Benchmark extends gold zone at Lawyers

Benchmark Metals Inc. March 11 reported that its 2018 drill program has tapped gold and silver mineralization up to 350 meters southeast from the Cliffs Creek mineral resource area on the Lawyers project in northern British Columbia.

Located about 45 kilometers (28 miles) northwest of the Kemess copper-gold mine project, Lawyers is home to a small underground mine that produced 171,200 ounces of gold and 3.6 million oz of silver over a four-year period beginning in 1989.

This historical mining, carried out by Cheni Gold Mines, included production from three zones –Cliffs Creek, Phoenix and AGB.

Benchmark's exploration is focused on Lawyers Trend, a 3,000-meter-long area that encompasses the Cliffs Creek, Dukes Ridge, Phoenix and Phoenix East zones.

The latest round of drill results come from drilling to the southeast of Cliffs Creek.

A maiden resource calculation completed for Cliffs Creek in mid-2018 outlines 550,000 metric tons of inferred resource at Cliffs Creek averaging 4.51 grams per metric ton (80,000 ounces) gold and 209.2 g/t (3.7 million oz) silver.

Step-out drilling to the southeast indicates the potential for lower grade gold-silver mineralization indicative of a bulk tonnage target.

Highlights from these holes include: 59.43 meters of 0.65 g/t gold and 12.58 g/t silver in hole 18CCRC004; 28.95 meters of 1.79 g/t gold and 103.31 g/t silver in 18CCRC009; and 38.09 meters of 1.1 g/t gold and 16.69 g/t silver in 18CCRC010.

"This drilling extended the mineralized zone 350 meters southeast of the Cliffs Creek maiden resource area near the northwest portion of the mineralized Lawyers Trend," said Benchmark Metals CEO John Williamson. "The resource and mineralized trend remains open to the southeast and to the north across a northeast oriented fault. The north offset target area is defined by anomalous soil samples collected during 2018."

The maiden Cliffs Creek resource covers about 200 meters of strike along the Lawyers Trend and the 2018 drilling extended the mineralized zone to 550 meters.

In addition, hole 18CCRC011 cut 33.52 meters of 0.59 g/t gold and 8.1 g/t silver a further 1,000 meters to the southeast.

Benchmark said the gold and silver tapped in this hole is coincident with a large radiometric anomaly. A linear magnetic anomaly indicates the mineralized system likely extends further along strike to the southeast, the company said.

Benchmark said its 2019 drill program at Lawyers will focus on growing the mineral resource estimate by drilling long intervals of moderate grade gold and silver that includes high-grade veins within broad intercepts that start from surface.

–SHANE LASLEY

CORRECTION: This article was updated on April 23 to correctly state the resource for Cliffs Creek.