Bunker Hill on track for June restart, finds new veins early in drill programme
Idaho-based Bunker Hill Mining Corporation is on track to restart operations at the Bunker Hill mine in June with 93% of pre-production activities having been completed, while underground exploration is ongoing on the Cate-Eight target at the mine.
The underground drill programme is designed to test high-grade silver targets near recently constructed mine infrastructure in the upper area of the mine, with the potential to be incorporated into the near-term production plan.
Some of the latest exploration results include two new veins with high-grade silver/lead mineralisation discovered near existing underground mine infrastructure. These veins have never been mined or identified by previous exploration work at the mine.
Bunker Hill finds that mineralisation occurs within 40 ft to 120 ft of mine development areas and remains open for expansion in all directions.
The company elaborates that the current exploration target extends 350 ft along strike and 450 ft up-dip, highlighting exploration opportunities in the underexplored upper areas of the mine, close to the footprint of existing mine infrastructure.
Only 730 ft of the planned 25 000 ft campaign has been drilled.
The “Cate-Eight” target is the first target to be tested in the multi-target 2026 exploration drill programme. This target was intercepted by three historic drill holes in the 1970s before the mine closed, but these were not followed up on. It is interpreted as an offset segment of a vein within the Cate Fault Zone.
The Cate-Eight vein target is considered to belong to the silver-rich Galena-Quartz series of veins, previously mined on the lower levels of the Bunker Hill mine.
This group of veins was historically underexplored and largely unexploited in the upper levels of the mine and represents attractive, potentially high-grade silver exploration targets adjacent to mine infrastructure that could be brought into the near-term mine plan.
Bunker Hill CEO and president Sam Ash says the latest uncovered grades and widths are consistent with the company’s expectations so far.
“As we approach first production in June, this drill programme is providing the geological detail we need to identify new areas of silver-focused upside that have the potential to increase the total quantity of silver contained within the near-term mine plan.”
Bunker Hill mine produced more than 160-million ounces of silver before its closure in 1981, with silver having accounted for 50% of the mine’s revenue.
