September 20, 2011
Sabina Gold & Silver Reports Updated Resource Estimate for the Goose Deposit, Back River Gold Project, Nunavut
--------------------------------------------------
Reinterpretation of the Goose Deposit as an Open Pit Project
Increases Contained Gold by 358,000 Ounces
Further additions to Northern Management team as Back River Project pushes forward
View News Release in PDF Format
Vancouver, BC -- Sabina Gold & Silver Corp (SBB.T) is pleased to announce a new resource estimate for the Goose deposit at its 100% owned Back River Project in Nunavut, Canada. These new resources consist of an Indicated Resource of 7.7 million tonnes grading 4.45 g/t Au for a total of 1.1 million ounces of gold and an Inferred Resource of 0.4 million tonnes grading 3.53 g/t Au for a total of 50,000 ounces of gold within an optimized pit at a cut-off grade of 1.50 g/t Au. In addition, there is also an Inferred Resource of 0.6 million tonnes grading 5.81 g/t Au for a total of 106,000 ounces of gold that is available to be mined by underground methods. This current interpretation has increased the amount of contained ounces of gold at Goose by 358,000 ounces Au in all categories.
The Goose deposit, one of two historical resources at the Back River Gold Project, was earlier modelled as a resource to be accessed by underground. Goose is a folded iron formation hosted deposit, outcropping on surface and shallowly plunging to the north. When Sabina purchased the project in June 2009, work began to assess whether the Goose deposit would be amenable to open pit extraction.
The historical Goose resource contained Indicated Resources of 1.6 million tonnes grading 11.9 g/t Au for a total of 603,000 ounces of gold and Inferred Resources of 992,000 tonnes grading 9.2 g/t Au for a total of 295,000 ounces of gold at a cut-off grade of 5.0 g/t Au. .
The Goose deposit is one of four major deposits on the Back River Claim Block which also includes the George deposit and the newly discovered Llama and Umwelt deposits.
Goose, Llama and Umwelt sit within a 5km long corridor and are envisioned as three major open pits supporting one central milling facility at the Goose claim block. The George deposit, located approximately 50 km to the north on the George claim block, is envisioned as an underground satellite deposit that would be mined and transported to the mill at Goose via winter road. The Company has recently engaged an engineering firm to commence work on a Preliminary Economic Assessment of a gold mining operation at Back River. The study will comprise the new open pit Goose resource, the soon to be updated Umwelt and Llama resources as well as the existing George resource. The study is anticipated to be completed early in 2012, after which, if positive, a Preliminary Project Description will be filed with the Nunavut Water Board to initiate the permitting process for the project.
To further support the company's objective to become a mid-tier gold miner, additions have been made to the management team.
Matthew Pickard joined the Company in August as Director of Environment and Community Relations. Mr. Pickard is a Professional Geoscientist with over 12 years of experience in environmental management within the mining industry and most recently held the position of Director of Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability with Baffinland Iron Mines Ltd. Matthew will focus his efforts on the environmental assessment and permitting process of the Back River project as well as community engagement. He also currently sits as a Director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.
In September, Mr. Leon Coetzer joined the Company as Vice president, Engineering and Project Development. Mr. Coetzer has a broad background including, among other things, Chief Operations Officer for Afrex Mining in Zimbabwe, working on the re-opening of the Black Angel Mine in Greenland and with J.S Redpath on the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. Leon brings a extensive background in working on remote projects covering a variety of technical areas.
"We are very pleased to have these two gentlemen joining our team as we push Back River forward," said Tony Walsh, President & CEO. "Both bring a wealth of experience to their roles and further enhance our in house capabilities. The next 18 months will be a period of extraordinary growth for the Company. With a solid treasury and a very talented team, we are poised to push towards development while still working to add ounces at our world class Back River asset."
Table 1 Goose Deposit Mineral Resources - September 9, 2011
Whittle Pit Cut-off Grade Indicated Resources Inferred Resources
Au (g/t) Tonnes Grade (g/t) Ounces (Au) Tonnes Grade (g/t) Ounces (Au)
0.70 9,860,525 3.71 1,176,099 586,508 2.90 54,606
1.00 8,974,775 3.99 1,151,818 512,950 3.19 52,639
1.50 7,697,051 4.45 1,100,922 436,501 3.53 49,537
2.00 6,498,128 4.95 1,033,684 343,277 4.02 44,310
Underground
Cut-off Grade Indicated Resources Inferred Resources
Au (g/t) Tonnes Grade (g/t) Ounces (Au) Tonnes Grade (g/t) Ounces (Au)
2.50 - 0 - 736,605 5.12 121,177
3.00 - 0 - 569,897 5.81 106,467
Notes:
1.CIM definition standards were followed for Mineral Resources.
2.The Qualified Person for the Goose Mineral Resource estimate is Patti Nakai-Lajoie, P.Geo., RPA
3.Pit optimizations were used to constrain the resources.
4.Mineral Resources are estimated using an average long-term gold price of US$1,300 per ounce.
5.Numbers may not add due to rounding.
The Goose deposit was discovered in 1992 and together with the Llama and Umwelt deposits discovered in 2010 constitute potential open pit mining operations. In addition to these open pit opportunities, potential underground mining opportunities exist below the Goose deposit and at George. Recent drilling at Umwelt also suggests that there could be underground mining options there. The Back River mineral resources including this new estimate for the Goose deposit is tabulated below:
Table 2 Back River Mineral Resources - September 9, 2011
Classification Location Tonnes Grade Au (g/t) Ounces Au
Open Pit
Indicated Goose 7,697,000 4.45 1,101,000
Llama 1,860,000 9.41 562,000
Umwelt 4,601,000 6.08 900,000
Total Indicated 14,158,000 5.63 2,563,000
Inferred Goose 436,000 3.53 50,000
Llama 981,000 5.71 180,000
Umwelt 1,067,000 6.43 221,000
Total Inferred 2,483,000 5.64 451,000
Underground
Indicated George 1,838,000 10.00 590,000
Total Indicated 1,838,000 10.00 590,000
Inferred Goose 570,000 5.81 106,000
George 2,563,000 10.50 866,000
Total Inferred 3,133,000 9.65 972,000
Notes:
1.CIM definition standards were followed for Mineral Resources.
2.The Qualified Person for the Goose, Llama and Umwelt Mineral Resource estimate is Patti Nakai-Lajoie, P.Geo., RPA
3.Open pit Mineral Resources for Goose are estimated at a pit discard cut-off grade of 0.70 g/t Au and 90% recovery. Pit optimizations were used to constrain the resources.
4.Mineral Resources for Llama and Umwelt are estimated at a pit discard cut-off grade of 0.76 g/t Au and 90% recovery.
5.Underground Mineral Resources at Goose are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.00 g/t Au.
6.Mineral Resources are estimated using an average long-term gold price of US$1,300 per ounce.
7.The Qualified Person for the George Mineral Resource estimate is Doug Cater, P.Geo
8.Mineral Resources for George are estimated at a cut-off grade of 5.00 g/t.
9.Numbers may not add due to rounding. |
Thread abonnieren
