News Release: January 24th, 2005
Drilling Encounters High-Grade
Gold and Silver at the Bufa Project, Mexico
Almaden Minerals Ltd. (Almaden)
is pleased to announce that it has received results from joint-venture
partner Grid Capital Corp.'s (Grid) drilling program on Almaden's
Bufa project which is located in Chihuahua State, 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. In 2004 (See Grid news releases of April
27, June 17 and June 20, 2004) 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 for 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
on surface 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 it has recently
acquired historic reports that indicate there was limited historic
mining of high-grade gold and silver on the Bufa claims.
The drill program was carried
out by Grid in December, 2004. The program consisted of 666.15
metres in 5 holes, the longest of which was 241.9 metres (hole
GUD04-01A). The holes were drilled in three locations along a
roughly 137 metre strike length of the vein system. The first
hole drilled (GUD04-01) encountered shallow historic workings
and was stopped at 58.75 metres depth, however the last sample
before the opening was encountered returned 1.55 g/t Au and 91.1
g/t Ag over 0.4 metres. Hole GUD04-01A was drilled at the same
location and underneath this first hole. Holes GUD01-02 (120.5
meters deep), GUD01-03 (115 metres deep) and GUD01-04 (130 metres
deep) were drilled 43, 92 and 137 meters respectively northwest
along strike from the collar of holes GUD01-01 and 01A. The most
important intersections from these holes are tabulated below:
Significant Intersections
Bufa 2004 Drill Program:
Almaden believes these results
to be extremely significant as they only represent four pierce
points along roughly 10% of the 1.4 kilometre strike length of
the Bufa vein system controlled by Almaden and Grid. The intersections
represent brecciated quartz vein systems, of which there are
clearly several parallel veins as indicated by hole GUD04-03
which intersected four zones of veining and brecciation all of
which returned significant gold and silver values. Grid has informed
Almaden that at this time there is not enough geologic information
to accurately determine the true widths for the intersections.
Almaden is waiting to hear Grid's plans to further test this
exciting new discovery.
The drilling was carried out
under the direction of Juan Caelles, Ph.D., P. Geo., a qualified
person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Samples
were sent to ALS Chemex Labs in North Vancouver for analyses
using conventional fire assay, and inductively coupled plasma
atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP).
Almaden currently has twelve active joint venture projects including
eight 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.
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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