The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - August 12, 2024
Microscope view of native silver encountered at a depth of 772.2 meters in hole DV24-404.
Dolly Varden Silver Corp. Aug. 12 reported that its resource expansion drilling at Wolf continues to cut high-grade silver mineralization at this northernmost of the Dolly Varden deposits on its Kitsault Valley project in Northern British Columbia.
Kitsault Valley is comprised of two adjacent properties – the Dolly Varden Silver on the southern end and the more gold-enriched Homestake Ridge immediately to the north.
Four deposits on the Dolly Varden end of Kitsault Valley – Dolly Varden, Torbrit, North Star, and Wolf – host 3.42 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 299.8 grams per metric ton (32.93 million ounces) silver; plus 1.29 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 277 g/t (11.45 million oz) silver.
Homestake Ridge, which lies 5.4 kilometers (3.4 miles) northwest of Wolf, hosts three deposits – Homestake Main, Homestake Silver, and South Reef – with 736,000 metric tons of indicated resource averaging 7.02 g/t (165,993 oz) gold and 74.8 g/t (1.8 million oz) silver; plus 5.55 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 4.58 g/t (816,719 oz) gold and 100 g/t (17.8 million oz) silver.
Wolf, the northernmost Dolly Varden deposit, currently hosts 402,000 metric tons of indicated resource averaging 297 g/t (3.8 million oz) silver. Drilling, however, continues to trace silver mineralization to depth and toward Torbrit, which hosts 2.62 million tons of 297 g/t (25 million oz) silver.
Wolf and Torbrit plunge toward each other, indicating a connection at depth.
This year's drilling at Wolf continues to trace the vein to depth and in the direction of Torbrit.
Hole DV24-404, a 40-meter step-out to the southwest, cut 9.38 meters averaging 1,091 g/t silver, 1.4% zinc, and 1.35% lead from a depth of 766.8 meters at Wolf Vein.
This hole was drilled down-dip of DV23-375, a 2023 hole that cut 27 meters averaging 296 g/t silver, 3.01% zinc, and 1.68% lead in this Wolf Vein expansion area.
DV24-404 is the initial hole of a directional drilling program to test down-plunge extensions of the Wolf Vein.
Given the strength and consistency of silver mineralization, roughly 8,000 meters of the overall 25,000-meter drill program slated for this year at Kitsault Valley is being dedicated to expanding and infilling the plunge of high-grade silver mineralization at Wolf Vein.
"We are encouraged with an increase in silver plus base metal grades over potential bulk underground mining widths at the Wolf Vein and eagerly anticipate more assays soon from this area. Additional drilling to the southwest is being prioritized during the remainder of the 2024 drill season," said Dolly Varden Silver CEO Shawn Khunkhun.
With this extension area being more than 500 meters below the surface and requiring holes of nearly 800 meters to encounter the vein at the correct orientation, Dolly Varden is using directional drilling to precisely target Wolf at depth.
DV24-404 is serving as a "mother" hole for "daughter" holes that will be directed to intersect the Wolf Vein at certain points that are at least 30 meters apart.
Assays are pending from three daughter holes – DV24-409, 412 and 414 – that were steered off DV24-404.
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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