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

Benchmark Metals Inc. April 29 reported that strong results from this year's resource expansion drilling at Dukes Ridge indicates that this deposit still has gold and silver to contribute to the overall resource on the company's Lawyers project in Northern British Columbia.

According to a calculation completed last year at about this time, the Cliff Creek, AGB, and Dukes Ridge deposits at Lawyers host 40.3 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 1.19 grams per metric ton (1.55 million ounces) gold and 38.7 g/t (50.2 million oz) silver; plus 16.2 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 1.19 g/t (620,000 oz) gold and 34.7 g/t (18.1 million oz) silver.

The smallest and earliest stage of the three, Dukes Ridge hosts 2.62 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.91 g/t (77,000 oz) gold and 34.2 g/t (2.9 million oz) silver.

Benchmark says Dukes Ridge remains a significant potential source for additional gold-silver ounces at Lawyers, as drill-indicated high-grade shoots within intervals of bulk-tonnage mineralization continue to accumulate with each phase of drilling beyond the 2021 resource estimate.

"The Dukes Deposit has sparse historical drilling relative to the AGB and Cliff Creek deposits and this provides an opportunity to deliver more gold and silver," said Benchmark Metals CEO John Williamson.

In addition, drilling has expanded both Dukes Ridge and the adjacent Cliff Creek to a point where they are nearly one deposit.

The early 2022 drill results are no exception; highlights include:

• One meter averaging 9.43 g/t gold and 34.2 g/t silver within a broader 41.33-meter interval averaging 0.93 g/t gold and 8.46 g/t silver in hole 22DRD019.

• 9.06 meters averaging 6.87 g/t gold and 182.72 g/t silver within a broader 57-meter interval averaging 1.72 g/t gold and 64.41 g/t silver in hole 22DRDD022.

Benchmark Metals Inc.

Click on the image to enlarge Dukes Ridge long-section.

• 2.52 meters 18.26 g/t gold and 552.85 g/t silver within a broader 38.22-meter interval averaging 2.17 g/t gold and 78.14 g/t silver in hole 22DRDD026.

"Dukes Ridge continues to deliver strong drill results and the continuity of high-grade mineralization to depth is well below the existing 2021 resource pit-shell," Williamson added. "The imminent updated mineral resource estimate will include these latest results from Dukes, and we are excited to see what these results contribute to the resource."

So far this year, Benchmark has completed more than 16,000 meters of infill and resource expansion drilling at the Cliff Creek, Dukes Ridge, and AGB deposits, as well as the Marmot Lake exploration area at Lawyers. The company will continue to provide results from the spring program drilling as they become available.

Author Bio

Shane Lasley, Publisher

Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.

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