Silver Bullet Mines Corp. Assays 55.5 Oz/Ton Silver from a Bulk Sample at Its 100%-Owned Washington Mine in Idaho
January 18, 2022 (Source) — Silver Bullet Mines Corp. (TSXV: SBMI) (‘SBMI’ or ‘the Company’) is pleased to report excellent assay results from a bulk sample from its Washington Mine in Idaho (the ‘Property’). The assay results from SBMI’s own assay lab on site have been corroborated by a third-party accredited lab.
“The importance of these results cannot be overstated,” said A. John Carter, the Company’s CEO. “These results support three important conclusions. First, they are in line with historical data, which increases our comfort level with using that data for guidance. Second, they show the Property is still mineralized with silver and gold. Third, and I think most importantly, it confirms that QA/QC processes both in our own lab and at the third-party lab return very similar results. This further validates our lab.”
The results are below. Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4 were processed in SBMI’s lab in Arizona. Line 5 was processed by Paragon Geochemical, a third-party lab. These values are in oz/ton silver.
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |||
| SBMI | 1 | 69.6 | 55.4 | 44.2 | 48.8 | |
| SBMI | 2 | 68.8 | 55.4 | 43.0 | 51.6 | |
| SBMI | 3 | 74.0 | 57.0 | 44.0 | 54.0 | |
| SBMI | 4 | 70.4 | 56.8 | 44.2 | 51.4 | |
| Avg per Quarter | 70.7 | 56.2 | 43.9 | 51.5 | ||
| Avg across all Quarters | 55.5 | |||||
| Paragon | 5 | 70.1 | 67.1 | 50.0 | 46.6 | |
| Diff between SBMI & Paragon | 0.8% | -16.2% | -12.2% | 10.5% |
Paragon also assayed for gold, which across the four quarters returned 1.82g/t, 2.49g/t, 1.77g/t, and 1.4g/t respectively. SBMI did not assay for gold.
As indicated above the SBMI average across all quarters was 55.5 oz/ton silver. This equates to over 1,902 g/t silver at a conversion rate of 34.285.
SBMI collected the bulk sample from eight locations at the Property. The material from each of the eight locations was blended into an 80-kilogram bulk sample, with the result being crushed and quartered. Five kilograms of material was removed from each quarter and processed by SBMI as sixteen assays in total. Five kilograms of material was removed from each quarter and processed by Paragon as four assays.
The Company intends to send the fourth quarter of the bulk sample for ore characterization and metallurgical testing to Montana Technical University, Centre for Advanced Mineral Processing. The remaining parts of the bulk sample including the pulps and rejects have been retained by SBMI as part of its QA/QC practices.
SBMI’s assay lab on-site in Arizona is managed by Robert Budd, a Metallurgical Process Engineer who began his career in metallurgical engineering in 1972. He has held various positions with various employers including Senior Engineer, Superintendent, Engineer, Technical Assistant, Technician, and Lab Assistant. Most recently, prior to joining SBMI he was involved in designing and creating an internal assay facility in Arizona for Freeport McMorran Inc. He has also been the Chief Metallurgist for Northern Sphere Mining Corporation in Arizona, the Principal Process Specialist for Fluor Canada out of Vancouver, the Senior Metallurgical Engineer for Doe Run Lead, the Project Engineer for the commissioning of a copper concentrator start-up at Oz Minerals’ Prominent Hill Mine in South Australia, Senior Metallurgical Engineer for Cyprus Miami/Phelps Dodge Miami in Arizona, Metallurgical Engineer and Metallurgical Lab Supervisor for Newmont Gold in Nevada, and Chief Metallurgist for Inspiration/Cyprus Miami in Arizona among other positions.
Working with Mr. Budd in SBMI’s assay facility is Vic Power, a Registered Professional Assayer for the state of Arizona.
“We have an extremely high level of confidence in our team and in the accuracy of our assays,” said Mr. Carter. “Today’s results only add to that confidence.” SBMI’s management believes these assays confirm the tenor and range of grades reported historically from the silver veins, but cautions they may not be representative of the average grade of mineralization within the full width or extent of any of the muck piles or mineralized structures present on the Property.
The next steps at the Property are to continue sampling, to take the steps necessary to go underground for visual inspection and sampling, and then to take a larger bulk sample. As the Property is on patented lands the process of permitting required to re-open the Washington Mine is more streamlined. SBMI is in discussions with third parties for the purchase of the resulting ore and/or concentrate and has identified potential mill facilities near the Property. SBMI is also considering whether to ship larger samples from the Washington Mine to SBMI’s assay facility in Arizona.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, SBMI continues to advance work at the mill site and mine site at its massive Black Diamond property, which hosts among others the Buckeye Silver Mine. SBMI has been advised it has been moved up the list for the unloading of its shipping container at Long Beach, but cannot provide a firm date upon which such unloading will take place. Assuming it takes place in the next two weeks, SBMI is still on a timeline for pilot production at the Buckeye Silver Mine by the end of this quarter.
QA/QC at SBMI’s Facility
The samples analyzed by SBMI at its facility near Globe, Arizona were processed through the Lab Jaw Crusher, Lab Hammer Mill and Splitter Box into an aliquot. Most of the pulverized aliquot was mixed with a flux and flour combination and melted in a crucible at 1,850 degree Fahrenheit, with the remainder being logged and archived. Upon cooling, the poured melt was in the form of a metal button and slag, following which a bone ash cupel was utilized to eliminate the lead in the button to form a bead. The bead was then weighed, following which a solution of 6 to 1 distilled water to nitric acid was utilized to dissolve the silver in the bead at approximately 175 degrees Fahrenheit. A much more detailed description of the process and a picture of the assay lab can be found at https://www.silverbulletmines.com/qaqcassaylab.
QA/QC at Paragon
The samples reported above were collected by the Company’s project geologist and then bagged, labeled, securely stored and sent to Paragon Geochemical in Sparks, Nevada following the Company’s standard QA/QC protocols and the use of independent testing labs. Silver and gold values were determined using fire assay with gravimetric finish using SOP-230. Paragon Geochemical is an IAS accredited full service geochemical laboratory in compliance with ISO/IEC Standard 17025:2017. It also holds a Certificate of Registration for its Quality Management System under ISO 9001:2015 for the testing of metal content in metal and mineral samples for mining companies.
The Qualified Person for this press release is Mr. Ron Wortel, P.Eng., who oversaw all of SBMI’s work referred to herein. Mr. Wortel is also President and a director of the Company.
For further information, please contact:
John Carter
Silver Bullet Mines Corp., CEO
[email protected]
+1 (905) 302-3843
Peter M. Clausi
Silver Bullet Mines Corp., VP Capital Markets
[email protected]
+1 (416) 890-1232
Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements as they relate to SBMI and its subsidiaries. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but represent management’s current expectation of future events, and can be identified by words such as “believe”, “expects”, “will”, “intends”, “plans”, “projects”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “continues” and similar expressions. Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct.
By their nature, forward-looking statements include assumptions, and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. If and when forward-looking statements are set out in this new release, SBMI will also set out the material risk factors or assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by applicable securities laws, SBMI assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including but not limited to: the impact of SARS CoV-2 or any other global virus; reliance on key personnel; the thoroughness of its QA/QA procedures; the continuity of the global supply chain for materials for SBMI to use in the production and processing of ore; shareholder and regulatory approvals; activities and attitudes of communities local to the location of the SBMI’s properties; risks of future legal proceedings; income tax matters; fires, floods and other natural phenomena; the rate of inflation; availability and terms of financing; distribution of securities; commodities pricing; currency movements, especially as between the USD and CDN; effect of market interest rates on price of securities; and, potential dilution. SARS CoV-2 and other potential global viruses create risks that at this time are immeasurable and impossible to define.