Silver Mines Limited’s latest drill program continues to define potential resources for underground mining at the Bowdens Silver Project, near Mudgee in New South Wales.
The company has revealed further high-grade assay results from its ongoing 30,000-metre drill program at Bowdens, which is focused on the Northwest High-Grade and Aegean zones.
Promisingly, partial results continue to expand the Aegean Zone to the north, with very high grades, including 4 metres at 980 g/t silver from 311 metres, including 2 metres at 1,825 g/t from 313 metres.
Predominantly silver mineralisation
The Aegean Zone is a high-grade vein system located beneath the bulk-tonnage ore reserve in the main zone of the Bowdens Deposit.
The mineralisation trend is similar to the Northwest High-Grade Zone and extends from the base of the designed open pit/bulk tonnage ore reserve and plunges to depth towards the northwest.
The zone is hosted in the base of the welded tuff unit within the Rylstone volcanics with predominantly silver mineralisation and relatively low zinc and lead.
Drilling has also targeted potential feeder veins mainly in the north, but also throughout the deposit.
Drilling results at Northwest Zone
The Northwest Zone starts approximately 30 metres below the base of the proposed Bowdens Silver open pit.
This mineralised zone is targeted for high-grade silver underground mining scenarios, along with the Aegean Zone.
Results from BD21013 extend the Northwest High-Grade Zone a further 40 metres east towards the Aegean Zone. These include:
- 1.6 metres at 324 g/t silver equivalent (149 g/t silver, 1.38% lead and 2.60% zinc) from 81 metres;
- 4.0 metres at 341 g/t silver equivalent (312 g/t silver, 0.33% lead and 0.05% zinc) from 250 metres; and
- 5.2 metres at 369 g/t silver equivalent (317 g/t silver, 0.32% lead, 0.01% zinc and 0.12 g/t gold) from 274 metres.
Northwest High-Grade and Aegean Zones will continue in tandem
Silver Mines currently has four drilling rigs on site undertaking its expanded exploration program, comprising 30,000 metres of diamond drilling.
With renewed insight from textural analysis, detailed gravity surveying and VTEM reprocessing, ongoing drilling at the Northwest High-Grade and Aegean Zones will continue in tandem with targeted diamond drilling across steep feeder veins.
In addition, drilling will also focus on the identification of further steep and high-grade vein sets in the centre and southern areas of the deposit.