News Release: June 1st, 2005
New Diamond Drilling Program
Underway and Results of 2004 Diamond Drilling
at the Caballo Blanco Gold-Silver Project, Mexico
Almaden is pleased to announce
that a diamond drilling program is now underway to test for gold-silver-copper
mineralization in the Northern and Highway zones of the company's
Caballo Blanco project, Veracruz State, 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. The property is located roughly 60 kilometers
north of Veracruz City, Mexico. Infrastructure is excellent as
the prospective areas of the property are all located within
10 kilometers of a paved highway and Mexico's only nuclear power
plant. The property covers three areas of alteration and mineralization
known as the Northern, Highway and Central Grid zones. In 2003,
Comaplex 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. Geologic and alteration mapping
in these areas has identified extensive zones of acid-sulphate
alteration including quartz-alunite and residual or vuggy silica
alteration zones. These zones of alteration, developed in flat
lying volcanic rocks, are interpreted to represent a large high
sulphidation gold-silver system.
2004 Drill Program
A drill program that was to have commenced in early in 2004 was
delayed due to additional permitting requirements, shortage of
drilling equipment and difficulties in road building. Drilling
on a portion of the southern Highway and Central Grid zones commenced
in November, 2004 and shut down for the Christmas season. This
work consisted of four holes, three in the Highway Zone (CB-04-02,
03 and 04) and one in the Central Grid area (CB-04-01). To date
the drilling on the Highway zone has not tested the principle
targets of interest as the holes were drilled to the south of
the main vuggy silica bodies, generally found to be the most
prospective for gold in high sulphidation systems, in an area
of clay dominated alteration. These three holes intersected anomalous
gold values in clay altered and silicified volcanics including
an interval of 217 ppb (0.22 g/t) gold over 16 meters in hole
CB-04-03.
Hole CB-04-01 was drilled
in the Central Grid area of the property near where two reverse
circulation drill holes drilled by Almaden in 1998 intersected
porphyry copper-gold mineralization. Hole CB-04-01 was located
roughly equidistant from these two holes and intersected a K-silicate
and quartz-sulphide veined monzonite body from surface to the
end of the hole at 298 meters. The entire length of this hole
averaged 380 ppb gold (0.38 g/t) and 0.16% copper including two
higher grade intervals; 56 meters of 844 ppb (0.84 g/t) gold
and 0.34% copper from 70 to 128 meters depth and 24 meters from
172 to 194 meters averaging 887 ppb (0.89 g/t) gold and 0.28%
copper (includes a 10 meter interval averaging 1672 ppb (1.7
g/t) gold and 0.49% copper). The alteration associated with these
intervals (K-silicate alteration including quartz-K-feldspar
and chalcopyrite veining and hydrothermal biotite overprinted
by quartz-pyrite-chlorite-sericite alteration and veining) is
typical of a porphyry copper setting. Almaden considers the grades
encountered in hole CB-04-01 to be very encouraging and not unlike
that to be expected in similar alkaline porphyry copper-gold
setting.
Current Drill Program
The present drill program will test the high sulphidation epithermal
gold system that is exposed in the Northern and Highway zones.
At the Northern zone Comaplex drilling will test an area where
sampling, geologic mapping and PIMA analyses have defined a large,
roughly 6 by 5 kilometer zone of acid sulphate alteration and
vuggy silica, including many breccia bodies. The road building
to date has allowed for greater access to the Northern zone where
in January, 2005 Almaden and Comaplex staff have sampled one
of several areas of outcrop of vuggy silica and quartz-alunite
acid sulphate alteration. Thirty-two rock chip samples were collected
over a roughly 35 by 100 meter area of vuggy silica. These samples
averaged 0.62 g/t gold and ranged from 0.01 to 4.67 g/t gold.
Eleven samples returned gold grades above 0.50 g/t gold and six
above 1.00 g/t gold. These results, which are interpreted to
represent the gold content of a very high level in a well preserved
high-sulphidation epithermal system, are considered by Almaden
to be very encouraging. The area sampled on surface is spatially
immediately above significant resistivity highs identified in
a ground geophysical induced polarization (IP) survey previously
carried out by Comaplex. The IP survey also identified high chargeability
responses associated with the high resistivity responses at depth.
This data suggests that resistive, vuggy silica material, similar
to that sampled in outcrop, is oxidized at surface and may extend
to considerable depth.
At the Highway zone, Comaplex
carried out a program of sampling, geologic mapping and induced
polarization (IP) geophysics, complimented by analysis of alteration
mineralogy with a PIMA portable infrared spectrometer that outlined
several prominent areas of alteration and mineralisation. In
the Highway zone a significant resistivity and chargeability
anomaly has resulted from this work over a roughly 5 by 3 kilometer
area of acid sulphate alteration characterised by hypogene alunite
and vuggy silica. The zones of vuggy silica and coincident chargeability
and resistivity will be the focus of Comaplex's drill program.
A diamond drill hole was completed close to the area by Noranda
Inc. in 2001. This hole was drilled in an area of extensive acid
sulphate argillic alteration and had several interesting gold
intersections. These included stockwork veining from 51.35 to
84 meters depth within which a 6 meter section averaged 1.42
g/t gold. A sample from 192 to 195 meters depth within a zone
of lower temperature argillic alteration averaged 2.5 g/t gold
and the final sample of the hole from 212.0 to 212.5 meters depth
returned a gold value of 4.98 g/t gold. The hole was lost at
this point due to poor drilling conditions.
Comaplex has informed Almaden
that it has completed a rock sampling and mapping program of
several other vuggy silica bodies located within areas of quartz-alunite
alteration of the Northern zone. This work was carried out to
determine the size, gold content and distribution within these
areas. Almaden will report the results of this work as soon as
they are received from Comaplex. Mr. Mark Balog, P.Geo. of Comaplex
Minerals Corp. was the qualified person, under the meaning of
National Instrument 43-101, reviewing the sampling reported in
this news release. The samples were analysed at ALS Chemex Laboratories
in North Vancouver, Canada using conventional fire assay, and
inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP)
methods.
Readers are referred to Almaden's
website (http://www.almadenminerals.com/Projects/Papers/Epithermal_CB.pdf)
where a summary report can be viewed which contains maps illustrating
the IP and geology and background geologic information pertaining
to theproperty and high-sulphidation epithermal deposits in general. [Go
to paper +]
Almaden will report the results
of all future work from the Caballo Blanco project as soon as
they are received from Comaplex. Almaden currently has 11 active
joint ventures, including 7 in which other companies are carrying
all costs in order to earn an interest in the projects. Almaden
will continue with its successful business model of identifying
exciting new projects through early stage grass roots exploration
and managing risk by forming joint ventures in which partner
companies explore and develop our projects in return for the
right to earn an interest in them.
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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