Exploring Lawyers' bigger gold potential

Benchmark Metals Inc. April 10 said assay results from resampling core from historical drilling at Lawyers continues to demonstrate the potential for a large bulk tonnage target encompassing the high-grade gold and silver previously identified on this northern British Columbia property.

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.

The latest assays come from 2015 drilling at the northwest end of Cliffs Creek, one of three zones historically mined.

Highlights from the assays include 64.93 meters of 1.11 grams per metric ton gold and 18.25 g/t silver in hole CC15-05; 58.24 meters of 1.58 g/t gold and 40.2 g/t silver in CC15-13; and 87.6 meters of 0.77 g/t and 32.93 g/t silver in CC15-14.

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.

Drilling carried out to the southeast of this resource last year showed the potential for a larger bulk tonnage target in this direction.

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.

"The drill holes show the resource potential at Cliff Creek and Dukes Ridge extends from surface and remains open on strike, in width and at depth along the Lawyers Trend. We continue to identify widespread gold and silver in parallel zones as well as around the main high-grade zones that may be characteristic of a bulk tonnage deposit," said Benchmark Metals CEO John Williamson. "All new assay results from the 2018 program will significantly impact the resource potential and provide targets for expansion in the 2019 drill program."

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 report the resource estimate for Cliffs Creek.