Seabridge Gold’s growing Iron Cap deposit could offer alternative development for KSM Project
Overview of the Iron Cap zone and the KSM Project. — Photo courtesy Seabridge Gold
TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seabridge Gold (TSX:SEA) (NYSE:SA) today released a complete summary of its 2017 drill program on the Iron Cap Deposit at its 100%-owned KSM Project in northwestern British Columbia, Canada (see table below). An updated NI 43-101- compliant resource estimate incorporating these results is now in progress.
Seabridge Chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk noted that the Company now intends to investigate moving Iron Cap sooner in the KSM mine plan which currently proposes developing Iron Cap after Mitchell, Kerr and Sulphurets. “In the November 2016 KSM Technical Report, the Iron Cap deposit was the last deposit of four to be mined with production starting in year 32 of the current 50 plus year mine plan. Iron Cap has some advantages. It’s situated in the same valley as key planned infrastructure and is immediately adjacent to the proposed tunnel conveying ore to the processing plant. Kerr, on the other hand, is in the next valley approximately 10 kilometers away, requiring significant additional infrastructure to develop and transport its ore to the mill. The reasons for deferral of Iron Cap were its comparatively small size and lower grade which did not warrant earlier development in our 2016 KSM Technical Report,” Fronk said.
“However, drilling over the past two years is changing our thinking. In our view, size and grade appear to be set to rise. We now believe that exploiting Iron Cap earlier has the potential to significantly improve KSM’s economics because it could defer significant capital costs and expedite better grades into the mine sequence. We are planning another program at Iron Cap this year to expand the known zones of mineralization, fill in some of the holes in past drilling and move these newly defined intervals towards reserve definition.”
The Iron Cap Deposit has been permitted for block cave underground mining within the Environmental Assessment approved by the British Columbia and Canadian Governments in 2014.
Exploration activities by Seabridge at the KSM Project are conducted under the supervision of William E. Threlkeld, Registered Professional Geologist, Senior Vice President of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Threlkeld has reviewed and approved this news release. An ongoing and rigorous quality control/quality assurance protocol is employed in all Seabridge drilling campaigns. This program includes blank and reference standards; in addition, all copper assays exceeding 0.25% Cu are re-analyzed using ore grade analytical techniques. Random cross-check analyses are conducted at a second external laboratory on at least 10% of the drill samples. Samples are assayed at ISO and ASTM certified laboratories in Vancouver, B.C., using fire assay atomic adsorption methods for gold and ICP methods for other elements.
Seabridge Gold holds a 100% interest in several North American gold resource projects. The Company’s principal assets are the KSM and Iskut properties located near Stewart, British Columbia, Canada and the Courageous Lake gold project located in Canada’s Northwest Territories. For a breakdown of Seabridge’s mineral reserves and resources by project and category please visit the Company’s website at http://www.seabridgegold.net/resources.php.
