Yamana is in the midst of a 4,600-metre drill program on the 1.5-km-long Veta Martha silver shoot at the wholly owned Bacon property. Twenty-six short vertical RC holes initially tested a 40-metre-long section of the vein where trench sampling yielded 2 metres of 39,280 grams silver and 108 grams gold. The drill holes, which were between 7 and 13 metes deep, were sampled on continuous 0.5-metre intervals, yielding values as high as 117,900 grams silver and 352 grams gold. The best interval is 4 metres of 44,558 grams silver and 33.7 grams gold.
Yamana believes that additional bonanza-grade pockets will likely be found within the Veta Martha vein system. The Bacon property was previously estimated to contain an indicated and inferred resource of 473,024 tonnes grading 478 grams silver and 0.53 gram gold, equivalent to 7.3 million oz. silver and 8,000 oz. gold.
At the company’s Lejano property, 150 km north of Bacon, a preliminary inferred resource for the western sector of the South Ridge zone is estimated at 1.15 million tonnes grading 331 grams silver and 1 gram gold, plus 4.1% lead and 1.6% zinc. This is equivalent to 12.2 million oz. silver and 36,235 oz. gold. The estimate is based on 23 holes drilled in a roughly tabular structure that averages 6.1 metres thick over a strike length of 500 metres and a downdip length of 140 metres.
A 14-hole program of reconnaissance drilling, completed at the end of 1998 on the Cicion West property, 20 km west of Lejano, encountered sub-economic silver mineralization. Drilling focused solely on the Central zone, whereas neither the Upper nor the Lower zones were tested.
The project is owned 80% by Black Hawk and 20% by Barrick. Silver Standard can earn half of Black Hawk’s interest by spending US$4.5 million on exploration and paying US$1.5 million by the end of 2001. On completion of a feasibility study, Barrick must elect either to sell its 20% interest to Black Hawk or increase its interest to 40% at a predetermined price.
Silver Standard sunk 14 core holes into the Maria vein at the close of 1998 and intersected values ranging from 0.28 to 40.08 grams gold and 1.1 to 2,745 grams silver, over true widths varying from 2.9 to 13.2 metres. The best results cut 10.6 metres averaging 19.84 grams gold and 312.6 grams silver, including 5.2 metres grading 40.8 grams gold and 540.2 grams silver.
Further infill drilling will be followed by a feasibility study.
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