Seabridge Gold Aims For 3rd Core Zone Discovery

TORONTO - Seabridge Gold outlined the 2015 exploration program at its 100%-owned KSM Project in northwestern British Columbia. Over the past two years, Seabridge has successfully targeted higher grade core zones beneath KSM's near surface porphyry deposits, resulting in the discovery of Deep Kerr and the Iron Cap Lower Zone, two copper-rich deposits that have added nearly one billion tonnes to project resources. This year's main target is a possible higher grade core zone beneath KSM's largest deposit, gold-rich Mitchell.

Drilling is planned to begin at the lower elevations of the Mitchell valley and then proceed to Kerr and Iron Cap. A high resolution airborne magnetic survey has recently been completed to aid in refining the drill targets, particularly at Mitchell.

Seabridge Chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk noted that the 2015 program at KSM is considerably smaller than previous years, reflecting the completion of the environmental assessment process, which culminated in provincial and federal approvals in 2014. "The EA application process required a significant share of our spending but that work is finished. This year, the emphasis is focused on drilling what we believe could immediately enhance both gold and base metal production scenarios," he said, "by adding further higher grade material in easily accessible locations and reducing waste rock generation."

"This summer, we expect to conclude our three year core zone exploration program which so far has added nearly a billion tonnes of better grade material. We believe we have left the best to last. The potential under Mitchell has been our top exploration target for more than four years but earlier attempts to drill it ran into technical difficulties. We believe we now have a reliable solution that will enable us to complete holes into this high value target," Fronk said. No additional funding is required for the 2015 program following the $16.4 million raise completed last month.

The Mitchell deposit at KSM is the largest porphyry copper-gold system on the property, containing proven and probable reserves of 1.4 billion tonnes grading 0.60 g/T Au and 0.16% Cu.╩ In the central part of the deposit there is a zone of higher grade gold and copper which has been scheduled for early exploitation in the mine plan, to facilitate rapid payback of capital. The bulk of the Mitchell deposit represents mineralization on the margin of this central zone, resulting in a lower overall grade. Delineation drilling of the Mitchell deposit focused on an open-pit mining configuration, which favored width over depth.

Drill testing the plunge projection of the Mitchell high grade centre is planned for June. Two deep holes are designed to confirm the concept; if successful, these holes will be followed up by more drilling to expand the zone. These holes will also provide additional information for the Lower Mitchell block cave shape included in the 2012 Preliminary Feasibility Study.

The Deep Kerr deposit continues to grow and remains open to the south and at depth. Exploration drilling in 2014 expanded the inferred resource to 782 million tonnes grading 0.54% copper and 0.33 g/T gold (8.2 million ounces of gold and 9.3 billion pounds of copper). See Table 1 below. Deep Kerr consists of a broad zone of altered rock representing several relic intrusions measuring about 2,000 meters north-south by 600 meters east-west and roughly 1,500 meters in depth. The defining characteristic that distinguishes Deep Kerr from other deposits at KSM is that pyrite is markedly decreased relative to copper-bearing minerals.

Drilling plans for Deep Kerr are designed to expand both the length and width of block cave shapes that confine the current resource estimate. Geological projections of the mineralized zone indicate that the block cave shapes are limited by drill data. Extending the footprint of the block cave shapes could increase the potential mining rate for this higher grade material, thereby generating a significant economic benefit to the project.