Silver Standard targets Silvertip (December 09, 2002)

Vancouver — Silver Standard Resources (SSO-V) has added the Silvertip project in northern British Columbia to its stable of base metal properties.

Situated 85 km southwest of Watson Lake, Silvertip has been explored since the 1950s, though it was not until 1981 that drilling encountered high-grade mineralization at the Silver Creek Discovery zone. Subsequent work led to an indicated resource of 2.6 million tonnes grading 8.8% zinc and 6.4% lead, plus 325 grams silver and 0.6 gram gold per tonne.

Development includes some 2,200 metres of underground workings.

Mineralization occurs as irregular shaped bodies of replaced limestone within the Middle Devonian McDame group, which is unconformably overlain by the Earn group argillite. The zone extends from the unconformity to as much as 100 metres below it.

In 1999 the project was optioned to Peruvian Gold (PVO-V). The following year saw 22 holes drilled from an existing decline in a program designed to follow up a 1999 surface hole intersection of 8.7% zinc, 5.5% lead and 318 grams silver. Althouth most of the holes intersected promising mineralization, a lack of market interest at the time prompted Peruvian to drop the property.

Silver Standard picked up the project by agreeing to pay $1.2 million and issuing 100,000 shares to owner Imperial Metals (III-T). Imperial retains a right of first offer should Silver Standard elect to sell the property.

In November 2001, Imperial was granted protection from creditors.

Earlier this year the reorganization was completed and the company began to sell some of its assets. In May, Imperial unloaded the Goldstream mine, near Revelstoke, B.C., for $500,000, as well as the Similco mine for $450,000. Both projects had been dormant since 1996.

Imperial then set its sights on northwestern British Columbia by staking ground adjacent to the Joss’alun copper showing in the Atlin mining district. Dubbed Nak, the property covers the strike extension of the same stratigraphy that hosts high-grade copper mineralization, discovered by the province’s Ministry of Energy and Mines.