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News Release: November 29th, 2005
High Grade Gold returned
from Drilling at Skoonka Creek (Sam), B.C.
Almaden Minerals Ltd. ("Almaden";
AMM: TSX) is pleased to announce that results have been received
from Strongbow Exploration Inc. ("Strongbow"; SBW:
TSXV) of an exploration drilling program on the Skoonka Creek
property which is located less than 10 km from the Trans Canada
Highway and Canadian National Railway line, and approximately
three hours by car from Vancouver in southern British Columbia.
The drilling was highlighted by an intersection grading 18.4
grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 12.8 metres (0.537 ounces/ton
over 42 feet) confirming the presence of high grade gold mineralization
on the Skoonka Creek gold property. Strongbow is earning an up
to 60% interest in Almaden's 100% owned Skoonka Creek property
through spending and share issuances and is the operator on the
project. The following results were received from Strongbow and
this news release is paraphrased from that made by Strongbow
November 28, 2005.
A track mounted drilling rig was used to complete
an eleven hole, 1257 m exploration drilling program over a three
week period in October. Seven of the NQ drill holes tested the
along strike and down dip potential of the JJ vein system, where
previous hand trenching had returned up to 19.3 g/t gold over
3.4 m. Strongbow has informed Almaden that this drilling has
successfully traced gold mineralization over a strike length
of 350 m, intersecting alteration and quartz veining typical
of low sulphidation epithermal gold systems. Highlight assay
results from these seven holes are summarized as follows:
1. Strongbow reports that current geological interpretations of the
mineralized system are preliminary and therefore true widths of
mineralization are uncertain. However the true widths of the reported
intervals are estimated to be 90-100% and 50-70% of the reported
intervals for holes drilled at -45 degrees and -80 degrees, respectively;
2. Strongbow reports that all reported assays are uncut;
3. Strongbow reports that this interval includes 5.04m
of apparently barren, un sampled core.
The JJ quartz vein system displays good
strike and down dip continuity, with visible gold identified
in several of the drill holes. Drill holes SC-003 through SC-008
were drilled on three sections located 50 m apart for a total
strike length of 100 m. Holes SC-007 and SC-008 were located
on the middle section and tested the down dip potential of the
vein system immediately beneath the highest grade trench results.
The results of these two holes indicate that gold values and
width of mineralization appear to improve with depth, as demonstrated
by the results from hole SC-008, which, if averaged to include
5.04 m of apparently barren, unsampled rocks between veins, returns
18.4 g/t over 12.8 m. Drill hole SC-009 was located 300 m west
of holes SC-007 and -008. Geophysical and soil geochemical anomalies
coincident with the vein system indicate the host structure to
the mineralization may remain open along strike, extending off
the present limits of the 700 m long ground grid.
Clay alteration associated with the JJ vein
system is locally very intense and several of the drill holes
suffered significant core loss. This was particularly the case
for drill holes SC-004 and SC-009, two holes for which generally
lower grade gold assays are reported, where upwards of 50% of
the mineralized interval was not recovered. Future drilling will
focus on ensuring complete recovery of the drill core through
the mineralized zone.
The remaining four holes of the drill program
tested gold in soil and geophysical anomalies located subparallel
to the JJ vein system. Each of these drill holes intersected
variably intense clay alteration accompanied by anomalous gold
values, in some cases over widths in excess of 10 metres. Gold
assays within these intervals were typically less than 1 g/t.
The drilling program was the first ever conducted
on the 10,160 hectare property which is part of the emerging
Spences Bridge Gold Belt. The property area is bounded to the
west, south and east by the Fraser and Thompson Rivers, where
the discovery of placer gold in gravel bars adjacent to the Skoonka
Creek property ignited the Fraser River gold rush of the late
1850's. Anomalous regional stream silt and soil samples from
the property led to the discovery of the JJ epithermal vein system
by Almaden in 2004. Additional detailed and regional work completed
by Strongbow in 2005 identified a number of new target areas
within the property and also further defined the on strike continuity
and geophysical character of the JJ showing.
The 2005 exploration program at Skoonka Creek
was conducted under the supervision of David Gale, P.Geo. (BC)
Vice-President of Exploration for Strongbow and a qualified person
under NI 43-101. A quality assurance/quality control program
is in place for the Skoonka Creek property, with the insertion
of standard, blank and field duplicate samples into the sample
stream. All samples from the drilling program were split with
one half the core submitted to Global Discovery Laboratories
of Vancouver, BC for analysis. All gold analyses reported in
this release were completed using standard fire assay procedures
with selected sample pulps submitted to Acme Analytical Laboratories
of Vancouver, BC to confirm assay results reported by Global
Discovery. Samples returning significant gold values have been
submitted for metallic screen assays, with results of this work
pending at the time of this release.
Strongbow is presently working to earn up
to a 60% interest in the Skoonka Creek property from Almaden
Minerals Ltd. by incurring $4 million in exploration expenditures
and making certain share issuances over a 6 year period. Almaden's
management is extremely encouraged by these initial drilling
results and believes them to be representative of a significant
epithermal gold vein system. Almaden currently has 15 active
joint ventures, including 10 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. |
