News Release: January 21st, 2005
High-Grade Gold Discovery
in Southern British Columbia
Almaden Minerals Ltd. (Almaden)
is pleased to announce the discovery of a new high grade epithermal
gold vein showing on its SAM claim group in southern British
Columbia. This property is readily accessible by road, 25 kilometres
northeast from the village of Lytton on the Trans-Canada Highway.
The SAM prospect is 100% owned by Almaden and was acquired entirely
by staking. Initial staking of 43 claim-units (1,075 hectares)
was undertaken in late 2003 to cover strongly anomalous gold
stream geochemistry and mineral occurrences located during earlier
follow-up of a Government regional gold-in-silt anomaly. The
property was substantially expanded to 140 claim-units (3,500
hectares) during November 2004, and more recently (January 2005)
a closely adjacent SAMS (Sam South) block comprising 300 BCGS
grid cells (~6,190 hectares) has been acquired via the new BC
Mineral Titles Online system. These claims were acquired to cover
additional areas of anomalous gold in stream sediment samples
that have yet to be followed-up.
Limited fieldwork in 2003
outlined a 250-metre long discovery zone consisting of quartz
float and a wide but low grade in-situ quartz breccia vein partly
exposed by an old roadcut. Grab samples of the quartz float from
this area yielded gold values ranging from 1,300 ppb (1.3 g/t)
to 2,160 ppb (2.16 g/t), and three discontinuous chip/grab samples
across the "Discovery Vein" showing returned a weighted
average gold analysis of 467 ppb (0.47 g/t) over 6.0 metres (Ref.
press release of January 7, 2004). During 2004 this showing was
hand trenched, cleaned, mapped and continuous chip sampled over
the estimated true width of 4.2 metres. The six samples collected
across the vein/altered wallrock structure generated a weighted
average gold value of 380 ppb (0.38 g/t).
A new high grade zone, called
the JJ Showing, was revealed in the autumn of 2004 by hand trenching
on a quartz rubble occurrence noted during a property-wide roadcut
soil sampling program. This showing is situated nearly three
kilometres to the southwest of the 2003 discovery zone, and it
occurs on an apparent subparallel east-northeast structural trend.
The hand excavation exposed two closely spaced moderately dipping
veins, the Jodi vein and the Jan vein which is located south
of the Jodi vein. The veins are separated by roughly 0.5 metres
of strongly altered wallrock and the zone has an estimated combined
2.0 metre true width. Nine large sized channel samples were collected
on a staggered pattern across the zone. The samples have returned
(initial) gold geochemical analyses ranging from 14,930 to 55,746
ppb (14.93 to 55.75 g/t) gold from vein material and 1,245 to
8,853 ppb (1.25 to 8.85 g/t) gold from altered wallrock. These
values have been confirmed by (later) metallics fire assays on
reject portions of the same samples which yielded 12.79 g/t gold
to 53.38 g/t gold from the vein material and 4.49 g/t gold to
9.15 g/t gold from altered wallrock.
A sample across 0.30 metres
of the altered material south and above the Jan vein assayed
9.15 g/t gold. The weighted average gold assay from three samples
at 1.0 metre spacing across the Jan Vein is 19.28 g/t across
a 0.67metre estimated true width. One sample was taken across
the clay altered material between the two veins and this assayed
5.97 g/t gold over 0.55 metres. The weighted average for the
Jodi Vein is 42.64 g/t gold across a 0.62m estimated true width.
One sample was taken of the altered footwall material below and
north of the Jodi vein and this assayed 4.49 g/t gold across
0.30 metres. These samples clearly demonstrate this quartz vein
system discovery is well mineralized across significant widths
where exposed. A detailed mineralogic, geochemical and fluid
inclusion study of the vein material is planned to better understand
the nature of this high-grade mineralization.
All of the samples taken on
the SAM property to date have been prepared and analyzed or assayed
by Acme Analytical Laboratories in Vancouver, BC. The field programs
have been designed and conducted by or under the supervision
of Edward Balon, P. Geo., an employee of Almaden and the qualified
person for this project under the meaning of National Instrument
43-101.
Almaden considers these initial
high-grade results to be extremely encouraging. A 2005 field
program is currently being planned.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Morgan 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.
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