Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – January 17, 2023) – Blackrock Silver Corp. (TSXV: BRC) (the “Company” or “Blackrock”) is pleased to announce the results of metallic screen gold determinations on the Silver Cloud project situated 20 kilometres south of the Midas mine and 3 kilometres west of Hollister mine located along the prolific high-grade Northern Nevada Rift, in north-central Nevada.
A metallic-screen gold assay completed on the high-grade intercept (1.5 metres) in SBC22-020 at Northwest Canyon returned 70 g/t gold (calculated), 33% higher than the original assay of 52.62 g/t gold. The +150 fraction returned 60.257ppm Au, while the average of the two -150 fractions returned 71.420ppm Au. The variability of gold in the intercept indicates the gold is not evenly distributed within the vein.
Bonanza grades originally reported from SBC22-020 intersected 52.62 g/t gold (1.53 opt) and 606 g/t silver (17.68 opt) over 1.5 metres, representing a new high-grade vein discovery (See December 7, 2022 news release). The bonanza grades are associated with a banded quartz vein containing black sulphides, and the 606 g/t silver is the highest-grade silver intercept at Silver Cloud to date.
Metallic-screen analysis is used when coarse or nuggety gold is suspected, especially in high-grade gold values such as SBC22-020. A larger 1,000 gram sample is split from the original sample reject material and pulverized to approximately 200 mesh. The pulverization process tends to “flatten” malleable metallic minerals such as gold. The sample is then screen sieved and two fractions are created – a plus 150 mesh (coarse material) and a minus 150 mesh (fine material). Coarse gold will report to the coarse fraction. Each fraction is analyzed by fire assay and a combined weighted averaged determination is calculated for each gold value.
In the case of SBC22-020, most of the gold reported to the fine fraction indicating the gold is not coarse or nuggety. The 33 percent variation between the original assay determination and the metallic-screen analysis indicates the gold is not evenly disseminated and a larger sample may be required for future assays.
Discovery drillhole SBC22-020 targeted the projection of the NNW structure encountered in the Company’s 2019 drillhole (SBC19-002: 8.32 g/t gold over 1.52m) and Placer Dome’s 2002 drillhole (SCP-15: 5.61 g/t gold over 12.2m) and was drilled to 464 Metres (1523 ft). SBC22-020’s collar is a 366 metre step out from SBC19-002 (collar to collar) to the SSE along the interpreted structure. The assay intercepts are separated by 425 metres.
Selected intervals were analyzed for metallic-screen gold in drillholes SBC22-019 and SBC22-021. Table 1 shows the results of all the metallic-screen analysis.
Andrew Pollard, the Company’s president and CEO, commented, “These metallic-screen assays confirm our high-grade gold intercept at Northwest Canyon and returned a gold value 33% higher than the original gold assay. We are very excited by this new, multi-ounce discovery, which ties together drill-defined mineralization across 425 metres, supporting the orientation and mineralization of the vein at Northwest Canyon is more like that characterized at the Midas mine than the Hollister mine that is adjacent to our property. In addition, metallic-screen analyses of an interval, drilled near the historic Silver Cloud mercury mine, starting at 391.4 to 391.7 metres in SBC22-021, returned coarse gold, reading 26.27 g/t Au in the +150 fraction, indicating the possibility of another high-grade gold vein.”
Pollard continued, “At more than 45 square kilometres, Silver Cloud is an incredibly large, target-rich project that has seen very little drilling despite the fact that it lies along a well known, high-grade gold trend. Home to some of the largest past producing mercury mines in America, with extensive epithermal alteration, Silver Cloud represents one of the largest under-explored volcanic hosted gold and silver epithermal districts in Nevada, and we control all of it.”
SBC22-019 and -021 drilled at the historic Silver Cloud mercury mine returned significant thickness of low-grade gold. SBC22-021 retuned 20.6 metres grading 0.458 g/t gold, and a single metallic screen determination returning 26.27 g/t gold in the coarse fraction (+150) of the analysis. SBC22-021 is just north of an area with shallow drilling completed in 1970s for mercury. The presence of mercury and coarse gold could indicate the existence of another high-grade vein south of the Silver Cloud mercury mine.
Table 1: Results of metallic-screen gold assays for SBC22-019, SBC22-020 and SBC22-021
| Drillhole ID | From meters | To meters | Interval meters | Original Au ppm | +150 Wt grams | +150 Au ppm | -150 Wt grams | Average -150 Au ppm | Calc Au ppm | Variance percent |
| SBC22-019 | 260.0 | 261.5 | 1.5 | 0.071 | 90.00 | 0.039 | 769 | 0.063 | 0.060 | -15.5% |
| SBC22-019 | 261.5 | 263.0 | 1.5 | 0.197 | 106.61 | 0.148 | 743 | 0.202 | 0.195 | -1.0% |
| SBC22-019 | 263.0 | 264.6 | 1.5 | 0.111 | 87.60 | 0.089 | 762 | 0.118 | 0.115 | 3.6% |
| SBC22-019 | 264.6 | 265.3 | 0.8 | 0.164 | 69.24 | 0.154 | 736 | 0.168 | 0.167 | 1.8% |
| SBC22-019 | 265.3 | 266.2 | 0.9 | 0.258 | 60.88 | 0.176 | 650 | 0.277 | 0.268 | 3.9% |
| SBC22-019 | 266.2 | 267.3 | 1.1 | 0.578 | 73.64 | 0.487 | 645 | 0.633 | 0.618 | 6.9% |
| SBC22-019 | 267.3 | 267.9 | 0.6 | 0.277 | 20.96 | 0.126 | 657 | 0.294 | 0.288 | 4.0% |
| SBC22-019 | 267.9 | 268.8 | 0.9 | 0.112 | 48.64 | 0.061 | 681 | 0.127 | 0.122 | 8.9% |
| SBC22-019 | 268.8 | 270.4 | 1.5 | 0.112 | 56.56 | 0.065 | 706 | 0.115 | 0.111 | -0.9% |
| SBC22-019 | 270.4 | 271.9 | 1.5 | 0.062 | 61.40 | 0.032 | 770 | 0.062 | 0.060 | -3.2% |
| SBC22-020 | 305.1 | 306.6 | 1.5 | 0.037 | 88.62 | 0.028 | 687 | 0.038 | 0.037 | 0.0% |
| SBC22-020 | 306.6 | 307.5 | 0.9 | 0.056 | 48.40 | 0.033 | 708 | 0.052 | 0.051 | -8.9% |
| SBC22-020 | 307.5 | 309.1 | 1.5 | 52.617 | 77.85 | 60.257 | 686 | 71.434 | 70.000 | 33.0% |
| SBC22-020 | 309.1 | 309.7 | 0.6 | 0.242 | 55.68 | 0.106 | 815 | 0.244 | 0.235 | -2.9% |
| SBC22-020 | 309.7 | 311.2 | 1.5 | 0.130 | 90.24 | 0.048 | 743 | 0.119 | 0.111 | -14.6% |
| SBC22-020 | 311.2 | 312.7 | 1.5 | 0.082 | 88.08 | 0.027 | 809 | 0.065 | 0.061 | -25.6% |
| SBC22-021 | 356.9 | 357.4 | 0.5 | 0.143 | 60.53 | 0.172 | 699 | 0.145 | 0.147 | 2.8% |
| SBC22-021 | 357.4 | 358.9 | 1.5 | 0.273 | 59.64 | 0.179 | 790 | 0.308 | 0.298 | 9.2% |
| SBC22-021 | 358.9 | 359.8 | 0.9 | 0.295 | 74.95 | 0.182 | 807 | 0.294 | 0.284 | -3.7% |
| SBC22-021 | 359.8 | 360.6 | 0.8 | 0.775 | 46.71 | 0.595 | 728 | 0.730 | 0.721 | -7.0% |
| SBC22-021 | 360.6 | 361.8 | 1.2 | 0.591 | 57.56 | 0.522 | 744 | 0.592 | 0.586 | -0.8% |
| SBC22-021 | 361.8 | 363.5 | 1.7 | 0.423 | 63.80 | 0.426 | 861 | 0.453 | 0.451 | 6.6% |
| SBC22-021 | 363.5 | 365.0 | 1.5 | 0.331 | 81.78 | 0.215 | 768 | 0.402 | 0.384 | 16.0% |
| SBC22-021 | 365.0 | 366.5 | 1.5 | 0.660 | 72.45 | 1.215 | 737 | 0.685 | 0.732 | 10.9% |
| SBC22-021 | 366.5 | 369.6 | 3.0 | 0.662 | 83.70 | 0.804 | 753 | 0.691 | 0.702 | 6.0% |
| SBC22-021 | 369.6 | 372.0 | 2.4 | 0.425 | 66.50 | 0.211 | 791 | 0.359 | 0.347 | -18.4% |
| SBC22-021 | 372.0 | 374.3 | 2.3 | 0.185 | 45.00 | 0.171 | 83 | 0.248 | 0.220 | 18.9% |
| SBC22-021 | 374.3 | 377.3 | 3.0 | 0.423 | 54.44 | 0.455 | 826 | 0.442 | 0.442 | 4.5% |
| SBC22-021 | 377.3 | 380.4 | 3.0 | 0.371 | 43.23 | 0.323 | 787 | 0.416 | 0.411 | 10.8% |
| SBC22-021 | 380.4 | 383.4 | 3.0 | 0.148 | 60.53 | 0.172 | 838 | 0.168 | 0.168 | 13.5% |
| SBC22-021 | 391.4 | 391.7 | 0.3 | 1.590 | 9.73 | 26.269 | 462 | 0.779 | 1.305 | -17.9% |
Figure 1: 2022 drillhole location map
To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/676/151473_957e05f534911a9d_002full.jpg
Table 2: Original Silver Cloud significant diamond drill hole assays above 0.3 g/t gold
| Hole ID | Area | From (m) | To (m) | Length (m) | Au g/t | Ag g/t | AgEq g/t |
| SBC22-019 | Silver Cloud Mine | 218.85 | 221.90 | 3.05 | 0.442 | 0.385 | 44.6 |
| SBC22-019 | Silver Cloud Mine | 224.94 | 227.99 | 3.05 | 0.377 | 0.360 | 38.0 |
| SBC22-019 | Silver Cloud Mine | 266.24 | 267.31 | 1.07 | 0.578 | 0.49 | 58.3 |
| SBC22-020 | Northwest Canyon | 307.54 | 309.07 | 1.52 | 52.617 | 606.00 | 5959.3 |
| SBC22-021 | Silver Cloud Mine | 178.61 | 187.91 | 9.30 | 0.397 | 0.131 | 39.8 |
| SBC22-021 | Silver Cloud Mine | 197.97 | 198.73 | 0.76 | 0.465 | 0.03 | 46.5 |
| SBC22-021 | Silver Cloud Mine | 203.30 | 204.83 | 1.52 | 0.361 | 0.03 | 36.1 |
| SBC22-021 | Silver Cloud Mine | 215.49 | 217.02 | 1.52 | 0.486 | 0.18 | 48.8 |
| SBC22-021 | Silver Cloud Mine | 256.64 | 257.86 | 1.22 | 0.411 | 0.93 | 42.0 |
| SBC22-021 | Silver Cloud Mine | 287.73 | 290.78 | 3.05 | 0.494 | 0.24 | 49.6 |
| SBC22-021 | Silver Cloud Mine | 296.88 | 299.31 | 2.44 | 0.389 | 0.030 | 39.0 |
| SBC22-021 | Silver Cloud Mine | 359.82 | 380.39 | 20.57 | 0.458 | 3.491 | 49.3 |
| SBC22-021 | Silver Cloud Mine | 391.36 | 391.67 | 0.31 | 1.590 | 10.43 | 169.4 |
| AgEq_g/t = Ag_g/t + Au_g/t*100; True thickness unknown; NSV = No significant values |
Table 3: Drillhole location information
| Hole ID | UTMNAD27 E | UTMNAD27 N | Elevation (m) | Total Depth (m) | Azimuth | Inclination |
| SBC22-019 | 531554 | 4544421 | 1615.1 | 462.5 | 273 | 78 |
| SBC22-020 | 530149 | 4544148 | 1631.0 | 520.0 | 272 | 74 |
| SBC22-021 | 531648 | 4544259 | 1556.3 | 464.2 | 268 | 73 |
Quality Assurance/ Quality Control
For metallic screen analysis, American Assay Laboratory (AAL) splits a 1000-gram sample from the original coarse reject material for each analysis. The 1000-gram split is pulverized and screened through a 150-mesh sieve. The +150 fraction is weighed and analyzed for gold by fire assay and/or gravimetric finish. The -150 fraction is weighed, and a 30-gram assay split is analyzed for gold using fire assay with an ICP finish. The final reported assay is calculated using a weighted average of the gold from the coarse (+150) fraction and the gold from the fine (-150) fraction.
The original samples were collected under the supervision of the Company’s project geologists, and a strict chain of custody from the project to the sample preparation facility was implemented and monitored. The core samples were hauled from the project site to a secure and fenced facility in Battle Mountain, Nevada, where they are loaded on to AAL flat-bed truck and delivered to AAL’s facility in Sparks, Nevada. A sample submittal sheet was delivered to AAL personnel who organize and process the sample intervals pursuant to the Company’s instructions.
The core and QA/QC samples are crushed and pulverized, then the pulverized material is digested and analyzed for Au using fire assay fusion and an Induced Coupled Plasma (ICP) finish on a 30-gram assay split. Silver is determined using five-acid digestion and ICP analysis. Over limits for gold and silver are determined using a gravimetric finish. Data verification of the assay and analytical results are completed to ensure accurate and verifiable results. Blackrock personnel insert a blind prep blank, lab blank or certified reference material approximately every 15th to 20th sample. In addition, a random selection of pulps are sent to ALS Minerals in Reno, Nevada, for check assays.
Blackrock’s exploration activities at the Silver Cloud, Tonopah North and Tonopah West projects are conducted and supervised by Mr. William Howald, Executive Chairman of Blackrock. Mr. William Howald, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist #11041, is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
About Blackrock Silver Corp.
Backed by gold and silver ounces in the ground, Blackrock is a junior precious metal-focused exploration company driven to add shareholder value via the drill bit. With 2.97 million tonnes grading 446 g/t silver equivalent1 at its Tonopah West project, and a new bonanza-grade gold discovery at Silver Cloud, the Company has a proven track record of exploration success. In addition to its gold and silver project portfolio, the Company is credited with a lithium discovery, the Tonopah North project, which is under option to a major lithium exploration group. Anchored by a seasoned Board, the Company is focused on its 100% controlled Nevada portfolio of properties consisting of low-sulphidation, epithermal gold and silver mineralization located along the established Northern Nevada Rift in north-central Nevada and the Walker Lane trend in western Nevada.
For further information, please contact:
Andrew Pollard, President & CEO
Blackrock Silver Corp.
Phone: 604 817-6044
Email: andrew@blackrocksilver.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements concern, without limitation, the exercise of the First Option and the Second Option and the transactions contemplated thereby, including the completion of the Initial Earn-In and the Additional Earn-In, the entering into the Joint Venture, the Company’s strategic plans, timing and expectations for the Company’s exploration and drilling programs, estimates of mineralization from drilling, geological information projected from sampling results and the potential quantities and grades of the target zones. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: conditions in general economic and financial markets; accuracy of assay results; geological interpretations from drilling results, timing and amount of capital expenditures; performance of available laboratory and other related services; future operating costs; and the historical basis for current estimates of potential quantities and grades of target zones. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors, including the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; the interpretation and uncertainties of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project costs overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; availability of funds; failure to delineate potential quantities and grades of the target zones based on historical data, and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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1 Technical information relating to the Tonopah West Project is based on and derived from the NI 43-101 report prepared for Blackrock entitled “Technical Report and Estimate of Mineral Resources for the Tonopah West Silver-Gold Project, Nye and Esmeralda Counties, Nevada, USA” effective April 28, 2022 (the “Technical Report”). The MRE outlines 2.97 million tonnes at a block diluted grade of 208 grams per tonne (g/t) silver (Ag) and 2.5g/t gold (Au) for a total inferred mineral resource of 19,902,000 ounces Ag and 238,000 ounces Au, or 446 g/t silver equivalent (AgEq) for 42.6 million oz AgEq. AgEq equivalent grade is based on silver and gold prices of US$20/ounce and US$1750/ounce, respectively, and recoveries for silver and gold of 87% and 95%, respectively
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