Blende Silver Corp. (TSX.V: BAG) (OTC: BAGGF) has announced that field crews are mobilizing to its 100%-owned Blende Silver-Zinc-Lead Project in north-central Yukon to begin the first phase of drilling targeting the project's 3D induced polarization (IP) chargeability anomalies. The initial drill holes, expected to commence within approximately 10 days, will test the Central Zone, the roughly 2-kilometer corridor between the company's West Zone and East Zone deposits. This marks the first drilling to directly test the priority anomalies identified in a recently completed 3D IP survey, which revealed chargeability responses several times larger in areal extent than the response over the defined West Zone mineralization.
The upcoming program is the first phase of a planned multi-phase drill strategy built around the 3D IP targeting model. The company intends to complete as many holes as weather and site conditions allow before the field season concludes in mid-September 2026, anticipated to be one to two holes. During the winter break, Blende Silver 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 spring and summer 2027. This phased approach matches the seasonal realities of the remote location while building toward a larger, more sustained exploration effort.
The 3D IP survey identified chargeability highs coincident with low resistivity, a combination that may indicate sulphide mineralization. The West Zone response served as a calibration reference, and the newly identified anomalies in the Lower Central Zone and New Mountain Top areas are significantly larger. Historical drilling in the Central 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 East Zone, with continuity of mineralization being a key objective of this campaign.
“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,” said Andrew H. Rees, President and CEO. “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.”
The Blende Project hosts an existing NI 43-101 mineral resource and has been described in published literature as hosting the largest carbonate-hosted silver-zinc-lead deposit in the Yukon. The current drill program is designed to test whether mineralization extends beyond the currently defined zones. The 2021 mineral resource estimate, prepared at a 1.5% ZnEq cutoff, remains unchanged, and the company notes that metal prices have changed since that estimate was prepared, but no re-estimation has been undertaken.
The project covers 5,345 hectares and is located approximately 63 kilometers northeast of Keno Hill, within the historic Keno Hill silver district. More than $9.2 million has been spent on past exploration, including 25,195 meters of drilling in 132 drill holes. The company emphasizes that geophysical anomalies are not direct indications of mineralization, and there is no certainty that drilling will intersect economic mineralization. However, the significant scale of the IP targets provides a compelling rationale for this initial drill program, which could potentially expand the known resource base.
Dr. Sarah Palmer, P.Geo., an independent consultant, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
