The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Over 83,000 meters of resource upgrade, expansion drilling North of 60 Mining News – July 16, 2021
Benchmark plans to complete more than 130,000 meters of drilling this year at the Lawyers gold-silver project in BC.
Benchmark Metals Inc. plans to complete well above 100,000 meters of drilling at Lawyers, including more than 83,000 meters slated for upgrading and expanding the three gold-silver deposits defined so far on the road-accessible project in Northern British Columbia.
According to a calculation published in May, the Cliff Creek, AGB, and Dukes Ridge deposits at Lawyers host 40.3 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 1.19 grams per metric ton (1.55 million ounces) gold and 38.7 g/t (50.2 million oz) silver; plus 16.2 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 1.19 g/t (620,000 oz) gold and 34.7 g/t (18.1 million oz) silver.
Much of this year's more than 100,000-meter drill program will focus on upgrading inferred resources to the higher confidence indicated category and test expansion targets at all three of the deposits in preparation for an expanded and upgraded resource for inclusion in a future feasibility study on mine development at Lawyers.
"The geological modeling has outlined areas in the deposits for significant expansion," said Benchmark Metals CEO John Williamson.
These expansion areas include the southern end of AGB, where late 2020 expansion drilling cut wide sections of strong gold-silver mineralization.
20AGBDD039, the southernmost hole drilled at AGB, cut 66 meters averaging 2.34 g/t gold and 51.5 g/t silver, including a five-meter subinterval averaging 15.31 g/t gold and 180.8 g/t silver.
Benchmark says a broad zone of strong mineralization is emerging at the southern extent of the 650-meter-long AGB zone that remains open at depth and along strike.
Looking to significantly expand the AGB's contribution to the Lawyers resource, the company plans to test these expansion areas with a substantial portion of the 13,700 meters of planned resource drilling at AGB.
Late 2020 drilling also tapped strong gold in the southern portion of the Cliff Creek deposit. 20CCDD104, one of the holes drilled in the Cliff Creek South area, cut 107.8 meters averaging 2 g/t gold and 46.8 g/t silver. Another hole drilled outside of the modeled pit shell in this area, 20CCDD098, cut 38.1 meters averaging 5.71 g/t gold and 7.8 g/t silver.
Benchmark says these results demonstrate the significant potential to extend Cliff Creek to the southeast and at depth.
The company says a similar scenario also exists at the north end of Cliff Creek North (CCN) where the pit remains open for expansion. Roughly 24,000 meters of expansion drilling is planned at Cliff Creek.
The Dukes Ridge deposit also remains open, especially at depth. The deepest part of the Dukes Ridge deposit is only 200 vertical meters below surface and drilling has cut several high-grade intercepts toward the base of the modeled pit. Benchmark plans to drill at least 9,000 meters this year targeting this significant expansion potential.
Additional potential for growth could also be realized in a connector zone between Dukes Ridge and Cliff Creek as we continue to drill off this mineralized corridor.
On top of the resource expansion drilling, Benchmark plans to complete roughly 37,000 meters of infill drilling to upgrade inferred resources in all three deposits.
In addition to the nearly 84,000 meters of resource drilling on the docket for this year, Benchmark plans to carry out 50,000 meters of exploration drilling at several discovery targets across the 56-square-mile (144 square kilometers) Lawyers property.
This includes 12,500 meters of drilling at Marmot and Marmot East, where grab samples with up to 61.3 g/t gold and 3,890 g/t silver have been collected, and the 2020 Marmot `discovery hole, 20MLDD005, cut 101 meters averaging 0.55 g/t gold and 21.8 g/t silver.
This year's drilling could establish a significant new resource at Marmot.
"The Marmot targets have significant potential to generate gold and silver ounces of the same scope and scale as the Cliff Creek deposit," said Williamson.
Benchmark Metals President Jim Greig told Mining News that the company may decide to increase the already very large 2021 drill program at Lawyers to nearly 200,000 meters.
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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