Significant Increase In Inferred Sulfide Resources For Florida Canyon Zinc Project
DENVER, CO - Solitario Zinc Corp. reported a significant Mineral Resource increase for its high-grade Florida Canyon zinc project in northern Peru. Solitario's joint venture partner, Nexa Resources S.A., completed a new resource estimate incorporating the results of the 2018/2019 drilling program and reinterpreting portions of the previous resource model. Solitario, through the work of an independent third-party consultant, has verified Nexa's resource estimate. Solitario will issue a new NI-43-101 compliant resource report before the end of March. Nexa is the world's fourth largest zinc miner and operates three underground zinc mines and a major zinc smelter in Peru and two zinc mines and two zinc smelters in Brazil. The 2021 Mineral Resource Estimate is a mine plan constrained resource that takes into consideration various NSR cutoff grades, depending on mining method. All 2021 additions to the resource were in the Inferred Resource Category.
Mineralization at Florida Canyon consists of zinc, lead and silver contained in sulfide minerals, oxide minerals and mixed sulfide-oxide mineralization. Overall, contained Zn-Eq metal in the 2021 Inferred Resource, including all ore types, increased 64% compared to the 2017 resource estimate - from 8.8 million ore tonnes at 11.8% Zinc Equivalent (Zn-Eq) to 14.9 million tonnes at 10.9% Zn-Eq, with an expansion of more than 6.0 million tonnes.
The 2018/2019 drilling program was specifically designed to identify new NI-43-101 compliant sulfide resources at Florida Canyon. This objective was achieved with an overall 105% gain in Inferred Zn-Eq contained metal in sulfide resources compared to the 2017 Inferred Zn-Eq sulfide resource estimate. A comparison of the contained Zn-Eq metal in the inferred sulfide resource in the 2017 estimate versus the 2021 estimate, results in the following increase: In the 2017 Inferred Resource Estimate, 59% of the Zn-Eq resources were sulfide; and In the 2021 Inferred Resource Estimate, 78% of the Zn-Eq resources are sulfide.
Chris Herald, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The new 2021 Resource Estimate exceeded our most optimistic expectations. With strong zinc demand, a robust $1.30 per pound current zinc price, and future world-wide stimulus infrastructure spending, we view this significant resource addition as providing further underlying asset value to our shareholders.
Exceptional potential to significantly expand the Florida Canyon mineralized system still exists, particularly immediately to the south and east of the current drilling footprint, where several new surface prospects have been recently discovered, demonstrating two parallel north-south corridors in excess of four-kilometers in length, with virtually no drilling. Additionally, mineralization is open to the North and potentially to the West where no drill tests have been conducted beyond an offsetting fault. Other important undrilled prospects, defined by geochemistry and geologic setting, are located even further north on the property.
The results of the 2018/2019 Florida Canyon drilling program were very successful in achieving our three most important near-term objectives: 1) expanding the steeply dipping San Jorge deposit to the south of previously reported resources and expanding its associated high-grade horizontal mantos to the east; 2) discovering and partially defining the new 1021 Zone in the north central part of the previously drilled footprint over a minimum strike length of 800 meters; and 3) extending a number of horizontal mantos throughout the drilling footprint.
We want to congratulate Nexa for their hard work and commitment in advancing the Florida Canyon project. We are impressed with Nexa's strong social commitment to the communities surrounding the property, including a significant program of local employment and ongoing road-building efforts to better connect communities to each other and the greater regional transportation network."
Several exploratory targets have been identified immediately south, north, east and west of the Florida Canyon deposit with mineralized outcrops. The targets to the south appear to be extensions to the Florida Canyon mineralized corridor. Drill testing some of these satellite targets is planned as they have the potential to significantly increase the mineral resource at the Florida Canyon Project.