Skeena Resources Limited (TSX: SKE) (NYSE: SKE) updated its mineral resource estimate for its Snip Gold Project in northwestern British Columbia.
Announced on Tuesday, Skeena’s upgraded MRE for the project includes 823,000 ounces grading 9.35 grams per ton Au in the indicated category and 114,000 ounces grading 7.10 grams per ton Au in the inferred category.
The revised MRE has been expanded to include an extra 307 drillholes, resulting in a cumulative drilling length of 46,268 meters. Additionally, it incorporates improvements in geological interpretation, resource estimation techniques, adjustments to long hole mining parameters, and the incorporation of updated metallurgical process recovery data.
“This resource will form the basis of a detailed engineering study with project economics, which we anticipate being released in H1 2024,” said Randy Reichert, Skeena’s president and CEO.
“The study will demonstrate the potential benefits of adding Snip mineralization to the Eskay Creek Project as a satellite operation, likely including an increased mine life and improved concentrate payabilities at Eskay Creek.”
Skeena and Hochschild Mining (LON: HOC) each performed infill drilling in 2021 and 2022. Skeena completed 238 drill holes covering a distance of 35,891 meters, while Hochschild conducted 69 drill holes totalling 10, 377 meters.
The combined efforts of these programs, totalling 307 drill holes and 46,268 meters of drilling, resulted in the identification of new zones of mineralization. These drilling campaigns also ventured into areas not previously explored by Skeena, with the aim of validating historical assay results and potentially improving the classification of those regions.
Mineral Resource Estimate comparisons between 2020 and 2023 for Snip Gold Project. Image via Skeena Resources.
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Skeena drilled 28 drill holes to validate historical intercepts
In the 2020 MRE, the company created a 40-meter buffer around the drill holes the company drilled from 2016 to 2019. This was done because these recent holes had quality control data, while the historical assay data did not. In the 2020 classification, all indicated resources outside this buffer with enough drill data were downgraded to inferred resources.
Skeena drilled 28 twin drill holes over 3,318 meters to validate historical drill intercepts during the 2021 and 2022 infill drilling campaigns. Comparable vein intervals and gold grades were consistently observed in both the original drill holes and their respective twin holes.
The vein interval statistics derived from the campaign demonstrated strong correlations between the historical fire assay results and the twin hole fire assay results. This validation process allowed for the use of historical drill hole data in the grade estimation process without the need for additional constraints.
Skeena shares dropped 3 per cent to $6.08 on Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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NevGold produces its own maiden resource estimate
NevGold Corp. (TSXV:NAU) (OTCQX:NAUFF) (Frankfurt:5E50) is another British Columbia-based junior gold miner that’s recently produced its own maiden mineral resource estimate for its Nutmeg Mountain property Idaho.
This estimate actually replaces a prior resource estimate originally produced by GoldMining Inc. (TSX: GOLD) (NYSE: GLDG), which the company had been using since it acquired the property in June of 2022.
NevGold raised the cut-off grades from GoldMining’s initial MRE, increasing it from 0.30 g/t Au to 0.60 g/t Au. Consequently, the project now boasts 560,000 ounces of Indicated Resources at a grade of 0.92 g/t Au and 81,000 ounces of inferred resources at a grade of 0.87 g/t Au. As the project progresses, the company intends to continue exploration efforts to uncover additional high-grade mineralization through further drilling.
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