Metals Incorporated (the “Company” or “Osisko Metals”) (TSX-V: OM; FRANKFURT: 0B51; OTCQX: OMZNF) is pleased to announce additional assay results from 145 drill holes completed in the L-36 and L-35 areas within the East Mill Zone in the Pine Point Mining Camp (“PPMC”). Drill hole EM-18-PP-331 intersected 10.23% zinc and 9.19% lead over 13.11 metres and hole EM-18-PP-209 intersected 9.60% zinc and 1.53% lead over 13.50 metres. Other highlighted intersections are noted in Table 1 below. (See EMZ L36 map)

All intersections are within flat-lying tabular-style deposits, and are located between 9 to 51 metres vertical depths. Drill hole composites and location details are provided in Tables 2 & 3.

Table 1: Selected Drill Highlights

Jeff Hussey, President & CEO of Osisko Metals, commented: “With this last set of results in hand, we have completed our initial definition drilling campaign on the PPMC, which began in 2018. Drilling completed to date will be incorporated into the next Mineral Resource Estimate, slated for release in Q3, and we anticipate that most of the existing resources will be upgraded to the Indicated category. With the upcoming summer season, we will embark on a brownfield exploration program at Pine Point, focused on increasing the resource base and making new discoveries. We believe the property holds significant exploration upside at depth and along its 65km of strike length.”   

The objective of the 2018 – 2019 drill program was to convert the Cominco Ltd. unclassified near-surface historical resources into current mineral resources and to locally extend known zones of mineralization. An initial 2018 Inferred Mineral Resource of 38.4 Mt grading 4.58% zinc and 1.85% lead was calculated on historical drilling and using the initial 317 drill holes out of a total of 1031 holes that were drilled by Osisko Metals during the 2018 and 2019 campaign. These latest East Mill Zone drill holes were not included in this 2018 Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate.

The East Mill Zone extends for 7.6 kilometres along strike, contains eight deposits, three of which were mined by Cominco, and are located 1.7 kilometres to the east of the existing electrical sub-station and former mill site along a main haulage road. Cominco produced 3,417,550 tonnes of 3.4% Zinc and 1.0% Lead from the L-37 pit, 262,170 tonnes of 2.8% Zinc and 1.1% Lead from the L-30 pit and 350,870 tonnes of 5.5% Zinc and 2.2% Lead from the underground M-40 mine.  Reported NI43-101 Inferred Mineral Resources for the East Mill Zone total 5.50 million tonnes of 3.76% Zinc and 1.30% Lead.

About Osisko Metals
Osisko Metals is a Canadian exploration and development company creating value in the base metal space with a focus on zinc mineral assets. The Company controls Canada’s two premier historical zinc mining camps: The Pine Point Mining Camp (“PPMC”), located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, near established infrastructure, paved highway access and with 100 kilometres of mine haulage roads and power substation already in place. The PPMC currently hosts a NI43-101 Inferred Mineral Resource of 38.4 Mt grading 4.58% zinc and 1.85% lead, making it the largest near-surface, pit-constrained zinc deposit in Canada (please refer to the SEDAR-filed Amended Technical Report for further information). The 2018-2019 drill holes, once fully assayed, will be incorporated into the database with the objective of issuing a new resource estimate in H2 2019. PPMC is located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, near infrastructure and paved highway access and with 100 kilometres of haulage roads already in place. The Bathurst Mining Camp (“BMC”), located in northern New Brunswick, with NI43-101 Indicated Mineral Resources of 1.96 Mt grading 5.77% zinc, 2.38% lead, 0.22% copper and 68.9g/t silver (9.00% ZnEq) and Inferred Mineral Resources of 3.85 Mt grading 5.34% zinc, 1.49% lead, 0.32% copper and 47.7 g/t silver (7.96% ZnEq) in the Key Anacon and Gilmour South deposits. In Québec, the Company owns 42,000 hectares that cover 12 grass-root zinc targets that will be selectively advanced through exploration in 2019.

Note regarding mineral resources and Qualified Persons
The above-mentioned current Inferred Mineral Resources for the PPMC conform to National Instrument 43-101 standards. These mineral resources were reported by the Company on December 6, 2018, and the independent qualified person for the resource estimate, as defined by NI43-101 guidelines, is Pierre-Luc Richard, P. Geo, of BBA Inc.

For the BMC, the above-mentioned Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resource conforms to National Instrument 43-101 standards. These mineral resources were reported by the Company on February 20, 2019, and the independent qualified person for the resource estimate, as defined by NI43-101 guidelines, is Pierre Desautels, P. Geo., of AGP Mining Consultants Inc.

Technical reports can be referenced in the Company’s filings at www.sedar.com

Stanley G. Clemmer, P. Geo., registered in the Northwest Territories, is Chief Geologist for Pine Point Mining Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Osisko Metals Incorporated. He is the Qualified Person responsible for the technical data reported in this news release.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

Osisko Metals adheres to a strict Quality Assurance and Quality Control program with regard to core handling, sampling, transportation of samples and lab analyses. Drill core samples from the Pine Point project area were securely transported to its core facility in Hay River, Northwest Territories where they were logged and sampled. Samples selected for assay were shipped via secure transportation to the ALS Canada Ltd.’s preparation facility in Yellowknife. Pulps were analyzed at the ALS Canada Ltd. facility in North Vancouver, British Columbia. All samples are analyzed by four acid digestion followed by both ICP-AES and ICP-MS for ultra-trace level detection for a multi-element suite with a 1% upper detection limit for base metals.  Samples reporting over 1% for Zn and 1% for Pb are analyzed by assay grade four acid digestion and ICP-AES analysis with an upper detection limit of 30% and 20% respectively.  Samples reporting Zn >30% and or Pb >20% are analyzed by traditional titration.

Table 2: Composite Assay Results

Table 3: Drill Hole Collar Locations (UTM NAD83 Zone 11)

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the use of proceeds of the Offering; the timing and ability of the Corporation, if at all, to obtain final approval of the Offering from the TSX Venture Exchange; an exemption being available under MI 61-101 and Policy 5.9 of the TSX Venture Exchange from the minority shareholder approval and valuation requirements for each related party transaction; objectives, goals or future plans; statements regarding exploration results and exploration plans. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; changes in equity markets; inflation; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of projects; the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry; and those risks set out in the Corporation's public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Corporation believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

Reference to historical production in the vicinity of Osisko Metals properties in this press release does not imply that any future mineral resources or discoveries will be of economic viability, nor does it imply that additional discoveries will be made.

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 news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.