SILVER BELL & ST. LAWRENCE

VIRGINIA CITY MINING DISTRICT, Montana
SILVER BELL & ST. LAWRENCE

SILVER BELL & ST. LAWRENCE, Montana

The Silver Bell & St. Lawrence Project (“SBSL”) comprises one (1) patented mining claim and twenty four (24) un-patented mining claims covering approximately 620 acres. SBSL is located about four miles southwest of the town of Virginia City, Montana, in Madison County, and about 50 miles southeast of Butte, Montana.  Year round access is available by a public road running off of paved Montana Highway 287. Electrical power extends to within approximately 2 miles of the property.

SBSL hosts two past producing  gold-silver mines, the  Silver Bell Mine on the west and the St. Lawrence Mine on the east.  Both mines operated in the early 1900’s and the St. Lawrence was reactivated in the early 1980’s but is presently idle. The shafts for each of the former mines are located 3,600 feet apart and the original exploration hypothesis was that the two mines shared mineralized systems that may in part be contiguous. Limited surface mapping and geophysical surveying by the Company so far has been inadequate to confirm this initial hypothesis either way  but has confirmed an extension of the vein system farther east along strike from the St. Lawrence mine.

Historical production records are incomplete but available information suggests that historical production at the St. Lawrence was approximately 0.22 opt gold and 3.8 opt silver. Smelter receipts for small shipments from the St. Lawrence indicate that some ore with much higher grades was shipped. For example, a smelter receipt from October 30, 1964 states that 8.027 tons were received grading 0.76 opt Au and 20.0 opt Ag. Historical production at the Silver Bell averaged approximately 0.2 opt Au and 15.1 opt Ag.

The SBSL is under option to Frederick Private Equity Corporation and African Metals Corporation (“Frederick/African”) who may earn a 75% interest in the project by making certain option payments and spending US$2,000,000 in exploration on the project by March, 2025. Approximately US$250,000 was spent by Frederick/African during  the 2019 Exploration Program as outlined below.

2020 Exploration Program:

Frederick/African are reviewing the results of the 2019 exploration program below and will advise on 2020 plans.

2019 Exploration Program:

This was the first drilling program conducted on SBSL by the Company or by Frederick/African Metals, with a total of 2,111.5 feet of core drilling being completed in 12 holes sited east and west along strike from the headframe of the former St. Lawrence mine. The holes were designed to test the depth, extent, thickness, and grade of the vein system that was worked previously on at least two levels from an inclined shaft at the headframe. Geologic mapping and surface sampling of veins, wall rocks and dumps was also conducted.

Nine vein intercepts containing significant Gold (“Au”) and silver (“Ag”) values were cut by drill holes as shown in the Table below. Intercepts included a high value of  34.4 grams per metric tonne (“g/T”) Au and 130.5 g/T Ag over 0.61 meters. Highlights of the program, conclusions and recommendations are:

Highlights of the Program, Conclusions and Recommendations:

  • Nine (9) vein intercepts were encountered ranging from 0.21 meters in core width to 2.8 meters and an average thickness of 1.17 meters.
  • Average weighted values for the 9 intercepts was 4.94 g/T Au and 65.35 g/T Ag.
  • The 34.4 g/T Au intercept was encountered 40 meters down the dip of the veins from the 150 Level of the old workings demonstrating both the potential for grade and the potential at depth.
  • The 34.4 g/T Au intercept (average of initial assay of 33.3 and second assay of 35 g/T) was encountered at the western limit of the 2019 drill pattern and should be tested for the potential of a high-grade ore shoot based on that drill result and recent geologic mapping.
  • An untested mineralized fault zone east of the mine was identified through geologic mapping and is coincident with the strongest VLF geophysical response on the property. This is a high priority drill target.
  • Drilling in 2019 tested only 150 meters of the approximately 1,100 meters of known strike length along the SBSL vein system. Additional geologic mapping, surface sampling and drilling is recommended along the undrilled sections of the veins.
  • Several of the holes, including SL 19-4C and SL 19-12C below, intercepted additional veins that do not appear to correlate with the two veins in the historical workings, opening the possibility of a multiple-vein system.

The table below shows weighted average gold and silver grades and thicknesses for nine vein intercepts encountered in the 2019 drilling program that have a weighted average grade, including internal waste, greater than 1 g/T gold.  Several holes intersected voids or historic workings where the vein was projected to be and therefore returned no result but demonstrated that the historical workings are more extensive than previously recognized.

Intercept ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au grams/metric Tonne Ag  grams/metric Tonne Host*
SL19-1C 15.5 16.5 0.91 2.7 106.0 qvbx
SL19-2C 17.2 17.8 0.61 2.0 32.0 qfg-qvbx
SL19-4C-1 39.2 41.3 2.1 3.3 40.6 Qv
SL19-4C-2 47.2 49.1 2.0 2.3 57.6 qv-qfg
SL19-5C 47.5 50.3 2.8 2.1 23.0 Qv
SL19-10C-1 42.9 43.3 0.40 11.9 276.0 Qv
SL19-10C-2 47.5 48.4 0.94 4.2 111.0 Qv
SL19-12C-1 44.7 44.9 0.21 6.1 79.0 Qv
SL19-12C-2 48.5 49.1 0.61 34.4 130.5 Qv

* Qv = Quartz Vein;    Qvbx = quartz vein brecca;    gfg = quartzofeldspathic gneiss

 

Plan View of the 2019 drilling locations. 

 

Preliminary Geologic Map

 

Plan view of the Vulcan model for the 12 drill holes in the 2019 drilling program showing lithologies, vein intercepts (red), the trace of the St. Lawrence inclined shaft, and the historic workings on the 100-foot and 150-foot levels.

 

Cross Section of Drill Holes SL19-4C  and  SL19-5C.

Cross Section of Drill Holes SL19-11C  and  SL12-5C.

(includes 34.4 g/T Au intersection in SL-19-12C)

 

2019 Drilling Summary Report:

Disclaimer: This report is not written in NI 43-101 format.

SUMMARY REPORT ON THE NOVEMBER 2019 DRILLING
PROGRAM AT THE ST. LAWRENCE MINE, MADISON
COUNTY, MONTANA
Prepared for African Metals Corporation, February 23, 2020.

 

2021 – NI 43-101 Technical Report:

2021 –  NI 43-101 Report on the Silver Bell St. Lawrence Project, John F. Childs, PhD., Reg. Geo.

John F. Childs, PhD., Reg. Geo. is the qualified person responsible for providing the technical details contained on this property description page.

Montana Location

NI 43-101 Technical Report - Silver Bell-St. Lawrence, John Childs, PhD, 2021
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