Drills tap gold-silver in former waste rock of proposed pit

Skeena Resources Ltd. Sept. 6 announced the first batch of assay results from a 2022 drill program focused largely on supplementing the existing mine plan for its Eskay Creek gold-silver project in Northern British Columbia with additional near-surface mineralization amenable to open pit mining.

A feasibility study released by the company on Sept. 8 details an open pit mine at Eskay Creek that would produce 2.42 million ounces of gold and 66.7 million oz of silver over an initial nine years of mining.

Further details on the Eskay Creek feasibility study can be read at Study affirms robust Eskay Creek Mine in the current edition of North of 60 Mining News.

This mine plan is based on 46.5 million metric tons of open pit minable measured and indicated resources averaging 2.6 grams per metric ton (5.2 million oz) gold and 63.2 g/t (94.6 million oz) silver.

With this resource supporting a financially robust mine capable of producing an average of 269,000 oz of gold and 7.4 million oz of silver a year for nearly a decade, Skeena is testing extensions to the deposits that could extend the life of the envisioned Eskay Creek Mine.

Toward this goal, the latest batch of results is from resource expansion drilling on the east flank of the proposed open pit mine; as well as drilling expansion and delineation drilling at the recently discovered 21A West and 23 zones, which extend mineralization further south.

Highlights from the first batch of 2022 drill results include:

• 31.3 meters averaging 1.66 g/t gold and 1.7 g/t silver in hole SK-22-988 (East Flank).

• 17.66 meters averaging 2.97 g/t gold and 3 g/t silver in hole SK-22-990 (East Flank).

• 21 meters averaging 2.27 g/t gold and 2.3 g/t silver in hole SK-22-1006 (23 Zone).

• 47.5 meters averaging 1.31 g/t gold and 1.3 g/t silver in hole SK-22-1008 (23 Zone).

• 27.68 meters averaging 1.85 g/t gold and 1.8 g/t silver in hole SK-22-1018 (East Flank).

• 46.77 meters averaging 1.74 g/t gold and 1.7 g/t silver in hole SK-22-1028 (21A West).

• 12.12 meters averaging 47.5 g/t gold and 73.4 g/t silver in hole SK-22-1093 (21A West).

"These exploration drill results demonstrate the potential for adding new, open pit mineralization in the near-term to Eskay Creek," said Skeena Resources President Randy Reichert. "A mineral resource update will be completed following the 2022 drill program with the aim of upgrading at least a portion of the mineralization discovered in the 23 and 21A West Zones to the indicated category for use in an updated mine plan."

Excited by 21A West gold

Skeena is particularly excited about the resource expansion potential at 21A West, which was first discovered during drilling completed in 2021.

Highlights from 2021 drilling in this resource expansion zone include:

• 14.5 meters averaging 1.29 g/t gold and 36 g/t silver in hole SK-21-972.

• 11.7 meters averaging 1.77 g/t gold and 200 g/t silver in hole SK-21-983.

• 34 meters averaging 8.78 g/t gold and 13 g/t silver in hole SK-21-997.

Skeena says the high-grade gold encountered in hole SK-22-1093 has predictably extended the near-surface, rhyolite-hosted mineralization within an area of the intended open-pit that was previously modeled as barren waste rock.

Additional 21A West in-pit expansions have been delineated 50 meters below SK-21-997 with SK-22-1032, which cut two mineralized zones – 11.02 meters averaging 1.73 g/t gold and 1.7 g/t silver; and 29.5 meters averaging 1.45 g/t gold and 1.5 g/t silver.

"Due to the high precious metal grade required by previous operators, the rhyolite-hosted mineralization was never a focus for our predecessors and hence lacked systematic exploration," said Skeena Resource Senior Vice President of Exploration and Resource Development Paul Geddes.

A thick zone of the same rhyolite-hosted gold and silver mineralization was encountered in SK-22-1028, which was drilled 300 meters south of hole SK-22-1093.

This discovery occurs 100 meters below surface and beyond the limits of the currently defined Eskay Creek resource. Additional drilling is planned for this area to potentially expand the mineralization up-dip to surface. Assays are pending for three other holes drilled in a 250-meter gap SK-22-1028 between SK-22-1028 and the rest of the drilling at 21A West.

The 2022 resource expansion drilling at 21A West, 23, and East Flank shows the potential to extend the life of the mine detailed in the feasibility study for Eskay Creek.

Click on image for larger map.

"We are very encouraged by the results to date and look forward to further enhancing the already robust mineral resource and economics of the project," said Geddes.

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