Blende Silver Corp. (TSX.V: BAG) (OTC: BAGGF) has announced the mobilization of field crews to its 100%-owned Blende Silver-Zinc-Lead Project in north-central Yukon, marking the start of the first phase of drilling aimed at testing priority 3D induced polarization (IP) chargeability anomalies. The first drill holes, expected to commence within approximately 10 days, will target the Central Zone, the roughly 2-kilometer corridor between the Company's West Zone and East Zone deposits. These holes represent the first drilling to directly test the anomalies identified in the recently completed 3D IP survey, which are several times larger in areal extent than the chargeability response over the defined West Zone mineralization.
The upcoming drill program is designed to test whether mineralization extends beyond the currently defined zones that anchor the existing NI 43-101 mineral resource. The Company's drill contractor is mobilizing to site to complete equipment inventory and finalize site readiness ahead of drilling. The Company intends to complete as many holes as site and weather conditions allow before the current field season concludes in mid-September 2026, anticipated to be one to two holes. These holes are the first phase of a planned multi-phase drill program built around the Company's 3D IP targeting model, with Phase 1 beginning this summer, pausing over winter, and planned to resume and expand in spring and summer 2027.
During the winter break, the Company plans to mobilize equipment over the seasonal winter road to establish camp infrastructure and an airstrip, positioning the Project for an expanded exploration program in subsequent phases. The upcoming holes will be the first to directly test the chargeability anomalies interpreted from the 3D IP survey. As previously disclosed, the survey identified a chargeability response coincident with low resistivity over the West Zone, which the Company uses as a calibration reference. The survey also identified multiple significantly larger-scale, untested anomalies, notably in the Lower Central Zone and New Mountain Top areas, which extend to the edges of the surveyed grid. A chargeability high coincident with low resistivity is the criterion used to rank drill targets, as that combination may indicate sulphide mineralization.
Prior review of the inversion data indicated that historical drilling in the Central Zone (13 holes drilled along and down the spine of the ridge toward the East Zone) appears to have been positioned between two distinct chargeability anomalies, rather than directly testing the strongest responses. The Company's interpretation is that these observations warrant drill testing for possible extensions of mineralization between the West Zone and the East Zone. Continuity of mineralization between the zones is going to be tested by this drilling campaign.
Andrew H. Rees, President and CEO, stated, "Blende is not a greenfield story. We already hold one of the larger known carbonate-hosted silver-zinc-lead resources in Western Canada, and our objective now is to test whether that resource can be expanded. Our 3D IP survey identified chargeability anomalies, coincident with low resistivity, that cover a larger area than the chargeability response over the West Zone that anchors our existing resource, and this program puts a drill directly into those targets for the first time. We aim to mobilize equipment over the winter road this winter to build camp and airstrip infrastructure through the coming spring and summer to support a substantially larger, sustained program across a district-scale property. This program is directed at testing for extensions to the existing mineral resource, and there is no certainty that it will result in any increase to that resource."
The Blende Project hosts an existing NI 43-101 mineral resource and is one of the larger known carbonate-hosted silver-zinc-lead occurrences in Western Canada. The 2021 mineral resource estimate, prepared at a 1.5% ZnEq cutoff, is based on metal prices and assumptions set out in the Company's news release dated May 20, 2021, and has not been updated to reflect current market conditions. Historical exploration defined the East and West Zones, two primary mineralized zones located approximately two kilometers apart. The property covers 5,345 hectares and is located approximately 63 km northeast of Keno Hill, Yukon, within the Keno Hill silver district, one of Canada's highest-grade historic silver producing districts. The property has undergone more than $9.2 million in past exploration, including 25,195 meters of drilling in 132 drill holes.
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Sarah Palmer, P.Geo., an independent consultant to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The Company cautions that geophysical anomalies, including IP chargeability responses, are not a direct indication of mineralization and may result from a variety of geological factors; there is no certainty that drilling will intersect economic or sub-economic mineralization.
