Blackrock Silver Corp. (TSXV: BRC) has confirmed a drill campaign on its 100 percent owned Tonopah North project located adjacent to and north of its Tonopah West project. The Tonopah North project covers 20 square kilometres along the prolific Walker Lane trend of Western Nevada.
The fully permitted and funded inaugural drill program will consist of 9,000 metres in twelve reverse circulation (RC) drillholes. The programme will test two silver-gold concepts associated with the mapped margin of the Tonopah Caldera and the projection of major northwest structures, and the lithium potential within the middle and lower portions of the Siebert Formation.
Highlights:
- A total of 9,000 metres of drilling planned in twelve RC drillholes;
- Multiple high-priority silver-gold targets identified, including the extension of the Pittsburg-Monarch Fault System, one of the most significant structures of the Tonopah silver district;
- District-scale potential; and
- Lithium potential identified.
“2022 is poised to be a pivotal year for the company, as we focus on the simultaneous expansion and de-risking of our Tonopah West project (maiden resource expected during Q1) while we continue our search for new discoveries in the shadows of where historic miners left off nearly a century ago,” Andrew Pollard, the company’s President and CEO, stated.
“With over 110,000 metres of drilling under our belt on the Tonopah silver district, which has sharpened our understanding of the key structural controls that shape this prolific silver-gold system and benefitting from technology that wasn’t available to the old-timers, we’ve delineated multiple new targets with district-scale potential and are excited to finally test them with the drill-bit.”
Tonopah North Targets
Extension of the Pittsburg-Monarch Fault System
Two drill sites (Sites A and B) have been permitted to test the extension of the Pittsburgh-Monarch fault system to the northwest. The two sites are located along the structural trend and correspond to an area showing a disruption in the gravity where the structures cut the proposed location of the Tonopah caldera margin.
In the main Tonopah district, the thickest and highest-grade silver is associated with the intersection of the east-west oriented veins and the Pittsburgh-Monarch fault system. At this intersection, the Victor vein had a width of 24 metres (80 feet) and the Ohio vein was 14 metres thick (50 feet). The goal of the drillholes on this target is to intersect the fault within favourable volcanic lithologies and intersection similar mineralization to the Victor and Ohio veins.
Sites G, H and I will test a second north-northwest structural zone imaged in the gravity and magnetic geophysical data sets. The drillholes test the interpreted structural zone inside and outside of the postulated caldera margin.
A total of five drill sites totalling 3,300 metres is planned to test these structural targets.
East-West Structural Zone
Based on magnetic data, structural lineaments and mapping, a large swath of east-west oriented structures are located on the north edge of the Tonopah caldera. The surface lithologies are comprised of outcrops Siebert Formation along the outer margin of the proposed Tonopah caldera. The geologic and structural setting look very similar to the Tonopah district which is located on the southern margin of the Tonopah caldera.
The potential to identify a new district-scale target exists within the area. This large area would have been ignored by early prospectors because the volcanic lithologies exposed are post mineral in the main Tonopah district. A total of three drillholes (Sites J, K and L) are planned totalling 2,300 metres.
Lithium Potential
To help confirm the margin of the Tonopah caldera, four drillholes are planned along an east-west fence; however, the Siebert Formation is exposed at the surface, and American Lithium Corp’s, TLC, lithium deposit is located approximately three kilometres to the northwest of Blackrock’s claim position within the Siebert Formation.
The lithium is hosted within the middle and lower members of the Siebert formation. Four drillholes (Sites C, D, E and F) will serve a dual purpose of identifying the margin of the Tonopah caldera as well as testing the Siebert Formation for lithium concentrations. A total of 3,400 metres is planned in four drillholes.
For further information please visit: https://blackrocksilver.com/
