Comstock Mining Reports High-Grade Intercepts From Updated Drilling in Lucerne
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VIRGINIA CITY, NV--(Marketwired - April 08, 2015) - Comstock Mining Inc. (the 'Company') (NYSE MKT: LODE) announced that the drill program to determine the near-surface mineralized zones on the Succor and Holman mineral patents has been completed (Map Figure 1). Since reporting the initial high-grade intercepts in February, 2015, based on 30 additional drill holes, the Company has further defined a zone of high-grade mineralization on these patents. The drill holes targeted near-surface vein outcrops, their down-dip extensions and certain infill objectives. All data to date suggest the Succor and Holman claims have excellent potential for economic mining and metal recovery. The next phase consists of core and reverse circulation drilling, both on the surface and underground, expanded resource estimation and extended mine plans.
The current drill program resulted in the following summary of intercepts (as of April 6, 2015):
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Table 1: Summary of Drill Program | ||
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 | Succor | Holman |
No. Holes Drilled | 80 | 39 |
Strike Length Drilled (ft) | 700 | 575 |
No. 10' intervals with intercepts >.015 Au opt. | 166 | 55 |
No. 10' interval with intercepts >.100Â Au opt. | 22 | 3 |
No. drill holes with intercepts >.100Â Au opt. | 20 | 2 |
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Table 2: Average Grades for Drill Intercepts Greater than .015 Au opt. | ||
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 | Succor | Holman |
Avg Au opt. | .056 | .047 |
Avg Ag opt. | .259 | .333 |
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"The near-surface portion of this drill program continues to intersect high-grade mineralization over widths that are supportive for economic mining. This recent drilling results included seven intercepts with greater than 0.100 ounce per ton of gold," stated Comstock Mining's President and CEO, Corrado De Gasperis.
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Table 3: Drill Intercepts Greater than .100 Au opt. | |||
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Drill Hole No. | Depth Interval (ft) | Au opt | Ag opt |
SL-001 | 10-20 | .264 | 1.110 |
SL-004 | 10-20 | .142 | .649 |
SL-013 | 60-67 | .213 | 1.134 |
SL-015 | 70-82 | .123 | .535 |
SL-019 | 0-10 | .145 | .412 |
SL-023 | 40-50 | .131 | .154 |
SL-029 | 10-20 | .309 | .368 |
SL-069 | 0-10 | .205 | .262 |
SL-099 | 20-30 | .191 | .561 |
SL-099 | 40-50 | .111 | .681 |
SL-104 | 30-40 | .145 | .287 |
SL-105 | 70-80 | .170 | .564 |
SL-112 | 10-20 | .112 | .054 |
SL-112 | 20-30 | .114 | .207 |
SL-115 | 110-120 | .166 | .129 |
SL-117 | 70-80 | .181 | 1.123 |
SL-125 | 100-105 | .595 | .742 |
SL-127 | 60-70 | .121 | .124 |
SL-129 | 30-40 | .114 | .078 |
SL-206 | 60-70 | .105 | .636 |
SL-223 | 70-82 | .142 | .243 |
SL-228 | 0-10 | .408 | .413 |
SL-228 | 20-30 | .311 | .224 |
SL-229 | 0-10 | .184 | .839 |
SL-232 | 50-60 | .108 | .069 |
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The Company commenced production in 2012, from a surface mining operation along a half-mile long segment of the Silver City branch of the lode and, in 2014, began shifting to the exploration and development of near-surface parts of the mineralized system lying within a short distance of current Lucerne operations (the Eastside operations). The Company's current resource estimate does not include any of the results of the 2014 and 2015 drill holes.
Lucerne's eastern exploration commenced in December 2014, with the completion of 119 drill holes in an area encompassed by the historic Succor and Holman mines. In the case of both mines, mineralization takes the form of moderately dipping quartz-calcite stock-work veining within the Miocene Alta Andesite. The primary objective of the Eastside drilling program was to accurately define the near-surface mineralization in the Succor and Holman areas because surface outcrops are limited. Drill hole spacing was also tightened, where practical, to 50 feet or less. The drilled strike lengths along the Succor and Holman zones totaled approximately 700 feet and 575 feet, respectively. The average depth of drilling was approximately 100 feet.
Due to the shallow nature of the program, the Company utilized a standard blast-hole rig. All samples were analyzed for gold and silver at the Company's existing, on-site production assay lab utilizing standard fire assay techniques. This drill program was intended to complement previous work from 2011 and 2012 which generated significant drill intercepts up to 300 feet down-dip on a portion of the Succor mineralized system.
Additional drilling on both the Succor and the Holman is required to define the extent and continuity of mineralization below depths of 100 feet. That drilling, utilizing primarily core drilling standards, is planned for the spring of 2015. Preliminary geological and engineering evaluation, including the development of grade shells and a block model, will be conducted concurrently with the drill program. Preliminary metallurgical work has also been initiated on representative drill samples from the Succor and Holman drill program. This work includes standard bottle-roll procedures to test the mineralized materials' amenability to existing heap-leach processes.
Comstock Mining has recently expanded its near-surface drilling and development program to include the Dayton Resource Area, south of Lucerne, in Lyon County. The first phase of Dayton drilling will mirror the sample procedures of the Succor and Holman area using an efficient blast-hole rig to define near-surface mineralization. Preliminary results are pending; however, the drilling has clearly outlined a southerly extension to one of the principle Dayton structures that hosts an expanded deposit. Once complete, further core and reverse circulation definition and infill drilling, including third-party laboratory sample analysis, will commence later this spring, followed by resource estimation and final mine planning.
About Comstock Mining Inc.
Comstock Mining Inc. is a producing, Nevada-based, gold and silver mining company with extensive, contiguous property in the Comstock District and is an emerging leader in sustainable, responsible mining, including concurrent and accelerated reclamations, soil sampling, voluntary air monitoring, cultural asset protection and historical restorations. The Company began acquiring properties in the Comstock District in 2003. Since then, the Company has consolidated a significant portion of the Comstock District, amassed the single largest known repository of historical and current geological data on the Comstock region, secured permits, built an infrastructure and commenced production in 2012. The Company continues acquiring additional properties in the district, expanding its footprint and creating opportunities for further exploration, development and mining. The near term goal of our business plan is to deliver stockholder value by validating qualified resources (measured and indicated) and reserves (proven and probable) of at least 3,250,000 gold equivalent ounces from our first two resource areas, Lucerne and Dayton, and significantly grow the commercial development of our operations through coordinated, district wide plans that are economically feasible and socially responsible.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any related calls or discussions may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about Comstock. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about matters such as: future prices and sales of, and demand for, our products; future industry market conditions; future changes in our exploration activities, production capacity and operations; future exploration, production, operating and overhead costs; operational and management restructuring activities (including implementation of methodologies); future mine planning and resource estimation; capital expenditures and their impact on us; productivity, business process, rationalization, investment, acquisition, consulting, operational, tax, financial and capital projects and initiatives; contingencies; environmental compliance and changes in the regulatory environment; and future working capital, costs, revenues, business opportunities, debt levels, cash flows, margins, earnings and growth.
The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "plan," "should," "intend," "may," "will," "would," "potential" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of doing so. These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical and current trends, current conditions, possible future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, representations or warranties and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Some of those risks and uncertainties include the risk factors discussed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of our annual report on Form 10-K. Occurrence of such events or circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows or the market price of our securities. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.
Neither this press release nor any related calls or discussions constitutes an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.
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Contact
Contact information for Comstock Mining Inc.:
PO Box 1118
Virginia City, NVÂ 89440
questions@comstockmining.com
http://www.comstockmining.com  Â
Corrado De Gasperis
President & CEO
Tel (775) 847-4755
degasperis@comstockmining.com
Kimberly Shipley
Manager of Investor Relations
Tel (775) 847-0545
shipley@comstockmining.com