The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Confirm continuity in surface mineable gold-silver targets North of 60 Mining News – April 24, 2020
Skeena Resources has completed 4,327 meters of a 28,000-meter drill program planned for this year at its Eskay Creek gold-silver project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.
Skeena Resources Ltd. April 23 released the first batch of gold-silver drill results from its 2020 surface drill program at the Eskay Creek project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.
According to a calculation completed early in 2019, Eskay Creek hosts 12.71 million metric tons of surface mineable indicated resource averaging 4.5 g/t (1.82 million oz) gold and 117 g/t (47.79 million oz) silver; and 13.57 metric tons of surface mineable inferred resource averaging 2.2 g/t (984,000 oz) gold and 42 g/t (18.46 million oz) silver.
This resource calculation does not include any of the results from the 14,266 meters of resource upgrade and expansion drilling carried out during the 2019 phase-1 drill program at Eskay Creek.
Skeena said this year's drilling continues to demonstrate the excellent continuity of the current resource model, which is derived largely from historical drilling.
Highlights from this drilling include:
• 22.08 meters averaging 3.62 grams per metric ton gold and 41 g/t silver in hole SK-20-259.
• 36.19 meters of 2.61 g/t gold and 10 g/t silver in SK-20-263.
• 19.6 meters of 3.91 g/t gold and 21 g/t silver in SK-20-264.
• 8.43 meters of 4.61 g/t gold and 203 g/t silver in SK-20-248.
These holes were drilled within the 21B and 21C Zones, which are situated in the deeper portions and later phases of an open-pit mine envisioned in a preliminary economic assessment completed in November.
This PEA outlines plans for a 6,850-metric-ton-per day operation that would produce an average of 236,000 oz of gold and 5.8 million oz of silver annually over an initial mine-life of 8.6 years.
This operation is calculated to produce a net present value (5 percent discount) of US$491 million and a very robust 51 percent internal rate of return.
Both figures are after tax and calculated based on US$1,325/oz gold and US$16/oz silver.
This year's planned 28,000-meter drill program aims to continue to expand and upgrade the surface mineable resource ahead of a prefeasibility study targeted for completion by mid-2021.
Skeena has completed 4,327 meters of drilling at Eskay Creek so far this year, additional results are expected soon.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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