Skeena Intersects 22.59 g/t AuEq Over 14.33 Metres at Eskay Creek

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2020 / Skeena Resources Limited (TSX.V:SKE)(OTCQX:SKREF) ("Skeena" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the final gold-silver assays from the 2019 Phase I surface drilling program at the Eskay Creek Project ("Eskay Creek") located in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia. Four ground-based surface drill rigs were utilized for the 2019 Phase I program in the 21A, 21E and HW Zones to infill and upgrade areas of Inferred resources to the Indicated classification. A total of 14,266 metres over 209 holes were drilled. Drill hole results reported in this release are from the 21E and HW Zones. Reference images are presented at the end of this release as well as on the Company's website.

Phase I Eskay Creek Drilling Highlights:

13.24 g/t Au, 701 g/t Ag (22.59 g/t AuEq) over 14.33 m (SK-19-246) – HW Zone

Including: 5.18 g/t Au, 5,860 g/t Ag (83.31 g/t AuEq) over 0.90 m
And: 1.75 g/t Au, 1,235 g/t Ag (18.22 g/t AuEq) over 1.05 m
And: 1.23 g/t Au, 1,895 g/t Ag (26.50 g/t AuEq) over 0.85 m
And: 176.00 g/t Au, 1,530 g/t Ag (196.40 g/t AuEq) over 0.90 m

2.58 g/t Au, 51 g/t Ag (3.26 g/t AuEq) over 25.00 m (SK-19-222A) – 21E Zone
3.36 g/t Au, 40 g/t Ag (3.89 g/t AuEq) over 14.00 m (SK-19-217) – 21E Zone
1.94 g/t Au, 166 g/t Ag (4.16 g/t AuEq) over 13.50 m (SK-19-237) – 21E Zone

Gold Equivalent (AuEq) calculated via the formula: Au (g/t) + [Ag (g/t) / 75]. Reported core lengths represent 80-100% of true widths and are supported by well-defined mineralization geometries derived from historical drilling. Grade capping of individual assays has not been applied to the Au and Ag assays informing the length weighted AuEq composites. Processing recoveries have not been applied to the AuEq calculation and are disclosed at 100%. Samples below detection limit are nulled to a value of zero.

2019 Drilling Demonstrates Continuity and Exceptional Silver Grades

The 2019 Phase I infill program at Eskay Creek continues to demonstrate the excellent continuity of the current resource model which is derived largely from historical drilling. Phase I infill drilling within the 21E Zone, which is located on the eastern flank of the Eskay deposits, has correlated extremely well with the historical drilling with respect to grades, widths and spatial distribution of mineralization.

Initial drilling within the HW (Hanging-Wall) Zone has not only corroborated the current resource model but has located additional mineralization of equivalent tenor as confirmed by drill hole SK-19-245 which intersected 1.63 g/t Au, 62 g/t Ag (2.45 g/t AuEq) over 16.21 metres.

Situated 20 metres east of this expanded mineralization, drill hole SK-19-246 intersected extremely high-grade silver mineralization of 13.24 g/t Au, 701 g/t Ag (22.59 g/t AuEq) over 14.33 metres including 5.18 g/t Au, 5,860 g/t Ag (83.31 g/t AuEq) over 0.90 metres. This intercept was predicted by the resource model. Drill intercepts in the HW Zone are located less than 20 metres below surface.

Current Status – Eskay Creek Drilling

Four ground-based drill rigs are now operational at the Eskay Creek Project continuing the
Phase I infill program. Exploratory drilling is scheduled to commence in the coming weeks.

About Skeena

Skeena Resources Limited is a junior Canadian mining exploration company focused on developing prospective precious metal properties in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada. The Company's primary activities are the exploration and development of the past-producing Eskay Creek mine, which contains a combined Indicated and Inferred 4Moz, 4.4 g/t gold-equivalent open-pit resource. The Company recently completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on Eskay Creek which highlights an after-tax NPV5% of C$638M, 51% IRR and a 1.2-year payback. Skeena is also exploring the past-producing Snip gold mine.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Skeena Resources Limited,

Walter Coles Jr.
President & CEO

Qualified Persons

Exploration activities at the Eskay Creek Project are administered on site by the Company's Exploration Managers, Colin Russell, P.Geo. and Adrian Newton, P.Geo. In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Paul Geddes, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration and Resource Development, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has prepared, validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and reporting its exploration activities on its exploration projects.

Quality Assurance – Quality Control

Once received from the drill and processed, all drill core samples are sawn in half, labelled and bagged. The remaining drill core is subsequently securely stored on site. Numbered security tags are applied to lab shipments for chain of custody requirements. The Company inserts quality control (QC) samples at regular intervals in the sample stream, including blanks and reference materials with all sample shipments to monitor laboratory performance. The QAQC program was designed and approved by Lynda Bloom, P.Geo. of Analytical Solutions Ltd., and is overseen by the Company's Qualified Person, Paul Geddes, P.Geo, Vice President Exploration and Resource Development.

Drill core samples are submitted to ALS Geochemistry's analytical facility in North Vancouver, British Columbia for preparation and analysis. The ALS facility is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard for gold assays and all analytical methods include quality control materials at set frequencies with established data acceptance criteria. The entire sample is crushed and 1kg is pulverized. Analysis for gold is by 50g fire assay fusion with atomic absorption (AAS) finish with a lower limit of 0.01 ppm and upper limit of 100 ppm. Samples with gold assays greater than 100ppm are re-analyzed using a 50g fire assay fusion with gravimetric finish. Analysis for silver is by 50g fire assay fusion with gravimetric finish with a lower limit of 5ppm and upper limit of 10,000ppm. Samples with silver assays greater than 10,000ppm are re-analyzed using a gravimetric silver concentrate method. A selected number of samples are also analyzed using a 48 multi-elemental geochemical package by a 4-acid digestion, followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and also for mercury using an aqua regia digest with Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) finish. Samples with sulfur reporting greater than 10% from the multi-element analysis are re-analyzed for total sulfur by Leco furnace and infrared spectroscopy.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward looking information" and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "targets", "estimates", "plans", "expects", "may", "will", "could" or "would". Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Table 1: Eskay Creek Project 2019 Phase I length weighted drill hole gold and silver composites:

HOLE-ID

FROM (m)

TO (m)

CORE LENGTH (m)

AU (g/t)

AG (g/t)

AUEQ (g/t)

ZONE

SK-19-215

10.20

13.00

2.80

0.66

112

2.15

21E

SK-19-215

20.50

28.50

8.00

1.01

1.20

21E

SK-19-216

4.90

8.80

3.90

1.89

2.40

21E

SK-19-216

11.30

15.00

3.70

0.45

1.48

21E

SK-19-216

18.00

29.00

11.00

1.03

186

3.50

21E

SK-19-216

49.10

57.50

8.40

1.72

178

4.09

21E

INCLUDING

51.90

53.21

1.31

4.09

661

12.90

21E

AND

53.21

53.71

0.50

4.85

565

12.38

21E

SK-19-217

4.60

9.53

4.93

1.45

2.03

21E

SK-19-217

15.00

28.00

13.00

0.65

109

2.10

21E

INCLUDING

21.75

22.25

0.50

2.57

793

13.14

21E

SK-19-217

52.00

54.75

2.75

0.64

0.77

21E

SK-19-217

57.00

71.00

14.00

3.36

3.89

21E

SK-19-218

5.00

10.00

5.00

1.12

1.52

21E

SK-19-218A

5.00

9.00

4.00

1.04

1.40

21E

SK-19-218A

18.50

28.50

10.00

1.20

102

2.55

21E

SK-19-218A

52.50

62.00

9.50

1.12

1.85

21E

SK-19-218A

65.00

71.00

6.00

5.28

5.62

21E

INCLUDING

68.82

70.00

1.18

11.80

12.51

21E

SK-19-219

5.50

12.34

6.84

1.84

2.23

21E

SK-19-219

20.50

33.77

13.27

1.00

2.25

21E

SK-19-220

1.60

14.00

12.40

0.68

1.24

21E

SK-19-220

26.50

30.00

3.50

1.71

1.93

21E

SK-19-221

1.17

11.00

9.83

1.06

122

2.68

21E

INCLUDING

10.00

11.00

1.00

3.85

612

12.01

21E

SK-19-221

30.50

39.00

8.50

1.28

1.79

21E

SK-19-221

55.85

59.00

3.15

1.07

1.15

21E

SK-19-222

2.00

10.25

8.25

0.54

1.21

21E

SK-19-222

14.70

24.00

9.30

2.86

3.31

21E

SK-19-222A

2.00

10.33

8.33

0.49

0.99

21E

SK-19-222A

14.17

28.65

14.48

3.02

3.40

21E

SK-19-222A

33.43

42.50

9.07

0.95

1.18

21E

SK-19-222A

63.50

88.50

25.00

2.58

3.26

21E

SK-19-222A

105.50

111.00

5.50

1.54

1.64

21E

SK-19-223

3.23

9.88

6.65

1.03

1.69

21E

SK-19-223

14.62

23.42

8.80

3.51

3.86

21E

SK-19-223

27.08

37.00

9.92

0.93

1.65

21E

SK-19-224

0.43

14.00

13.57

1.33

1.59

21E

SK-19-224

22.50

30.50

8.00

2.43

2.50

21E

SK-19-225

2.19

8.00

5.81

1.39

1.87

21E

SK-19-225

17.50

26.25

8.75

1.15

1.35

21E

SK-19-225

30.50

38.00

7.50

3.49

3.69

21E

SK-19-226

1.00

6.24

5.24

1.14

1.60

21E

SK-19-226

12.05

25.50

13.45

0.81

1.89

21E

SK-19-226

40.78

43.50

2.72

1.54

1.61

21E

SK-19-226

46.96

52.50

5.54

3.51

3.94

21E

SK-19-227

2.13

9.15

7.02

0.75

1.40

21E

SK-19-227

29.63

33.63

4.00

0.79

0.94

21E

SK-19-228

3.20

29.00

25.80

0.68

1.17

21E

SK-19-228

31.30

37.63

6.33

1.11

1.36

21E

SK-19-229

5.00

9.00

4.00

0.45

1.54

21E

SK-19-229

40.00

42.50

2.50

2.68

2.74

21E

SK-19-230

2.73

12.50

9.77

0.50

133

2.28

21E

SK-19-231

5.00

9.50

4.50

0.80

289

4.65

21E

INCLUDING

8.35

9.50

1.15

0.75

938

13.26

21E

SK-19-232

1.93

17.79

15.86

2.16

2.47

21E

SK-19-232

22.22

35.50

13.28

0.88

1.12

21E

SK-19-232

51.00

58.00

7.00

0.87

0.94

21E

SK-19-232

83.50

88.00

4.50

3.66

3.81

21E

SK-19-232

94.27

97.50

3.23

0.47

128

2.18

21E

SK-19-233

5.30

16.77

11.47

1.43

1.82

21E

SK-19-233

20.98

26.98

6.00

1.23

1.48

21E

SK-19-234

6.44

16.60

10.16

1.13

1.54

21E

SK-19-234

25.72

33.00

7.28

1.18

1.45

21E

INCLUDING

11.00

12.00

1.00

1.70

1,195

17.63

21E

SK-19-235

21.00

26.50

5.50

0.73

0.90

21E

SK-19-236

13.50

31.50

18.00

0.75

1.62

21E

INCLUDING

14.50

15.00

0.50

1.46

921

13.74

21E

SK-19-236

36.80

40.00

3.20

0.50

1.70

21E

SK-19-237

14.00

18.33

4.33

1.90

3.04

21E

SK-19-237

25.50

39.00

13.50

1.94

166

4.16

21E

INCLUDING

28.05

28.90

0.85

4.71

1,360

22.84

21E

SK-19-238

7.95

21.00

13.05

1.16

2.05

21E

SK-19-239

16.87

22.00

5.13

1.28

1.50

21E

SK-19-239

26.50

29.50

3.00

0.68

0.80

21E

SK-19-240

22.54

23.47

0.93

2.00

2.16

21E

SK-19-241

16.90

23.50

6.60

1.17

1.33

21E

SK-19-242

6.10

12.50

6.40

0.83

0.99

21E

SK-19-242

81.50

98.00

16.50

1.12

1.37

21E

SK-19-242

101.00

105.00

4.00

1.02

1.14

21E

SK-19-243

16.42

37.50

21.08

1.33

1.77

21E

SK-19-244

19.40

26.85

7.45

0.64

1.07

21E

SK-19-244

31.40

35.00

3.60

0.91

1.12

21E

SK-19-245

11.50

27.71

16.21

1.63

2.45

SK-19-245

34.05

38.00

3.95

2.25

2.52

SK-19-246

10.00

24.33

14.33

13.24

701

22.59

INCLUDING

11.95

12.85

0.90

5.18

5,860

83.31

AND

12.85

13.90

1.05

1.75

1,235

18.22

AND

13.90

14.75

0.85

1.23

1,895

26.50

AND

19.00

19.90

0.90

176.00

1,530

196.40

SK-19-246

27.30

34.00

6.70

1.10

1.23

SK-19-247

12.55

23.47

10.92

1.32

1.42

Gold Equivalent (AuEq) calculated via the formula: Au (g/t) + [Ag (g/t) / 75]. Reported core lengths represent 80-100% of true widths and are supported by well-defined mineralization geometries derived from historical drilling. Length weighted AuEq composites were constrained by geological considerations. Grade capping of individual assays has not been applied to the Au and Ag assays informing the length weighted AuEq composites. Processing recoveries have not been applied to the AuEq calculation and are disclosed at 100%. Samples below detection limit were nulled to a value of zero.

Table 2: Mine grid Phase I drill hole locations and orientations:

HOLE-ID

EASTING

NORTHING

ELEVATION

LENGTH (m)

AZIMUTH

DIP

SK-19-100

9973.0

10139.0

972.6

41.4

73.2

-59.8

SK-19-128

10086.0

10527.0

941.0

36.0

161.6

-60.3

SK-19-130

10086.0

10527.0

941.0

40.0

210.7

-55.1

SK-19-215

10124.5

10272.3

979.7

32.0

327.1

-82.2

SK-19-216

10106.2

10308.4

980.2

71.0

160.1

-57.3

SK-19-217

10106.0

10308.3

980.7

71.0

164.1

-68.6

SK-19-218

10106.4

10308.4

979.4

17.0

205.0

-84.0

SK-19-218A

10106.4

10308.4

979.4

71.0

199.1

-84.1

SK-19-219

10106.4

10308.3

979.7

47.0

189.7

-60.2

SK-19-220

10130.6

10264.2

979.5

50.0

181.9

-67.2

SK-19-221

10130.5

10266.5

980.3

59.0

228.9

-87.0

SK-19-222

10120.1

10383.8

976.3

24.0

277.0

-85.2

SK-19-222A

10120.3

10384.6

975.0

122.0

270.3

-86.6

SK-19-223

10120.0

10367.4

975.3

45.0

3.4

-89.1

SK-19-224

10138.5

10322.9

981.5

66.0

44.1

-56.8

SK-19-225

10138.1

10321.0

981.8

62.0

43.8

-72.1

SK-19-226

10138.3

10320.4

981.9

54.0

220.5

-89.9

SK-19-227

10132.3

10389.1

977.2

44.0

28.9

-70.1

SK-19-228

10132.1

10389.2

975.3

41.0

285.5

-78.3

SK-19-229

10137.8

10293.3

980.8

65.0

142.6

-74.8

SK-19-230

10135.5

10293.3

980.9

62.0

43.5

-86.7

SK-19-231

10136.9

10292.7

981.0

53.0

86.0

-71.5

SK-19-232

10128.3

10363.6

975.6

102.0

63.1

-89.1

SK-19-233

10114.2

10344.7

976.8

41.0

92.2

-78.5

SK-19-234

10113.4

10343.8

977.0

45.0

239.0

-72.0

SK-19-235

10110.2

10277.7

976.3

32.0

114.4

-60.5

SK-19-236

10108.4

10276.0

975.6

47.0

194.4

-67.6

SK-19-237

10109.1

10317.4

977.2

47.0

267.0

-69.2

SK-19-238

10109.3

10317.8

977.5

35.0

86.3

-68.5

SK-19-239

10137.0

10382.0

977.2

41.0

141.0

-62.2

SK-19-240

10137.6

10382.9

977.0

41.0

48.5

-69.5

SK-19-241

10137.6

10381.9

977.4

42.0

103.1

-44.7

SK-19-242

10138.9

10357.6

979.2

106.0

21.3

-85.1

SK-19-243

10128.6

10407.0

974.5

38.0

283.2

-60.4

SK-19-244

10129.1

10405.8

973.9

35.0

203.1

-68.5

SK-19-245

9862.2

10891.7

860.3

38.0

130.8

-64.3

SK-19-246

9882.9

10892.3

863.1

34.0

162.0

-67.2

SK-19-247

9884.5

10894.6

863.4

30.0

100.9

-44.6

For higher resolution of image above, click here.

CONTACT:

Walt Coles Jr.,
President & CEO
Kelly Earle, Vice President Communications
Email: kearle@skeenaresources.com
Tel: (604) 684-8725

SOURCE: Skeena Resources Limited

ReleaseID: 577899

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