Diamond drilling aims to build and upgrade the maiden Inferred mineral resource
Drilling resumed at Castle East High-Grade Silver Discovery. (Credit: tookapic from Pixabay)
Canada Silver Cobalt Works announce a major reinterpretation of the Gowganda Silver Camp as a new round of diamond drilling begins (Phase 2) at the Castle East high-grade silver discovery, open in all directions.
Highlights:
Diamond drilling aims to build and upgrade the maiden Inferred mineral resource (see May 28, 2020 news release) that includes 7.56 million ounces of silver in zones 1A and 1B of the Robinson Zone (27,400 tonnes @ 8,582 g/t Ag or 250 oz/ton at an average cut-off grade of 258 g/t AgEq);
Only a fraction of Castle East has been drill-tested. Historically, the area received little exploration attention due to extremely limited diabase outcrop (unlike the western side of the Camp);
The past producing Castle, Capitol and O’Brien mines, all within a 2-km radius of the Robinson Zone, are interpreted to comprise a large silver-rich system of abundant vein networks that follow the dip of the diabase toward Castle East in the heart of the Miller Lake Basin;
Very high-grade silver extends more to depth in the Gowganda Camp (toward/near the lower contact) than previously recognized;
Sub-horizontal and sub-vertical fault structures are key controls on mineralization and they extend throughout the Gowganda Camp;
The Nipissing diabase, the primary host of very high-grade silver mineralization in the Gowganda Camp, is now known to thicken in a higher temperature system at Castle East;
Total volume of the diabase at Castle East is estimated to range from 970 million to 1.45 billion cubic meters, vs. an estimated 69 million cubic meters for the Castle mine. The extent of actual mineralized diabase at Castle East is still unknown, and it is too early in the exploration stage to determine potential quantity and grade of the broader Castle East exploration target.
Matt Halliday, VP-Exploration, commented: “We’re excited to continue drilling numerous remaining exploration targets. We’re seeing some phenomenal grades at Castle East, consistent with historical discoveries in the broader district going back to the early 1900’s. We see strong potential to expand and upgrade the known Inferred resource estimate, including higher up in the diabase, given the multiple targets we have.
“Importantly, such a high concentration of metal in zones 1A and 1B of the Robinson Zone provides a bull’s eye target for a ramp strategy aimed at accessing these pods of extremely high-grade material while also creating underground exploration platforms that can efficiently follow the vein structures,” Halliday added. “That’s how Agnico Eagle (Castle mine) and others succeeded in this district – they went straight to the accumulations of native silver. We will incorporate that strategy while also taking advantage of new technology to ensure that Canada Silver Cobalt’s exploration toolbox is the most modern and effective in the Camp.”
Vision For Castle East
Canada Silver Cobalt has launched the permitting process, under Ontario’s “Advanced Exploration Permit” structure, to construct a ramp to the rich Robinson Zone which will also provide underground exploration platforms to greatly enhance new discovery opportunities targeting both high-grade silver and the new gold zone (refer to March 2, 2020, news release) located within Archean rocks overlying the diabase several hundred meters southwest of the Robinson Zone. This streamlined process, which doesn’t require any federal approvals, includes environmental baseline studies for air and water permits in addition to a closure plan for Castle East. CCW has already met with Ministry officials and has engaged a leading engineering firm to help spearhead the process.
District Model
The deposit model and history of the Gowganda Camp, and the broader Northern Ontario Silver-Cobalt District which officially produced nearly half a billion ounces of silver last century, show that unusually rich, narrow vein shoots (generally half an inch to six inches in true width and, in rare cases, up to approximately 12 inches in true width) can extend for tens or even hundreds of meters (pinching and swelling, moving in and out of very high-grade mineralization). These veins may be surrounded by strongly mineralized wall rock and they’re often within a network of closely spaced parallel veins and veinlets in addition to silver-filled fractures.
Phase 2 Drilling
The current program is designed to test the vertical extension of the mineralized zones to surface and to increase quantity and confidence of the mineral resources. Phase 2 will also include follow-up on a new high-grade vein discovery (CS-20-22) approximately 95 meters below the Robinson Zone in the lower half of the Nipissing diabase near the contact with the Archean volcanics. CS-20-22 is interpreted to have intersected a second potential major vein structure with an assay of 8,338.41 g/t Ag or 243 oz/ton over 0.35 meters (true width estimated at 50% to 70%). This native silver vein, discovered at a vertical depth of approximately 500 meters, does not form part of the maiden Inferred resource for Castle East released May 28, 2020.
Significantly, vein intersections at Castle East exist in both the upper and lower parts of the Nipissing diabase contact with the Archean volcanics, greatly enhancing the deposit potential of the area with implications for the broader Camp where historic production was predominantly on the upper half of the diabase. Geologists are also exploring the possibility that rich silver veins at Castle East could potentially extend into rock packages outside of the diabase.
Investors are cautioned that mineral resources which are not mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Source: Company Press Release