North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Dolly Varden Silver Corp. March 20 announced plans for a 25,000-meter drill program that will focus primarily on expanding the high-grade silver resource on its Dolly Varden property in northwestern British Columbia.

"The 2018 exploration program will be larger than last year's program and is divided 80 percent for mineral resource purposes and 20 percent for exploration in this highly prospective mineral camp," said Dolly Varden President and CEO Gary Cope.

Discovery areas from the 2017 exploration season – Torbrit North, Torbrit East and Moose-Lamb targets, and expansion areas around the Torbrit and Dolly Varden deposits – will be the primary targets for resource expansion.

In 2015, Dolly Varden published a maiden indicated resource of 3.07 million metric tons averaging 321.6 grams per metric ton (31.8 million ounces) silver in four zones – Dolly Varden, North Star, Torbrit and Wolf.

These zones are associated with historical high-grade silver mines.

A prominent mineralized zone, known as the Dolly Varden-Torbrit Horizon, extends westward from the past-producing Dolly Varden mine, through the historical underground working at North Star and into the Torbrit mine, on the east. The DVTH forms an almost continuous sheet of sediment exhalative- (SEDEX) style mineralization.

The Torbrit North and Torbrit East target discoveries are of the same exhalative-style of silver and base metal mineralization found at the Torbit Mine area of DVTH but appears to be parallel to or fault offset from the main horizon.

Torbrit North is 200 meters north and 220 meters deeper than the historic Torbrit Mine, in the footwall block northeast of the Moose-Lamb fault.

One hole drilled there last year, DV17-063, cut 22.74 meters (21.37 meters true thickness) averaging 433 g/t silver.

The Torbrit East target, situated about 70 meters east and 60 meters higher than the Torbrit Mine, appears to have two mineralized zones.

Hole DV17-078 cut two mineralized zones, Upper and Lower, in the Torbrit East area – five meters (3.83 meters true thickness) averaging 482 g/t silver in the upper zone; and 8.35 meters (6.4 meters true thickness) averaging 122 g/t silver 2.33 percent zinc and 1.79 percent lead.

Located along its namesake fault, the Moose Lamb target discovery is an epithermal vein-style of mineralization similar to the historic Dolly Varden Mine.

One hole drilled at Moose Lamb last year, DV17-063, cut four meters (2.57 meters true thickness) averaging 988 g/t silver 0.9 percent zinc and 5.9 percent lead.

Dolly Varden's 2018 exploration drilling will target an alteration belt along the Kitsault River and a belt that extends from Auryn Resources' Homestake Ridge gold-silver property immediately to the northwest.

Overall, the 2018 program is budgeted at C$8.9 million and is expected to include 60 to 75 drill holes.

–SHANE LASLEY