"We are excited to test the vein system to confirm the historically reported grades and widths," said Kootenay president and CEO, James McDonald. "The first 12 holes of the drill program will be designed to test the F vein where underground development work extended to 200m depth and the historic mining occurred."

Columba is a past-producing high-grade silver mine, which operated on a small scale circa 1910 and again briefly circa 1958-60. It covers a large high-grade epithermal vein system which the Kootenay has mapped and sampled with grades retuning up to 693gpt silver on surface.

The project area includes a network of underground workings comprised of four shafts and six levels of drifts reported to measure over 1,000m in length.

Historic mine records indicate grades from these underground workings to range from 600 to 900gpt silver with highlights of 1,900gpt silver over 4m and 679gpt silver along 133m of vein strike and 1.3m of vein width.

Kootenay Silver has contracted GlobeXplore, S.A. de C.V. of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico to conduct the drilling at Columba.

Results of the drill program will be announced as soon as the assays are received and interpreted by the Company.