Sabina Gold & Silver Reports More Successful Results From the Umwelt Deposit, Back River Gold Project, Nunavut
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/19/11 -- Sabina Gold & Silver Corp (TSX:SBB) is pleased to announce additional assay results from holes drilled as part of the 2011 exploration program on its Umwelt deposit at the Goose claim block at its 100% owned Back River Project in Nunavut, Canada.
The recently completed 2011 drilling campaign at Back Riverfocussed on expanding the existing deposits at Umwelt and Llama, and looking for new discoveries by applying the Company's exploration tool box to open pit targets on the Goose and George claim blocks, as well as the Wishbone gold claims. The last of the Company's Nunavut drills shut down on October 3rd, having completed a record total of 73,650 m of drilling on gold targets in 2011.
The last holes drilled at Umwelt as part of the 2011 program were focussed on in-filling under drilled gaps in preparation for the new resource estimate and extending areas of open mineralization.
Further results have been returned from drilling at the newly identified G2 Zone at Umwelt. Hole 11GSE123 on section 4250N returned 6.85 g/t Au over 32.95 m including 9.46 g/t Au over 16.85 m. This hole is at a vertical depth of 550 m and targeted a gap in drilling up plunge of the G2 Zone. This hole further demonstrates the strong grade and thickness of mineralization being outlined at G2.
New results at Umwelt also include two holes that targeted extensions of the resource defined by drilling in 2010. Both of these holes tested down dip extensions of mineralization to the east on the Main Zone successfully expanding the zone. Hole 11GSE114 on section 4650N (included in a news release table released Sep 13/11) returned 9.63 g/t Au over 9.60 m. This hole is 35 m down dip of hole 10GSE146 (which returned 1.25 g/t Au over 8.65) extending and opening up the potential for further mineralization down dip. Hole 11GSE130 on section 4750N returned 5.34 g/t Au over 28.35 m including 21.02 g/t Au over 5.8 m. This hole is located immediately below the bottom of the open pit shell as defined by RPA and extends the mineralized zone in hole 10GSE112 (10.25 g/t Au over 35.50 m) a further 45 m down dip.
New results for holes designed to fill gaps in drilling include hole 11GSE118 on section 4500N which targeted a 110 m gap between previously reported holes 11GSE031 (grading 4.78 g/t Au over 17.00 m) and hole 11GSE052 (grading 10.19 g/t Au over 33.00 m). Hole 11GSE118 returned 5.46 g/t Au over 27.53 m including 8.73 g/t Au over 15.03 m further demonstrating the thickness, solid grade and overall continuity of the Umwelt deposit.
Additional results from shoulder sampling on hole 11GSE106 in the G2 Zone (reported on September 29) has expanded the width of the intercept by a further 6.35 meters to total 29.85 m grading 9.48 g/t Au.
There are numerous assays still outstanding, and currently assays for Umwelt are being prioritized to enable for the calculation of an updated resource estimate in preparation for the upcoming preliminary economic assessment expected at the end of Q1, 2012.
"We are very encouraged by the success we've had this yearin identifying good grades and good widths in our deposit areas, as well as identifying new discoveries on our claim blocks," said Tony Walsh, President & CEO. "Our team is looking forward to assessing all 2011 results in order to plan next year's program. We expect that drilling this year on Umwelt has added significantly to the resource and we are excited about the numerous other targets we have for follow up work and initial reconnaissance. We are very proud of the success we have had at Back River in what has essentially been two drilling campaigns."
UMWELT
The Umwelt deposit, discovered in 2010, contains an indicated resource of 4.6 m tonnes grading 6.0 g/t Au for a total of 900,000 ounces of Au and an inferred resource of 1.1 m tonnes grading 6.4 g/t Au for a total of 221,000 ounces of Au. Drilling in 2011 has extended this resource approximately 900m along strike to the south. The Umwelt deposit has now been defined over a 1.15 km strike length and for 1.5 km down plunge and remains open.
The mineralized zones are hosted within a turbiditic sedimentary sequence containing silicate and oxide facies iron formations. Gold dominantly occurs with quartz +/- carbonate veining and arsenopyrite +/- pyrite +/- pyrrhotite in the iron formation. Drilling at Umwelt has identified an anti-form structure with a fold hinge that plunges to the south. Thick zones of gold mineralization are associated with the fold hinge in what is now known as the Main Zone. Mineralization also occurs along a separate iron formation horizon immediately to the west known as the West Zone.
PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC EVALUATION UPDATE
The Company's objective is to become a mid-tier gold producer through the development of its Nunavut gold assets.
The Umwelt, Goose and Llama deposits are located within a 5 km long corridor and are envisioned as three major open pits supporting a central milling facility located on the Goose claim block. The George deposit, 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 a winter road. The Company has recently engaged SRK Engineering Ltd. 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 newly generated Llama resources (incorporating 2011 drilling) 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.
SABINA GOLD & SILVER CORP.
Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is an emerging precious metals company with district scale, world class undeveloped assets in one of the world's newest, most politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada.
Sabina's primary properties consist of the Back River Gold Project as well as the Wishbone Claims, a vastly prospective grass roots project and the Hackett River poly metallic project all in Nunavut. The Company has announced the completion of the sale of Hackett River and certain claims in the Wishbone greenstone belt to