Drilling Commences At The Tonopah West Project

VANCOUVER - Blackrock Silver Corp. reported that drilling has commenced at the Tonopah West project located immediately adjacent to Tonopah, Nevada, United States within the Walker Lane gold and silver mineral trend.

The fully-funded drill program at Tonopah West consists of 20,000 metres of drilling, with 50 drillholes planned utilizing two core and one reverse circulation (RC) drill rig and is anticipated to be completed by the end of the year. All three drill rigs are currently fully operational.

Andrew Pollard, President and CEO, said, "Drilling is now underway on what is poised to be a very consequential program as we look to grow and de-risk our mineral inventory. With 50 drillholes planned over the next 5 months this is our most aggressive campaign in two years. In-fill drilling, on 25-metre centers, is anticipated to convert inferred resources located in the shallower portions of the Bermuda and Merten vein systems into measured and indicated resources, both systems projected to be the first structures encountered in a conceptual mining plan. Expansion drilling is targeting prospective mineralization in a gap along the vein corridor that spans 1,000-metres. Drilling is anticipated to link up our DPB and NW Step-out resource areas together."

The drill program will have two main objectives over the next six months. The first objective will be to convert approximately one million tonnes of high-grade silver and gold from the inferred resource category to the measured and indicated resource category. This program will target high grades within the Bermuda and Merten vein systems which are located at the southern end of the DPB area where the veins are at their shallowest depth (200 to 300-metres) below the surface. Drilling will be on 25-metre centers within an area that is 270-metres in an East-West direction by 550-metres in a North-South direction. The resource conversion focus of the Tonopah West drill program is expected to consist of 40 pre-collar holes with corresponding core tails. The combined drillholes will range from 200 to 380-metres in total length. A total of 12,000 metres of combined RC and core drilling is planned for this portion of the program.

The second objective of the drill program is to crystalize further expansion potential across the 1-kilometre gap between the DPB and NW step-out areas of Tonopah West in an effort connect the entire 4-kilometre silver-gold system. Ten drillholes are planned totalling 8,000-metres on a widely spaced grid for this portion of the drill program.