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News Release: July 24th, 2003
Private Placement
Negotiated: Update on the Siwash Gold Project
Almaden Minerals Ltd. (the "Company")
announces a Private Placement of 313,500 Units at a price of
$0.80 per Unit, (for proceeds of $ 250,800) each Unit consisting
of one (1) flow through common share and one half of one non
flow through purchase warrant with each whole warrant entitling
the holder to purchase one (1) additional common share of the
Company at a price of $0.80 for a period of two years from the
closing. The principal use of the funds received from the financing
will be to finance the Company's further expenditures for exploration
and development of the Company's Siwash North Mine property and
the balance not so used will be used to fund general exploration
and administrative expenses of the Company. A finders fee of
3% is payable on 241,000 units.
The proceeds of the flow-through portion of
private placement will be used to continue Almaden's exploration
work in the British Columbia, principally on the Siwash Gold
deposit where a drill program is planned. The deposit is located
roughly two kilometres south of Highway 97 and 45 kilometers
southeast of Merrit in the Okanagan area of Southern British
Columbia. The mine is known for its very high gold grades and
in the 1990's, 51,750 ounces of gold were produced from 18,400
tons of mesothermal quartz vein ore extracted from the B vein
system in open pit and underground operations. 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 stated by Mr. H. Leo King, P. Geo. in a report dated
August 31, 2001. Mr. H. Leo King is a qualified person within
the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.
Last year, the company decided to take advantage
of the difficult times in the mining industry to acquire a gold
mill. Several were reviewed and the mill selected was purchased
in Alaska for US$75,000. Modular in design, the mill is virtually
new, having processed about 10,000 tons of ore. It has both gravity
and flotation circuits and a nominal through put capacity of
120 tons per day, although much of the mill has a higher capacity.
It has its own power generation, a partial assay laboratory,
and furnace room equipment. The mill was recently disassembled
and moved to Whitehorse, Yukon, from where it is being transported
to a secure yard near the Siwash property, making use of backhauls
from the Yukon. A 1995 economic study of the property priced
a mill at $3,000,000. A low purchase price, combined with moving
and reassembly would result in a plant for much lower than that
estimate. Mining permits are still in place, but the Company
has not yet applied for a permit to install a mill, and will
review its options based on the gold price and drill results
in the coming months.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Duane Poliquin
The Toronto Stock Exchange
has not reviewed nor accepted responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of the contents of this news release which has been
prepared by management. Statements contained in this news release
that are not historical facts are forward looking statements
as that term is defined in the private securities litigation
reform act of 1995. Such forward -looking statements are subject
to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to
differ materially from estimated results. Such risks and uncertainties
are detailed in the Company's filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. |
