Initial Corani holes boosts Bear Creek

Vancouver – Results from the first four drill holes at Bear Creek Mining’s (BCM-V) Corani silver-gold project in southeastern Peru are indicating a significant silver mineralized system.

Initial assays show a weighted average of 106 grams silver per tonne from over 400 metres of core testing the near surface oxide silver zone.

Hole 1, collared to confirm the depth extent of Trench 5 (216 metres of 106 grams silver), intersected 94 metres grading 79 grams silver and 1.5% lead, including a 10-metre intercept of 144 grams silver and 1.7% lead. The hole bottomed out in 12 metres of 75 grams silver, 1% lead and 1.4% zinc.

Hole 2, drilled beneath Trench 8 (174 metres of 175 grams silver), cut 52 metres averaging 113 grams silver, 1.3% lead and 0.4% zinc before being abandoned due to hitting old underground mine workings. The last 6 metres of the hole ran 226 grams silver, 3.8% lead and 1.4% zinc. Hole 2A, drilled from the same collar but more steeply inclined, returned 78 metres at 144 grams silver, 1.8% lead and 0.6% zinc, with a 30 metre interval averaging 237 grams silver, 2.2% lead and 0.8% zinc.

Hole 3, under Trench 3 (134 metres at 123 grams silver), cut 102 metres grading 72 grams silver, including a 38-metre section of 147 grams silver.

Also testing beneath Trench 8, hole 4 intersected 104 metres averaging 110 grams silver with a 6-metre interval of 243 grams silver.

All holes encountered mineralization from surface and were collared to test the oxide sections of the northern, silver-rich targets. Mineralization remains open to depth (all holes bottomed in mineralization), laterally and along strike both to the north and south.

Silver-lead-zinc mineralization at Corani occurs in a zone of silica-barite veining along with stockwork-argillic alteration. The project is within a late-Tertiary volcanic belt that hosts a number of deposits and mineral occurrences. The project underwent small-scale historic mining in the 1960s, which exploited high-grade veins.

With about one-third of Bear Creek’s planned 3,000-metre drill program complete, the company will test the area north of Trenches 8 and 15 where some of the highest grade values were encountered. A recently acquired second drill rig is scheduled to focus on the southern portion of the project where higher gold values are known to occur.

The high-grade silver results ignited a volley of trading in the issue, with over 3-million shares of volume and gaining 67, or over 65%, to close at $1.69 per share on the news.