Tidbits ESK Mac Balkam and Dr. Quinton Hennigh's Eskay Mining Corp. (ESK) jumped 25 cents to $2.38 on 588,000 shares on word that it has drilled a 140.28-metre interval averaging 0.9 gram of gold and 123.2 grams of silver per tonne from the TV deposit at its Consolidated Eskay volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) project in northwestern British Columbia. The hit included a high-grade zone averaging 1.9 grams of gold and 367.7 grams of silver per tonne across 26 metres.
Other holes did nearly as well. One delivered 24.1 metres averaging 2.2 grams of gold and 374 grams of silver per tonne within a broader 92.3-metre interval averaging 1.1 grams of gold and 124 grams of silver per tonne. The assays, the first of this year's program, are from five holes drilled at TV, and they produced enough gold to warrant a two-alarm promotion. (The company kept its main pumper, Mr. Balkam, a former cop turned stockbroker and now Eskay's president and CEO, in reserve.)
First on the scene was Dr. Hennigh, director and technical adviser. He was "thrilled with the results," but he nevertheless dampened his enthusiasm with geological jargon. Dr. Hennigh applauded the results as showing there is a large stockwork feeder under the upper massive sulphide deposit, but he quickly got back to fanning the flames, noting that the 92-metre hit appears to represent the true thickness of the large system, one that is open along strike and down dip. He is now "anxious to see" further assays from the stockwork at TV, adding that "these results are a great start."
Next on the scene was Dr. John DeDecker, vice-president of exploration. He cheered TV as "showing all the signs of a textbook VMS system." Unlike Dr. Hennigh, he kept reading from his textbook, stating that identifying the VMS feeder zone above the lower massive sulphide zone "indicated our stacked VMS deposit concept was on the right track." He briefly attempted to pull out of his deep geological dive, finding encouragement in the "robust continuity of gold and silver grades," before crashing back to form, concluding that he is looking forward to "results from both massive sulphide horizons.