In late March, Seabridge Gold reported significant additions to gold and copper resources in core zones at its KSM project in northwest British Columbia. The inferred resource in the project’s Deep Kerr deposit has been expanded by 52% to 782 million mt grading 0.33 g/mt gold and 0.54% copper for 8.2 million oz of contained gold and 9.3 billion lb of copper, while an initial inferred resource for the project’s Iron Cap Lower Zone has come in at 164 million mt averaging 0.59 g/mt gold and 0.27% copper for 3.1 million oz of contained gold and 961 million lb of copper.
The Deep Kerr deposit and Iron Cap Lower Zone are core zones of the KSM porphyry deposits and are characterized by higher fluid flux and abundant veining, which generally results in higher grades than the shallower margins of the deposits. Seabridge has been successfully exploring for core zones beneath the known porphyry deposits at KSM since 2012, with the objective of enhancing grades and improving project economics. In that time, the company’s core zone program has identified 945 million mt of inferred resources at an average grade of 0.38 g/mt gold and 0.49% copper.
Seabridge is confident that the observable continuity of the KSM core zone discoveries will support upgrading of the resources with additional drilling.
Seabridge Chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk commented, “The first resource estimate at the Iron Cap Lower Zone is further confirmation that, until recently, we have only been seeing the tops of KSM’s deposits, with better grades below. Fortunately, the location, size, and configuration of these deeper core zones appear to support extraction by the most cost-effective underground mining methods. This is especially true of the Iron Cap Lower Zone, which is located close to key proposed infrastructure, including planned tunnels that could be used to facilitate mining. Given these factors, along with the significantly higher metal values, we are very confident that our core zone program has the potential to achieve its objective of improving project economics.”
Substantial additional information about Seabridge’s core zone program is available in March 23 and March 25 announcements posted in the “News & Reports” section of the company’s website.
