Silver Standard Resources Inc.: Brucejack Drilling
Update
VANCOUVER,
BRITISH COLUMBIA, Oct 13, 2009 (Marketwire via COMTEX News Network) -- Silver
Standard Resources Inc. (TSX:SSO)(NASDAQ:SSRI) is pleased to report that
diamond drilling in the Brucejack Area of its wholly-owned Snowfield Project
continues to intersect significant values of gold-silver mineralization. This
area of the property, which measures approximately 300 meters by 620 meters,
is located 62 kilometers north of the town of Stewart and 25 kilometers
southeast of Barrick's high-grade gold-silver mine at Eskay Creek.
Galena
Hill Zone
Drilling
at the Galena Hill Zone, located five kilometers south of the Snowfield Zone
continues to intersect gold mineralization over significant intervals,
including quartz veins with visible gold.
A new
highlight from the Galena Hill Zone is hole SU-29 which intersected four
bands of mineralization. The best intersection included:
- 0.5
meters with uncut grades of 5.34 kilograms of gold and 3.7 kilograms of
silver per tonne (1.6 feet averaging 155.9 ounces of gold and 109 ounces of
silver per ton).
- This
intersection occurred within a wider interval of 41.5 meters with cut grades
of 1.72 grams of gold and 56.5 grams of silver per tonne (136 feet averaging
0.05 ounces of gold and 1.6 ounces of silver per ton).
SU-29
is a scissor hole collared approximately 100 meters east of SU-12 (previously
disclosed in the news release dated September 15, 2009). SU-12 intersected
20.6 meters averaging 5.33 grams of gold and 159 grams of silver per tonne
(68 feet averaging 0.16 ounces of gold and 4.6 ounces of silver per ton),
including 1.5 meters averaging 16.95 kilograms of gold and 8.7 kilograms of
silver per tonne (4.9 feet averaging 494 ounces of gold and 254 ounces of
silver per ton). Geologic analysis is underway to determine if the
intersections in SU-12 and SU-29 are related.
Bridge
Zone
The
Bridge Zone, located 1,200 meters south of the Galena Hill Zone, is a new
discovery made by Silver Standard. Of the nine holes being released, the
longest intervals were seen in SU-21:
- 589
meters of 0.99 grams of gold per tonne (1,932 feet averaging 0.029 ounces of
gold per ton), including 235 meters of 1.43 grams of gold per tonne (771 feet
averaging 0.041 ounces of gold per ton).
SU-21
compares favorably with previously reported hole SU-19 (see news release
dated September 15, 2009), collared approximately 100 meters to the west:
- 552
meters of 0.87 grams of gold per tonne (1,811 feet averaging 0.025 ounces of
gold per ton), including 260 meters of 1.19 grams of gold per tonne (852 feet
averaging 0.034 ounces of gold per ton).
SU-21
and SU-19 both ended in mineralization.
To
date, assays have been received from 12 of the 14 holes completed in the
Bridge Zone. There are also over 900 historic diamond drill holes from both
surface and underground drilling in the Brucejack area. Silver Standard
anticipates being able to incorporate most of this data in future resource
estimates for the Snowfield Zone and Brucejack area scheduled to be completed
this year.
Selected Brucejack Area Drill Results(i)
October 2009
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From To Interval Gold Silver
Hole No. (meters) (meters) (meters) (g/tonne) (g/tonne)
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Bridge Zone
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SU-19(1)(2) 4.0 556.3 552.3 0.87 5.7
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296.5 556.3 259.8 1.19 6.8
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SU-20 0.00 93.0 93.0 0.99 35.8
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145.5 360.5 215.0 0.76 10.9
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441.0 590.4 149.4 0.63 7.9
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SU-21(2)(3) 22.2 611.4 589.2 0.99 12.4
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Incl. 356.7 591.9 235.2 1.43 12.0
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SU-22 31.5 368.6 337.1 0.78 19.7
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Incl. 267.5 279.5 12.0 2.25 164.5
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396.5 456.5 60.0 0.80 13.3
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SU-23 190.5 268.5 78.0 0.85 9.5
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308.5 536.0 227.5 1.12 9.3
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SU-24(2) 146.0 350.5 204.5 0.58 10.9
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389.5 508.5 119.0 0.75 15.5
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SU-25 0.0 161.0 161.0 1.26 12.1
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Incl. 101.1 128.1 27.0 3.09 20.6
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296.0 400.5 104.5 0.73 11.3
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SU-26 38.5 108.5 70.0 0.52 7.0
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220.8 269.7 48.9 0.63 9.4
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SU-27 0.9 58.0 57.1 0.86 4.2
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119.0 168.0 49.0 0.49 4.5
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226.7 411.0 184.3 0.67 4.0
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From To Interval Gold Silver
Hole No. (meters) (meters) (meters) (g/tonne) (g/tonne)
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SU-28(2) 0.0 23.5 23.5 3.92 71.1
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164.0 512.0 348.0 0.70 3.3
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Incl. 222.5 512.0 289.5 0.76 3.5
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557.0 595.9 38.9 0.74 5.8
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Bridge Zone
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SU-29(3) 0.0 28.5 28.5 1.55 3.0
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211.5 270.5 59.0 1.58 14.1
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Galena Hill Zone
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SU-29(3) 430.1 473.0 42.9 0.80 9.2
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530.0 571.5 41.5 1.72 56.5
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Incl. 560.8 561.3 0.5 5,344 3,740
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(i) True thickness to be determined. Kenneth C. McNaughton, M.A.Sc.,
P.Eng., and vice president, exploration, Silver Standard Resources
Inc., is the Qualified Person (QP) responsible for the Snowfield
exploration program and has verified the data in the table above. The
QA/QC program in place that monitors the chain-of-custody of samples
includes the insertion of blanks, duplicates, and certified reference
standards in each batch of samples. All samples were submitted for
preparation and analysis by ALS Chemex at its facilities in Vancouver,
B.C. All samples were analyzed using aqua regia digestion with ICP
finish. Samples over 100 ppm silver were reanalyzed using four acid
digestion with an ore grade AA finish. Samples over 1,000 ppm silver
were fire assayed with a gravimetric finish. Samples with over 10 ppm
gold were fire assayed with a gravimetric finish. One in 20 samples
were blind duplicate assayed at ALS Chemex in Vancouver, B.C.
(1) Previously reported in a news release dated September 15, 2009.
(2) Ended in mineralization.
(3) For the quoted average gold assays, any assay in excess of 31.1 grams
of gold per tonne was cut to 31.1 grams of gold per tonne.
Kenneth
C. McNaughton, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., vice president, exploration, Silver
Standard Resources Inc., is the qualified person responsible for the
Snowfield Project.
Silver
Standard Resources Inc. is a significant silver and gold resource company
making the transition from explorer to producer as well as growing through exploration
and development of its own projects. (Source: Silver Standard Resources Inc.)
To
receive Silver Standard's news releases by e-mail, contact Paul LaFontaine,
director, investor relations at invest@silverstandard.com or call (888) 338-0046.
Statements
contained in this news release that are not historical fact, such as
statements regarding the economic prospects of the company's projects, future
plans or future revenues, timing of development or potential expansion or
improvements, are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual
results to differ materially from estimated results. Such risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to raise
sufficient capital to fund development, changes in economic conditions or
financial markets, changes in prices for the company's mineral products or
increases in input costs, estimation of mineral reserves and resources and
exploration results, litigation, legislative, environmental and other
judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments in countries
where the company does business, technological and operational difficulties
or inability to obtain permits encountered in connection with exploration and
development activities, labour relations matters, and changing foreign
exchange rates, all of which are described more fully in the company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cautionary
note to U.S. investors: The terms "measured mineral resource",
"indicated mineral resource", and "inferred mineral
resource" used in this news release are Canadian geological and mining
terms as defined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") under the guidelines
set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM")
Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. We advise U.S. investors
that while such terms are recognized and permitted under Canadian
regulations, the SEC does not recognize them. U.S. investors are cautioned
not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in the measured
and indicated categories will ever be converted into reserves. "Inferred
mineral resources" in particular have a great amount of uncertainty as
to their economic feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of
an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category.
Under Canadian rules estimates of inferred mineral resources may not
generally form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. U.S.
investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of an inferred
mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure
of contained metal expressed in ounces is in compliance with NI 43-101, but
does not meet the requirements of Industry Guide 7 of the SEC, which will only
accept the disclosure of tonnage and grade estimates for non-reserve
mineralization.
SOURCE:
Silver Standard Resources Inc.
Silver Standard Resources Inc.
Robert A. Quartermain
President
(604) 689-3846
Silver Standard Resources Inc.
Paul LaFontaine
Director, Investor Relations
N.A. Toll Free: (888) 338-0046 or Direct: (604) 484-8212
invest@silverstandard.com
www.silverstandard.com