VANCOUVER - Alexco Resource Corp. (NYSE American: AXU) (TSX:AXR) today reports an updated and expanded mineral resource estimate for the Bermingham deposit, located within the Keno Hill Silver District in Canada's Yukon Territory.
As a result of exploration work conducted in 2017 and 2018, the Bermingham indicated mineral resources have expanded from 17.3 million ounces to 33.3 M ounces of contained silver at an average silver grade of 628 grams per tonne, while inferred mineral resources have increased from 5.5 M ounces to 10.4 M ounces of contained silver at an average silver grade of 526 g/t.With the addition to the silver mineral resource at Bermingham, Alexco's district-wide indicated mineral resources at Keno Hill increased by approximately 24% from 67.9 M ounces to 84.0 M ounces of contained silver. Similarly, district-wide inferred mineral resources increased by 28% to 23.0 M ounces of contained silver.
The Bermingham deposit comprises a closely spaced series of subparallel steeply southeast dipping vein sets - identified (hangingwall to footwall) as the Bermingham, Bermingham Footwall and Bear veins that can be traced over a northeasterly strike distance exceeding 850 meters in four zones identified (from southwest to northeast) as the Etta, Arctic, Bear and Northeast Zones that are separated by post-mineral faults. In addition, a small resource is contained in a conjugate set of related West Dipping veins. Recent detailed underground and surface drilling work has focused on the Arctic and Bear Zones where the vein sets are connected either laterally or vertically within the wider Bermingham vein-fault structural corridor. Mineralization extends from between 90 m to 160 m below surface to a depth of approximately 450 m where veining remains open.
Alexco owns the majority of the historic high-grade Keno Hill Silver District in Canada's Yukon Territory as detailed in its preliminary economic assessment entitled "Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Keno Hill Silver District Project, Yukon, which is dated March 29, 2017, with an effective date of January 3, 2017, and anticipates the sequential development of four high grade silver deposits over an eight year mine life producing more than one million tonnes with an average grade of 843 grams per tonne silver, 3.3% lead and 4.6% zinc. Silver production is anticipated to be approximately 3.5 million ounces per year. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Alexco also operates a wholly-owned subsidiary business, Alexco Environmental Group, that provides mine-related environmental services, remediation technologies and reclamation and mine closure services to both government and industry clients in North America and elsewhere.