Seabridge Gold Inc. (TSX:SEA)(NYSE Amex:SA) -
This year's $8.5 million exploration program at Courageous Lake
is focused on finding a second major gold deposit along Seabridge's
52-kilometer-long Matthews Lake Greenstone Belt to supplement the
existing multi-million ounce FAT deposit. The program includes: (1)
approximately 12,500 meters of core drilling divided into a winter
program now in progress and a summer program commencing in June;
(2) detailed air borne magnetic and electromagnetic geophysical
surveys over the thickest part of the belt and; (3) in-fill
drilling of in-pit, inferred resources at the FAT deposit which
could lead to an increase in reserves. Seabridge is also proceeding
with environmental and engineering programs to advance the project
towards permitting and enhance its design.
Seabridge President and CEO Rudi Fronk said that "until now, our
exploration focus at Courageous Lake has been to delineate the FAT
deposit and define mineral reserves in the upcoming Preliminary
Feasibility Study scheduled for this June. Our main focus now
switches to looking for the next deposit along this Greenstone Belt
which once hosted two high-grade underground gold mines and has
gold occurrences all along its length. We see the potential to find
additional higher-grade deposits along the belt as well as larger,
open pit deposits similar in style to FAT. We are excited about
getting back to earlier-stage exploration and we are confident that
using what we have learned about the geological environment over
the last 10 years will lead to new discoveries."
Following is a summary of the three main components of the 2012
program:
New Target Drilling
Exploration activities over the past two years have identified
three targets that are now ready for systematic drill testing. The
first of these targets is the Plant Zone, situated approximately
1.5 kilometers south of FAT. The Plant Site target was identified
in 2010 when highly anomalous gold assays were encountered in soil
collected from shallow geotechnical drill holes that were selected
to test conditions for FAT project facilities. The presence of gold
in a structural zone was confirmed in 2011 by drill holes CL-175
(17.9 meters of 2.3 grams per tonne gold and another 1.5 meter
interval grading 44 grams per tonne) and CL-190 (3.0 meters of 1.1
grams per tonne gold and other scattered 1 meter intervals). These
holes define a silicic-graphitic shear zone striking 10 degrees and
dipping at about 60 degrees to the east, hosted by clastic
sedimentary rocks. A three hole off-set of this shear zone is
planned for 2012.
A second target is an offset or replica of the FAT deposit named
NW FAT. This potential was recognized in 2011 and followed up by
soil geochemical testing and reconnaissance mapping within the
target area. Further evaluation has identified three possible
models that could host gold: (i) a western off-set of FAT caused by
a NE-SW striking fault that could have shifted the northern extent
of the main FAT deposit to the west in an area which has not been
drill tested; (ii) high-grade FAT feeders located in the basement
rocks to the deposit; and (iii) an earlier FAT style deposit
situated in an extensive package of older felsic tuff similar to
the host rock of the FAT deposit. An aggressive drill testing
program is planned for the NW FAT target area because its proximity
to the existing deposit could make it highly accretive
economically. The plan is designed to test all three potential
target styles at NW FAT in a preliminary manner. A total of 14
drill holes are planned for this summer (about 4,200 meters)
covering over one kilometer of stratigraphy.
The third target, Walsh Lake, is an historical prospect that saw
drill campaigns in 1987 and 1988 by previous operators. The target
is a 10 to 30 meter thick structure that extends from the surface
to at least 250 meters deep, dipping to the east at about 70
degrees and possibly containing multiple zones. Gold is
concentrated at and around a stratigraphic contact at the base of a
rhyolite tuff overlaying andesite. Previous drilling within the
Walsh Lake target area covered about 300 meters of strike. This
zone is thought to extend another 700 meters to the north into the
south end of the Tundra Mine where this stratigraphic contact was
exploited underground. Historical assay intervals include
intercepts of 10 to 40 meters in thickness averaging 1 to 2 grams
of gold per tonne, along with significantly higher-grade, narrower
intercepts of 15 to 60 grams of gold per tonne. The plan for the
Walsh Lake Target is to complete 2 to 3 holes per section along 1
kilometer of strike length for a total of 4,000 meters in 15 holes
to be drilled this summer.
Regional Exploration
A detailed air borne magnetic and electromagnetic survey
totaling 2,800 line kilometers has been contracted for the central
and thickest part of the Mathews Lake Greenstone Belt. Historic
work carried out by previous operators identified several possible
geophysical signatures for the FAT deposit. The exploration model
for the FAT deposit argues for multiple repetitions of the deposit
in the greenstone belt and this survey is the first attempt to test
that assertion. Air borne geophysical surveying will be completed
in early April and ground follow-up sampling will begin in May. The
intent is to advance at least one target to drill testing in
2012.
FAT In-Fill Drilling
Delineation drilling at the FAT deposit over the past 2 years
has increased the total resource to 8.0 million ounces of measured
and indicated gold, plus 3.4 million ounces in the inferred
category. Our most recent resource estimate identified about 12% of
this inferred resource within the 2011 pit limits that was not
tested by previous programs. During 2012 we intend to upgrade most
of the remaining in-pit inferred resources so they can be included
as potential reserves in future feasibility studies. This portion
of the 2012 program will consist of up to six drill holes totaling
about 3,400 meters. The bulk of this work will be completed in the
winter program now underway.
Mineral resources at the FAT deposit, as of January 9, 2012, are
as follows:
Courageous Lake Gold Resources at 0.83 gram per tonne cutoff
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Measured Indicated
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Tonnes Grade Ounces Tonnes Grade Ounces
(000's) (g/T) (000's) (000's) (g/T) (000's)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
13,401 2.53 1,090 93,914 2.28 6,884
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Measured plus Indicated Inferred
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonnes Grade Ounces Tonnes Grade Ounces
(000's) (g/T) (000's) (000's) (g/T) (000's)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
107,315 2.31 7,974 48,963 2.18 3,432
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For a detailed summary of the FAT resource model see
http://seabridgegold.net/news.php.
Gold resource estimates included herein were prepared by
Resource Modeling Inc. under the direction of Michael Lechner, who
is independent of Seabridge and a Qualified Person as defined by
National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Lechner is a highly regarded expert
in his field and frequently undertakes independent resource
estimates for major mining companies.
Exploration activities by Seabridge Gold at the Courageous Lake
gold project will be conducted under the supervision of William E.
Threlkeld, Registered Professional Geologist, Senior Vice President
of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National
Instrument 43-101. A rigorous quality control/quality assurance
protocol will be employed during the 2012 Courageous Lake drill
program including blank and certified reference standards inserted
by the Company at a rate of not less than one of each type in every
30 samples. Repeats and re-splits of the sample rejects will be
analyzed at a rate of not less than one sample in every 25 for each
type. Samples will be assayed at Acme Laboratories, Vancouver, B.C.
using fire assay atomic adsorption methods for gold and total
digestion ICP methods for other elements. Cross-check analyses will
be conducted at a second external laboratory on at least 10% of the
samples.
Mr. Lechner and Mr. Threlkeld have reviewed and approved this
news release.
Seabridge holds a 100% interest in several North American gold
projects. The Company's principal assets are the KSM property
located near Stewart, British Columbia, Canada and the Courageous
Lake gold project located in Canada's Northwest Territories. For a
breakdown of Seabridge's mineral reserves and mineral resources by
category please visit the Company's website at
http://www.seabridgegold.net/resources.php.
All reserve and resource estimates reported by the Corporation
were calculated in accordance with the Canadian National Instrument
43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Classification system. These standards differ significantly from
the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have
demonstrated economic viability.
This document contains "forward-looking information" within the
meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information and
these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking
statements" are made as of the date of this document.
Forward-looking statements concerning the expected completion of a
Preliminary Feasibility Study, the preparation of resource and
reserve estimates, other goals or objectives, or the completion of
work programs, relate to future events or future performance and
reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs
regarding future events and include, but are not limited to,
statements with respect to: (i) the amount of mineral reserves and
mineral resources; (ii) the amount of future production over any
period; (iii) cumulative pre-tax net cash flow of the proposed
mining operation; (iv) capital costs; (v) operating costs,
including credits from the sale of other metals; (vi) mining rates;
(vii) mine life; (vii) planned expenditures; and (viii) upgrading
inferred resources. Any statements that express or involve
discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs,
plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or
performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as
"expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates",
"envisages", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals",
"objectives" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions,
events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be
taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms
and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and
may be forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements are based on Seabridge's or its
independent consultants' current beliefs as well as various
assumptions made by them and information available to them on the
date the statements are made. These assumptions include: (i) the
presence of and continuity of metals at the Project at modeled
grades; (ii) the capacities of various machinery and equipment;
(iii) the availability of personnel, machinery and equipment at
estimated prices; (iv) exchange rates; (v) metals sales prices;
(vi) appropriate discount rates; (vii) tax rates and royalty rates
applicable to the proposed mining operation; (viii) financing
structure and costs; (ix) anticipated mining losses and dilution;
(x) metals recovery rates;(xi) reasonable contingency requirements;
(xii) receipt of regulatory approvals on acceptable terms; and
(xiii) the negotiation of satisfactory terms with impacted First
Nations groups. Although management considers these assumptions to
be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they
may prove to be incorrect. Many forward-looking statements are made
assuming the correctness of other forward-looking statements, such
as statements of cumulative pre-tax net cash flow, which are based
on other forward-looking statements and assumptions. The cost
information is also prepared using earlier values, but the time for
incurring the costs will be in the future and it is assumed costs
will remain stable over the relevant period.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve
inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and
risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other
forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions
do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of
important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ
materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations,
anticipations, estimates, assumptions and intentions expressed in
such forward-looking statements. These risk factors may be
generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates
expressed above do not occur, but specifically include, without
limitation, risks relating to variations in the mineral content
within the material identified as mineral reserves from that
predicted; variations in rates of recovery and extraction;
developments in world metals markets; risks relating to
fluctuations in the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar;
increases in the estimated capital and operating costs or
unanticipated costs; difficulties attracting the necessary work
force; increases in financing costs or adverse changes to the terms
of available financing, if any; tax rates or royalties being
greater than assumed; changes in development or mining plans due to
changes in logistical, technical or other factors; changes in
project parameters as plans continue to be refined; risks relating
to receipt of regulatory approvals or settlement of an agreement
with impacted First Nations groups; the effects of competition in
the markets in which Seabridge operates; operational and
infrastructure risks; and the additional risks including those
described in the December 31, 2010 Corporation's Annual Information
Form filed with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com) and in
the Corporation's Annual Report Form 40-F filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR (available at
www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml). Seabridge cautions that the foregoing
list of factors that may affect future results is not
exhaustive.
When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions
with respect to Seabridge, investors and others should carefully
consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and
potential events. Seabridge does not undertake to update any
forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be
made from time to time by Seabridge or on our behalf, except as
required by law.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Rudi Fronk, President & C.E.O.
Contacts: Seabridge Gold Inc. Rudi P. Fronk President and C.E.O.
(416) 367-9292 (416) 367-2711 (FAX)info@seabridgegold.net
www.seabridgegold.net
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