Strategic Metals Announces the Start of a 7,000 m Drill Program at Its Mt Hinton Gold and Silver Project, Yukon
VANCOUVER, July 27, 2020 - Strategic Metals Ltd. (TSXV:SMD) ("Strategic" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a 7,000 m diamond drill program has begun at its wholly-owned Mt Hinton gold-silver project, located in the Keno Hill district of central Yukon. The 2020 exploration program started in mid-June and has comprised camp construction, road building, geological mapping, prospecting and sampling, all in preparation for drilling. The program is fully funded with adequate contingency to double the amount of drilling, if results and weather permit.
The Mt Hinton project hosts numerous high-grade, gold-silver veins developed in a series of east-north-easterly and northerly trending structural zones, which cut the same quartzite unit that hosts uncommonly high-grade silver veins elsewhere in the Keno Hill district. The 2020 drill program is the first large-scale diamond drill program ever done on the Mt Hinton property. The program is designed to test potential for both high-grade veins, like those historically mined from underground workings on an adjoining claim block now owned by Alexco Resources Corp ("Alexco"), and for bulk tonnage, vein and sheeted veinlet style mineralization similar to that being mined by Victoria Gold from open pits at its Eagle Deposit, 50 km northwest of Mt. Hinton. The location of Mt. Hinton project relative to the properties of Alexco and Victoria Gold is shown on Figure 1.
One of the two drills on the property is currently situated in the Granite North Zone, where a rock sample collected from talus in 2019 returned bonanza-grade assays of 2,340 g/t gold and 597 g/t silver, and a recent chip sample across bedrock exposed in a hand trench yielded 26.9 g/t gold and 49 g/t silver across 1.22 m. The Granite North Zone is a complex feature comprising multiple, sub-parallel bands of altered and veined quartzite. The initial drill holes will form a section line across this more than 300 m wide zone (see Figure 2).
The other drill is located in the Northern Structural Corridor, an up to 750 m wide zone that comprises more than 50 veins and vein segments, which have been traced in outcrop and talus over a combined strike length of nearly 4,000 m. Historical sampling in this zone focussed on sulphide-rich vein exposures, and little sampling was done across weakly mineralized veins or adjacent wall rock. Planned holes in this area are each expected to cross three or more veins, including the 19 vein where historical samples collected along 24 m of exposed strike reportedly had a weighted average of 6.51 g/t gold and 68.57 g/t silver over average width of 1.7 m, the 21 vein where samples taken over a 22 m long exposure yielded a weighted average of 42.5 g/t gold and 319 g/t silver across an average 1.05 m width, and the 24 vein where samples collected over a 24 m length had a weighted average of 17.5 g/t gold and 1546 g/t silver across an average 0.49 m width.
A road is currently being built to access drill targets is the South West Zone. This zone is about 100 m wide and has been traced for more than 2,000 m along strike. It consists of known veins and parallel, talus-covered, linear gullies identified by a 2019 LIDAR survey, which are suspected to host buried veins. Prospecting done in 2020 identified a new vein exposure where two chip samples, situated 10 m apart along strike, yielded 200 g/t gold and 90 g/t silver over 1.2 m and 80.3 g/t gold and 72 g/t silver over 1 m. Chip samples taken from other exposures in this zone graded 30.5 g/t gold and 53.1 g/t silver across 1.2 m and 8.82 g/t gold and 63.48 g/t silver across 1.95 m.
Other targets elsewhere in the 6 km by 4.5 km area of mineralization and strongly anomalous gold-in-soil geochemistry are expected to be drilled later in the season. These targets include a vein zone that was discovered in 2019 on a mostly till covered valley floor, where a chip sample assayed 24 g/t gold and 36.1 g/t silver across 1.25 m, and a vein in the northwestern corner of the area of mineralization and anomalous soil geochemistry, which was intersected in a 2011 reverse circulation drill hole. This intercept was never followed up despite assaying 31.7 g/t gold and 23 g/t silver over 1.52 m. The area of mineralization and anomalous soil geochemistry is shown on Figure 3.
The 2020 field program on the Mount Hinton property is being managed by Archer, Cathro & Associates (1981) Limited ("Archer Cathro"). Technical information in this news release has been approved by Heather Burrell, P. Geo., a senior geologist with Archer Cathro and a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101.
About Strategic Metals Ltd.
Strategic is a project generator with a portfolio of more than 130 projects that are the product of over 50 years of focussed exploration and research by a team with a track record of major discoveries. Current projects include more than 80 properties where precious metals are a major component. Projects available for option, joint venture or sale include drill-confirmed prospects and drill-ready targets with high-grade surface showings, geochemical anomalies and geophysical features that resemble those at nearby deposits.
Strategic has a current cash position of over $12 million and large shareholdings in a number of active mineral exploration companies including 46.3% of GGL Resources Corp., 36.3% of Rockhaven Resources Ltd., 19.6% of Precipitate Gold Corp., 18.7% of Silver Range Resources Ltd., 9.9% of Trifecta Gold Ltd., and 4.0% of ATAC Resources Ltd. Strategic also holds a 53.5% interest in Terra CO2 Technologies Holdings, Inc. a private Delaware corporation which is developing an environmentally-friendly, cost-effective alternative to Portland cement.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"W. Douglas Eaton"
President and Chief Executive Officer
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This news release may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration and other risk factors beyond its control, and actual results may differ materially from the expected results.
SOURCE: Strategic Metals Ltd.
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