Blackrock Silver drills Tonopah West Project, Nevada
Blackrock Silver Corp. [TSXV: BRC; OTCQX: BKRRF; FSE: AHZ0] reported additional high-grade silver and gold drill intercepts from the M&I Conversion Program (as defined herein) at its 100%-owned Tonopah West project located in Nye and Esmeralda Counties, Nevada, United States.
The company is currently in the process of completing its in-fill drilling program at Tonopah West which commenced in mid-July 2024 and consists of 62 drillholes within the shallow southern portion of the Bermuda-Merten vein group (DPB South) resource area (M&I Conversion Area) with a goal to convert up to 1.0-million tonnes of material from inferred mineral resources to measured and indicated mineral resources (M&I Conversion Program). The M&I Conversion Area represents the initial years of production based on the mine plan laid out in the company’s Preliminary Economic Assessment on Tonopah West.
Andrew Pollard, President and CEO, stated: “Additional results from our M&I Conversion Program continue to validate our model, supporting mineral continuity as we track and define the geometry of the high-grade shoots within the vein system. Today’s results, coupled with results previously announced from this same program, highlight that broader intercepts are associated with higher-than-average grades which should be beneficial in delineating high-grade tonnes.
“The broad zones of high-grade mineralization encountered in drillhole TXC-138 are a standout for us, as at a composite of 11.46 metres of 514 g/t AgEq (290 g/t Ag & 2.48 g/t Au), this is thickest (composite) zone we’ve drilled throughout the district outside of the historic Victor mine. As we await the final assays from the M&I Conversion Program, modelling has begun for our upcoming mineral resource update on Tonopah West, currently on track for Q3, 2025.”
The highest-grade results are associated with thicker intercepts of quartz vein material. This is similar to previous results seen from the M&I Conversion Program where broader intercepts were encountered, such as: TXC24-095 which returned 5.03 metres of 774.5 g/t AgEq (461.5 g/t Ag and 3.47 g/t Au), TXC24-119 which returned 4.69 metres of 714 g/t AgEq (379.0 g/t Ag and 3.72 g/t Au), and TXC24-122 which cut 5.21 metres of 563 g/t AgEq (3.02 g/t Au and 292 g/t Ag).
This combination of high grade and thickness should have a positive impact on the proposed development of the M&I Conversion Area and the scheduled mineral resource update. Modelling of the M&I Conversion Program drillholes has started and an updated mineral resource estimate on Tonopah West is currently scheduled for Q3 2025.
The geometry of the high-grade silver and gold is sizable with high-grade shoots plunging to the northwest within the M&I Conversion Area. These shoots are open to the northwest, east and open down plunge. TXC25-138 shows high-grade shoots have thicker vein intercepts along the axis of the shoot and multiple high-grade intercepts are being returned under the M&I Conversion Program. Allowing for the 3 metres of internal waste, TXC25-138 would have a drill interval of 11.46 metres grading 290.2 g/t Ag and 2.48 g/t Au or 514.3 g/t AgEq. The thickness of this mineralized shoot is approaching those seen in the historic mining at the Victor and Ohio mines where the Victor vein area was 24 metres thick and the Ohio vein area was 15 metres thick.
Drillholes TXC25-133, -134, -135, and TXC25-136 returned silver and gold assays below the cutoff grade. The drillholes returned silver equivalent grades ranging between 100 and 144 g/t AgEq with silver values ranging between 6 to 71 g/t and gold values between 0.51 and 1.34 g/t. There are ten drillholes (TXC25-137, -139, -141, -142, and TXC25-146 to -TXC25-151) with pending assays from the M&I Conversion Program.
In addition, seven drillholes are pending assays from the Company’s exploration drill program that is targeting expansion potential across a one km trend of vein corridor linking the Denver-Paymaster and Bermuda-Merten vein groups and the Northwest step-out resource area at Tonopah West (Resource Expansion Program).
The company is focused on its 100% controlled Nevada portfolio of properties consisting of low-sulphidation, epithermal gold and silver mineralization located along the established Northern Nevada Rift in north-central Nevada and the Walker Lane trend in western Nevada.