The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Short but sweet intercept encountered in Wolf step-out hole North of 60 Mining News - February 10, 2023
A stringer of native silver encountered in a 0.35-meter drill intercept at Wolf averaging 23,997 g/t silver.
Dolly Varden Silver Corp. Jan. 6 reported the highest-grade silver ever drilled on the Dolly Varden target at the end of its Kitsault Valley project in Northern British Columbia.
Kitsault Valley, which lies about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Stewart, BC, is an amalgamation of Dolly Varden's namesake project and the adjacent Homestake Ridge gold-silver project the company acquired from Fury Gold Mines Ltd. in 2022.
Four deposits associated with past producing mines at Dolly Varden – Dolly Varden, North Star, Torbrit, and Wolf – host 3.42 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 299.8 grams per metric ton (32.93 million oz) silver; plus 1.29 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 277 g/t (11.45 million oz) silver.
Wolf, the second largest of the four deposits, hosts 402,000 metric tons of indicated resource averaging 3.83 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 296.8 g/t (3.8 million oz) silver; plus 9,500 metric tons of inferred resource averaging 230.6 g/t (70,000 oz) silver.
The 2022 drill program has traced the high-grade silver mineralization at Wolf well beyond the resource limits.
Highlights from previously reported step-out holes drilled at Wolf in 2022 include:
• 19.85 meters (13.9 meters true-width) averaging 584 g/t silver in hole DV22-300.
• 12.8 meters (5.4 meters true-width) averaging 412 g/t silver in hole DV22-311.
• 9.8 meters (4.9 meters true-width) averaging 551 g/t silver in hole DV22-316.
All these holes are drilled down-plunge from the current resource.
The latest batch of assays include results from hole DV22-320, which traces Wolf mineralization further down-plunge.
DV22-320, the southernmost hole completed at Wolf so far, cut 12.85 meters (6.81 meters estimated true width) averaging 321 g/t Ag, 0.84% lead, and 0.84% zinc.
This hole is more than 400 meters down-plunge to the south of the resource.
The highest-grade silver ever drilled at Dolly Varden was encountered in hole DV22-329, which was a 50-meter step-out at the other end of the Wolf deposit and about 825 meters from hole DV22-320.
DV22-329 cut 15.94 meters (8.77 meters estimated true width) averaging 1,499 g/t (48.2 ounces per metric ton) silver, 1.89% lead, and 0.46% zinc. This intercept included a 0.35-meter bonanza grade subsection averaging 23,997 g/t (771.5 oz/t) silver, 1.24% lead, and 0.34% zinc.
"Results from the Wolf Vein continue to exceed expectations, returning the highest-grade silver assay yet received, more than doubling the strike length of the deposit through step outs to the north and south as well as returning wide, robust silver and base metal grades at depth," said Dolly Varden Silver President and CEO Shawn Khunkhun.
The company also reported results from one hole drilled at Kitsol Vein on the northwest side of Torbrit, the largest of the four Dolly Varden deposits.
Highlights from previously reported 2022 holes drilled at Kitsol include:
• 50.18 meters (30 meters true-width) averaging 414 g/t silver in hole DV22-283.
• 12.51 meters (8.8 meters true-width) averaging 442 g/t silver in hole DV22-291.
• 21.55 meters (10.8 meters true-width) averaging 372 g/t silver in hole DV22-298.
The latest hole, DV22-323, continued to trace Kitsol down-plunge and in the direction of Wolf.
DV22-323 cut 15 meters (9.6 meters true-width) averaging 301 g/t silver, 0.23 % lead, and 0.56% zinc.
Dolly Varden is seeking a connection between Kitsol and Wolf.
"Our priority during 2023 will be to connect the Wolf Deposit with the Kitsol Deposit, located 1,400 meters to the south," said Khunkhun.
In addition to the drilling at Wolf and Kitsol, Dolly Varden reported intriguing results from exploration drilling at Red Point, a target roughly 500 meters west of the Kitsol Vein.
Gold-bearing veins had previously been discovered at Red Point, and geophysics had identified a buried induced polarization chargeability anomaly.
Two holes drilled at Red Point cut strong gold and copper mineralization.
Hole DV22-321 cut five meters averaging 2.94 g/t gold and 1.65% copper from a depth of 138 meters, including one meter of 8.1 g/t gold, 244 g/t silver, and 5.16% copper.
Hole DV22-322 cut 1.15 meters averaging 17.2 g/t gold and 1.9% copper from a depth of 106.6 meters.
Dolly Varden says the encouraging gold-silver-copper mineralization discovered at Red Point is wide open for expansion.
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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