Vancouver, British Columbia - (April 29, 2021) - Viscount Mining Corp. (TSX-V: VML) (OTCQB: VLMGF) ("Viscount Mining") is pleased to announce it has completed the field work of the second phase of a three-phase drill program at its Silver Cliff property in Colorado.
The 2021 Phase 2 exploration campaign is designed to expand the NI 43-101 Kate Silver Resource (KSR) done by Dr. Gilles Arseneau in 2018. This will be done by further defining the limits of the Kate East zone, and has the potential of increasing the grade and size of the deposit. Viscount is also expanding the drilling to increase the tonnage that can be included in upcoming resource reports. Also, additional drilling was conducted at the Passiflora target to continue to explore the potential to add to the total resource of the Silver Cliff project.
Work that was completed included a preliminary field test of ground magnetic and soil surveys which were completed in mid-March. The company commenced drilling on March 31 of this year and completed 10 holes for a total of 697 meters (2299 feet). The core from the 10 holes has been submitted to the lab for assays and will be news released when received.
In early March, a ground magnetometer and soil survey were conducted in the Kate East area. This was a test to see how well the survey reflects drill data, as the area surveyed has data from five core holes drilled. If the data correlates, this will make the surveys an in-expensive exploration tool.
HIGHLIGHTS OF VISCOUNT'S DRILLING IN KATE EAST |
|||||
HOLE ID |
FROM |
TO |
INTERVAL |
ASSAY |
INCLUDING |
K16-1 |
18.3 |
32.0 |
13.7 |
924.9 |
6.1 M @ 1769.5 G/T |
K16-3 |
17.3 |
34.1 |
16.8 |
141.5 |
|
K16-4 |
15.6 |
36.9 |
21.3 |
179.1 |
7.6 M @ 380.2 G/T |
K16-5 |
19.8 |
33.5 |
13.7 |
388.6 |
6.1 M @ 757.3 G/T |
K16-6 |
29.0 |
36.6 |
7.6 |
47.3 |
|
K16-7 |
23.5 |
38.7 |
15.2 |
153.2 |
7.6 M @ 252.8 G/T |
K16-8 |
32.0 |
52.7 |
20.7 |
230.6 |
6.1 M @ 542.3 G/T |
K16-9 |
25.9 |
41.1 |
15.2 |
136.6 |
|
DDH20-01 |
19.5 |
41.1 |
21.6 |
100.6 |
|
DDH20-02 |
15.5 |
25.6 |
10.1 |
63.9 |
|
DDH20-03 |
15.1 |
30.0 |
14.9 |
702.7 |
7.6 M @ 1259.1 G/T |
DDH20-04 |
15.6 |
30.8 |
15.2 |
105.1 |
|
The above summary of the Viscount’s drill programs indicate that there may be a higher grade zone to the East of the Kate decline. Four holes were drilled in this zone in 2020 with very encouraging results, finding evidence that the higher grade zone may be continuous. Hole DDH-20-01 encountered 100.6 g/t of silver over 21.6 m, with higher concentrations of silver of 137.9 g/t between 19.5 m and 25.3 m, and 202.7 g/t silver from 35.4 m and 41.1m. The following hole, DDH-20-02 encountered 10 m of 63.9 g/t silver, and DDH-20-03 drilled into some highly anomalous silver concentrations. It assayed 702.7 g/t silver over 14.9 m, with a 7.6 m zone that assayed 1,259.1 g/t. The last hole in the Kate East Zone during the 2020 program, was DDH-20-04, and its best intercept was 105.1 g/t silver over 15.2 m. All holes drilled in the Kate East zone have encountered significantly higher grade than the cut-off grade (35 g/t silver) used in the 2018 NI 43-101 report by and of previous estimates.
Building on the above results, four of the new holes in Phase 2 were drilled inside the reserve estimate area defined by Dr. Arseneau’s NI 43-101, published in 2018. The aim of these holes was to further investigate a possible trend noticed during the Phase 1 drilling that may be an enriched silver zone. Three holes were drilled in the Kate extension to see to what extent the ore body extends to the Kate East.
At the Passiflora an additional three holes were completed. One was drilled in the south end of the Ben Hill volcanic center, and discovered a new lithology, possibly an andesitic unit. This may be an indication that the magma chamber below the volcano was evolving to a more mafic composition than just rhyolite. Hole DDH-21-09 exhibited what can possibly be a propylitic alteration from 23 meters (76 feet) to the end of the hole at 183 meters (605 feet). A Propylitic alteration is often encountered as one of the alteration halos associated with porphyry ore deposits. Samples will be prepared for thin section analysis, to more fully determine if the mineral assemblage is consistent with the field interpretation. The last drill hole of this phase was drilled in the South part of the Passiflora target and showed strong silica alteration, as well as sulfidation, especially towards the end of the bore.
An internal report from CoCa Mines in 1983, estimated a potential resource of 40 million short tons at the Passiflora, based on 14 drill holes (not NI 43-101 compliant), with the best intercept reporting to be 256 g/t silver and 1.4 g/t gold. Viscount drilled one hole in the Passiflora in 2020 to a depth of 193.9 m that showed anomalous silver throughout, some anomalous gold as well as strong silica and clay alteration and pyritization over most of the hole.
Tenneco Minerals leased the Kate property in 1987. They had the previous drill data available to them, which was the results from 11,930 meters in 249 drill holes that had been done since 1968. The following two years Tenneco drilled an additional 143 holes totaling 7,949 meters. Based on the accumulated data and a feasibility study, Tenneco Minerals made the decision to construct a $35,000,000 milling operation for the extraction of the silver reserves at Silver Cliff. Shortly thereafter Tenneco decided to sell the minerals division, and the planned milling operation was abandoned.
Phase 3 will be focusing on the discoveries of Phase 2, and also looking towards expanding the Kate Silver Resource to the North.
Qualified Persons
The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Harald Hoegberg PG, an independent consulting geologist who is a "Qualified Person" (QP) as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").
About Viscount Mining (TSX VENTURE: VML) (OTCQB: VLMGF)
Viscount Mining is a project generator and an exploration company with a portfolio of silver and gold properties in the Western United States, including Silver Cliff in Colorado and Cherry Creek in Nevada.
The Silver Cliff property in Colorado lies within the historic Hardscrabble Silver District in the Wet Mountain Valley, Custer County, south-central Colorado. It is located 44 miles WSW of Pueblo, Colorado, and has year-around access by paved road. The property consists of 2,319.48 hectares where high grade silver, gold and base metal production came from numerous mines during the period 1878 to the early 1900’s. The property underwent substantial exploration between 1967 and 1984.
The property is interpreted to encompass a portion of a large caldera and highly altered sequence of tertiary rhyolitic flows and fragmental units which offers potential to host deposits with both precious and base metals. This has been demonstrated in the mineralization historically extracted from the numerous underground and surface mining operations. Drilling in the 1980s by Tenneco resulted in a historical pre-feasibility study on which basis it was planned to bring the property to production. The plan was abandoned following a takeover by another company.
The Cherry Creek exploration property is in an area commonly known as the Cherry Creek Mining District, located approximately 50 miles north of the town of Ely, White Pine County, Nevada. Cherry Creek consists of 293 unpatented and patented claims as well as mill rights and is comprised of more than 2,442 hectares. Cherry Creek includes more than 20 past producing mines. In January 2021, Viscount entered into an exploration earn - in agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Centerra Gold Inc. Centerra is a Canadian-based gold mining company focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring gold properties in North America, Asia and other markets worldwide and is one of the largest Western-based gold producers in Central Asia.
For additional information regarding the above noted property and other corporate information, please visit the Company's website at www.viscountmining.com
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Jim MacKenzie”
President, CEO and Director
For further information, please contact:
Viscount Investor Relations
Email: info@viscountmining.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to Viscount Mining’s operations, exploration and development plans, expansion plans, estimates, expectations, forecasts, objectives, predictions and projections of the future. Specifically, this news release contains forward looking statements with respect to the Offering, the receipt of required approvals, the timing of thereof and the amount and use of proceeds therefrom. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “projects”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or “variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “can”, “could”, “would”, “might”, or “will” be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Viscount Mining to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the exploration and development and operation of Viscount Mining’s projects, the actual results of current exploration, development activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future precious metals prices, as well as those factors discussed in the sections relating to risk factors of our business filed in Viscount Mining’s required securities filings on SEDAR. Although Viscount Mining has attempted to identify important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended.
There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements will prove accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Viscount Mining does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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