The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
New gold-silver zone hits gold-silver 200m east of south pit North of 60 Mining News – November 25, 2022
Drilling has discovered gold-silver mineralization in a previously undrilled area east of the 22 Zone at Eskay Creek.
Skeena Resources Ltd. Nov. 22 announced that drilling has discovered a new area of near-surface gold-silver mineralization about 200 meters east of 22 Zone, indicating the larger exploration potential surrounding the open pit-mineable resources at the Eskay Creek project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle.
A feasibility study published in September details an open pit mine at Eskay Creek expected to produce 2.42 million ounces of gold and 66.7 million oz of silver over an initial nine years of mining based on 29.9 million metric tons of proven and probable reserves averaging 2.99 grams per metric ton (2.87 million oz) gold and 79 g/t (75.5 million oz) silver.
These reserves would be mined from two pits – the main pit and the much smaller south pit at 22 Zone.
Much of Skeena's 2022 drilling focused on testing areas near the proposed open pits that could bolster resources and reserve, which would extend the life of the proposed mine.
This drilling has resulted in expanding mineralization around the main pit, including on the south side toward 22 Zone.
Now, an exploratory hole drilled east of 22 Zone has cut new rhyolite-hosted gold and silver in an area with no previous drilling.
This hole, SK-22-1054, cut 40.67 meters averaging 1.79 g/t gold and 32 g/t silver about 200 meters east of 22 Zone and only about 23 meters below the surface. This mineralization is open for expansion.
"Exploration drilling by Skeena in areas deemed non-prospective by previous operators continues to identify zones of mineralization with potential to add new, near surface mineralization that could be incorporated into the near-term development plans for Eskay Creek," said Skeena Resources Director of Exploration Adrian Newton. "Additional drill testing is planned for next year to follow-up on this success."
The company said the mineralization tapped in hole SK-22-1054 is hosted entirely within rhyolite breccias and has the style of mineralization, alteration, and geochemical signature consistent with feeder style mineralization encountered throughout the main Eskay Creek Deposits.
This adds to the potential of discovering similar mineralization between the 21A West Zone at the south end of the main pit and the 22 Zone, in the 800-meter gap with a dearth of drilling.
"This new discovery suggests that significant exploration potential still exists in areas proximal to synvolcanic feeder structures where there has been very limited historical drill testing, and in particular, between the feasibility study main pit and south pit," said Skeena Resources President and CEO Randy Reichert.
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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