TORONTO, CANADA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/16/13 -- Seabridge Gold (TSX: SEA)(NYSE: SA) announced today results from the final 10 exploration holes drilled last summer on the newly discovered Camp Zone at its 100%-owned KSM Project in northwestern British Columbia. The new results include 10 intercepts above 10 grams of gold per tonne, confirming the high grade nature of this deposit which is favorably located at low altitude near planned infrastructure.
The Camp Zone was discovered last summer while systematically testing numerous geophysical targets and geological concepts with potential for higher copper and gold grades (see news release of September 5, 2012 at www.seabridgegold.net/News/Article/390/). Once the discovery was made, the 2012 Camp Zone drill program focused on expanding the lateral size of the deposit with relatively shallow holes which extended the strike continuity to 1500 meters. The deposit remains open in all directions. Results from this first program suggest that drilling to date may be high in the system with possible better grades below. The 2013 program will therefore focus on the potential for bonanza grades at depth.
The Camp Zone discovery is interpreted as an epithermal style gold occurrence containing significant widths of gold grades well above, and copper grades markedly below, the average for KSM's proven and probable reserves. The Camp Zone appears to be chemically similar to Pretium's neighboring Brucejack deposit and may be a structurally preserved portion of the upper part of the gold-copper porphyry mineral system which was not expected to be present on the KSM property. Mineralized zones are hosted in intermediate volcanic rocks and seem to represent multiple structural corridors with intensive hydrothermal alteration and crack-seal style veins. Hydrothermal alteration is characterized by silica-carbonate-clay composition containing stockwork veins and discrete chalcodonic or banded quartz-carbonate or quartz-adularia veins; sphalerite, galena and barite are often associated with local visible gold and electrum. Geochemically, the zone is depleted in copper, elevated in zinc and lead with a variable but generally low silver-to-gold ratio. Textural, mineralogical and chemical characteristics are consistent with a low-sulfidation epithermal system but additional investigations will help refine this interpretation.
Seabridge Chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk said: "We continue to be encouraged by this new discovery which appears to have the potential grade and size to make a significant contribution to KSM's already robust economics. Although it is very early in the discovery process, this deposit may open up new options for developing KSM. Our $15 million exploration program for 2013 is designed to enhance our understanding of the Camp Zone while also pursuing several highly prospective copper-gold core zone targets."
Final assay results from holes drilled in 2012 at the Camp Zone are:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Total Gold Grade Grade Depth From To Thickness (grams per (grams perHole ID (meters) (meters) (meters) (meters) tonne) tonne)----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-04 546.0 161.0 168.5 7.5 2.40 5.3 including 167.0 168.5 1.5 10.20 23.1 327.5 336.5 9.0 2.55 12.4 344.0 348.5 4.5 2.47 7.3 353.0 375.5 22.5 3.02 12.0 including 357.5 360.5 3.0 16.29 53.5----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-05 144.0 26.5 28.5 2.0 2.48 7.2----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-06 600.3 263.5 264.7 1.2 10.25 170.0 324.0 325.5 1.5 6.65 3.8 358.5 376.5 18.0 3.15 7.7 including 375.0 376.5 1.5 28.70 23.5 456.7 477.0 20.3 1.49 8.7 including 458.0 458.6 0.6 16.85 48.2 494.3 522.8 28.5 1.93 2.6 including 510.7 511.2 0.5 11.95 2.5----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-07 497.3 191.0 272.0 81.0 1.42 8.9 445.0 481.0 36.0 1.33 1.5----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-08 447.0 39.5 52.0 12.5 0.79 5.3 including 51.5 52.0 0.5 10.65 64.7 154.0 184.9 30.9 1.77 5.0 259.5 262.5 3.0 1.48 6.0 268.5 284.5 16.0 1.18 4.1 367.2 381.5 14.3 1.04 2.3----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-09 494.7 190.8 193.1 2.3 3.45 7.8 including 192.6 193.1 0.5 13.40 23.0 449.0 450.2 1.2 1.43 0.6----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-10 138.0 144.7 6.7 1.25 4.6 600.3 249.0 257.0 8.0 1.03 2.4 532.6 556.0 23.4 1.27 3.5 596.8 600.3 3.5 8.83 9.1----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-11 396.0 102.1 102.7 0.6 8.50 494.0 181.0 185.0 4.0 1.12 3.3 200.0 206.5 6.5 6.61 3.4 including 200.0 201.5 1.5 27.50 5.9 326.0 329.6 3.6 1.28 0.4----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-12 310.0 69.0 108.2 39.2 2.23 10.6----------------------------------------------------------------------------C-12-13 615.5 224.8 227.5 2.7 3.15 4.1 495.1 515.7 20.6 1.14 1.5 546.7 569.3 22.6 1.86 0.8 including 565.4 567.3 1.9 9.82 2.1 613.0 615.3 2.3 1.12 9.6----------------------------------------------------------------------------
