Kootenay Silver Inc. has provided a summary update with respect to its continuing development activities at its flagship Promontorio silver project in Sonora, Mexico.
Updated NI 43-101 Resource Calculation
Kootenay is pleased to report SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. of Lakewood, Colorado has been engaged to calculate an independent NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource on its Promontorio Silver Project. The compilation of drill results and geologic modeling for the updated resource calculation is well underway with completion expected by the end of June 2012.
The updated resource calculation follows the recent completion of a highly successful, two staged drill program on the Promontorio project that included 25,000 meters of diamond drilling (core) and 10,000 meters of reverse circulation drilling (RC).
A total of 35,000 meters of drilling has been conducted since the first resource calculation was reported in 2010. The objective of the recent in-fill drill and resource definition program was to substantially increase the size of Promontorio's current contained silver resource.
Metallurgical Testing
G&T Metallurgical Services Ltd. of Kamloops, B.C. has been contracted to conduct additional metallurgical work on Promontorio mineralization and is working on three additional bulk samples with final results expected in the next few weeks. One sample is from the Southwest Zone, one from shallow in the Pit Resource and one from the Northeast Zone. Work underway includes rougher, cleaner and locked cycle tests. Additionally acid base accounting of mineralized and wall rock is being conducted along with a gold deportment study to determine if the significant gold content of the deposit, which is not yet factored into any of the Company's resource calculations, can be extracted economically.
The first metallurgical testing reported in 2009 was very positive showing 82% of the silver reporting to the lead concentrate and a further 7% to the zinc concentrate with 85% of the lead recovered to the lead concentrate and 91% of the zinc to the zinc concentrate.
Ongoing Baseline and Scoping Studies
Hatch Engineering of Scottsdale, Arizona completed initial hydrologic studies designed to characterize the ground water resources on the project and develop a conceptual hydrogeologic model. This information will form the basis for additional studies going forward in the longer term for prefeasibility level evaluation of mine water supply, including potential dewatering flow rates needed for potential open-pit and underground mining and mine water supplies.
Saguaro Geosciences Inc. of Tucson, Arizona designed a detailed geotechnical logging program that goes beyond the basic specific gravity and RQD data currently being recorded. The geotechnical program will collect all the necessary data appropriate to future geotechnical analysis required for feasibility level work.
In other activities, preliminary environmental baseline studies conducted by independent consulting engineer Patricia Aguayo Hurtado, cataloguing the flora and fauna of the area are now complete.
Silver Hosted in Large Diatreme Complex
The recent definitive recognition by Kootenay's technical team that Promontorio silver mineralization is hosted in a large diatreme complex has significant geologic implication, as these types of systems can typically be very large in size and result in discovery of numerous deposits. Examples in Mexico include the Pitarrilla Silver-Lead-Zinc deposits in Durango and the PeAplus or minusasquito Silver-Gold-Lead-Zinc mine located in the northeast of the State of Zacatecas in north-central Mexico.
At present, silver mineralization remains open in both strike directions and down dip within Promontorio's Diatreme complex, between the Pit, Southwest Extension and Northeast Zones. The Company reports it has identified a host of new prospective targets within the Diatreme complex, that require further drill testing. Accordingly, the Company reports plans are underway to conduct a large follow up drill program after the release of the NI 43-101 resource update.
The foregoing technical disclosure in this release has been reviewed and verified by Kootenay's CEO, James McDonald, P.Geo (a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). Mr. McDonald is a director of Kootenay.
