Mining Explorers 2012: Seabridge Gold Inc.
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Last updated 11/11/2012 at Noon
SEA: TSX and SA: NYSE Amex
Chairman and CEO: Rudi P. Fronk
President and COO: Jay S. Layman
Senior Vice President, Exploration: William E. Threlkeld
Seabridge Gold Inc. is a development stage company focused on the KSM (Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell) property in Northwest British Columbia, which is one of the world's largest undeveloped gold/copper projects, and the Courageous Lake property located in the Slave Province of Northwest Territories.
"Our business plan from inception has been to grow gold resources and reserves, while minimizing equity dilution.
With an estimated 6.5 million ounces of newly defined proven and probable reserves at Courageous Lake, combined with the 38.2 million ounces of gold reserves estimated at our KSM project, we now report total proven and probable gold reserves of 44.7 million ounces.
Not only does this rank Seabridge among the top 10 companies in the world with respect to gold reserves, but with only 43.4 million common shares outstanding, we provide our shareholders with more than one ounce of gold reserves per common share outstanding.
Furthermore, this entire reserve base is located in Canada, one of the safest and most mining-friendly jurisdictions in the world," CEO Fronk said in announcing the completion of a C$5 million preliminary feasibility study for the Courageous Lake project in July.
At KSM, proven and probable reserves are estimated at 2.2 billion metric tons grading 0.55 grams per metric ton gold, 0.21 percent copper and 2.74 g/t silver.
Seabridge's 2012 exploration objective for the project is to determine whether it has a high-grade core like other world-class copper-gold systems.
A growing body of evidence now suggests that such a core remains to be discovered on the KSM claims at a reasonable depth and that it was the source not only of the Kerr, Sulphurets, Mitchell and Iron Cap porphyry zones but also the neighboring Snowfields and Brucejack deposits.
"Six years of intensive exploration and data analysis strongly suggest that the six deposits in the immediate area are distinct yet related mineralizing events likely generated by a single magmatic source.
The vertically-zoned mineral assemblages were then displaced laterally by regional thrust faulting.
What is most encouraging to us is that the total displacement along these faults now appears to have been just a few hundred meters, not kilometers.
The core should therefore be close to the existing KSM deposits at a reasonable depth.
A magnetotelluric geophysical survey conducted last year has identified several distinct resistivity targets which could represent the core," Fronk said.
The junior planned to drill 11 deep holes totaling about 7,500 meters this summer on four distinct targets.
In the updated PFS, the junior outlines a 55-year combined open-pit/underground bloc-caving mining operation and milling about 130,000 tpd from open-pit mining during the first 25 years.
At Courageous Lake, Seabridge converted nearly 1.2 million ounces of previously disclosed inferred resources in 2011 to measured and indicated categories in a C$6 million, 52-hole exploration program.
Fronk said Seabridge believes the most cost effective way to improve project economics is to add to reserves.
Thus, in the C$8.5 million exploration program for 2012, the junior drilled highly prospective targets that can be accessed easily by the operation proposed in its PFS with the objective of finding a second major gold deposit along the 52-kilometer- (33 miles) long Matthews Lake Greenstone Belt.
In addition to 12,500 meters of core drilling, Seabridge also planned detailed airborne magnetic and electromagnetic geophysical surveys over the thickest part of the belt.
Cash and short-term deposits: C$35.4 million (June 30, 20112)
Working capital: C$39.3 million (June 30, 2012)
Market capitalization: C$712.61 million (Aug. 25, 2011)
106 Front Street East, Suite 400
Toronto, Ontario M5A 1E1
Tel: (416) 367-9292 Fax: (416) 367-2711
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