Silver Standard Resources Inc. (TSX:SSO)(NASDAQ:SSRI) has reported that all results from 17,976 meters of diamond drilling at the Snowfield Project have now been received.
The 2010 program was successful in expanding known mineralization to the south and southeast. Most of the newly defined mineralization is in areas previously classified as waste in the Preliminary Assessment announced in September 2010 (see news release dated September 13, 2010). The wholly-owned Snowfield Project is located 65 kilometers north of the town of Stewart in British Columbia, Canada.
The last four holes outstanding from the 2010 program (MZ-116 through MZ-119) were all drilled in the southeast extension of copper-dominant mineralization.
A highlight of the new holes included:
- MZ-116 intersected 83 meters from surface averaging 1.45 grams of gold per tonne and 0.44% copper. The hole ended in mineralization.
Previously reported holes included:
- MZ-90 intersected 285 meters averaging 0.46 grams of gold per tonne and 0.28% copper; and,
- MZ-111 intersected 109 meters from surface averaging 0.72 grams of gold per tonne and 0.50% copper, including 48 meters averaging 1.09 grams of gold per tonne and 0.91% copper.
The copper grades encountered in the southeast extension are generally much higher than those reported in the Snowfield Zone mineral resource update contained in the September 2010 Preliminary Assessment for the combined Snowfield and Brucejack Projects. In the mineral resource update, measured and indicated mineral resources totaled 1,095.3 million tonnes averaging 0.63 grams of gold per tonne and 0.11% copper, and inferred mineral resources of 847.2 million tonnes averaging 0.40 grams of gold per tonne and 0.07% copper. See the Technical Report and Preliminary Assessment of the Snowfield-Brucejack Project effective September 10, 2010 and the news release dated September 13, 2010. This mineral resource update does not include results from the 2010 program.
The 2010 Snowfield Project exploration program was part of a completed 51,100 meter program of infill and step-out drilling on the combined Snowfield and Brucejack Projects. A new resource estimate that includes the 2010 drill results is anticipated in the first half of 2011.
The locations of this season's drilling relative to the previously defined mineralization can be found in the Project section of our web site under "Snowfield".
Kenneth C. McNaughton, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., Senior Vice President, Exploration, Silver Standard Resources Inc., is the Qualified Person responsible for Silver Standard's exploration programs.
Source: Silver Standard Resources Inc.