Alianza Minerals Ltd. (TSX-V:ANZ, OTCQB:TARSF) will be busy this winter as it plans its 2022 drill programs at two projects in the Yukon territory. The explorer enjoyed high-grade silver results from its Haldane project in the historic Keno Hill Mining District, where drilling in 2022 will continue to expand the new West Fault target. In southern Yukon, Alianza’s partner, a subsidiary of Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE: CDE), spent 2021 refining drill targets, and planning/permitting of the 2022 program is underway.
Prior to early 2021, the West Fault target at Alianza’s Haldane Project was relatively unknown. That changed when the company announced results of two holes at the target from the late 2020 winter drilling campaign. Drill hole HLD20-19, following up a 2011 intersection of 320 g/t silver over 2.2 metres, cut 16.15 metres (8.72 metres estimated true width (ETW)) of 311 g/t silver, 0.89 per cent lead and 1.13 per cent zinc cored by 3.30 metres (1.78 metres ETW) of 818 g/t silver, 3.47 per cent lead and 1.03 per cent zinc. This intersection tested the West Fault 55 metres along strike to the southwest and 40 metres down dip of the 2011 drillhole, confirming management’s exploration thesis that “Keno-style” veins with the correct mineralogy, even if narrow, are extremely favourable drill targets that can dramatically widen to potentially ore grade and width structures.
The property covers Mt. Haldane, a landmark located halfway between Mayo and Keno City on the Silver Trail route, in the traditional territory of the First Nation of Na-cho Nyak Dun. Mt. Haldane was the focus of exploration and small-scale development around the time of the first Keno Hill discoveries over 100 years ago. Underground development at two areas, the Johnson and Middlecoff veins, resulted in one adit at Johnson (2.1 t of 4,600 g/t silver produced) and three levels of development at Middlecoff, where 25 t of 3,100 g/t silver was produced. As the old timers conducted this work, they established the original trails that now provide road access into the Haldane targets. Recent road and powerline upgrades along the Silver Trail, the opening of Victoria Gold’s (TSX:VGCX) Eagle gold mine just north of Haldane, and the re-opening of Alexco Resources Corp.’s (TSX:AXU) Keno Hill Mine has provided further infrastructure improvements that benefit Haldane.
With the success of the 2020 program, Alianza established a camp onsite and returned to the West Fault for the latest campaign, completing five additional holes to test the downdip and strike extensions of the HLD20-19 mineralization with 50-metre step-outs. Mineralization has now been outlined over 100 metres in strike and 90 metres of dip direction, highlighted by high-grade silver mineralization, particularly in holes HLD21-24 and 25. HLD21-24 cut 5.24 metres (3.14 metres ETW) of 1,351 g/t silver, 2.43 per cent lead and 2.91 per cent zinc, including 2.10 metres of 3,267 g/t silver (ETW of 1.26 metres). HLD21-25 intersected another 6.83 metres (4.27 metres ETW) of 363 g/t silver, 1.73 per cent lead and 2.80 per cent zinc including 1.60 metres (1.00 metres ETW) of 1,107 g/t silver. Importantly, Alianza is identifying the potential strike and plunge direction of high-grade mineralization, and what may turn out to be multiple productive splays within a complex of faults in the West Fault structure.
With the West Fault target developing into a strong Keno-style vein target, Alianza is planning a substantial program in 2022 to define the size and grade of the mineralized system at West Fault, and to continue drilling other targets on the property such as the Middlecoff and Bighorn targets. In addition to the small-scale production from Middlecoff, underground drilling reportedly intersected high-grade mineralization that has yet to be followed up, including 1.20 metres of 2,791 g/t silver; a compelling target for further drilling.
Additionally, the Bighorn target, a newly discovered vein made by Alianza in 2019, returned 125 g/t silver from a 2.35 metre intersection. This target was defined by soil geochemical sampling in 2018 that outlined a silver-lead-molybdenum soil anomaly with silver values peaking at 63.8 g/t silver. With no outcrop in the Bighorn area, soil geochemical sampling has proven highly effective at delineating productive vein mineralization here and has the potential to enable the Alianza exploration team to discover additional vein faults obscured by overburden on the property.
In southern Yukon, Alianza has optioned its Tim Property to Coeur Mining, Inc., which owns the Silvertip silver-lead-zinc mine 20 kilometres south of Tim. Coeur is earning an 80 per cent interest in the project by completing $3.55 million in exploration over five years, making $575,000 in staged cash payments and completing a feasibility study by the eighth anniversary of the agreement.
The geological setting at Tim closely resembles that at Silvertip, and mineralization at Tim appears to be very similar. Coeur is bringing its expertise in the region to bear on the property, having wrapped up its first exploration program at Tim in 2021. This consisted of investigating historical high-grade silver mineralization in trenches dating back to the 1980s which had identified four- to 30 metre-wide silver-bearing oxide mineralization over a 1,700 metre trend in the trenches. Prior trench results include 356 g/t silver over 3.7 metres. Coeur’s 2021 program re-opened some of the 12 historical trenches and was augmented by mapping, soil geochemical sampling, and an airborne VTEM geophysical survey. Results of the program are expected in late 2021 and planning for 2022 drilling is underway.
With silver in high demand, and the potential for a significant increase in price in 2022, Alianza will have active drilling programs at two significant primary Yukon silver projects. With Haldane and Tim both in close proximity to mining operations, they certainly have the right location and geological characteristics to be successful projects. The company expects a busy field season in 2022 with the potential for high-grade silver results.
