お知らせ • Sep 12
Silver Mines Limited Provides an Update on Exploration Drilling Activities At Bowdens Silver Project Located Near Mudgee in New South Wales
Silver Mines Limited announced an update on exploration drilling activities and recent assay results from the Bowdens Silver Project located near Mudgee in New South Wales. With the release of a maiden underground Mineral Resource on 5th September 2022, exploration has shifted to testing extensions of mineralisation outside the current planned open-cut pit design and testing for higher grades within the open-cut pit design. Multiple areas have been targeted for extensions including in the north at Main, Aegean and Northwest Zones and in and to the south of the planned open-cut pit where anomalous gold has been identified. This release outlines significant assay results received from continued drilling around the Bowdens Silver Deposit. Gold has been estimated for the first time at Bowdens contained within the maiden underground Mineral Resource situated predominantly within the Bundarra Zone directly underneath the planned open-cut pit. Gold was also discovered in 2021 at shallow depths in the south of Bowdens, along with high grades of silver mineralisation. This area has become a further target for gold and silver exploration drilling during 2022 and is now called the Southern Gold Zone. Drilling has targeted an area previously undrilled and encountered a large, new fault situated between the known Gully and Eastern Faults. This fault is quartz flooded, highly deformed and could be responsible for localising gold and silver-rich mineralisation into complex fracture connected veins. This mineralisation style is characteristic to the southern area at Bowdens. BD22029 has drilled through the Rylstone Volcanics and into the Coomber Formation basement where it has returned the widest and highest-grade gold intercept to date at the Bowdens Project: 131 metres @ 0.49 g/t gold, 16 g/t silver, 0.25% zinc and 0.16% lead (0.92 g/t gold equivalent) from 65 metres; including, 32.6 metres @ 1.37 g/t gold, 31 g/t silver, 0.38% zinc and 0.20% lead (2.09 g/t gold equivalent) from 92.4 metres; including, 1.0 metre @ 10.05 g/t gold, 50 g/t silver, 1.13% zinc and 0.60% lead (11.65 g/t gold equivalent) from 107 metres. Gold is associated with an increase in silver, zinc and sulphur particularly across the volcanics and basement contact where thicker pyrite (iron sulphide) and sphalerite (zinc sulphide) rich stockwork veins is observed. Research studies have shown that gold is associated with a silver-rich electrum (a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver). This is of epithermal origin at Bowdens. Importantly, gold is prevalent within the welded and crystal tuffs of the Rylstone Volcanics, which indicates further metal zoning of the system. BD22039 was designed to drill into the hanging wall of the fault which is controlling gold mineralisation and intercepted significant and shallow silver mineralisation. Results from this hole include: 70 metres @ 58 g/t silver equivalent (46 g/t silver, 0.15% zinc, 0.06% lead and 0.03 g/t gold,) from 7 metres; and 11 metres @ 74 g/t silver equivalent (11 g/t silver, 0.70% zinc, 0.27% lead and 0.21g/t gold,) from 156 metres. BD22022 was drilled 150 metres to the south of BD22029 and is at the most southern extent of the Bowdens mineral system known currently. Significant result from this hole include: 18 metres @ 75 g/t silver equivalent (62 g/t silver, 0.05% zinc, 0.03% lead and 0.12 g/t gold,) from 19 metres. The extent of the gold and silver zone at Bowdens South is being explored through continued drilling, however, there appears to be a continuation of mineralisation into the deeper Bundarra Zone mineralisation where gold is common. Previous drilling in this area has only limited assays for gold and the Company is planning to undertake a significant assay program on historic samples for gold. The northern end of the Bowdens Deposit has been targeted for extensions to mineralisation outside the planned open-cut pit at Main Zone. Four holes have been drilled with results from one hole, BD22019, returning exceptional near-surface silver mineralisation extending Main Zone 50 metres north, and a further significant result extending the Aegean Zone east of the recent resource estimate by 100 metres. These results are: 109 metres @ 83 g/t silver equivalent (70 g/t silver, 0.08% zinc and 0.26% lead) from 85 metres, and 14 metres @ 169 g/t silver equivalent (164 g/t silver, 0.02% zinc and 0.13% lead) from 225 metres. Both intercepts are silver dominant with lead greater than zinc, and zinc diminishing with depth, which is distinctive of mineralisation estimated within the Aegean Zone. Visual inspection of core and from BD22028 and BD22033 (pending assays) indicate that mineralisation continues at depth to the west of BD22019 and may have continuity into the Aegean Zone. The Aegean Zone extends from the base of the proposed Bowdens Silver open pit, situated beneath the Main Zone. This mineralised zone is high-grade silver only at depth which is open to the north and east. It has a strike of 200 metres, is 100 metres wide and typically 50 metres thickness. The Main Zone and Aegean Zone both remain open to the north and down plunge to the northwest. Drilling has targeted to establish greater tonnages of higher-grade mineralisation within the current Ore Reserve and to explore for extensions to mineralisation outside of the planned open-cut pit. Several holes within the central area of the planned open-cut pit have returned significant results as part of the Bundarra underground resource drilling, such as BD22011 and BD22016. These results are: BD22016: 150 metres @ 47 g/t silver equivalent (25 g/t silver, 0.32% zinc and 0.14% lead) from surface, BD22011: 99 metres @ 65 g/t silver equivalent (23 g/t silver, 0.46% zinc and 0.52% lead) from 80 metres. Further results have extended mineralisation outside the planned open-cut pit to the west by 200 metres in BD22012 and BD22015. These results are: BD22012: 13.1 metres @ 155 g/t silver equivalent (14 g/t silver, 2.77% zinc and 0.14% lead) from 41.9 metres, BD22015: 17 metres @ 93 g/t silver equivalent (19 g/t silver, 0.14% zinc & 0.17% lead) from 33 metres. Results from BD22020 drilled to the southwest of Bowdens have extended mineralisation outside the planned open-cut pit to the west by 50 metres. These results are: 25 metres @ 84 g/t silver equivalent (80 g/t silver, 0.04% zinc and 0.08% lead) from 2 metres.