(Image via Blende Silver Corp.)
Mineral commodities have been highly valuable among traders looking for haven assets, silver chief among them as the economic turbulence from the COVID-19 fallout wreaks havoc on the markets but pushes silver higher and higher. Lead and zinc prices have also pushed higher and are tracking for continued growth.
Looking for a new horizon to explore, an exciting mineral resource in Yukon Territory offers an immense deposit of historical development but estimates suggest that there is still a great deal that awaits under the surface.
Focused on silver-zinc-lead-copper exploration, and development,
Blende Silver Corp. (TSX-V: BAG, Forum) is a little known Vancouver-based junior resource Company whose flagship property is the Blende Deposit in central Yukon –
the largest carbonate-hosted silver-zinc-lead deposit in Yukon.
Exploration programs at the company’s Blende Deposit have resulted in:
- 25,000 metres drilling across 132 drill holes
- Indicated Resource: 4.19 Million oz Silver @ 35.7 g/t, 0.16 billion lbs 1.98% Zinc and 0.16 billion lbs 1.95% Lead
- Inferred Resource:32.98 million oz Silver @ 32 g/t, 1.46 Billion lbs @ 2.01% Zinc and 1.36 Billion lbs @ 1.88% Lead
The winter-road accessible property is 100% owned, 53.4 square kilometres in total size, and situated just 63 kilometres northeast of Keno Hill, Yukon. The Property is centred on a mineralized corridor greater than 6 kilometres in size that hosts a number of carbonate-hosted silver, zinc and lead (Ag-Zn-Pb) deposits with copper showings on the south edge of the Mackenzie Platform, hosted by Middle Proterozoic Gillespie Group dolomite. This is the largest carbonate-hosted Ag-Zn-Pb deposit in the territory and one of the largest undeveloped Ag-Zn-Pb deposits in Western Canada. The property has had more than $9.2 million in past exploration ($5.2 million by Blende Silver), including 25,195 meters of drilling in 132 drillholes.
The Blende Project offers some significant cost advantages to other Canadian Ag-Zn-Pb projects as it is a potential bulk tonnage, open pit approach, whereas other operations across the country are typically underground. The mineralization within the project outcrops at surface and can be found within two shapes that are roughly 2 kilometres apart. These outcrops remain open in areas northwest, southeast and below the open pit model for potential further review for possible underground mining operations. As the Blende Silver team conducts further metallurgical testing and sampling to provide for a near-term Preliminary Economic Assessment, they will evaluate future mine planning, metallurgy, and project economics.
The size and grade of this project is immense, but what it also immense, is the potential for this project to become much bigger ….
Project geology:
(Image via Blende Silver Corp.)
Under the surface, the Blende silver-zinc-lead deposit is a large, structurally controlled, breccia-hosted system. Dipping steeply to the southeast, this deposit is tabular and cuts bedding approximately at moderate to high angles.
For a roughly 8-kilometre stretch, mineralization occurs intermittently along the structural zone and is present across widths of up to 200 metres. This mineralization consists of yellow, fine to coarse sphalerite and galena. Pyrite and minor chalcopyrite plus tetrahedrite are some other sulphide minerals that appear. The surface expression of the deposit is characterized by soil anomalies of up to 10,000 parts per million (ppm) (or 1%) zinc.
In terms of metal value in the ground, the highest value here is zinc, silver’s in-situ value is second, with lead rating third in this region. In fact, the grades coming out of the potential open pit area are so high, the leadership team at Blende Silver believes there is also potential for an underground resource as well but expanding the project in this fashion will take more work. Even so, there is room and time for deeper exploration.
Mineralization:
(Image via Blende Silver Corp.)
A number of zones that occur along the axial surface trend of the Blende Antiform define a number of zones across the 8-kilometre mineralization zone. A virtually unexplored Far East zone binds the trend eastward while to the west, a promising Far West zone can be found.
There are five main areas on the Blende Property where silver, zinc and lead mineralization occur:
From west to east the mineralized zones are roughly 5 kilometres apart:
- Far West
- West
- Central
- East
- Far East
Sphalerite (ZnS) and galena (PbS) are the principal minerals containing the zinc and lead, but weathering has converted a significant amount of the near surface sulphide to smithsonite (zinc carbonate) and anglesite (lead carbonate). One occurrence of native silver was found in drill core in the East zone, though high silver values are associated with tetrahedrite. However, the highest silver values tend to come from the West zone. The Blende Silver team has also recorded a number of high-grade silver intercepts in some of the deeper holes, but these appear to be unrelated to any significant lead-zinc content.
There is a possibility for zonation, the systematic spatial variation in the composition of a single mineral grain, at the Blende Property, while deeper favourable limy horizons may also be present.
Copper rich zones are also present, particularly at the lesser-explored west end of the West Zone area, that may indicate further lateral zonation associated with mafic sills. Historic step-out drilling confirmed the continuation of good-grade mineralization westward from the previous limit of the West zone, with the addition of significant copper values:
- Hole 94-81 contained 14.9 m of mineralization assaying 228.4 g/t (6.66 oz/t) silver, 9.71% lead, 5.48% zinc and 0.78% copper from 9.2 metres to 24.1 metres
- Hole 94-84 contained 8.5 m of mineralization assaying 136.1 g/t (3.97 oz/t) silver, 6.74% lead, 3.65% zinc and 2.43% copper from 45.5 metres to 54 metres
Mineralization at Blende outcrops at surface and is open to the northwest, southeast and below the mineralization which currently extends along a 6 kilometre strike, is 200 metres wide and is 700 metres vertical.
Current work:
(Map via Blende Silver Corp. Click to enlarge)
In
February 2021, Blende Silver announced that a work crew had mobilized a diamond drill to the Blende property.
Secured with permitting, the Company’s crew also made initial preparations at the camp for a robust exploration program in 2021 to expand on significant work completed to date, including:
- 25,000 metres drilling across 132 drill holes
- NI 43-101 Resource Estimate completed by Moose Mountain Technical Services (MMTS)
- Indicated Resource of 4.19 million oz Silver @ 35.7 g/t, 0.16 billion lbs 1.98% Zinc and 0.16 billion lbs 1.95% Lead
- Inferred Resource of 32.98 million oz Silver @ 32 g/t, 1.46 billion lbs @ 2.01% Zinc and 1.36 billion lbs @ 1.88% Lead
Exploration this year will focus on upgrading and expanding the Company’s current mineral resource as well as upgrading facilities at the Blende project to accommodate anticipated work programs. The team will spend the spring months upgrading the camp, upgrading drill spots, and then begin drilling. This team can drill without incurring additional significant costs.
Historic work:
Billiton Resources Canada Inc. conducted exploration work back in the early 90s that detailed two mineralized zones on the Blende property. They found this open pit deposit contained very solid grades.
An open-ended 5-kilometre-long soil anomaly outlined the Blende Deposit at surface with zinc values up to 1%. 7 holes were drilled by Billiton, totaling more than 14,000 meters over 3.2 kilometers of strike length, reporting numerous high-grade intercepts at relatively shallow depths.
NDU ResourcesLtd. followed this up with subsequent step-out drilling that confirmed the continuation of ore-grade mineralization westward, with the addition of significant copper values.
From 2006 to 2008, Blende Silver, along with
Eagle Plains Resources completed a further 45 holes for 8,700 metres of drilling. This work brings the total historical drilling completed on the Blende property to 132 drill holes totaling 25,192 metres.
Exploration summary:
(Image via Blende Silver Corp.)
The Company engaged MMTS to collect metallurgical test work samples and prepare a NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Blende Project. The Company also commissioned metallurgist Frank Wright, P.Eng. to direct and oversee Blende Project metallurgical test work studies and also conducted consultations with the local Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation. Blende Silver also applied for and received 5-year Class 4 Quartz Mining Approval and a 2 Year Land Use Permits.
Investment summary:
(Blende Silver Corp. stock chart – Feb 2020 to Feb 2021. Click to enlarge.)
There is an immense size and grade potential of the Blende Silver project that would perk investor interest that could get a lot bigger. The mineralization between zones across this property are roughly 5 kilometres apart.
This is essentially an unheard-of resource among the metals and mining investment community with 3.5 billion lbs worth of metals, which is also the largest carbonate-hosted silver-zinc-lead deposit in Yukon Territory. Metal prices have increased dramatically in recent years and the time is right for a project like this to be fully explored.
Like many other companies eager to get back to business in light of the global economic pause as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, preparations are being made to deliver a strong news flow on all of the Company’s impending developments. This news is expected to be both plentiful and positive.
The Company also wants to deliver benefit to established shareholders and get the Blende Silver project moving ahead, while also spending the rest of 2021 establishing a leading platform for resource development in Yukon Territory.
Blende Silver Corp. is led by a solid team that is well connected and zeroing in on potential partners to generate results, news and returns for shareholders. Investors would do well to keep watch and see what develops from this Company in the near term.
To find out more about this Company, its operations and full investment proposition, visit their website
blendesilver.com.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.