Benchmark Delivers 2.1 Million Ounces of 1.62 g/t AuEq Indicated and 821,000 Ounces of 1.57 g/t AuEq Inferred for Its Initial Mineral Resource Estimate
Benchmark Delivers 2.1 Million Ounces of 1.62
g/t AuEq Indicated and 821,000 Ounces of 1.57
g/t AuEq Inferred for Its Initial Mineral
Resource Estimate
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 14, 2021) -
Benchmark Metals Inc.
(TSXV: BNCH)
(OTCQX: BNCHF) (WKN: A2JM2X) (the "
Company
" or "
Benchmark
") is pleased to announce the
initial bulk-tonnage Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its Lawyers Gold-Silver Project in a road
accessible area of north-central British Columbia, Canada. A total of 696 drill holes totaling 123,101.2
metres collectively from the Cliff Creek, AGB, Dukes Ridge and Phoenix Zones were used in the MRE
completed by P&E Mining Consultants Inc. (P&E).
Highlights include:
Indicated
Mineral Resource of
2.1 million ounces
grading
1.62 grams per tonne
(g/t)
gold
equivalent
(AuEq), as per Table 1;
Inferred
Mineral Resource of
821,000 ounces
grading
1.58 g/t AuEq;
The Mineral Resource is amenable to
both open pit
and
underground
mining methods;
Pit constrained (open pit)
Indicated - 2.05 M oz AuEq
Inferred - 595 k oz AuEq
Out of Pit (potential underground below the pit at Cliff Creek and AGB)
Indicated - 48 k oz AuEq
Inferred - 226 k oz AuEq
The Mineral Resource shows excellent continuity and consistency, demonstrated by increasing
AuEq cut-off grades having marginal impact on the pit constrained AuEq ounces as demonstrated
in Table 2;
The MRE will form the basis of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) expected to be
completed in late Q2 2021, and;
All of the zones remain open and Benchmark is fully funded for its upcoming 2021 100,000 metre
drill program.
John Williamson, CEO, commented, "This initial multi-million-ounce Mineral Resource has exceeded all
expectations and has significant expansion potential with the planned 2021 drill program. In addition, the
regional exploration drill program will be targeting zones for new satellite deposits."
Ian Harris, VP Engineering, commented, "The Project is demonstrating potential for economic mining
methods with high-grade mineralization extending from surface to depth. The resilience of the Mineral
Resource at a wide range of cut-off grades in all pits bodes well for the upcoming Preliminary Economic
Assessment and is expected to provide multiple routes to successful project design.
Benchmark's drill-
to-build philosophy is delivering the results to develop the Lawyers project into a world-class gold silver
mine."
The 2021 drill program will consist of approximately 100,000 m of drilling, of which 50,000 m will be for
Mineral Resource definition drilling to both expand current Mineral Resources and to upgrade the current
Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured & Indicated classifications for inclusion in an anticipated
Feasibility Study in 2022. In addition to expanding the Mineral Resource zones at depth and along strike,
a regional exploration program will consist of ~50,000 m to drill test and expand existing and new
discovery targets. The regional program has potential to add gold-silver ounces in an updated Mineral
Resource Estimate for 2021. The effective date of the MRE is May 11, 2021 and a Technical Report on
the Lawyers project will be filed on the Company's website and SEDAR within 45 days of this news
release.
Table #1:
Lawyers Initial Mineral Resource Estimate
(1-7)
Pit Constrained Mineral Resource @ 0.5 g/t AuEq Cut-Off
Resource Area
Classification
Tonnes k
Au
g/t
Ag
g/t
AuEq g/t
Au
k oz
Ag
M oz
AuEq
k oz
Cliff
Creek
Indicated
30,008
1.18
36.6
1.58
1,134
35.4
1,525
Inferred
12,875
0.95
24.4
1.22
393
10.1
505
Dukes Ridge
Indicated
2,618
0.91
34.1
1.29
77
2.9
109
Phoenix
Inferred
964
0.83
25.9
1.12
26
0.8
35
AGB
Indicated
7,340
1.27
45.5
1.77
300
10.7
419
Inferred
1,132
1.13
33.0
1.50
41
1.2
55
Total
Indicated
39,966
1.18
38.1
1.60
1,511
49.0
2,053
Inferred
14,971
0.96
25.1
1.24
460
12.1
595
Total Out of Pit Mineral Resource @ 2.0 g/t AuEq Cut-Off
Classification
Tonnes k
Au
g/t
Ag
g/t
AuEq g/t
Au
k oz
Ag
M oz
AuEq
k oz
Total
(Cliff Creek +
AGB)
Indicated
333
3.24
110.1
4.45
35
1.2
48
Inferred
1,232
4.03
152.3
5.71
160
6.0
226
Total Mineral Resource
Resource
Classification
Tonnes k
Au
g/t
Ag
g/t
AuEq g/t
Au
k oz
Ag
M oz
AuEq
k oz
Area
All
Indicated
40,299
1.19
38.7
1.62
1,546
50.2
2,101
Inferred
16,203
1.19
34.7
1.58
620
18.1
821
1
.
Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be
materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. There is no certainty
that Mineral Resources will be converted to Mineral Reserves.
2
.
The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must
not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an
Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration.
3
.
The Mineral Resources in this news release were estimated in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum
(CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions (2014) and Best Practices Guidelines (2019) prepared by the CIM
Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council.
4
.
Mineral Resource estimation parameters used were as follows:
a
.
Total database of 696 drill holes with 77,175 assays
b
.
65 mineralized domains
c
.
5m x 5m x 5m block model
d
.
One metre capped composites
e
.
Inverse distance cubed grade interpolation for Indicated used minimum of three composites from two holes
f
.
Average bulk density of 2.67 t/m
3
g
.
Average respective Indicated and Inferred classification search ranges of 35m and 65m
5
.
Metal prices used were US$1,600/oz Au and US$20/oz Ag and 0.80 FX with process recoveries of 90% Au and 83% Ag. A C$24/tonne
process cost and C$5 G&A cost were used. The Au:Ag ratio was 90.5:1.
6
.
The constraining pit optimization parameters were C$3/t mineralized and waste material mining cost and 50-degree pit slopes with a 0.50 g/t
AuEq cut-off.
7
.
The out-of-pit parameters were at a C$100/t mining and $15/t sustaining development cost. The out-of-pit Mineral Resource grade blocks
were quantified above the 2.0 g/t AuEq cut-off, below the constraining pit shell and within the constraining mineralized wireframes. Out-of-
Pit Mineral Resources selected exhibited continuity and reasonable potential for extraction by the long hole underground mining method.
Isolated, non-contiguous blocks were removed.
Figure 1 -
Map illustrating the Cliff Creek, AGB, Dukes Ridge and Phoenix block models, $1600/oz
AuEq modeled open pits and the expansion potential of the zones.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/83973_bee8c9c434a91a7a_001full.jpg
Table #2:
Sensitivity analysis of grade and tonnage at varying pit-constrained AuEq cut-off grades at the
Cliff Creek, AGB, and Dukes Ridge & Phoenix deposits.
Zone
Class
Cut-off
Tonnage
Au
Contained
Au
Ag
Contained
AuEq
Contained
Cliff Creek
AuEq g/t
k
g/t
Au k oz
g/t
Ag M oz
g/t
AuEq k oz
Indicated
1.00
14,742
1.82
862
60.5
28.6
2.49
1,179
0.90
16,666
1.70
908
55.6
29.8
2.31
1,237
0.80
19,004
1.57
958
50.9
31.1
2.13
1,301
0.70
21,841
1.44
1,011
46.1
32.3
1.95
1,369
0.60
25,380
1.31
1,070
41.4
33.8
1.77
1,443
0.50
30,008
1.18
1,134
36.6
35.4
1.58
1,525
0.40
36,274
1.03
1,205
31.8
37.1
1.38
1,615
0.35
40,207
0.96
1,242
29.4
38.0
1.29
1,662
0.30
44,853
0.89
1,280
27.0
38.9
1.19
1,711
0.20
55,950
0.75
1,348
22.7
40.8
1.00
1,799
Inferred
1.0
5,354
1.51
259
40.1
6.9
1.95
335
0.90
6,219
1.40
280
37.1
7.4
1.81
362
0.80
7,312
1.29
303
34.0
8.0
1.67
392
0.70
8,737
1.18
330
30.8
8.6
1.52
426
0.60
10,470
1.07
359
27.7
9.3
1.37
462
0.50
12,875
0.95
393
24.4
10.1
1.22
504
0.40
16,375
0.82
433
20.9
11.0
1.05
554
0.35
18,512
0.76
453
19.4
11.5
0.98
580
0.30
20,847
0.70
472
17.9
12.0
0.90
604
0.20
26,438
0.60
506
15.3
13.0
0.76
649
Indicated
1.00
1,122
1.48
53
54.7
2.0
2.08
75
0.90
1,292
1.37
57
50.9
2.1
1.94
80
0.80
1,501
1.26
61
47.0
2.3
1.78
86
0.70
1,773
1.15
65
42.9
2.4
1.63
92
0.60
2,146
1.03
71
38.4
2.6
1.46
100
0.50
2,619
0.91
77
34.1
2.9
1.29
109
0.40
3,238
0.80
83
29.9
3.1
1.13
117
0.35
3,634
0.74
86
27.8
3.2
1.05
122
DR_PX
0.30
4,084
0.68
89
25.8
3.4
0.97
127
0.20
5,144
0.58
95
21.9
3.6
0.82
135
Inferred
1.0
426
1.23
16
36.5
0.5
1.63
22
0.90
494
1.15
18
34.7
0.6
1.54
24
0.80
578
1.08
20
32.8
0.6
1.44
26
0.70
682
1.00
21
30.4
0.7
1.33
29
0.60
814
0.91
23
28.3
0.7
1.22
32
0.50
964
0.83
26
25.9
0.8
1.12
35
0.40
1,148
0.75
27
23.5
0.9
1.01
37
0.35
1,265
0.70
28
22.3
0.9
0.95
38
0.30
1,396
0.66
29
21.0
0.9
0.89
40
0.20
1,702
0.57
31
18.5
1.0
0.78
42
AGB
Indicated
1.00
3,892
2.02
253
62.9
8.0
2.72
340
0.90
4,355
1.87
262
59.6
8.3
2.53
354
0.80
4,906
1.72
271
56.1
8.8
2.34
369
0.70
5,533
1.58
280
52.7
9.4
2.16
384
0.60
6,320
1.43
290
49.2
10.0
1.97
400
0.50
7,340
1.27
300
45.5
10.7
1.77
419
0.40
8,620
1.12
309
41.6
11.5
1.58
437
0.35
9,454
1.04
314
39.4
12.0
1.47
447
0.30
10,489
0.95
320
37.0
12.5
1.36
458
0.20
13,464
0.76
331
31.5
13.6
1.11
481
Inferred
1.00
541
1.89
32
41.8
0.7
2.35
40
0.90
613
1.74
34
40.6
0.8
2.18
43
0.80
707
1.57
35
39.1
0.9
2.01
45
0.70
854
1.38
37
37.1
1.0
1.79
49
0.60
988
1.25
39
35.2
1.1
1.64
52
0.50
1,132
1.13
41
33.0
1.2
1.50
55
0.40
1,311
1.02
42
30.7
1.3
1.35
57
0.35
1,421
0.95
43
29.5
1.3
1.28
58
0.30
1,560
0.88
44
28.1
1.4
1.19
59
0.20
1,934,
0.74
45
24.9
1.6
1.01
62
Quality Assurance and Control
Results from samples were analyzed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver,
Canada (an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 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 over- limits
being re-analyzed by atomic absorption or emission spectrometry. Rock chip samples from
outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on
the Project.
Michael Dufresne, M.Sc, P.Geol., P.Geo.,
and Eugene Puritch, P.Eng. of P&E Mining Consultants
Inc. are the Qualified Persons, as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects, who have reviewed and approved of the scientific and technical disclosure in this
news release.
Mr. Puritch is independent of the Company.
About Benchmark Metals
Benchmark Metals Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on proving and developing
the substantial Mineral Resource potential of the Lawyer's Gold-Silver Project, located in the prolific
Golden Horseshoe of northern British Columbia, Canada.
The Company trades on the TSX Venture
Exchange in Canada, the OTCQX Best Market in the United States, and the Tradegate Exchange in
Europe.
Benchmark is managed by proven Mineral 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
Email:
Telephone: +1 604 260 6977
NEITHER 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.
This news release may contain certain "forward looking statements". Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-
looking statement speaks only as of the date of this news release and, except as may be required by
applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/83973