Apogee Reports Assays From 13 Drill Holes Including 3.0 Meters Grading 515.0 g/t Silver and 2.86 Meters Grading 462.9 g/t Silver at the Pulacayo Deposit
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 12/20/11 -- Apogee Silver Ltd. ('Apogee' or the 'Company') (TSX VENTURE: APE) is pleased to report assay results from the final 13 diamond drill holes from the sulphide resource expansion drilling program at the Pulacayo deposit located in southwest Bolivia (See Table 1 and Figure 3 below).
The highlights include:
-- PUD 208 which intersected 1.0 meter grading 291.0 g/t silver, 0.37 %
lead, 0.06% zinc.
-- PUD 211A which intersected 2.0 meter grading 254.5 g/t silver, 1.17%
lead, 4.92% zinc, and 1.10 g/t gold.
-- PUD 214 which intersected
-- 3.0 meters grading 411.7 g/t silver, 0.13% lead, 0.15 % zinc from
417.0 meters to 420.0 meters and
-- 3.0 meters grading 515.0 g/t Ag, 0.24% lead, 0.25% zinc from 529.0
meters to 532.0 meters.
-- PUD 216 which intersected 0.95 meters grading 261.0 g/t silver, 0.18%
lead, 3.43% zinc.
-- PUD 217 which intersected
-- 2.86 meters grading 462.9 g/t silver, 1.31% lead, 1.28% zinc and
1.01 g/t gold from 569.67 meters to 572.53 meters, and
-- 2.0 meters grading 613.5 g/t silver, 1.86% lead, 5.64% since and
0.64 g/t gold from 607.0 to 609.0 meters.
-- PUD 222 which intersected 2.0 meters grading 664.0 g/t silver, 0.37 %
lead, 3.16% zinc and 0.42 g/t gold.
All of the holes reported were drilled from surface, and were targeting the expansion of the sulphide resources at the Pulacayo deposit which is currently under mine development by Apogee Silver. (See Press Release dated December 8, 2011). The results of the drill holes up to and including PUD 214 were included in the most recent independent mineral resource estimate by Mercator Geological Services Limited. (See Press release dated October 19, 2011 and the Technical Report effective date October 19th, 2011 filed under the company's profile on SEDAR). Analytical results from the drill holes subsequent to PUD 214 were not received prior to the crystallization date for the resource estimate and thus were not included. These holes also targeted sulphide mineralization of the Pulacayo deposit, are within the area of the current resource estimate and will be incorporated in future resource estimates.
Apogee continues to evaluate the Pulacayo deposit with three drill rigs now working at the site. The surface drilling program planned for 2011 which was designed to expand the sulphide resources has now been completed with a total of more than 23,000 meters. An underground diamond drill which commenced in early August, 2011 is continuing to work and is focused on providing detailed information in the areas of the deposit that are scheduled for mining in the current quarter and throughout 2012. Two surface drills are currently working to evaluate the near surface silver oxide potential associated with the Pulacayo deposit. This program is now expected to total approximately 6000 meters and will continue through the balance of 2011.
Neil Ringdahl, CEO of Apogee commented, 'The results of our exploration initiatives continue to encourage and these results to the East reinforce our belief in the potential to develop profitable mining on a second front, lending weight to the theory that large production can be achieved through several independent underground sections. Currently the Company continues with its trial mining program and development of underground infrastructure in the central or San Leon area for commercial production later in 2012.'
Chris Collins, P. Geo., President of Apogee, states, 'We continue to be very encouraged by the final assay results from our 2011 sulphide resource expansion drill program at the Pulacayo deposit. The success of this program has been clearly validated by the independent resource estimate released in late October. The drill holes delineating the deposit subsequent to the cutoff date of the resource estimate continue to return high silver grades across widths that are expected to be minable. We remain very optimistic about the potential for continued expansion of the sulphide resources at Pulacayo and are planning to continue these efforts during 2012. Our current exploration efforts are now focused on evaluating the near surface silver oxide potential of the Pulacayo deposit with the goal to have an initial estimate of the potential oxide resources available during the second quarter of 2012.'
Table 1 Summary of Significant Intercepts
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UTM E UTM N
Hole No. (m) (m) Az. Dip
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PUD-208 740,850 7,744,385 0 degrees -47 degrees
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PUD-209 740,500 7,744,311 0 degrees -47 degrees
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PUD-210 739,942 7,744,348 0 degrees -45 degrees
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-211A 740,854 7,744,784 202 degrees -60 degrees
----------------------------------------------------------------
Incl.
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-212A 740,150 7,744,863 180 degrees -60 degrees
----------------------------------------------------------------
Incl.
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-213 0 degrees -52 degrees
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PUD-214 740,451 7,744,338 22 degrees -47 degrees
----------------------------------------------------------------
Incl.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Incl.
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-215 740,809 7,744,803 202 degrees -59 degrees
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-216 740,150 7,744,863 180 degrees -63 degrees
----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-217 740,250 7,744,350 0 degrees -57 degrees
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-218 740,751 7,744,832 200 degrees -62 degrees
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-219 740,100 7,744,862 180 degrees -62 degrees
----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-222 740,701 7,744,838 200 degrees -62 degrees
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----------------------------------------------------------------
PUD-224
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Core
From To Length Ag Pb Zn Au
Hole No. (m) (m) (M) (i) g/t % % g/t
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PUD-208 188.0 189.0 1.0 291.0 0.37 0.06 0.04
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PUD-209 495.40(ii) 498.0 2.60 88.0 0.22 4.54 0.17
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PUD-210 422.0 424.0 2.0 28.5 1.25 5.28 0.02
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429.0 433.0 4.0 26.8 0.55 2.10 0.03
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435.0 436.0 1.0 101.0 0.48 1.08 0.03
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PUD-211A 443.0 445.0 2.00 254.5 1.17 4.92 1.10
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Incl. 444.0 445.0 1.00 433.0 2.32 9.80 1.62
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463.0 464.0 1.00 45.0 1.39 4.68 0.02
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509.32(ii) 510.13 0.81 60.0 0.01 0.10 0.08
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PUD-212A less
than
462.0 468.0 6.00 11.3 0.54 2.55 0.005
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Incl. less
than
465.0 468.0 3.00 17.0 0.69 3.80 0.005
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less
than
499.0 501.0 2.00 5.0 0.13 1.40 0.005
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PUD-213 No Significant Results
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PUD-214 406.85(ii) 414.0 7.15 119.0 0.04 0.57 0.14
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Incl. 406.85(ii) 408.0 1.15 205 0.08 0.49 0.58
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Incl. 411.00 413.00 2.00 223.5 0.03 0.64 0.06
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417.0 420.0 3.00 411.7 0.13 0.15 0.09
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429.0 432.0 3.00 515.0 0.25 0.24 0.05
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PUD-215 467.0 468.0 1.00 148.0 0.07 0.89 0.31
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521.0 522.0 1.00 55.0 0.62 1.89 0.05
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PUD-216 536.5(ii) 537.45(ii) 0.95 261.0 0.18 3.43 0.19
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PUD-217 413.0 415.0 2.00 153.5 0.42 2.10 0.03
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541.0 544.0 3.00 149.3 0.01 0.13 0.44
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569.67 572.53 2.86 462.9 1.31 1.28 1.03
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595.0 597.0 2.00 613.5 1.86 5.64 0.64
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607.0 609.0 2.00 209.5 0.07 1.39 0.32
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PUD-218 554.78 555.70(ii) 0.92 47.0 0.02 0.10 0.31
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563.0 564.0 1.00 34.0 0.16 0.25 0.14
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PUD-219 495.79(ii) 497.0 1.21 63.0 0.05 0.09 1.27
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PUD-222 556.0 568.0 2.0 664.0 0.37 3.16 0.42
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569.0 570.64(ii) 1.64 86.6 0.06 1.04 0.06
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PUD-224 557.0 558.0 1.0 90.0 1.56 0.69 0.83
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(i) True widths of the intersections listed above are estimated to range
between 50% and 80% of the core lengths provided in the table above.
(ii) Indicates an interval adjacent to historical mine workings.
Bold Intervals are interpreted to represent the Tajo Veta Structure.
Italicized intervals indicate where mineralization is in the oxide zone.
The Pulacayo deposit is a thick east-west striking zone of conjugate veins, stockwork and disseminated sulphides that locally are up to 200 meters in thickness with a higher grade core that comprises the resource. The known strike length of the Tajo Vein System which hosts the Pulacayo deposit is approximately 2.7 km and to date only approximately 1,300 meters has been systematically drill tested (See Figure 2 below). Mineralization comprises sphalerite, galena and tetrahedrite in sulphide-rich veins ranging from a few centimeters to greater than one meter thick and heavily disseminated sphalerite, galena and tetrahedrite between the veins.
Quality Control
Apogee Silver employs a QA/QC protocol on all aspects of its drill core processing and analytical procedures. Core samples are sawn and one half of the NQ and/or HQ core is returned to the core box for future reference with the other half sent for analysis. Sample preparation is completed at the ALS Chemex preparation laboratory in Oruro, Bolivia and analysis occurs at the ALS Chemex laboratory in Lima, Peru.
The company's quality control protocol includes the insertion of certified geological standards which have been purchased from Canadian Resource Laboratories of Langley, British Columbia. Standards are inserted at a frequency of 1 in every 20 samples. The company also inserts geological blanks which are blind to the laboratory at a frequency of 1 in every 20 samples. Duplicates are taken at every sub-sampling stage in the preparation process. Field duplicates are taken at a frequency of 1 every 50 samples. Sample preparation duplicates are taken at the crushing and pulverizing stages at a frequency of 1 in every 20 samples. Cross-check analysis on the master pulps is undertaken at a second laboratory for 5% of all samples. The company uses SGS Mineral Services in Lima, Peru for the second lab cross check analysis.
The Quality Control and all aspects of the exploration program are supervised by Apogee Silver Limited's Exploration Manager Mr. Hernan Uribe, who holds a Masters of Applied Science in Mineral Exploration from the Imperial College of Science And Technology, Royal School of Mines, London, England under the supervision of Mr. Chris Collins, P.Geo. and President of Apogee.
The scientific and technical information presented in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Chris Collins, P. Geo., President of Apogee Silver and a qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101.
For detailed project information please refer to Apogee's web site at www.apogeesilver.com.
About Apogee Silver Ltd.
Apogee Silver Ltd. is a mineral exploration and development stage company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol APE. Apogee targets advanced silver-zinc-lead projects in South America that demonstrate potential to be developed to production. Currently its projects are located in the historic silver producing regions of southwest Bolivia and northern Chile.
Its most advanced project is the 100% owned Pulacayo-Paca project in Bolivia. This project includes the property that covered the second-largest silver mine in the history of Bolivia with over 600 million ounces of past production.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information. This press release contains 'forward looking information' within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the future financial or operating performance of the Company, its subsidiaries and its projects, the development of and the anticipated timing with respect to the Pulacayo-Paca project, the anticipated timing with respect to completion of the diamond drill program. the current drill program, anticipated timing with respect to the trial mining program and statements regarding exploration prospects. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'plans', 'expects' or 'does not expect', 'is expected', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates' or 'does not anticipate', or 'believes', or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will be taken', 'occur' or 'be achieved'. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: financing not being available at desired prices; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of mineral prices; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; and, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or required financing or in the completion of activities. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
On Behalf of the Board,
G. Scott Paterson, Chairman
To view 'Figure 1: Pulacayo Project Location Map', please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ape_fig1.pdf.
To view 'Figure 2: Tajo Vein System, Plan View', please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ape_fig2.pdf.
To view 'Figure 3 Vertical Longitudinal Section of the Pulacayo Deposit', please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ape_fig3.pdf.
To view 'Figure 4 Pulacayo Deposit Vertical Section 740450 E', please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ape_fig4.pdf.
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Contacts:
Apogee Silver Ltd.
Marilia Bento
Vice President Corporate Development
+1 (416) 309-2694
Apogee Silver Ltd.
G. Scott Paterson
Chairman of the Board
+1 (416) 368-6464
info@apogeesilver.com
www.apogeesilver.com