ACCESS Newswire
07 Apr 2021, 17:32 GMT+10
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 7, 2021 / Skeena Resources Limited (TSX:SKE)(OTCQX:SKREF) ('Skeena' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE'), for the Eskay Creek gold-silver project ('Eskay Creek'), located in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, which has been reviewed and validated by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc ('SRK'). The 2021 MRE was derived from 7,583 historical surface and underground diamond drill holes totalling 651,332 metres, with an additional 751 surface diamond drill holes completed by Skeena between 2018-2021 totalling 104,740 metres. The effective date of this MRE is April 7, 2021 and an updated technical report will be filed on the Company's website and SEDAR within 45 calendar days of this disclosure. Reference images are presented at the end of this release as well as on the Company's website.
2021 Eskay Creek Resources
Table 1: Eskay Creek pit constrained resources reported at a 0.7 g/t AuEq cut-off grade and underground resources reported at 2.4 and 2.8 g/t AuEq cut-off grades for long-hole and drift and fill mining, respectively (UG = Underground).
Pit Constrained Resource Growth Discussion
The Company's Phase 1 and Phase 2 infill drilling programs were immensely successful in not only recategorizing pit constrained resources but also adding additional resources in the 22 Zone, 21A Zone, 21B Zone and the recently discovered 21C-HW Zone. Furthermore, the NEX (Northern Extension) Zone has now been incorporated into the pit constrained resource base. This new Northern Pit Expansion integrates the largely Measured and Indicated NEX Zone and provides the potential for additional reserves.
In 2019, the Company's MRE utilized conservative ‘zero-grade' 1.0 metre buffers surrounding historical stopes and development partially imposed due to spatial uncertainty. Consequently, mineralization occurring inside these buffers was not reported. During 2021, numerous Phase 2 drill holes predictably intersected the modelled historical workings which provided spatial confidence resulting in the reduction of the buffers from 1.0 metres to 0.2 metres. Overall, this translated into the reporting of an additional 731k tonnes averaging 25.4 g/t AuEq (597koz AuEq).
Table 2: Measured, Indicated and Inferred pit constrained resources reported at a 0.7 g/t AuEq cut-off grade.
Underground Constrained Resources Discussion
Determination of underground resources with reasonable prospects for economic extraction was completed with stope optimization software that considered both long-hole and drift and fill mining methods based on the geometries of zones. Underground resources in the NEX Zone and 22 Zone were only informed by historical drilling data, however, the Company's drilling programs have facilitated growth in the Water Tower Zone (WTZ) and Lower Mudstone (LM).
Table 3: Measured, Indicated and Inferred underground constrained resources reported at a 2.4 g/t AuEq cut-off grade for long-hole mining and 2.8 g/t AuEq cut-off grade for drift and fill mining.
Walter Coles, Skeena's President & CEO commented, 'I would like to congratulate Skeena's Vice President Exploration & Resource Development, Paul Geddes and Chief Resource Geologist, Kathi Dilworth and their teams. They have delivered a terrific new resource estimate for Eskay Creek. The Measured and Indicated resources have increased by an astounding 186%, on a tonnage weighted basis, since our last resource report. I am eager to see how much more Paul and Adrian Newton, the Company's Director of Exploration, can continue to grow the size of Eskay Creek as we target a Tier 1 annual production and reserve profile.'
Measured and Indicated Resources
The conversion of pit constrained resources to the Measured and Indicated categories is an important de-risking milestone for Eskay Creek. The abundance of resources now categorized as Measured are especially significant due to the very high confidence level of this category. The Company anticipates a substantial percentage will ultimately convert to Proven Reserves once Feasibility level studies are completed. On a tonnage weighted basis, 40%, 48% and 12% of the current pit constrained resources are respectively categorized as Measured, Indicated and Inferred.
Additional 2021 NEX Studies
Based on tonnage, 12% of the new pit constrained resources are categorized as Inferred resources. The Company is finalizing a small surface-based drilling program to convert these small pods of scattered mineralization to the Measured and Indicated categories. In the area of the Northern Pit Expansion, a program of geotechnical drilling and metallurgical sample collection will occur in Q2 2021 to enable the upgrade of resources to reserves.
Resource Breakdown by Lithology
Unmined mineralization at Eskay Creek is hosted largely in the Rhyolite facies, which has lower concentrations of the epithermal suite of elements (Hg-As-Sb) relative to the Contact Mudstones. Preferential historical development and mining of the extremely high-grade mineralization hosted in the Contact Mudstone has resulted in extensive depletion of resources in this rock type. The 2021 pit constrained MRE indicates that on a tonnage weighted basis, 68% of the resources are hosted within the Rhyolite facies with only 18% hosted in the remaining unmined Contact Mudstone. The outstanding 14% occurs predominantly within the hanging wall andesite-sedimentary lithology package which lies stratigraphically above the Contact Mudstone, with a minor amount in the footwall Dacite.
Accelerated 2021 Exploration Program Initiated
With the infill drilling programs completed and the pit constrained resources having been largely converted to the Measured and Indicated categories, the Company has initiated a property scale exploration program. This accelerated program is designed to define additional near surface, bulk tonnage mineralization with the goal of expanding the current resource base and to supplement the existing mine plan. The program will involve a data compilation and interpretation period followed by judicious target ranking that will culminate in drill testing of near mine and regional targets in H2 2021. Dr. Harold Gibson, one of the world's foremost experts in VMS systems, has been engaged by the Company to assist the program which will be spearheaded by the Company's Director of Exploration, Adrian Newton, P.Geo.
Eskay Creek Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate Notes
The mineral resources disclosed in this press release were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ('CIM') standards on mineral resources and reserves definitions, and guidelines prepared by the CIM standing committee on reserve definitions and adopted by the CIM council.
Table 4: Pit constrained scenario assumptions for determining cut-off grades with reasonable prospects of economic extraction.
Table 5: Underground scenario assumptions for determining cut-off grades with reasonable prospects of economic extraction.
Eskay Creek Mineralization
The Eskay Creek deposit represents a shallow water, bimodal volcanic sequence hosted in a fault bounded basin with an epithermal VMS signature. Rhyolite facies volcanics are overlain by mafic volcanics with a clastic mudstone occurring at the contact between the two volcanic episodes. This mudstone represents the period of quiescence between the two volcanic events and is spatially and temporally related to the main mineralizing event at Eskay Creek. The epithermal suite of elements (Hg-Sb-As) and bonanza precious metal grades dominantly occur at this interface but are not homogenously distributed throughout the mudstone. Rather, they are spatially associated with vents fed from underlying synvolcanic feeders.
Due to the higher precious metal tenor of the mudstone-hosted mineralization, the vast majority of historical production at Eskay Creek occurred within this rock type whilst the Rhyolite-hosted feeder style mineralization was less developed due to its lower Au-Ag tenor. Rhyolite-hosted mineralization is not enriched in Hg-Sb-As and was often blended with mudstone-hosted zones to reduce smelter penalties for the on-site milled concentrates and Direct Shipped Ore (DSO).
About Skeena
Skeena Resources Limited is a Canadian mining exploration company focused on revitalizing the past-producing Eskay Creek gold-silver mine located in Tahltan Territory in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada. The Company released a robust Preliminary Economic Assessment in late 2019 and is currently focused on infill and exploration drilling to advance Eskay Creek to full Feasibility by the end of 2021. Additionally, Skeena continues exploration programs at the past-producing Snip gold mine.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Skeena Resources Limited,
Walter Coles Jr.
President & CEO
Contact Information
Investor Inquiries: [email protected]
Office Phone: +1 604 684 8725
Company Website: www.skeenaresources.com
Qualified Persons
The Independent and Qualified Person for the Eskay Creek MRE is Ms. Sheila Ulansky P.Geo., of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. (Vancouver), who has reviewed, validated and approved the Eskay Creek MRE as well as the technical disclosure in this release. In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Mr. Paul Geddes, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration and Resource Development, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and reporting its activities on its various exploration projects.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute 'forward looking information' and 'forward looking statements' within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as 'anticipates', 'believes', 'targets', 'estimates', 'plans', 'expects', 'may', 'will', 'could' or 'would'. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE: Skeena Resources Limited
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