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

Dolly Varden Silver Corp. Jan. 14 reported the completion of a very successful field program at its namesake property in northwestern British Columbia, a program that included 29,108 meters of core drilling in 85 holes.

The 2018 drilling program was designed to focus on resource delineation and verification, particularly in new discovery areas identified in 2017.

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 that date back to the dawn of the 20th Century.

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

Two of the 2017 discoveries, Torbrit North and Torbrit East, are similar to the historic Torbrit Mine but located in parallel or fault offset basins.

The Torbrit North target is located 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 at Torbrit North during 2018, DV18086, cut 8.32 meters (8.07 meters true-width) averaging 248.4 grams per metric ton silver.

The Torbrit East target is located 70 meters east and 60 meters higher than the historic Torbrit Mine, in the hanging-wall block southwest of the Moose-Lamb Fault.

One hole drilled at Torbrit East last year, DV18105, cut 24 meters (22.55 meters true-width) averaging 287.5 g/t silver

Bonus zone, a discovery made this year, is above the Torbrit North target.

One hole drilled at Bonus, DV18083, cut 15.5 meters (7.75 meters true-width) averaging 161.4 g/t silver.

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, DV18109, cut 29.15 meters (22.33 meters true-width) averaging 226 g/t silver.

The Kitsol Zone, located about 1,700 meters to the northwest and on the west side of the Kitsault River, also shows similarities to the epithermal vein-style mineralization found at Dolly Varden.

One hole drilled at Kitsol last year, DV18135, cut 22.15 meters (21.81 meters trued-width) averaging 332.8 g/t silver, including 4.05 meters (3.99 meters true-width) averaging 1,112.7 g/t silver

"The Dolly Varden Mining Camp contains multiple mineralized deposits within a five-kilometer (3.1 miles) radius. The current resource is based on only four deposits (Dolly Varden Mine, Torbrit Mine, North Star and Wolf). Near these four deposits are significant 2018 drilling intercepts in Torbrit North, Torbrit East, Moose Lamb, Kitsol and Bonus zones," said Dolly Varden Silver President and CEO Gary Cope.

In addition to drilling the discovery targets, the roughly C$8.9 million drill program carried out last year tested expansion areas at the Torbrit and Dolly Varden deposits, which currently host roughly 80 percent of the indicated resource on the Dolly Varden property.

One hole drilled at Torbit, DV18163, cut 75.45 meters (65.34 meters true-width) averaging 418.9 g/t silver, including 16 meters (13.86 meters true-width) averaging 1,240.4 g/t silver.

One hole drilled at Dolly Varden, DV18154, cut 12.13 meters averaging 189.7 g/t silver, including 1.45 meters averaging 1,389.5 g/t silver.

"Work has now shifted to engineering and scientific studies prior to next spring's fieldwork," said Cope.

–SHANE LASLEY