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Resource World - Aug-Sept 2015 - Vol 13 Iss 5

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a u g u s t / s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 www.resourceworld.com 45 Klondike silver in the silvery slocan KLOnDiKe siLveR is One of the largest land holders in British Columbia's historic Slocan Silver Camp. "I have always been interested in the Slocan area and first started accumulating little bits and pieces over the past 25 years," said Richard Hughes, Chairman of Klondike silver Corp. [KS-TSXV]. Klondike Silver stepped up its acquisition rate approximately eight years ago and now holds over 13,000 hect- ares in this historic camp. There used to be over 100 mines in the region, and of those around 25 to 30 were of a good size said Hughes. Klondike's' claims have produced silver, lead, and zinc which provides for market stability as they don't solely rely on one metal. The history of the Slocan is a rich one. "Trains seemed to run continuously in and out of Three Forks, up the giddy grade car- rying empty ore cars, and then they would whiz down at breakneck speed with full carloads of high grade silver, lead and zinc ores," wrote Bruce Ramsay in his book, Ghost Towns of British Columbia. Sandon, founded in 1892 by Johnnie Harris, was home to 24 hotels, 23 saloons, and an opera house. "The hotels had steam heat, electric light and bells to summon bell-hops; hot and cold running water was in each room. "Sandon had elegance," said Ramsay. What ended the prosperity in the region was the Depression, not a lack of silver. Hughes hopes to bring some of that life back to the Slocan. He's done it before. In 2007, Resource World reported that Klondike Silver began production at the Silvana Mine and was producing approxi- mately 50 tonnes per day. They had hoped to ramp up to 200 tonnes per day but due to the downward pressure on the price of silver Klondike announced in July of 2013 that it was shutting down its mill. The focus was then placed on the land consoli- dation deals in the Sandon area. When asked to speak on the fact that Klondike is no longer in production Hughes said," It is difficult to foresee the peaks and valleys of the market, but one can be sure that they will always come. Having said that, one must always be pre- pared to change focus from production to exploration and vice versa." Hughes con- tinued, "And our current focus is to work with the engineering company Golder Associates (Golder) and the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) to remain com- pliant so we may continue to explore the Silver Mile and many of the other targets that we are eager to test." Klondike just completed a property visit a few weeks ago with Golder and a team from Klondike in attendance to establish a work plan for the remainder of the summer into fall. Over the years Klondike has been a large employer in the region and Hughes would like nothing more than to return to pro- duction to bring back the support to the surrounding communities. There are many skilled workers in the area that Klondike would like to bring back to its team down the road but it is clear that the explora- tion is the direction the company needs to take in order to increase the likelihood of returning to production. Klondike is currently raising up to $500,000 by way of a previously announced private placement. Funds from this private placement will be used to towards the completion of the work program set out by Golder to satisfy the requests' set out by MEM to allow for the return to the exploration of the Silver Mile. Geologists who have visited the property are excited and optimistic about the potential for prosperity to return to the Slocan. n miNiNg Klondike Silver's mill complex, Silvana Project in the Slocan Silver Camp, southern British Columbia. Photo courtesy of Klondike Silver. www.precisiongeosurveys.com 604.484.9402 Magnetics - Radiometrics - Time Domain EM Specialists in high resolution airborne geophysics in mountainous terrain

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