TMAC’s Initial Drilling at Boston Intersects 15.3 g/t Gold over 22.3 Metres

TMAC Resources Inc. (TSX: TMR) ("TMAC” or the "Company”) is pleased to report that the first drilling campaign at the Boston Deposit, located in the south of its 100% owned Hope Bay Project, has intersected significant high-grade gold mineralization over wide widths. The on-going, initial drilling is designed to extend wide, high-grade trends within the current resource model. In addition, ongoing drilling at Doris below the dyke ("Doris BTD”) continues to intersect high grade gold over mineable widths and the underground development there confirms the continuity of the ore bearing structures at depth below the diabase dyke.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810006301/en/

Figure 1: Boston plan view illustrating the general geological setting and location of the B2, B3 and B4 mineralized zones. Section Lines A-A’ and B-B’ Refer to Figures 2 and 3.

Dr. Catharine Farrow, Chief Executive Officer of TMAC, stated, "Since acquiring the Hope Bay Project in 2013, we have focussed on Doris and patiently waited to initiate a major exploration campaign at Boston until we had the Doris mine in commercial production. Having achieved that effective June 1^st, we recommissioned the Boston camp located about 60 km south of the Doris complex and initiated our first drilling program there this summer. Initial drilling results, such as drill hole TMB0001, intersecting 15.3 g/t Au over 22.3 metres, are very encouraging and confirm Boston’s high-grade potential along-strike and down plunge.”

She added "The Doris BTD underground development is progressing as planned and sill development has commenced on the upper levels of the BTD East Limb. The underground development on the Doris BTD East Limb confirms its location and the continuity of the ore-bearing structures under the diabase dyke and the on-going underground drilling confirms the high grade potential of both the Doris BTD East Limb and the Doris BTD Extension zones. Two drill rigs will continue to operate in these areas for the remainder of the year, once the annual sealift re-supply is complete.”

Boston Deposit

The Boston Deposits are hosted within a regional-scale south-plunging fold (synformal or overturned anticline) that is cored by a sequence of mafic metavolcanic rocks and flanked by an extensive metasedimentary rock domain (Figure 1). There are a number of sub-units within the mafic package including variolitic and non-variolitic metabasaltic units, intercalated interflow metasedimentary units, gabbro, picritic sills, and felsic dykes. The metasedimentary rocks typically range from fine-grained argillites to quartzo-feldspathic wackes. Gold mineralization at the Boston deposits are hosted within a series of axial-planar, sub-parallel anastomosing high-strain domains referred to as B2, B3, and B4 zones (Figure 1). Within these zones, gold mineralization occurs within and around structurally controlled quartz-carbonate-tourmaline veins, which are generally developed along lithological contacts. Gold is associated with an alteration assemblage comprising paragonite-sericite, iron carbonate, and sulphides with a distal assemblage primarily of chlorite and calcite.

B2 ZONE

The B2 zone is developed along the western contact of the mafic metavolcanic package and metasedimentary rocks. A transitional breccia domain occurs at the contact, which is characterized by mafic-dominated peperitic breccias and hyaloclastites with increasing argillite content with distance from the metavolcanic contact. Gold mineralization within the B2 zone is associated with multi-stage quartz-carbonate veins with minor tourmaline and sulphides, within a wider iron carbonate alteration assemblage, 10-20 metres surrounding the quartz veins. Collectively the B2-B3-B4 zones would form an alteration footprint 200 – 300 metres wide on surface. Gold is hosted both in quartz veins as well as in their adjacent alteration selvages within wallrock.

B3 ZONE

Gold mineralization within the B3 zone is present in an altered domain parallel to the B2 zone and is composed of a stockwork of quartz-carbonate veins within highly-strained metabasaltic rocks along the margins of an ultramafic sill. Gold mineralized intervals occur in boudinaged lenses marked by intense quartz-carbonate-sulphide alteration.

B4 ZONE

The B4 zone is developed along the eastern contact of the mafic metavolcanic package and the metasedimentary rocks. Similar to the B2 zone, gold mineralization within the B4 zone is associated with a transitional breccia domain that exists along the mafic metavolcanic-metasedimentary rock contact. Gold mineralization within the B4 zone is associated with multi-stage quartz-carbonate veins with minor tourmaline and sulphides, within a wider iron carbonate alteration assemblage.

Boston Exploration Drilling

The objective of the 2017 program at Boston was to provide further understanding of the geological controls on gold mineralization and demonstrate the potential to add significant high-grade gold ounces to the Boston Mineral Resource base at shallow depths. Equipment and supplies required to support the diamond drilling program at Boston were mobilized in the first quarter of 2017. The camp was recommissioned late in the second quarter, and drilling, sampling and support personnel were mobilized to site in mid-June. The Boston Deposit Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources total 3.71 million tonnes grading 9.2 grams per tonne ("g/t”) gold ("Au”), containing 1.1 million ounces of gold, of which approximately 0.87 million ounces are contained in the B2 zone. The B2 zone Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources extend from surface to the 350 metre level, and are open at depth. Widely-spaced historical drilling below the current Mineral Resources have intersected significant mineralization, including drillhole 11SBD414A, which intersected 28.5 g/t Au over 7.1 metres, 17.3 g/t Au over 4.8 metres, and 46.6 g/t Au over 7.8 metres, and drillhole S03-293, which intersected 56.6 g/t Au over 8.7 metres at the 1020 metre level (Figure 2). The TMAC 2017 exploration program includes two surface drills focused on targeting wide, higher grade trends within the current Boston Mineral Resources. Figure 2 illustrates the TMAC drillholes from the current drilling program and historical intersections of greater than 5 g/t Au over greater than five metres, highlighting the wide high grade trends within the known Mineral Resources. Significant results to date include drillhole TMB0001, which intersected 15.3 g/t Au over 22.3 metres, including 36.6 g/t Au over 4.5 metres, 18.9 g/t Au over 6.3 metres, and 20.6 g/t Au over 2.6 metres. A summary of the assay results received to date is provided in Table 1 and drillhole locations are illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. The Boston exploration program is funded under the flow-through financing completed on March 18, 2016. As of the first week of August, TMAC’s flow through financing commitments have been met and the Boston program will be completed by August 12, 2017 at which time the camp will be closed for the balance of the 2017 season.

TABLE 1: BOSTON 2017 DIAMOND DRILLING INTERSECTIONS

1 True width varies depending on the dip of the drill hole. Drill holes were designed to intersect target zone(s) at as close to a perpendicular orientation as possible, therefore, true widths are estimated to be approximately 45% to 85% of down hole widths.
2 Individual assay values presented cut and uncut (when applicable) with individual values capped at 100 g/t Au.

Doris Deposits

The Doris Trend is a north-south oriented structural trend developed within Archean-aged, mafic metavolcanic-dominant, host rocks. The Doris gold mineralization occurs at the contact between two mafic metavolcanic units, a high-titanium metabasalt and a high-magnesium metabasalt in either quartz vein or within shear breccia. The drill results reported are from the most northern known extent of the Doris Trend, below the diabase dyke (Figure 4). The current known high-grade mineral resources at Doris North Hinge zone (Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 371,000 tonnes grading 19.5 g/t and containing 233,000 Au ounces) are located above the diabase dyke and extend to a depth of only 160 metres. Local parallel structures above the diabase include the West Valley Wall ("WVW”) veins, that also have future exploration potential. The Doris BTD zones are the extension of the Doris North zone, below a late, locally relatively flat-lying diabase dyke that bisects the known gold mineralization at Doris into upper and lower elevations. Initial mineral resources below the dyke from the Doris BTD Zones were reported in the June 30, 2017 Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources statement, and include the high grade Doris BTD East Limb (Indicated Mineral Resource of 68,000 tonnes grading 18.3 g/t Au, containing 40,000 ounces of gold). The Doris BTD zones are further subdivided into the Doris BTD East Limb and Doris BTD Extension, separated by the northwest-striking North Fault. The Doris BTD Extension is interpreted as the down-dropped continuation of the Doris North zone "Hinge” structure on the north side of the North Fault, beneath the diabase dyke. The Doris BTD East Limb is interpreted as the down-dip continuation of the Doris North East Limb mineralization, south of the offsetting North Fault and beneath the diabase dyke. TMAC believes the Doris BTD exploration areas have the potential to add significant high grade gold ounces to the Doris North Mineral Resources with continued drilling and underground development.

Doris BTD Exploration Drilling

Drilling below the dyke commenced in early March with exploration drilling south of the known Doris BTD East Limb and Doris BTD Extension resources, and initial drilling results were reported in May. The Doris BTD access ramp has subsequently reached the area of the Doris BTD East Limb Mineral Resources and drilling has continued with two underground rigs. The results reported here are from the remaining exploration drillholes south of the known Doris BTD East Limb Mineral Resources, as well as initial infill and expansion drilling on the Doris BTD East Limb and southern portion of the Doris BTD Extension. Although the ore-bearing structure continues to the south of the known Doris BTD East Limb Mineral Resources, grades show limited continuity or low gold grades have been intersected during the 2017 drill campaign. A summary of the assay results received since the May update are provided in Table 2 and drillhole locations are illustrated in Figure 5. Highlights from the current phase of drilling include drillhole TM50077 which intersected 33.8 g/t Au over 3.8 metres and 15.3 g/t Au over 2.3 metres, and TM50085 returning 5.7 g/t Au over 21.2 metres. To date, approximately 13,140 metres of the 20,000 metres budgeted have been completed in a total of 53 diamond drill holes. For camp space considerations during the 2017 sealift period, drilling has been suspended and will resume once the sealift operations are complete. The next phase of Doris BTD drilling will target infill and expansion drilling on the high grade Doris BTD Extension on the north side of the North Fault (Figure 5).

TABLE 2: DORIS BTD EXPLORATION 2017 DIAMOND DRILLING INTERSECTIONS.

* TMAC underground drill hole previously reported in 23/5/2017 release.
1 True width varies depending on the dip of the drill hole. Drill holes were designed to intersect target zone(s) at as close to a perpendicular orientation as possible, therefore, true widths are estimated to be approximately 45% to 85% of down hole widths.

ABOUT TMAC RESOURCES

TMAC holds a 100% interest in the Hope Bay Project located in Nunavut, Canada. TMAC is an emerging gold producer with the Doris Mine pouring first gold in the first quarter of 2017 and achieving commercial production in the second quarter of 2017. The Madrid and Boston properties are expected to commence production in 2020 and 2022, respectively. The Company has an experienced, expert board of directors combined with exploration, development and operating teams with extensive track records of discovering, developing and operating high grade, profitable underground mines. TMAC’s shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol TMR.

SAMPLE PREPARATION, ANALYSIS AND QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL

For the Doris and Boston drilling campaigns, samples were prepared at ALS Laboratories in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and assayed at their Vancouver, British Columbia laboratory (an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab for gold analysis). Analysis for gold is completed on sawn half core samples (NQ) using 50 gram fire assay with atomic absorption (AAS) finish. Samples with higher grade gold (>100 g/t) are re-assayed using the pulp and fire assay with gravimetric finish procedures. Samples with visible gold, and surrounding samples are analyzed using screen metallics (1000 g of material is screened to 100 microns, with all +100 micron material analyzed and two samples of -100 micron analyzed by 50 g fire assay with AAS finish, results are averaged based on weight). The Company control checks include the insertion of standard reference materials and blank samples to monitor the precision and accuracy of the assay data. For a complete description of TMAC’s sample preparation, analytical methods and QA/QC procedures please refer to TMAC’s annual information form, dated February 23, 2017 and filed on TMAC’s website at www.tmacresources.com and also on TMAC’s profile at www.sedar.com.

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Information of a scientific or technical nature in respect of the Hope Bay Project, other than new information related to Doris mine development, is based upon the Hope Bay Technical Report, as filed on TMAC’s profile at www.sedar.com. Scientific and technical information contained in this document was reviewed and approved by David King, P.Geo., the Vice President, Exploration and Geoscience of TMAC who is a "Qualified Person” as defined by National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This release contains "forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information” includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may”, "will”, "expect”, "anticipate”, "believe”, "continue”, "potential” or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking information includes, without limitation, bringing the timing for bringing Madrid and Boston into production and the rate of ramp up at Doris throughout 2017.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and management bases forward-looking statements on a number of estimates and assumptions at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. See "Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Information Form dated February 23, 2017 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com for a discussion of these risks.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170810006301/en/