Several significant work programs
have been completed and additional work programs are planned
on Almaden Minerals Ltd.'s (Almaden) Mexican projects. Almaden
currently has thirteen active joint venture projects including
nine in which a partner is earning an interest in an Almaden
property through spending, and a regional exploration joint venture
with BHP Billiton World Exploration Inc. (BHPB) to explore for
copper-gold deposits in Mexico.
Caballo Blanco, Au-Ag-Cu Project, 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 Million over four years. Comaplex have completed a large
field program over both the Highway and Northern zones of the
property, the centres of which are located roughly 7 kilometers
apart. These zones consist of acid-sulphate alteration including
quartz alunite and residual or vuggy silica alteration zones
and are interpreted to represent a large high sulphidation gold-silver
system. The work by Comaplex has defined several prominent drill
targets. A drill program that was to have commenced in earlier
in the year has been delayed due to additional permitting requirements,
shortage of drilling equipment, difficulties in road building
and the summer rainy season. Almaden anticipates that drilling
will commence in the autumn of 2004, after the end of the rainy
season. A. Armitage, Ph.D., P.Geo. of Comaplex is the qualified
person on the project. [Go
+]
Galeana Au-Ag Project, Mexico
The Galeana gold-silver property in Chihuahua State, Mexico is
optioned to Grid Capital Corp. (Grid) who can earn a 60% interest
by spending US$2 Million and issuing 400,000 shares to Almaden.
The Galeana property hosts three major vein systems, the San
Miguel-Ahumada-Estrella de Oro, the Faldo Norte and the San Geronimo.
All have had limited historic production prior to the Mexican
revolution when all mining activity ceased. In 2003 and 2004,
Grid completed rock sampling, soil geochemistry and IP geophysical
programs which have defined significant drill targets on the
vein systems. Drilling was delayed in the spring of 2004 due
to difficult road building conditions, drill availability and
the onset of the rainy season. Grid has reported that road building
is complete and the main targets will be drilled at the end of
the rainy season, in 2004. Mr. H.L. King, P.Geo. of Grid is the
qualified person on the project. [Go +]
El Pulpo Cu-Au-Ag Project, Mexico
The El Pulpo property is located north-east of Mazatlan and covers
an area of approximately 200 square kilometres. Almaden has optioned
this property to Ross River Minerals Ltd. (Ross River) who can
earn a 60% interest by spending US$3 Million and issuing 425,000
shares to Almaden. Almaden and Ross River have identified high
grade porphyry related gold, silver and copper mineralisation
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
it has completed a large program of geologic mapping, rock and
soil sampling and IP and magnetics geophysics on the El Pulpo
project. Ross River completed in June a 20 hole drill program
that tested the Papaya and Trucha vein targets only. Almaden
will release the results of this program as soon as it has received
them from Ross River. Ross River has also informed Almaden that
it plans a large field program in the autumn of 2004 which will
include drilling on the Cerro Colorado porphyry target. Mr. J.
R. Reeves P.Geo. of Ross River is the qualified person on the
project. [Go
+]
Bufa Au-Ag Project, Mexico
The Bufa project is optioned to Grid which can earn a 60% interest
by spending US$2 Million on the property and issuing 500,000
shares of Grid to Almaden. The property surrounds the town and
mining camp of Guadalupe y Calvo in Chihuahua State, Mexico.
Gold was discovered at Guadalupe y Calvo in 1835 and subsequent
production was sufficiently large that a mint was built in 1844.
Buchanan (1981) estimated historic production at 2 Million ounces
of gold and 28 Million ounces of silver at average grades of
37 g/t gold and 870 g/t silver. The small historic central portion
of the Guadalupe camp is held by an unrelated third party, Mexgold
Resources Inc. A major vein structure, has been traced from the
Guadalupe camp over a 1.4 kilometer distance onto the Bufa property.
Grid has reported that the vein system consists of a series of
NW-SE striking, banded and brecciated, low sulphidation epithermal
quartz veins that vary in strike length from 200 to 700 meters
with an aggregate length of all veins mapped of 3.9 kilometers.
Over 1.6 kilometers of this vein strike length, widths vary from
1 to 7.8 meters in true thickness. To date 47 chip samples have
been collected from 33 locations along this section of the vein
system. At 30 of these locations, sample results ranged from
0.1 to 13.95 g/t gold over widths of 0.3 to 5.8 meters. Grid
has reported that results of prospecting on the NW portion of
the Bufa claim are currently being compiled and that a drill
program is planned for the autumn, 2004. Mr. H.L. King. P.Geo.
of Grid is the qualified person on the project. Samples were
analysed at ALS Chemex Labs of North Vancouver. [Go +]
San Carlos Cu-Au-Ag Project, Mexico
The San Carlos Project is located in northeast Mexico and has
been optioned to Hawkeye Gold and Diamond Inc. (Hawkeye) on terms
whereby Hawkeye can earn a total of 60% of the San Carlos project
by issuing a total of 800,000 shares to Almaden and incurring
exploration expenditures of US$4 Million over seven years. Hawkeye
is committed to spending US$350,000 in the first year and is
planning a work program on the property to commence in the autumn
of 2004. Almaden carried out a geologic review of the work completed
to date, which included a field visit to the property by an independent
geologist. This review highlighted past work on the project,
which defined a gold target in an area of the property not tested
by drilling, with marked high gold in soil samples. In this area
soil samples returned gold values up to 1000 ppb within 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. Hawkeye's work will focus on this area of the
property. David Mayes, P.Geo., is the qualified person on the
project and samples were analysed at Acme Analytical Laboratories
and ALS Chemex Labs. [Go +]
BHP Billiton Regional Joint Venture, Mexico
Almaden and BHPB have completed a regional exploration program
designed to identify new copper-gold deposits in Mexico. At present
BHPB is reviewing the results of the exploration program and
can elect to acquire a 51% interest in any of the properties
identified by Almaden, by spending US$1 Million in work on each
such property. After BHPB has completed this expenditure each
property would enter a joint-venture phase of exploration during
which both Almaden and BHPB would contribute US$750,000 for a
total of US$1.5 Million. If one party fails to contribute to
this phase, it would be diluted to a 2% net smelter return royalty.
After this joint-venture stage is complete and if both parties
have maintained their interests by funding, BHPB can then elect
to earn an additional 19% interest, for a total of 70% in each
project, by completing a feasibility study for each project.
A final 10% interest can be earned if BHPB funds the property
into production.
Mexican Regional Program Planned
Almaden is currently planning a regional exploration helicopter
and truck based exploration program to focus on identifying new
Au, Ag, and Cu systems in several areas of Mexico. This work
will commence after the rainy season in October.
Database Acquired
Almaden has acquired the historic exploration files for Latin
America of the now defunct New York and Honduras Rosario Mining
Company which from 1895 to the 1980's explored extensively in
Mexico and Central America and operated the El Mochito mine in
Honduras and the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic.
Almaden is excited to have acquired this extensive database of
mineral showings and to incorporate the data into its exploration
efforts.
