Huldra Silver Inc. (“Huldra” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on mill operations and exploration plans.
As part of an effort to reduce costs and increase efficiency, Huldra has temporarily suspended milling operations in Merritt, BC a few days prior to a planned maintenance procedure in order to install previously purchased rubber ball mill liners that will significantly increase the throughput capacity of the mill to approximately 300 tonnes per day from the current maximum of 250 tonnes per day, depending on the work index of the mill feed. The delivery of the liners is expected later this week and should take approximately one day to install. The ball mill is currently being prepared for the new liners. A number of other maintenance items will be completed during this time to increase the efficiency of the operation of the mill. Once complete, the mill will be run at maximum capacity with reduced cost. Only essential personnel will be on site during the maintenance procedure.
The Company had already begun to implement cost saving procedures that included minor layoffs of personnel from the construction phase of operations at the mill as all major capital expenditures have been incurred. The mill was operating close to design parameters prior to the scheduled maintenance shut down and required labour hours had already been significantly reduced. The long term changes include:
- the crushing circuit was designed to a 600tpd capacity and will be operated on one shift;
- routine maintenance will also be reduced as the replacement rubber mill liners have a much longer life expectancy; and
- the logistics of transporting ore from the Treasure Mountain mine have also been significantly improved. An independent third party is nearing completion of a complete reconstruction of required areas on the first 26km of the 38km Forest Service Road as part of their transportation requirements and the road remains open during this time.
Huldra is also pleased to announce it is currently preparing for the upcoming 2013 surface exploration program at their flagship Treasure Mountain mine operation. The initial phase of the surface program is anticipated to encompass 4000m of HQ diamond drilling spread across the Company’s two most prospective targets – the M.B. Zone and Jensen. Both exploration targets sit a significant distance from the current mine workings and, if successful, will confirm the property’s potential to host mineralization outside of the immediate Treasure Mountain mine area.
The first target for the exploration program will be the M.B. Zone. The M.B. Zone was initially sampled by an independent geologist, Erik Ostensoe, P.Geo. and Daniel Almeida, geological technician, during August, 2010. The results from that sampling program included the following and were announced in the press release dated August 25, 2010:
- Sample 63959: 0.15 g/t Au, 2880 g/t Ag, 0.30% Cu, 0.67% Pb, 1.22% Zn from a 12.5 cm chip sample of reddish oxide on black argillite.
- Sample 63961: 0.34 g/t Au, 2250 g/t Ag, 0.43% Cu, 0.54% Pb, 0.96% Zn from a 12.5 cm chip sample of reddish altered argillite.
- Sample 63974: 0.81 g/t Au, 9221 g/t Ag, 1.02% Cu, 1.14% Pb, 1.03% Zn from a composite sample of reddish oxide material.
All samples were analyzed at the Eco Tech Laboratory in Kamloops, B.C., a full service, ISO 9001:2008 accredited analytical laboratory. All lab quality control protocols were observed. Please refer to the press release dated August 25, 2010 for more information regarding the data.
In 2011, Huldra Silver followed up on the 2010 spot sampling with a focused soil sampling grid over the M.B. Zone area as well as an airborne geophysical survey of the entire Treasure Mountain property. The results from the geochemical sampling identified a zone containing anomalous values for silver, lead, zinc, copper, antimony and manganese. The results show a mineralized trend, striking north-east, over approximately 780m strike length. The anomalous values indicate that not only is a mineralizing fluid present in the area, but also that the fluid has the potential to form tetrahedrite mineralisation, as well as lead-silver and zinc-silver mineralization. Tetrahedrite is a sulphosalt mineral with the potential to incorporate significant amounts of silver into the mineral.
The geophysical survey in the area of the M.B. Zone also showed that the anomalous geochemical results sit on the margin of a prospective magnetic susceptibility feature, of the same magnetic intensity as the feature which hosts the Treasure Mountain mine.
Historic geological work on the Western edge of the M.B. Zone identified a structure known as the Cal-Vein. Trenching along the Cal-Vein, conducted during 1993, exposed a vein 21m in length and open in all directions. Grades across the structure were variable, with assays of the vein ranging from 258.7g/t Ag to 650.8 g/t Ag, with an average grade of 439.8 g/t Ag. Widths across the vein averaged 0.17m.
Samples were analyzed by ACME Analytical Laboratories Ltd. (1993) using a 0.5g acid digest with AA finish. The certificate was accepted by Coast Mountain Geological as being acceptable for reporting.
Based on the evidence to date, the Company believes that the M.B. Zone holds the potential to host another polymetallic silver-lead-zinc vein or veins, similar in nature to the veins seen within the Coeur d’Alene district, Idaho or the Keno Hill mining camp, Yukon Territory.
Technical information about geology in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mark Williams, P. Geo. and has relied on data previously collected by Erik Ostensoe, P. Geo and Coast Mountain Geological.
Source: http://www.huldrasilver.com/