Alexco Resource Corp. (NYSE American:AXU) (TSX:AXR) today released results from fifteen drill holes which essentially completes the 2018 resource infill and extension drilling campaign at the high grade Bermingham deposit in the Keno Hill Silver District in Canada’s Yukon Territory. The existing Bermingham resource comprises an indicated 858,000 tonnes averaging 628 grams per tonne silver containing 17.3 million indicated ounces of silver. A total of approximately 8,600 meters of underground and surface drilling was completed at Bermingham in 2018. Results from this work will be included in an updated Bermingham resource estimate to be completed prior to month end. 

Highlights

In the 2018 program, 24 holes were completed underground from the Bermingham exploration decline and 12 holes completed from surface for a total of  8,582 m of HQ diamond core drilling that includes five holes (620 m) that were abandoned, and three holes for which assays are not yet available. This release summarizes the results from eleven underground and four surface drill holes completed for 4,243 m for which assays are available. Overall, the drill holes were designed primarily to provide infill intercepts at spacings of 10 – 15 m centers in order to demonstrate geological and grade continuity in the upper levels of the planned mine development on the high-grade Bear Vein indicated resource, and to also intersect adjacent sub-parallel mineralized vein sets to extend the current resource.

These most recent results continue to confirm continuity of significant high grade silver mineralization in each of the main mineralized vein zones as follows: 

• Intercepts on the Bear Vein included 4.29 m true width at 3,605 g/t (115.91 ounces per tonne (“oz/t”)) Ag in hole BMUG18-018; 5.99 m true width at 1,013 g/t (32.56 oz/t) Ag in hole BMUG18-022; and 0.98 m true width at 6,952 g/t (223.52 oz/t) Ag in hole K-18-0702;
• Intercepts on the Bermingham Footwall Vein included 3.96 m true width at 3,348 g/t (107.64 oz/t) Ag in hole BMUG18-016, and 2.27 m true width at 4,480 g/t (144.03 oz/t) Ag in hole K-18-0702;
• Intercepts in the Bermingham Main Vein included 4.10 m true width at 1,575 g/t (50.65 oz/t) Ag in hole BMUG18-019; and
• Intercepts on the West Dipping Vein set included 1.37 m true width at 1,372 g/t (44.12 oz/t) Ag in hole BMUG18-016, 2.49 m true width at 1,253 g/t (40.27 oz/t) Ag in hole BMUG18-017, and 1.32 m true width at 1,982 g/t (63.73 oz/t) Ag in hole BMUG-024.

Alexco Chairman and CEO Clynt Nauman commented, “These results serve to reconfirm our confidence in the continuity and tenor of silver mineralization in what now appears to be one of the larger silver mineralizing systems in the Keno Hill Silver District. With these results in hand, we will immediately update the Bermingham deposit resource estimate, while also anticipating that the 2018 closer spaced drilling may result in some of the Indicated Resource  converting to Reserves in our upcoming prefeasibility study scheduled for release in October.”

Drill Composite Assay Interval Highlights

Details of the drill holes are shown in Table 1. Composite assay grades and intervals, calculated at a 30 g/t Ag cutoff restricted to include a maximum of two meters unmineralized dilution, used to identify the mineralized zones are shown in Table 2. 

Notes

The 2018 exploration drill program and sampling protocol has been reviewed, verified and compiled by Alexco’s geologic staff under the supervision of Alan McOnie, Vice President, Exploration for Alexco and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”). A rigorous quality control and quality assurance protocol is used on the project, including blank, duplicate and standard reference samples in each batch of 20 samples deliver to the assay lab.  Drill core samples were direct shipped to ALS Minerals Lab at Whitehorse, Yukon for preparation, and to the ALS Minerals facility in North Vancouver, British Columbia for fire assay, multi-element ICP and overlimit analyses.

The disclosure of all other scientific and technical information contained in this news release regarding projects on Alexco’s mineral properties have been reviewed and approved by Mr. Alan McOnie, FAusIMM, Alexco’s Vice President, Exploration, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Alexco

Alexco owns the majority of the historic high-grade Keno Hill Silver District in Canada’s Yukon Territory as detailed in its preliminary economic assessment entitled “Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Keno Hill Silver District Project, Yukon, Canada”, which is dated March 29, 2017, with an effective date of January 3, 2017, which anticipates the sequential development of four high grade silver deposits over an eight year mine life producing more than one million tonnes with an average grade of 843 grams per tonne silver, 3.3% lead and 4.6% zinc. Silver production is anticipated to be approximately 3.5 million ounces per year. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Alexco also operates a wholly-owned subsidiary business, Alexco Environmental Group, that provides mine-related environmental services, remediation technologies and reclamation and mine closure services to both government and industry clients in North America and elsewhere.