Kootenay Drill Program to Test High-Grade Silver Zones on La Cigarra

Vancouver B.C. – June 17, 2016 – Kootenay Silver Inc. (TSXV:KTN) announced plans are underway for a 3,000-meter drilling program on its La Cigarra silver project located in Chihauhau State, Mexico. Kootenay management reports the multi-phase drill program will test the continuity of a series of high-grade silver zones that recent exploration shows underlie and extend from the main deposit.
Situated in a prolific mining region in Chihuahua State, the La Cigarra silver project is contained within a 3 kilometer mineralized trend and came to Kootenay as part of its amalgamation earlier this year with Vancouver based Northair Silver Inc. La Cigarra has been extensively drilled over the past 5 years and currently contains a 51 million ounce Measured and Indicated NI 43-101 silver resource. The project has another 11.5 million ounces of silver resources in the inferred category.
Kootenay President and CEO James McDonald says the upcoming drill program is part of an aggressive plan to increase the size and grades of the main deposit prior to conducting a planned Preliminary Economic Assessment( PEA), which is the first step towards advancing the project to the feasibility stage.
“Our goal will be to sharply increase the size and grades of the existing silver resource prior to our PEA.” Says McDonald. “We will be testing the continuity of the deposit and stepping out from several high-grade zones identified from previous drilling with the belief we can further enhance the economics of the resource.”
McDonald says the program will also include a series of initial drill holes on La Cigarra’s nearby RAM target, which is a large structurally controlled mineralized trend that lies just west of La Cigarra’s main silver deposit.
“There is no doubt we are excited to proceed with initial drilling on the RAM target, which remains a top priority for the company.” Says McDonald, “Ram is a very large target that is contained within an established mineralized corridor that clearly offers potential to further add to our silver resources.”
McDonald is a seasoned geologist that has been applying his trade for over 15 years in Mexico and is well versed when it comes to the geologic makeup of the region. As a former founder and Director of Alamos Gold, McDonald was a driving force in the transformation of Alamos and its Mulatos deposit in Sonora, Mexico from an exploration stage play into what is now a successful mid-tier gold producer.
McDonald sees certain parallels when discussing the evolution of Alamos’s Mulatos deposit and how it compares to the strategic development of La Cigarra.
“If you look at history, and I am sure it has been said before, that mines are made, not discovered.” says McDonald, “In the case of La Cigarra, we have an immensely large and established silver resource base. Given that we can determine the right economics, we know it can evolve into a mine that can potentially produce large quantities of silver for years to come. Although there is more work to be done, this is a maturing project that we believe offers all the essential ingredients necessary to become a success.”
The amalgamation with Northair Silver and the upcoming drill campaign on La Cigarra is only part of what is turning out to be a busy year so far for Kootenay Silver. In other corporate news, Kootenay recently announced a major option deal with Pan American Silver Corp on its Promontorio Mineral Belt assets and its La Negra silver discovery in Sonora, Mexico.
The option includes $16 million in work and cash commitments, a $3.5 million equity investment by Pan American in Kootenay and a carried interest on La Negra to commercial silver production. The option aligns Kootenay with a leading silver producer and operator of seven silver mines in Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Bolivia.
In total, between its La Cigarra and Promontorio assets, Kootenay is now supported by two advancing large-scale silver projects, along with a combined Measured and Indicated NI 43-101 mineral inventory of over 140 million silver Eqv. ounces and a carried interest to production.
Going forward, McDonald says that ongoing development of La Cigarra and a planned maiden resource estimate on La Negra has the potential to boost the total asset base to over 200 million ounces of silver in the foreseeable future.