Sabina Gold & Silver Reports Continued Resource Expansion At the Umwelt Deposit, Back River Gold Project, Nunavut New High Grade Umwelt G2 Zone being DefinedHole 11GSE121 at Umwelt returns 14.24 g/t Au over 28.25 m including 29.96 g/t Au over 8.35 mH
New High Grade Umwelt G2 Zone being Defined
Hole 11GSE121 at Umwelt returns 14.24 g/t Au over 28.25 m including 29.96 g/t Au over 8.35 m
Hole 11GSE092 at Umwelt returns 6.18 g/t Au over 23.20 m
New assay results expand the mineralized zone width in previously released Hole 11GSE096 at Umwelt returning 5.19 g/t Au over 60.2m
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 09/29/11 -- Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (TSX: SBB) is pleased to announce additional assay results from holes drilled as part of the 2011 exploration program on its targets at the Goose claim block at its 100% owned Back River Project in Nunavut, Canada.
The 2011 drilling campaign at Back River has been focussing on expanding the existing deposits at Umwelt and Llama, and looking for new discoveries by applying the Company's exploration tool box to open pit targets on the Goose and George claim blocks, as well as the Wishbone gold claims.
The Umwelt deposit, discovered in 2010, contains an indicated resource of 4.6 m tonnes grading 6.0 g/t Au for a total of 900,000 ounces of Au and an inferred resource of 1.1 m tonnes grading 6.4 g/t Au for a total of 221,000 ounces of Au. Drilling in 2011 has extended this resource approximately 900 m along strike to the south. The Umwelt deposit has now been defined over a 1.15 km strike length and for 1.5 km down plunge and remains open.
Recent drilling at depth of the southern extension of Umwelt continues to encounter high grade thick mineralization in a zone called the Umwelt G2 Zone (G2 stands for, Good grade and Good Thickness). This zone is at a depth of approximately 600 m and is open dip and down plunge to the south. The strong grade and thickness of the zone is typified by recently completed hole 11GSE121 which returned 14.24 g/t Au over 28.25 m. The G2 Zone is the direct extension of the wide mineralized zone that makes up the proposed open pit at Umwelt and appears to have a stronger gold tenor.
'Our work continues to demonstrate the high quality of the Back River Property. In our 2011 campaign, we have extended and expanded our Umwelt and Llama deposits and we have made eight new discoveries on our Back River and Wishbone claims with many assays still pending.' said Tony Walsh, President & CEO 'We are very encouraged by the success we are having in identifying good grades and good widths in our deposit areas. On the discovery front we are very encouraged by recent developments. While not all discoveries we make will be of the nature and size we are looking for, our success rate in finding gold mineralization based on the limited number of targets tested this year is excellent. This demonstrates the prospective nature of the land package we have at Back River and Wishbone and we are confident that we will continue to make new discoveries.'
To date, at Back River a total of 175 holes and 61,800 metres of core have been completed, or are in progress, with many assays still pending. Drilling will continue with two drills at Umwelt until approximately October 1, 2011.
UMWELT
To date a total of 63 holes totalling 33,350 m have been drilled or are in progress on the Umwelt zone at the Goose property. Results continue to demonstrate that Umwelt is a strong, well mineralized system with excellent continuity and grade.
New results have been returned for three holes completed in what is now called the Umwelt G2 Zone. Hole 11GSE121 on section 4050N returned 14.24 g/t Au over 28.25 m including 29.96 g/t Au over 8.35 m at a depth of 600 m. Hole 11GSE092 on section 4150N returned 6.18 g/t Au over 23.20 m including 7.28 g/t Au over 18.35 m. A number of additional lower grade zones were also intersected in this hole. Hole 11GSE102BW on section 4000N returned 7.62 g/t Au over 10.00 m including 29.45 g/t Au over 2.00 m. Bounding assays for all of these intercepts have yet to be returned. New assay results have increased the width of the mineralized zone in previously released Hole 11GSE096 collared on section 4400N. Hole 11GSE returned 5.19 g/t Au over 60.2m. Recently returned assay results from Umwelt are summarized in Table 1.
The mineralized zones are hosted within a turbiditic sedimentary sequence containing silicate and oxide facies iron formations. Gold dominantly occurs with quartz /- carbonate veining and arsenopyrite /- pyrite /- pyrrhotite in the iron formation. Drilling at Umwelt has identified an anti-form structure with a fold hinge that plunges to the south. Thick zones of gold mineralization are associated with the fold hinge in what is now known as the Main Zone. Mineralization also occurs along a separate iron formation horizon immediately to the west known as the West Zone.
RESOURCE UPDATE
On September 20, 2011, the Company announced an updated resource for the Goose deposit. Goose, Llama and Umwelt sit within a 5km long corridor and are envisioned as three major open pits supporting one central milling facility at the Goose claim block. The George deposit, located approximately 50 km to the north on the George claim block, is envisioned as an underground satellite deposit that would be mined and transported to the mill at Goose via winter road. The Company has recently engaged SRK Engineering Ltd. to commence work on a Preliminary Economic Assessment of a gold mining operation at Back River. The study will comprise the new open pit Goose resource, the soon to be updated Umwelt and Llama resources (incorporating 2011 drilling) as well as the existing George resource. The study is anticipated to be completed early in 2012, after which, if positive, a Preliminary Project Description will be filed with the Nunavut Water Board to initiate the permitting process for the project.
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Back River Mineral Resources - September 9, 2011
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Grade
Classification Location Tonnes Au (g/t) Ounces Au
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Open Pit
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Indicated Goose(i) 7,697,000 4.45 1,101,000
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Llama(ii) 1,860,000 9.41 562,000
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Umwelt(ii) 4,601,000 6.08 900,000
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Total Indicated 14,158,000 5.63 2,563,000
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Inferred Goose(i) 436,000 3.53 50,000
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Llama(ii) 981,000 5.71 180,000
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Umwelt(ii) 1,067,000 6.43 221,000
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Total Inferred 2,483,000 5.64 451,000
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Underground
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Indicated George(iii) 1,838,000 10.00 590,000
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Total Indicated 1,838,000 10.00 590,000
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Inferred Goose(i) 570,000 5.81 106,000
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George(iii) 2,563,000 10.50 866,000
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Total Inferred 3,133,000 9.65 972,000
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Notes(i)
1. CIM definition standards were followed for Mineral Resources.
2. The Qualified Person for the Goose, Llama and Umwelt Mineral Resource
estimate is Patti Nakai-Lajoie, P.Geo., RPA
3. Open pit Mineral Resources are estimated at a pit discard cut-off grade
of 0.70 g/t Au and 90% recovery. Pit optimizations were used to
constrain the resources.
4. Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.00 g/t Au.
5. Mineral Resources are estimated using an average long-term gold price of
US$1,300 per ounce.
6. Numbers may not add due to rounding.
Notes(ii)
1. Mineral Resources are estimated at a pit discard cut-off grade of 0.76
g/t Au and 90% recovery.
Notes(iii)
1. The Qualified Person for the George Mineral Resource estimate is Doug
Cater, P.Geo
2. Mineral Resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 5.00 g/t Au.
SABINA GOLD & SILVER CORP.
Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is an emerging precious metals company with district scale, world class undeveloped assets in one of the world's newest, most politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada.
Sabina's primary properties consist of the Back River Gold Project as well as the Wishbone Claims, a vastly prospective grass roots project and the Hackett River poly metallic project all in Nunavut. The Company has announced a proposed sale of Hackett River and certain claims in the Wishbone greenstone belt to Xstrata Zinc Canada Division (Xstrata). The process to close the transaction with Xstrata is well underway and is expected to close shortly.
Quality Assurance
Mr. Doug Cater, P. Geo, and Project Manager, Back River Project of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is a Qualified Person under the terms of NI43-101 and has reviewed the technical content of this press release for the Back River Project and has approved its dissemination.
The mineral resource estimates for the Llama and Umwelt deposits were generated by Roscoe Postle Associates (RPA) in March 2011. These are all posted on www.sedar.com.
The mineral resource estimate for the Goose deposit was generated by RPA in September 2011.
Diamond drill core was sent to TSL Laboratories in Saskatoon, Sask. Quality control is monitored on a continual basis and utilizes a system of standards, blanks and duplicates to ensure analytical accuracy. The protocols and procedures used in 2011 are the same as those used in earlier campaigns by Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. and have been deemed appropriate in the above noted 43-101 compliant resource reports.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements relating to exploration, pre-feasibility work and future operations at the Back River Project and the expected results of this work are forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation of certain Provinces in Canada. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words 'expects,' 'plans,' 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'intends,' 'estimates,' 'projects,' 'potential' and similar expressions, or that events or conditions 'will,' 'would,' 'may,' 'could' or 'should' occur. Information inferred from the interpretation of drilling results may also be deemed to be forward looking statements, as it constitutes a prediction of what might be found to be present when and if a project is actually developed. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to fluctuations in metal prices; uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing to fund the planned work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in planned work resulting from weather, logistical, technical or other factors; the possibility that results of work will not fulfill expectations and realize the perceived potential of the Company's properties; risk of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in the work program; the risk of environmental contamination or damage resulting from Sabina's operations and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Sabina's Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2010.
Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Sabina's management on the date the statements are made. Sabina undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements should management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.
Tony Walsh, President & CEO
Note: To view the figures associated with this release, please click the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/sbb0929.pdf.
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Comment/
Sec- East- North- From To Length Au Mineral
Hole Id tion ing ing Depth (m) (m) (m) (g/t) Zone
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11GSE092 4150 430569 7270584 648 514.5 525 10.5 3.61 G2
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547.75 561 13.25 2.73 G2 New
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566.3 567.1 0.75 13.48 G2
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G2 -
previously
585 608.2 23.2 6.18 released
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including G2 -
previously
589.85 608.2 18.35 7.28 released
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including 591.75 594 2.25 15.86 G2
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including 602 605 3 17.42 G2
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Additional
Assays
Pending
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11GSE094 Eastern
Iron
4200 430588 7270665 693.8 469 470 1 8.64 formation
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516.7 521 4.3 2.82 G2
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11GSE096 G2 -
Expanded
4400 430347 7270728 504.6 410.1 470.3 60.2 5.19 width
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including 444 470.3 26.3 9.02 G2
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including 461 466 5 27.21 G2
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11GSE102BW 4000 430690 7270494 747 699 709 10 7.62 G2
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including 699 700 1 10.79 G2
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including 701 703 2 29.45 G2
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Additional
Assays
Pending
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11GSE105 4250 430509 7270672 578 543.55 549.8 6.25 3.78 G2
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Additional
Assays
Pending
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11GSE106 4050 430713 7270571 755 704.85 728.35 23.5 12.01 G2
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including 714 723 9 23.46 G2
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Additional
Assays
Pending
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11GSE121 4050 430656 7270522 688.4 648.15 676.4 28.25 14.24 G2
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including 648.15 656.5 8.35 29.96 G2
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including 671.8 674.5 2.7 26.68 G2
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Additional
Assays
Pending
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Table 1: Recent Umwelt Drill results
Contacts:
Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.
Nicole Hoeller
Director, IR
1 888 648-4218
nhoeller@sabinagoldsilver.com
www.sabinagoldsilver.com