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60 www.resourceworld.com D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9 BENCHMARK METALS Brownfield exploration continues as Golden Triangle re-awakens by Yianni Sakarellos L ocated in northwestern British Columbia, the Golden Triangle is already hosting more than 130 million ounces of gold, 800 million ounces of silver, and 40 million pounds of copper. The prolific mining region is again amid a traditional junior mining stak- ing rush. With new deposits discovered, the improved infrastructure in conjunction with an acceptable price of gold has made mining in the area economically feasible once more, reawakening the Golden Triangle. A few of the most notable discoveries in recent years include the Imperial Metals Red Chris Mine, Seabridge's KSM and Pretium Resources' Brucejack gold mine. The mineral potential of this unique geological setting along with being a top global min- ing jurisdiction for permitting makes junior miners with a Golden Triangle zip code extremely advantageous. Benchmark Metals [BNCH-TSXV; CYRTF-OTC; A2JM2X-WKN] with its flagship Lawyers gold and silver project is considered one of the most promising exploration groups currently drilling in the area. The Lawyers property is situated 45 km northwest of the former Kemess South open pit copper and gold mine, in the Toodoggone region of the Omineca Mining Division a little east of the 'Triangle' itself, and consists of 37 contiguous mineral claims. The claims cover 9,860 hectares that encompass 16 gold and silver occurrences and the former Cheni gold and silver underground mine which operated between 1989 and 1992 that produced over 171,000 ounces of gold and 3.6 million ounces of silver. The company's Lawyers Project has a maiden NI 43-101 resource estimate of 550,000 tonnes grading 4.51 g/t gold and 209.15 g/t silver at the Cliff Creek North Zone, along with 58,000 tonnes grading 4.30 g/t gold and 139.13 g/t silver at the Duke's Ridge Zone. These are inferred estimates using a 4.0 g/t AuEq lower cut-off. Per John Williamson, CEO of Benchmark, "the results of the independent inferred mineral resource estimate pro- vide an initial platform on which we intend to grow the resource base. Existing historic drill results along strike and at depth indi- cate the expansion potential to be excellent." During 2018, exploration focused on mineralized zones with exposure at surface with each zone currently remaining open at strike, width and to depth. Williamson commented, "The newest discovery lies 300 metres east along strike of the existing Phoenix Zone where 220 g/t gold and plus 10,000 g/t silver rock samples were collected at surface. There is potential that the new and existing zones are connected along the 2.5-km mineralized cor- ridor and they represent a large hydrothermal system." What makes the Lawyers Project stand out is the fact that it's brownfield exploration with more than 80% of the 99 km 2 land package still unexplored. The combination of existing infra- structure on site, with an estimated value of $50 million, and the 11-km road accessing a fully permitted and operating Baker mill, places the company in a lucrative and cost-effective position. Highlights of this year's exploration program have indicated the opportunity for the development of near-surface, high-grade, structurally-controlled, epithermal, precious metal deposits or buried bulk-tonnage deposits. Hydrothermal alteration is observed over multiple 0.5 to 2-km trends and shows characteris- tics of high-sulphidation precious metal deposits. The presence of a magmatic-hydrothermal system that includes high-sulphidation precious-base metal could be linked to deeper porphyry-type mineralization. These types of deposits are very similar to ones that have already been discovered and explored in the area. The Lawyers property is not the only asset that makes Benchmark Metals attractive. The company's co-founders John Williamson and Jim Greig have an extensive track record in the junior mining industry with over 50 years of combined experi- ence. The management team has delivered value to shareholders of more than 25 public mining companies and has raised over $400 million towards exploration, development and production. Furthermore, the company's project portfolio also includes several 100%-owned gold and diamond projects in Nunavut, Canada, the most notable being the Muskox and Contwoyto dia- mond projects. Benchmark has submitted the latest drill and remaining surface samples from the Lawyers Project for analysis and are awaiting results. The company, valued at a shell valuation level of approxi- mately $10 million, could be characterized as undervalued and the upcoming results could prove exactly that. Having such a high potential property located in one of the most geologically and mineral-rich regions in the world makes Benchmark Metals a company worth tracking. n Diamond drill core at the Lawyers Project in north-west British Columbia. Photo courtesy Benchmark Metals. MINING