Coeur Reports Update on 2020 Kensington Exploration

Coeur’s top priorities for 2020 included (1) underground expansion drilling at upper Kensington Zone 30, Eureka and Raven, (2) surface expansion drilling of upper Raven and Johnson, (3) step-out drilling at Big Lake, and (4) infill and expansion drilling at Elmira and Johnson, respectively, from a new development drift established in the fourth quarter of 2020. Coeur successfully achieved all of its objectives for the year.

Key highlights from the priority list described above included helicopter-supported surface drilling and underground drilling within the uppermost 2050-level of the Kensington mine. All of the zones drilled during the year appear to be getting wider in the upper portions of the structures, both from surface and from drilling underground on the 2050-level of the Kensington mine.

New areas tested at higher-elevations included Johnson, where an additional 700 feet (225 meters) of strike length was tested from surface holes, and four new areas above existing infrastructure that were expanded, including upper Raven, Jennifer (near Raven), upper Kensington Zone 30, and Northern Belle (near the Kensington Main deposit).

Coeur expects to increase its exploration investment at Kensington during 2021, giving more priority to infill drilling and its resource conversion program, while also maintaining a similar focus on resource expansion drilling year-over-year.

The company began the year with two underground rigs targeting Elmira and Johnson. Both surface and underground drilling on Johnson identified discrete mineralization that Coeur expects to target in its expansion drilling program in 2021. Drilling at Elmira also regularly intercepted mineralized material in both the footwall and hanging wall situated near the center of the vein, highlighting continued opportunity for growth toward the southern portion of Elmira.

Additionally, interpretation and modeling of the 2020 assay results from Elmira, Eureka, Johnson, Northern Belle, and Raven drilling are currently underway. Once the results are interpreted, the company plans to add a third underground core rig to continue expansion drilling on the highest priority, near mine, expansion targets.

“2020 was the largest and most effective drilling campaign in the history of Coeur, and we plan to build on this momentum over the next few years,” says Hans J. Rasmussen, Coeur’s Senior Vice President of Exploration.

“Results are just beginning to demonstrate the quality and potential of our assets with recordsetting reserve growth at Rochester, significant additions at Palmarejo and Silvertip, new discoveries in southern Nevada, as well as wider portions of mineralization found in upper Kensington. On the back of these excellent results, and with a larger budget in hand, the site teams are preparing for another aggressive year of aiming to continue growing reserves and resources from our inventory of drill-ready targets. We have already mobilized twenty-one drill rigs at our six sites with the goal of making 2021 even more successful than 2020.”