Benchmark Expands the Phoenix Zone, Drilling an Intersection of 11 g/t Gold and 819 g/t Silver over 3.95 Metres
Edmonton, January 11, 2019 - Benchmark Metals Inc. (TSXV: BNCH) (OTCQB: CYRTF) (WKN: A2JM2X) (the "Company" or "Benchmark") is pleased to report drill results from the Phoenix Zone at the Lawyers Gold & Silver Project, located in the Golden Triangle region of British Columbia, Canada. Drill-holes intersected high grade gold-silver mineralization and indicated that the mineralization is open along strike and downdip.
CEO John Williamson commented, "The 2018 exploration program was designed to provide a baseline for future exploration. During the program, soil sampling, rock sampling and diamond and RC drilling expanded the area of gold and silver mineralization. The program concentrated on the 3km plus Lawyers trend, which comprises the Cliffs Creek, Dukes Ridge, Phoenix, and Phoenix East zones. These mineralized zones, along with the AGB Zone, are coincident with a northeast striking 5km by 3km radiometric anomaly. This radiometric anomaly is coincident with potassic alteration associated with a low-sulphidation epithermal system. Exploration during 2018 has delineated new targets and expanded gold and silver mineralization within this trend and beyond."
Phoenix Zone
The Phoenix zone lies between the Phoenix East and Dukes Ridge zones, and is a zone of gold and silver mineralization in drill-holes along strike to the southeast of Dukes Ridge. It also represents the furthest step-out, drilling along strike and down-dip to the southeast along the Lawyers Trend. A total of 730m in seven (7) shallow drill-holes were completed near surface with each hole intersecting significant gold and silver mineralization. This drilling included 438.63m in five (5) reverse circulation (RC) and 293.83m in two (2) diamond drill (DD) holes. Drilling indicates that the intersected mineralization has a strike length of at least 175 metres and is open at depth below 50 metres. The drilled mineralization lies outside of the current resource area. Selected drill intercepts include drill-hole 18PXDD002, which intersected 10.99 g/t gold and 819.43 g/t silver across 3.95 metres and includes 18.43 g/t gold and 1129.50 g/t silver across 1.81 metres (see results table below).
The Phoenix Zone delineated by surface soil and rock sample results, as well as limited drilling, is potentially the southeastern extension of the Dukes Ridge portion of the Lawyers Trend. In addition, Phoenix has potential to connect with Phoenix East, which lies 200 metres to the east of Phoenix and has 350 metres of currently known strike length based upon surface sampling. Phoenix East was discovered during the 2018 exploration program with rock-grab samples reporting up to 3.61 g/t gold and 209 g/t silver.
At the Phoenix and Phoenix East zones, 3.3 kilometers of soil lines were completed in 2018, providing 131 samples over an area of 0.5 square kilometers. Rock grab samples collected at surface from Phoenix East display quartz veins and breccia textures similar to what is observed both at Phoenix and Dukes Ridge. A total of 32 rock grab samples were collected, with 11 of these samples grading above 1 g/t gold.
The Phoenix Zone saw limited mining in the early 1990's by Cheni Gold Mines while extracting ore from the AGB and Cliffs Creek zones. Limited historical records for Phoenix production indicate that 4,934 tonnes were milled, yielding 6,713 ounces of gold and 296,084 ounces of silver for a realized grade of 38.56 g/t gold (1.36 oz/t) and 1,700 g/t silver (60 oz/t) (Lane et al, 2018). This small amount of mining took place within underground workings measuring 25 metres wide and 35 metres deep.
The Phoenix mineralization, although part of the Lawyers trend, appears unique to the styles typically noted at Dukes Ridge and Cliffs Creek in that Phoenix is hosted within a single, wide quartz vein measuring approximately 1.5 metres thick in true-width rather than a series of smaller veins and veinlets. The Phoenix vein style could represent another mineralization style to be explored within the Lawyers Project.
| Selected Phoenix Drill Results | ||||
| Hole 18PXDD001 | From 60.00m to 64.36m | 6.15 g/t Au | 124.37 g/t Ag | 4.36m interval |
| Including | From 63.22m to 64.36m | 21.80 g/t Au | 340.00 g/t Ag | 1.14m interval |
| Hole 18PXDD002 | From 27.00m to 29.00m | 0.52 g/t Au | 77.85 g/t Ag | 2.00m interval |
| From 66.00m to 72.95m | 6.39 g/t Au | 469.76 g/t Ag | 6.95m interval | |
| Including | From 69.00m to 72.95m | 10.99 g/t Au | 819.43 g/t Ag | 3.95m interval |
| Including | From 70.19m to 72.00m | 18.43 g/t Au | 1129.50 g/t Ag | 1.81m interval |
| Hole 18PXRC001 | From 9.14m to 13.72m | 1.36 g/t Au | 173.30 g/t Ag | 4.58m interval |
| including | From 12.19m to 13.71m | 2.70 g/t Au | 273.00g/t Ag | 1.52m interval |
| Hole 18PXRC002 | From 41.15m to 45.72m | 0.71 g/t Au | 103.58g/t Ag | 4.57m interval |
| Hole 18PXRC003 | From 44.20m to 48.77m | 0.43 g/t Au | 23.39 g/t Ag | 4.57m interval |
| From 71.63m to 80.77m | 1.39 g/t Au | 32.80 g/t Ag | 9.14m interval | |
| including | From 74.68m to 76.20m | 6.74 g/t Au | 106.00 g/t Ag | 1.52m interval |
Location Map and Results Table
The location map provides drill hole locations and demonstrates the potential to expand gold and silver mineralization due to proximity from the adjacent Dukes Ridge and Cliffs Creek zones that contain an existing mineral resource estimate. Map(s) and images can be viewed at the Company's website. The Company is encouraged by the initial results of drilling at the Phoenix Zone, and believes that follow-up drilling during 2019 will lead to additional mineral resources at the Phoenix portion of the Lawyers Trend.
Quality Assurance and Control
Results from samples were analyzed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver, Canada (an ISO 9001:2008 accredited facility). The sampling program was undertaken by Company personnel under the direction of Rob L'Heureux, P.Geol. A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples. Gold was assayed using a fire assay with atomic emission spectrometry and gravimetric finish when required (+10 g/t Au). Analysis by four acid digestion with 48 element ICP-MS analysis was conducted on all samples with silver and base metal overlimits re-analyzed by atomic absorption or emission spectrometry. Rock chip samples from outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and they may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the project.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About Benchmark Metals Inc.
Benchmark is a Canadian mineral exploration company with its common shares listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States and the Tradegate Exchange in Europe. Benchmark is managed by proven resource sector professionals, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from grassroots scenarios through to production
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
s/ "John Williamson"
John Williamson, Chief Executive Officer
For further information, please contact:
Jim Greig, President
jimg@BNCHmetals.com
Tel: (604) 260-6977
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