Mining News: Northern Neighbors: Skeena eager to test mine targets at Snip

Skeena Resources Ltd. March 6 said it is planning to complete 15,000 meters of surface and underground drilling during the 2017 field season at the historic Snip gold mine in northwestern British Columbia. The underground mine at Snip, which Barrick Gold operated from 1991 to 1999, produced 1.1 million ounces of gold from 1.25 million metric tons of ore averaging 27.5 g/t gold. Skeena optioned this project from Barrick last spring and went on to complete roughly 7,180 meters of drilling in 2016. In total, Skeena spent more than C$3 million on exploration and data review. This exceeds the C$2 million requirement to gain full ownership of the high-grade gold property. Once full ownership of Snip has been transferred to Skeena, restrictions on entering the mine or drilling within 25 meters of historic mining workings will expire, allowing the company to drill from underground this summer. After an extensive review of historical drilling and mine development data, in combination with the results from last season's drill program, Skeena's technical team has modeled high-grade gold veins that were left unmined when Barrick shut-down Snip due to low gold prices. With this data, the company has identified targets for the 9,000 meters of underground and 6,000 meters of surface drilling planned for 2017.

-Shane Lasley