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Sierra Nevada Gold (ASX:SNX) will fire up a reverse circulation rig at its Nevada-based Blackhawk project – hoping to replicate previous high-grad silver hits.
A 1,500m drill run is planned for the project, sitting atop epithermal geology, where previous results have hit silver grades up to 1,270g/t silver and 823g/t. A two week campaign is slated to kick off next week.
Those results came from an area nearby an existing mine on-site called Endowment. Near-surface mine extensions nearby drillhole BHD006 will first be targeted – that asset boasting slightly less lofty grades based on a 12m intersection at 220g/t silver from 250m depth.
The company’s geotechs, however, are chiefly interested in polymetallic potential – explaining why the company with ‘gold’ in its name wants silver.
“Blackhawk Epithermal project’s silver intercepts are associated with very high-grade lead-zinc-gold demonstrating the potential for extremely high value polymetallic silver ore,” SNX wrote on Wednesday.
With regards to the existing underground mine, LIDAR surveys were recently conducted in Endowment which has given SNX’s geotechs a more accurate idea of where to guide drill rigs in the upcoming campaign.
Management stated on Wednesday the upcoming drill run has been one of measure and patience in pre-execution.
“We have spent considerable time planning the upcoming drill program to test the most prospective silver targets at Blackhawk,” SNX EC Peter Moore said.
“The commencement of drilling is imminent and is expected to take 10-14 days to complete, with results expected in 4 – 6 weeks thereafter.”
While those results are on the way, the company will continue to conduct fieldwork mapping and sampling at the Morning Star, Nellie and San Fransisco target areas of interest in the lead-up to an expanded drilling campaign in 2025.
The Endowment mine was initially mined in the 1860’s; SNX is hoping modern drill tech can uncover yet untapped deposits on-site.
SNX last traded at 5.5cps.
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