Bear Creek touts Santa Ana potential

More results from Peru have Bear Creek Mining (BCM-V, BCEKF-O) thinking about building another silver mine in the South American country.

While it’s still early days for its Santa Ana project — a first resource estimate is due out soon — drill results from the most recent 15 holes look promising.

Highlights include 128 metres grading 70.4 grams silver per tonne in hole 48, including 32 metres of 171.9 grams silver and 1.2% zinc; 98 metres grading 75.2 grams silver in hole 50, including 14 metres averaging 100.7 grams silver; and 162 metres grading 56.9 grams silver in hole 55, including 20 metres at 105.5 grams silver.

Results come from 3,483 metres of drilling; the company has now drilled 113 holes for a total of 20,060 metres.

The deposit is open in all directions and holes drilled 500 metres beyond the limits of the data used in the resource block model have intersected mineralization.

Andrew Swarthout, president and CEO of Bear Creek, said that preliminary tests point to low-cost, heap-leach extraction.

“Santa Ana presents a very developable, straightforward silver deposit with excellent upside potential,” Swarthout said.

Bear Creek says drilling is hitting high-grade structures within large halos of lower-grade heap-leach material, with indications that mineralization continues westward for another 200 metres beneath shallow, untested cover.

The Corani project, also in Peru, remains the company’s flagship project with 278 million oz. silver, 3.12 billion lbs. lead and 1.59 billion lbs. zinc, with another 40 million oz. silver in the inferred category.

Bear Creek shares have traded between $9.48 and $5.69 over the last 52 weeks, with roughly 46 million outstanding.