Resource Estimate 31.8 Million Oz IndicatedAugust 27, 2015 – Vancouver, BC: Dolly Varden Silver Corporation (TSX.V: DV | U.S.: DOLLF) (the “Company” or “Dolly Varden”) is pleased to report its maiden National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) mineral resource estimate completed by Giroux Consultants Ltd. covering the four known deposits on the Company’s wholly-owned Dolly Varden property in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The Indicated mineral resource estimate for the Dolly Varden, North Star, Torbrit, and Wolf deposits totals 31.8 million ounces of silver contained within 3.07 million tonnes of material with an average grade of 321.6 grams of silver per tonne (“g/t silver”). The Inferred mineral resource estimate totals an additional 10.8 million ounces of silver at a grade of 373.3 g/t silver.
Highlights:
- Nearly tripled the historic estimated mineralization on the deposits.
- High grade: average Indicated grade 321.6 g/t silver (incl. 625.1 g/t silver for Dolly Varden deposit).
- Nearly 75 percent of the mineral resources are in the Indicated category.
- Excellent potential to extend resource shapes down dip, along trend and within deposit footprints.
- Conservative: tonnage is expected to increase with infill of rock density (specific gravity) data.
- Further value: upside expected with the addition of new lead and zinc assay data.
Summary of Mineral Resources at a 150 g/t silver cut-off grade*
*For a summary of Resource Estimate Methodology see below or view Technical Report for full detail (to be filed on SEDAR).
Dolly Varden’s interim President and CEO, Rosie Moore, commented, “We are very excited to receive this confirmation of the magnitude of mineralization immediately adjacent to historically mined or developed deposits. The fact that the estimated silver grades are greater than 250 grams per tonne in the Indicated category for all of the deposits, and 625 grams per tonne at the Dolly Varden deposit, means that this project warrants attention even at today’s metal prices. Addition of zinc and lead contents, not estimated in this report due to lack of assays for these elements in pre-Dolly Varden drilling, could also augment the value. This estimate will guide further work by identifying locations where tonnage and grade may be increased or where mineralization may be upgraded to higher confidence resource categories. We also look forward to using this information to explore for similar high-grade deposits on the remainder of the property where the same lithology, alteration and mineral occurrences exist.”
Historic work:
The Dolly Varden property is located 26 kilometers (by road) north of deep tidewater at Alice Arm in northwestern British Columbia and hosts four known deposits, two of which sourced historic production totaling 20 million ounces of silver. The Dolly Varden Mine produced 1.5 million ounces during the 1920’s at an average grade of 35.7 ounces of silver per ton (1,224 g/t silver). From 1949 to 1959, the nearby Torbrit Mine produced 18.5 million ounces of silver at an average recovered grade of 13.58 ounces of silver per ton (466 g/t silver). Two other deposits, the North Star and Wolf deposits were historically defined and developed but never put into production. A historic, pre-NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate was compiled in 1986 by consultants Derry Michener Booth & Wahl over the four deposits. Further information regarding historic work on the Dolly Varden property can be found on the Company’s website and in Dolly Varden’s technical reports, available online at www.sedar.com.
Since acquiring the Dolly Varden project in 2011, field work has been dedicated to confirming and expanding the known mineralization near the historic deposits: Dolly Varden (2012), Torbrit (2013), Wolf (2011) and North Star. The Company’s work has consisted of surface and underground mapping, underground rehabilitation, detailed sampling, data compilation from reliable historic records, and nearly 15,000 meters of core drilling. Over the last four months, all available surface and drill data relating to the deposits, both by the Company and historic operators, was compiled, cross-referenced, input into the property-wide database and submitted to Giroux Consultants Ltd. for completion of this mineral resource estimate. The Company’s site work for the 2014 field season, continuing into 2015, focussed on applying the known alteration, structural and lithologic signatures observed at these historic deposits to the remainder of the 8,800 hectare Dolly Varden property to explore for similar deposits.
Dolly Varden geology and mineralization overview:
The four historic deposits are hosted in Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group stratigraphy, the same prospective stratigraphy that hosts the Eskay Creek precious metal rich VMS, and the high-grade gold Brucejack deposits, located on trend and approximately 130 kilometers and 110 kilometers, respectively, to the northwest of Dolly Varden. This rock package and structural trend extends northward from the historic deposits throughout the Dolly Varden property. Deposit styles documented in the historic Dolly Varden deposits include:
- Conformable, VMS-style high grade, silver-base metal mineralization (Eskay-like) shown at Dolly Varden, North Star, and Wolf #1 deposits.
- High-grade, cross-cutting silver epithermal vein mineralization (Brucejack-like), hosted within a strong potassicly altered rock evidenced by the Wolf #2 deposit.
- Complex multi-phase conformable VMS style mineralization (Eskay-like) with subsequent fissure fill/vein style mineralization (Brucejack-like) overprinting and enhancing the grade of the earlier phases of mineralization, as seen at the Torbrit deposit.
*Resource estimate methodology:In each of the Wolf, North Star, Dolly Varden and Torbrit deposits mineralized three dimensional solids were constructed to constrain the resource estimate. Grade distributions within these solids were examined and capping levels were applied to assay data to restrict the influence of high grade outliers. Uniform downhole composites were created to honour the solid boundaries and produce a uniform support for resource estimation. Pairwise relative semivariograms were produced where possible to quantify the grade continuity within each deposit. Blocks 5 x 5 x 5 meters were compared to the solids with the percentage of the block within the mineralized solids, below overburden, and within any underground development recorded. All underground development was assumed to be within the mineralized solids when both were detected within a block. Grades for silver were interpolated into blocks containing some percentage of mineralized solid by Ordinary Kriging. The interpolation was completed in four passes using an expanding search ellipse with its dimensions tied to the semivariogram range. Blocks were classified as Indicated or Inferred based on geologic and grade continuity.
The Qualified Person for this release is G.H. Giroux, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., who has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release and prepared the mineral resource estimate herein in compliance with the standards of NI43-101. Mr. Giroux is independent of the Company. The NI43-101 Technical Report will be finalized and filed on SEDAR within 45 days of the date of this news release.
About Dolly Varden – Dolly Varden Silver Corporation is a mineral exploration company focused on the exploration of the Dolly Varden silver property located in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The entire Dolly Varden property is considered to be highly prospective for hosting high-grade precious metal deposits, since it comprises the same structural and stratigraphic setting that host numerous other, on-trend, high-grade deposits (Eskay Creek, Brucejack). The Company’s common shares are listed and traded on the TSX-V under the symbol DV and on the OTCBB system under the symbol DOLLF.