SKE.TO · 2018-09-17 12:00:00

Skeena Announces Maiden Resource Estimate for Eskay Creek

Resource Estimates

Vancouver, BC (September 17, 2018) Skeena Resources Limited (TSX.V: SKE, OTCQX: SKREF)

(“Skeena” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce a Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), for the

Eskay Creek Project, which has been reviewed and validated by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. This

MRE was derived from 7,583 historical surface and underground diamond drill holes totalling 651,332

metres. Drilling data from the Company’s recently initiated and ongoing Phase I metallurgical and infill

drilling program is not included in this MRE. The effective date of this MRE is September 18, 2018 and

a technical report will be filed on the Company’s website and SEDAR within 45 days of this disclosure.

For additional Eskay Creek maps & figures please view the Company’s website.

Pit Constrained Resources

The pit constrained Indicated resource includes 207 ,000 gold equivalent ounces within 1.0 9 million

tonnes at an average gold equivalent grade of 5.9 g/t. The pit constrained Inferred resource includes

589,000 ounces within 4.26 million tonnes at an average gold equivalent grade of 4.3 g/t.

Table 1: Indicated and Inferred pit constrained resources reported at a 1.0 g/t AuEQ cut-off grade.

GRADE AUEQ

OUNCES

CONTAINED OUNCES

TONNES AUEQ AU AG AU AG

ZONE (000) G/T G/T G/T OZ (000) OZ (000) OZ (000)

INDICATED 21A 1,088 5.9 4.9 72 207 173 2,533

INFERRED 21A 2,809 4.6 3.8 63 418 342 5,653

22 1,452 3.7 2.5 89 171 116 4,151

TOTAL INDICATED 1,088 5.9 4.9 72 207 173 2,533

TOTAL INFERRED 4,261 4.3 3.3 72 589 458 9,805

Underground Resources

The underground Indicated resource estimate includes 814 ,000 gold equivalent ounces within 2.51

million tonnes at an average gold equivalent grade of 10.1 g/t. The underground Inferred resource

estimate includes 261,000 ounces within 0.81 million tonnes at an average gold equivalent grade of

10.0 g/t.

Table 2: Indicated and Inferred underground resources reported at a 5.5 g/t AuEQ cut-off grade.

GRADE AUEQ

OUNCES

CONTAINED OUNCES

TONNES AUEQ AU AG AU AG

ZONE (000) G/T G/T G/T OZ (000) OZ (000) OZ (000)

INDICATED

21C 674 9.6 7.5 154 207 163 3,335

21B 338 12.1 8.6 263 132 94 2,855

21BE 246 10.1 6.8 247 80 53 1,954

21E 41 10.8 6.3 337 14 8 441

HW 522 10.2 6.2 295 171 105 4,957

NEX 510 9.6 6.8 209 158 112 3,432

PUMPHOUSE 72 7.9 6.1 140 18 14 323

109 111 9.5 9.4 12 34 34 42

TOTAL INDICATED 2,513 10.1 7.2 215 814 582 17,340

NR: 18-22

September 17, 2018

GRADE AUEQ

OUNCES

CONTAINED OUNCES

TONNES AUEQ AU AG AU AG

ZONE (000) G/T G/T G/T OZ (000) OZ (000) OZ (000)

INFERRED

21C 44 7.2 6.7 38 10 10 55

21B 262 10.5 7.8 206 89 66 1,738

21BE 114 15.3 9.5 431 56 35 1,573

21E 53 8.5 4.6 292 14 8 495

HW 87 8.4 5.0 256 24 14 718

NEX 220 8.5 6.8 130 61 48 922

PUMPHOUSE 30 7.8 6.6 92 8 6 88

109 2 7.4 7.3 8 0.4 0.4 0.4

TOTAL INFERRED 812 10.0 7.2 214 261 187 5,590

Walter Coles, Skeena’s President and CEO commented, “ This initial resource estimate validates our

thesis that there are substantial amounts of potentially economic mineralization left at Eskay Creek

below the cut-off grades used by historical operators of the mine. As this resource estimate has been

optimized for gold and silver, future resource estimates will also include base metal credits. In addition,

we believe the property has exciting exploration upside for both precious and base metals at depth.”

Paul Geddes, Vice President of Exploration and Resource Development further adds, “The Mineral

Resource Estimate at Eskay Creek demonstrates excellent grade continuity and precious metal tenor.

Also, the methodology of applying the understanding of geology and mineralization controls into the

rigorous estimation process make this estimate very robust such th at it can accurately inform future

economic analyses and optimizations. Underground resources occur immediately adjacent to or within

100 metres of existing underground infrastructure and although all historical drift and fill stopes have

been backfilled, we elected to exclude any potential resources that occur within three metres of any

historical development.”

Table 3: Pit constrained and underground sensitivities to AuEQ (g/t) cut-off grade.

AUEQ COG

(G/T)

TONNES

(000)

AUEQ

(G/T)

AUEQ OUNCES

(000)

AU OUNCES

(000)

AG OUNCES

(000)

INDICATED CATEGORY

PIT

CONSTRAINED

> 0.75 1,167 5.6 4.7 68 209 175 2,568

> 1.00 1,088 5.9 4.9 72 207 173 2,533

> 1.25 1,005 6.3 5.3 77 204 171 2,482

UNDERGROUND

> 4.00 4,008 8.1 5.9 162 1,038 758 20,878

> 4.50 3,414 8.7 6.3 181 957 693 19,872

> 5.00 2,923 9.4 6.8 198 883 635 18,576

> 5.50 2,513 10.1 7.2 215 814 582 17,339

> 6.00 2,171 10.7 7.7 232 750 534 16,192

INFERRED CATEGORY

PIT

CONSTRAINED

> 0.75 4,866 3.9 3.0 64 606 473 10,026

> 1.00 4,261 4.3 3.3 72 589 458 9,805

> 1.25 3,731 4.8 3.7 79 570 443 9,519

UNDERGROUND

> 4.00 1,682 7.4 5.4 142 398 291 7,702

> 4.50 1,262 8.2 6.0 166 333 243 6,736

> 5.00 1,004 9.1 6.6 189 294 212 6,115

> 5.50 812 10.0 7.2 214 261 187 5,590

> 6.00 661 11.0 7.8 242 233 165 5,133

Eskay Creek Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate Notes:

The mineral resources disclosed in this press release were estimated using the Canadian Institute of

Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (“CIM”) standards on mineral resources and reserves definitions,

and guidelines prepared by the CIM standing committee on reserve definitions and adopted by the

CIM council.

• Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic

viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resources estimated will be

converted into mineral reserves.

• As defined by NI 43‑101, the Independent and Qualified Person for the Eskay Creek MRE

is Sheila Ulansky P.Geo., of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. who has reviewed and validated

the Eskay Creek MRE. The effective date of the MRE is September 18, 2018.

• Resources are reported in -situ and undiluted for both pit constrained and underground

scenarios and are considered to have reasonable prospects for economic extraction.

• In accordance with NI 43-101 recommendations, the number of metric tonnes was rounded

to the nearest thousand. Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects.

• Mineralization occurring within three metres of historical underground workings is not

included in this MRE.

• Metal prices used for the AuEQ calculation are US$1,275 per ounce of gold, and US$17.00

per ounce of silver. AuEQ = Au (g/t) + [Ag (g/t)/75].

• Metallurgical recoveries of 80% AuEQ were utilized in the determination of cut -off grades

for underground resources.

• The calculated pit constrained cut-off grade was determined to be 0.7 g/t AuEQ and the

underground cut-off grade was determined to be 4.1 g/t AuEQ. Cut -off grades must be re -

evaluated considering prevailing market conditions (including gold prices, exchange rates

and costs).

• At the request of the Company, the pit constrained resources are reported at a higher cut-

off grade of 1.0 g/t AuEQ and underground resources are reported at a cut -off grade of 5.5

g/t AuEQ.

• Block tonnage was estimated from volumes using a bulk density formula that was applied

using interpolated lead, zinc, copper and antimony grades. This density formula was derived

from the historic operator based on comparisons betwee n actual measurements and

analysis at the Eskay Creek Mine . SG = (Pb + Zn + Cu + Sb) x 0.03491 + 2.67 (where all

metals are reported in percent).

• Ten mineralization domains were created to constrain the estimate - two pit constrained

domains and eight underground domains.

• Each stratiform massive sulphide domain was defined by individual wireframes created in

Leapfrog GeoTM (Seequent) software using geologically realistic numeric interpolants within

major fault blocks. Mineralization domains were created using a 40 -50% probability of a

nominal combined precious and base metal cut -off grade being greater than 0.9 to 1.0 g/t

AuEQ depending on the domain. Each domain was modified or reassessed individually to

consider presiding mineralization features.

• Although domaining was initially constrained using a combination of Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, and

Zn, the primary metals considered for this resource estimate are Au and Ag.

• High grade capping was performed on each domain using raw assay data before applying

1 metre composites within hard-domain boundaries and using equally distributed composite

tails. Gold capping values ranged from 30 to 350 g/t and silver capping values ranged from

200 to 15,000 g/t.

• Gold and silver variograms were used to determine the spatial relationship of the variables

over distance.

• Search orientations were created using the dynamic anisotropy function in Vulcan software

using a single surface which mimicked the local lithological units.

• Ordinary Kriging (OK) was used for the estimation of gold and silver in all domains, except

for the 22 and 21E Zones where an Inverse Distance Squared (ID 2) interpolation was

selected because too few samples to were available to derive meaningful variograms.

• Resources were estimated using Maptek Vulcan 10.1.5 software from drill hole sampling in

a model using a parent block size of 3 x 3 x 2 metres and sub-block size of 1 x 1 x 1 metres.

• The mineral resources were estimated using three passes with increasing s earch radii

based on variogram ranges.

• Estimation ranges varied between 35 to 60 metres and 30 to 60 metres for gold and silver

respectively, depending on the domain.

• Indicated and Inferred resources were categorized during gold interpolation Passes 1 and 2

respectively.

o The Indicated category (Pass 1) is defined by blocks interpolated using a minimum

of 5 holes and a maximum distance of 30 metres to a drill hole showing reasonable

geological and grade continuity. In areas where blocks were interpolated during Pass

1 but continuity is insufficient or blocks were isolated, the blocks were reclassified to

Inferred on a visual basis.

o Inferred resources (Pass 2) were interpol ated using a minimum of 3 holes and a

maximum distance to a drill hole composite of 60 metres. Due to the lower drill hole

density in the 22 and 21E Zones, a minimum of 2 holes were required.

o A final third pass using three times the variogram range was used to infill any un -

estimated blocks. These blocks are uncategorized and are neither Inferred nor

Indicated resources.

• Estimates use metric units (metres, tonnes and g/t). Metal contents are presented in troy

ounces (metric tonne x grade / 31.10348).

• Neither the Company, nor SRK, is aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title-

related, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issue that could materially affect

this mineral resource estimate.

• The abundance and significance of As, Hg and Sb are unknown but currently under

evaluation.

• The quantity and grade of reported Inferred mineral resources in this estimation are

uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to re-define these Inferred

mineral resources as Indicated mineral resources. It is uncertain if further exploration will

result in upgrading them to the Indicated mineral resources category.

Table 4: Pit constrained scenario assumptions for determining cut -off grades with reasonable prospects of

economic extraction.

INPUT PARAMETERS VALUE UNIT

PIT WALL ANGLES 45 DEGREES

REFERENCE MINING COST $ 2.00 US DOLLARS PER TONNE MINED

MINING RECOVERY 95 PERCENT

MINING DILUTION 5 PERCENT

PROCESSING COST $ 15.00 US DOLLARS PER TONNE PROCESSED

GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATION $ 5.75 US DOLLARS PER TONNE PROCESSED

PROCESS RECOVERY AU 80% PERCENT

PROCESS RECOVERY AG 90% PERCENT

SELL PRICE AU $ 1,250.00 US DOLLARS PER OUNCE

SELL PRICE AG $ 17.00 US DOLLARS PER OUNCE

SELL COST $ 30.00 US DOLLARS PER OUNCE

COMBINED STRIP RATIO 2.9:1 UNITLESS

Table 5: Underground scenario assumptions for determining cut -off grades with reasonable prospects of

economic extraction.

INPUT PARAMETERS VALUE UNIT

REFERENCE MINING COST $ 79.25 US DOLLARS PER TONNE MINED

PROCESSING COST $ 15.00 US DOLLARS PER TONNE MILLED

GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATION $ 5.75 US DOLLARS PER TONNE MILLED

PROCESS RECOVERY AU 80% PERCENT

PROCESS RECOVERY AG 90% PERCENT

SELL PRICE AU $ 1,275.00 US DOLLARS PER OUNCE

SELL PRICE AG $ 17.00 US DOLLARS PER OUNCE

SELL COST AU $ 30.00 US DOLLARS PER OUNCE

Eskay Creek Mineralization

The Eskay Creek deposits represent a precious and base metal-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide

(VMS) deposit, hosted in volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Hazelton

Group. Mineralization is contained in several stratiform, disseminated and stock work vein zones that

display a variety of textural and mineralogical characteristics. The bulk of the mineralization is hosted

in the 21B zone, a tabular stratiform lens that consists of well -bedded, clastically reworked sulfides

and sulfosalts interbedded with unmineralized, carbonaceous argillite. In addition to extremely high

precious metal grades, Eskay Creek is distinguished from conventional VMS deposits by its

association with elements of the ‘epithermal suite’ (Sb -Hg-As), sulfosalt -rich mineralogy, and the

dominance of clastic sulfides and sulfosalts.

Qualified Persons

The Independent and Qualified Person for the Eskay Creek MRE is Sheila Ulansky P.Geo., of SRK

Consulting (Canada) Inc. (Vancouver), who has reviewe d, validated and approved the Eskay Creek

MRE as well as the technical disclosure in this release. In accordance with National Instrument 43 -

101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Paul Geddes, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration

and Resource Development, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has validated and approved

the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best

Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and reporting its activities on its various exploration

projects

About Skeena

Skeena Resources Limited is a junior Canadian mining exploration company focused on developing

prospective precious and base metal properties in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia,

Canada. The Company’s primary activities are the exploration and development of the past-producing

Snip mine and the recently optioned Eskay Creek mine. In addition, the Company has completed a

Preliminary Economic Assessment on the GJ copper-gold porphyry project.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Skeena Resources Limited,

Walter Coles Jr.

President & CEO

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

Certain statements made, and information contained herein may constitute “forward looking information” and “forward looking

statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and informat ion are

based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management’s expect ations.

Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as “anticipates”, “believes”, “targets”, “estimates”, “plans”,

“expects”, “may”, “will”, “could” or “would”. Forward -looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors

and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the re alization of resource and

reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating

costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental ris ks, title disputes and other matters. While the

Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward -looking statements and information are not

guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may

differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information

except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy

or accuracy of this release.

Appendix: Eskay Creek Deposit Total Indicated and Inferred Resources.

GRADE AUEQ OUNCES

(000)

CONTAINED OUNCES

ZONE TONNES

(000)

AUEQ

(G/T)

(G/T) AU OUNCES (000) AG OUNCES (000)

INDICATED MINERAL

RESOURCES

PIT CONSTRAINED 21A 1,088 5.9 4.9 72 207 173 2,533

UNDERGROUND

21C 674 9.6 7.5 154 207 163 3,335

21B 338 12.1 8.6 263 132 94 2,855

21BE 246 10.1 6.8 247 80 53 1,954

21E 41 10.8 6.3 337 14 8 441

HW 522 10.2 6.2 295 171 105 4,957

NEX 510 9.6 6.8 209 158 112 3,432

PUMPHOUSE 72 7.9 6.1 140 18 14 323

109 111 9.5 9.4 12 34 34 42

TOTAL UNDERGROUND 2,513 10.1 7.2 215 814 582 17,340

TOTAL INDICATED 3,601 8.8 6.5 172 1,020 755 19,873

INFERRED MINERAL

RESOURCES

PIT CONSTRAINED

21A 2,809 4.6 3.8 63 418 342 5,653

22 1,452 3.7 2.5 89 171 116 4,151

TOTAL PIT CONSTRAINED 4,261 4.3 3.3 72 589 458 9,805

UNDERGROUND

21C 44 7.2 6.7 38 10 10 55

21B 262 10.5 7.8 206 89 66 1,738

21BE 114 15.3 9.5 431 56 35 1,573

21E 53 8.5 4.6 292 14 8 495

HW 87 8.4 5.0 256 24 14 718

NEX 220 8.5 6.8 130 61 48 922

PUMPHOUSE 30 7.8 6.6 92 8 6 88

109 2 7.4 7.3 8 0.4 0.4 0.4

TOTAL UNDERGROUND 812 10.0 7.2 214 261 187 5,590

TOTAL INFERRED 5,073 5.2 4.0 94 850 645 15,395

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