Metallic Minerals has started up two drills at its wholly owned, 166-sq.-km Keno Silver project in the Yukon Territory’s Keno Hill silver district.
In the first phase of the program, a reverse circulation rig will test multi-kilometre anomalies discovered last year at the East Keno area. In the second phase, a diamond drill will be used to step out more advanced target areas as the company works towards a maiden resource estimate for the property.
“It is very exciting that this phase one drilling program will see the first holes ever drilled in this (East Keno) underexplored part of the historic Keno Hill silver district and we look forward to testing these newly identified multi-kilometre-scale geophysical and geochemical targets,” Greg Johnson, the company’s CEO and chairman, said in a release.
At the end of May, Metallic released underground channel sample results from the Formo target within West Keno. Assays include 45 metres of 7,459 g/t silver-equivalent and 44 metres of 2,258 g/t silver-equivalent.
Metallic Minerals’ holdings are adjacent to Alexco Resource‘s project in the Keno Hill Silver district, expected to produce silver by the fourth quarter of this year. Metallic’s property includes eight high-grade past-producing mines. Three targets at the site are at the step-out drilling stage and six further areas are ready for drilling. In addition, there are 12 kilometre-scale exploration sites in the under-explored eastern and western parts of the project.
The Keno Hill Silver district produced 220 million oz. of silver historically.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)