Junior explorer Dolly Varden Silver Corp. (DV:TSX.V; DOLLF:OTCQX) has started its 30,000-meter, 99-hole drilling campaign in the Kitsault Valley in northwest British Columbia’s Golden Triangle.
The company is utilizing three diamond drill rigs to upgrade and expand resources at the trend made up of multiple deposits and historic mines, and to discover new silver and gold mineralization.
“When we go to infill, the goal here is to move half of those ounces into the measured indicated category,” President and Chief Executive Officer Shawn Khunkhun told Streetwise Reports. “And I think what will happen is, we'll also understand the controls of the system, which will enable us to guide the other 50% of the exploration program, which is the really exciting part of the program where we can really move the needle.”
Dolly Varden’s Kitsault Valley project hosts an indicated resource of 34.7 million ounces (34.7 Moz) of silver and 166,000 ounces of gold with additional inferred resources of 29.3 Moz of silver and 817,000 ounces of gold within multiple outcropping deposits.
The property, comprised of Dolly Varden in the south and Homestake Ridge in the north, covers 163 square kilometers. In a strategic move, the company acquired Homestake Ridge from Fury Gold Mines, thereby consolidating the two adjacent properties. It’s one of the largest high- grade and undeveloped precious metals assets in the Golden Triangle.
Connecting Mineralized Trends
With backing from shareholder Hecla Mining Co. (HL:NYSE), the company has CA$25 million in the bank. Because of competitive exploration costs, it is only using about CA$12 million of that for the drilling, Khunkhun said.
“We've got three rigs turning right now,” he said. “And I'm really happy with the way we started the program. We've got a great, great team on site.”
The company said it will prepare a NI43-101 compliant Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Kitsault Valley project after this year’s campaign, which will include Dolly Varden drill results since 2018 and Homestake Ridge drill results from 2022. The Updated Mineral Resource Estimate will then be the basis for a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) of the combined project.
The company said it intersected 354 grams per ton of silver (g/t Ag) over 12.28 meters at Kitsol in the valley in 2021, and 1,220 g/t Ag over 0.7 meters at Torbrit North Zone.
The Critical Investor said it would “be very interesting to see if the 2022 programs could potentially connect mineralized trends between the Homestake and Dolly Varden/Torbrit deposits, by growing the individual deposits and finding new ones.”
“I view the consolidated Kitsault Valley PEA, although this will take a while, as an important benchmark for indicating the consolidated project economics,” the analyst wrote for Streetwise Reports. “The value of the project seems to have a good chance on improving beforehand, through exploration potential, and leverage to precious metal prices.”
Let Exploration Be the Guide
Khunkhun said Dolly Varden is trying to be “surgical” about the drilling but is letting exploration success guide further drilling.
“You come in with a plan, but based on success, you start tweaking it,” he said. “We’ll be reporting results starting in August, and I can see them coming all the way through until February.”
Dolly Varden has a market cap of CA$138.94 million and 220.5 million shares outstanding. It trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.88 and CA$0.42.
| Want to be the first to know about interesting Silver investment ideas? Sign up to receive the FREE Streetwise Reports' newsletter. | Subscribe |
Disclosures
1) Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Dolly Varden Silver Corp. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.
3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Dolly Varden Silver Corp., a company mentioned in this article.
