Several significant work programs have been completed and additional
work programs are planned on Almaden Minerals Ltd.'s (Almaden)
projects. Almaden currently has eight active joint venture projects
which include a regional exploration program with partner BHP
Billiton underway to explore for copper-gold deposits in Mexico.
ATW Diamond Project,
NWT, Canada
A till sampling program has been completed on the ATW property.
Seventy-seven holes were drilled to recover samples of basal
till in order to determine the source of a 20 kilometre long
kimberlitic indicator mineral train in glacial till. This train
had previously been traced easterly and up ice to within five
kilometres from a fence of holes which did not encounter indicator
minerals, outlining a source area for the kimberlitic body. This
source area was tested by the current drill program. Picking
and identification of indicator minerals from the samples is
still not complete. The ATW Project is between and roughly equidistant
from the Diavik and Snap Lake diamond deposits. The Mackay Lake
project is a joint venture of ATW Resources Ltd. (75%), Aberex
Minerals Ltd.(15%), and SouthernEra Resources Ltd. (10%). ATW
itself is owned by Almaden Minerals Ltd. (40%) Troymin Resources
Ltd. (20%), and Williams Creek Explorations Ltd. (40%).
Siwash Gold Deposit,
Canada
The company completed a sixteen hole, 5,000 m (meter) diamond
drill program in September 2002 to test the continuity of mineralisation
at the company's wholly owned Siwash Gold Mine in B.C. Calculation
of an updated resource estimate incorporating the 2002 drill
intersections is underway. The Siwash Mine presently has an indicated
resource of 87,700 oz (2,727,400 grams) gold in 61,300 tons and
a probable reserve of 45,200 oz (1,405,700 gm) gold in 44,500
tons for a total of 141,962 ounces in 123,142 tons as calculated
on completion of the last drill program in 2000.
Caballo Blanco,
Mexico
The Caballo Blanco project is optioned to Comaplex Minerals Ltd.
(Comaplex) who can earn a 60% interest in the project by spending
US$2,000,000. Comaplex have completed a large rock sampling and
geologic mapping program. This work was complimented by analysis
of alteration mineralogy with a PIMA portable infrared spectrometer
which has outlined several prominent areas of alteration and
mineralisation. Comaplex has informed Almaden that exploration
will continue in the month of May and will include a large IP
geophysical survey to help define targets for drilling.
Galeana, Mexico
The Galeana property is optioned to Grid Capital Corp. (Grid)
who can earn a 60% interest by spending US$2,000,000 and issuing
400,000 shares to Almaden. Grid currently has a large field program
underway on this high-grade gold-silver vein prospect. The work
program has included rock and soil geochemical sampling, geologic
mapping and IP geophysical surveys intended to define targets
for a diamond drill program. The property covers two major vein
systems, the Miguel Ahumada - Estrella de Oro trend and the San
Geronimo trend, both of which have had limited historic production.
Production took place from 1889 to 1910, and it is estimated
from historic reports that up to 100,000 ounces may have been
extracted from vein material averaging 0.6 ounces per ton (opt)
Au. The mines were closed in 1910, at the time of the Mexican
revolution. Several comprehensive evaluations of the deposits
were carried out between 1902 and 1923 and are in the possession
of Almaden. In these evaluations grades are reported to average
0.84 opt Au over an average of 6 feet at Miguel Ahumada, 0.42
opt over an average of 7 feet at San Geronimo, and 0.9 opt over
an average of 4 feet at Estrella de Oro. Both vein systems represent
classic banded quartz-adularia-carbonate low sulphidation epithermal
veins.
El Pulpo, Mexico
The El Pulpo property is located north-east of Mazatlan and covers
an area of approximately 100 square kilometres. Almaden has optioned
this property to Ross River Minerals Ltd. (Ross River) who can
earn a 60% interest by spending US$3,000,000 and issuing 425,000
shares to Almaden. Almaden and Ross River have identified high
grade porphyry related gold, silver and copper mineralisation
has been identified over a surface area in excess of 12 square
kilometres. The property hosts at least two copper-gold porphyry
targets and three high grade gold vein targets. Ross River has
informed Almaden that a large sampling and mapping program will
start on the project in May, 2003.
BHP Billiton Joint
Venture, Mexico
An initial helicopter-borne reconnaissance program has been completed
over the area of interest in this joint-venture program with
BHP Billiton, operated by Almaden and designed to identify copper-gold
deposits in Mexico. Several areas of significant mineralisation
and alteration for follow-up were noted in this program. Work
will commence immediately.
San Carlos, Mexico
The San Carlos Project is optioned to Aurcana Corp. (Aurcana),
who can earn a 60% interest in the property by spending US$4,000,000
and have issued 300,000 shares to Almaden. Aurcana have recently
completed a four hole, 865 metre, diamond drilling program in
an area of the property prospective for copper-gold porphyry
mineralisation. Aurcana has reported to Almaden that all holes
intersected porphyry style alteration and mineralisation, however
the grades intersected of copper, molybdenum and gold are low.
The data is being reviewed by Aurcana to determine the next phase
of work on this porphyry target. Aurcana's work also defined
a separate gold target in an area of the property not tested
by drilling, defined by high gold in soil. Previous work by Aurcana
highlighted elevated gold in soils with values up to 1000 ppb.
The recent expanded soil survey outlined a broad geochemical
anomaly with values ranging from 100 ppb to 1935 ppb gold, and
averaging 372 ppb gold over an area of approximately 300 metres
by 1000 metres. This soil anomaly appears to represent a new
discovery which covers the contact between intrusive rocks and
limestone will be trenched in an attempt to determine its source
and to allow for sampling of the bedrock.
Yago, Mexico
Ascot Resources Ltd. (Ascot) has informed Almaden that it will
not continue with its option to earn a 60% interest in the Yago
project. Ascot drilled 1,098.2 meters in six diamond drill holes
on the La Sarda-San Juan vein, one of the four parallel veins
of the northern portion of the project. Of these holes one was
lost before it reached its target depth and in another hole the
vein intersection was ground and not recovered. The drillholes
that did intersect the La Sarda-San Juan structure indicate that
the vein remains open at depth and extends approximately 170
metres northwest of known workings. Intersected widths of the
vein ranged from 0.3 to 4.71 metres and grades were from 0.30
to 4.74 g/t Au. The northern half of the project is underlain
by a series of four low-sulphidation epithermal veins named the
La Sarda-San Juan, La Esperanza, La Magnolia and La Cucaracha.
These structures are sub-parallel, southwest-dipping quartz-adularia
veins that occur over an area of 1500 by 1200 metres. There has
been limited production from each of these veins, but the majority
of production has been from the La Sarda-San Juan vein. Drilling
by Ascot was limited to the La Sarda-San Juan vein in the northern
part of the property and no drilling was carried out in the southern
part of the property where significant quartz-adularia veining
occurs from which rock samples taken by Almaden and Ascot have
returned significant gold and silver assays. Ascot did carry
out an IP geophysical survey over the northern part of the property.
This survey was particularly effective in delineating these structures
as resistivity highs and extended the potential strike length
of the La Sarda-San Juan Vein by 260 metres to the northeast.
The resistivity high representing the vein extended to the northern
boundary of the IP survey area. Subsequent prospecting identified
banded chalcedonic quartz veining 550 metres northwest of the
La Sarda-San Juan Vein workings. Almaden will review the data
collected by Ascot as well as carry out fluid inclusion and petrograhic
and alteration mineralogy studies of veins and altered rock intersected
in the Ascot drilling to appraise the level tested within the
hydrothermal system.
Ram Property, Canada
Almaden's 69 RAM claims in the Yukon are optioned to Ross River
Minerals Inc. and form part of Ross River's Tay-LP project. Ross
River drilled four holes on the RAM claims in 2002 with no significant
results, however a hole drilled in 1998 returned 2.2 g/t Au over
5.3 meters. Ross River has informed Almaden that it will carry
out a program of work on the RAM claims in the 2003 field season.
