Finlay Minerals Ltd. reported that the 2023 field work program of biogeochemical sampling and soil mercury vapour analysis has been successful in confirming the presence of known mineralization and outlining further potential drill targets. The Silver Hope Property has extensive till cover over most of the property with multiple-direction glacial movements which smear and complicate interpretation of conventional soil sampling anomalous results. The lack of outcrop, in addition to the highly variable thickness of the till cover, also adds to the difficulty of typical surface exploration techniques.

The premise for completing the 2023 work was that biogeochemical sampling and soil Mercury (Hg) vapour surveys look deeper into the till cover and possibly down to bedrock, leading to better definition of mineralized trends. An orientation survey with both biogeochemical sampling and soil Hg vapour surveys was completed over the Main Trend (Hope, Superstition and Gaul Zones) and the West Copper-Molybdenum (Cu-Mo) Porphyry. Both methods proved successful in identifying the known-mineralized Main Trend and the West Cu-Mo Porphyry.

The Main Trend biogeochemical results displayed a multi-element anomaly of copper, silver and gold. The West Cu-Mo PorphyRY results showed a strong copper anomaly. The soil Hg vapour results showed spikes over the Main Trend and was depleted over the West Cu-Mo Porphry.

Click HERE to view the entire property Silver (Ag) and Copper (Cu) biogeochemistry results and anomalies identified in the 2023 field program. Sampling was conducted over 1-5 trees in an area collecting twigs of similar size and age from around the outside of the tree. Twig sampling was conducted using a pole snip or secateur where the last 15 cm of the twigs were cut off.

Sampling was collected around the full circumference of a tree to avoid collecting all the twigs from one branch. A minimum of 200 g of material was collected in a medium Hubco bag. The soil Hg vapours data collection required the use of a Lumex RA-915M - a unique, high sensitivity analytical instrument for measuring mercury (Hg) in the field.

The surface material was scrapped away and disturbed using a pick, then 3 pick holes punctured the till. The probe was placed within a bucket and placed over the sample site. The bucket ensures no external factors such as wind affects the results.

The Hg analyzer takes readings measuring nanograms (ng) every second; readings were taken over a 60 second period with a mean, maximum and minimum value recorded. The Hg analyzer is calibrated at the beginning of each day of field use with the date, time and a 20-minute warm up period. QA and QC: All biogeochemical assay results have been monitored through a quality assurance /quality control (QA/QC) program.

The biogeochemical samples were collected and roughly 200 grams were placed in Hubco sample bags. The sample bags were assigned a sample identification number and sample tag which were entered into the sampling database. Samples were shipped in sealed and secured bags to ALS Global Laboratory in North Vancouver, BC.

The biogeochemical samples was prepared using the VEG-MILL01 protocol which mills 100g of dry plant material using a Retsch Mill to 100% passing 1mm producing a homogeneous and representative pulp that could be sub-sampled for analysis. Samples were then analyzed using the ME-VEG41 protocol with aqua regia digestion for 53 element analysis. In addition to the ALS Global Laboratory QA/QC protocols, Finlay implemented an internal QA/QC program that included the insertion of 43 QA/QC samples into the biogeochemical sample stream.

The QA/QC included standards, field duplicates and experimental duplicates.