Silver Standard Resources Inc. (TSX:SSO)(NASDAQ:SSRI) has reported the results from the final 20 holes of the 33,100-meter diamond drill program at its wholly-owned Brucejack Project.
The latest results have defined a new area of mineralization in the West Zone, encountered further high-grade gold and silver mineralization in the Galena Hill Zone and expanded the known mineralization in the West, Galena Hill, Bridge and Shore Zones.
West Zone
Drilling has defined a new area of mineralization in the footwall of the West Zone.
A highlight is SU-98:
- SU-98, a metallurgical hole which was not sampled in the top 275 meters, intersected 130 meters averaging 1.40 grams of gold and 16.6 grams of silver per tonne, including 3.0 meters averaging 876.75 grams of gold and 597.55 grams of silver per tonne. This intersection is less than 50 meters from the historical West Zone which was defined by over 750 surface and underground drill holes and over 5,000 meters of underground workings.
Intersections in holes SU-63, SU-66, SU-67, SU-98 and SU-100 define the footwall mineralization measuring approximately 120 by 500 meters. The close proximity of these intersections to an area extensively studied in the past exemplifies the continued exploration potential of the West Zone and the Brucejack Project as a whole.
Galena Hill Zone
The Galena Hill Zone, located 500 meters south of the West Zone, is host to disseminated gold-silver mineralization together with structurally-controlled high-grade veins. Drilling has continued to confirm the location of the high-grade structures intersected in 2009 and 2010.
The highlight from the latest holes is SU-106:
- SU-106 intersected three bands of mineralization including 0.69 meters of 1,710 grams of gold per tonne and 1,080 grams of silver per tonne. This intersection encountered the same zone as defined by the high-grade intercepts in holes SU-12, SU-29, SU-40 and SU-84 previously reported from the 2009 and 2010 programs.
Drilling in 2010 has expanded the Galena Hill Zone by 100 meters to the northeast and 250 meters to the southwest. Galena Hill is open to the east and to depth.
Bridge Zone
The Bridge Zone, which exhibits porphyry-style gold-silver mineralization, measures approximately 600 meters by 900 meters, roughly three times the area defined in the 2009 drill program.
Holes SU-92, SU-94 and SU-95 have expanded the zone 200 meters further south than the area defined in 2009 drilling. Holes SU-64, SU-87 and SU-90 show that the zone remains open to the east.
The highlight was hole SU-87:
- SU-87 intersected 168 meters averaging 1.09 grams of gold per tonne and 4.04 grams of silver per tonne and ended in mineralization.
Shore Zone
Eight holes completed on the Shore Zone expanded it to the northwest, where the zone remains open and to depth.
The 31,000-meter program at Brucejack is part of the total 51,100-meter program including the Company's adjacent Snowfield Project, located 65 kilometers north of the town of Stewart in British Columbia. A new Brucejack Project map has been posted in the Projects section of Silver Standard's web site which shows both 2009 and 2010 drill hole locations. In addition to work completed on these four zones, other targets have been defined on the property that will require future follow-up sampling and drilling. A new resource update for the Brucejack Project is anticipated in the first half of 2011.
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.