Royalty Interest with Ross River Minerals
April 2003: Ross River will issue 2.2 million shares of Ross River to Almaden. Ross River is required to also issue an additional 1.0 million shares when exploration and development expenditures on the property meet or exceed US $10.0 million and an additional 1.0 million shares on the delivery of a positive feasibility study recommending production on any part of the property. Almaden will retain a 2% NSR regarding any minerals from it's formerly 100% owned concessions. After a feasibility study is completed on a mineral deposit, one half of this 2% NSR (a 1% NSR) can be purchased by Ross River from Almaden for fair market value as determined by an internationally recognised engineering firm acceptable to both parties.

overview | geology | maps | latest work & results | past work

In February 2002, Almaden acquired by staking the El Pulpo porphyry-copper prospect, covering an area of approximately 200 square kilometres and located 60 kilometers north-east of Mazatlan in Sinaloa State. A soil and rock geochemical sampling program carried out in the early 1970s had identified a significant copper anomaly associated with a k-silicate altered and stock work veined intrusive body.

High grade porphyry related gold, silver and copper mineralization has been identified over a surface area in excess of 12 square kilometres. The properties host at least two copper-gold porphyry targets and three high grade gold vein targets. Ross River has informed Almaden of the following results from field work carried out by Ross River:

El Bagre Target: The El Bagre Target exhibits altered calc-alkaline intrusive quartz stockwork mineralisation hosting both oxide and sulphide copper mineralisation. Four widely spaced rock samples collected over an area of one square kilometre averaged 1.43 % copper, 0.13 g/t gold and 52.4 g/t silver.

La Cetolla Target: Three kilometres east of El Bagre is the La Cetolla porphyry target. In the early 1970's work by a major North American mining company focused on a grid of 1,100 metres by 230 metres which averaged 0.94% copper over this area. In 2002, Almaden sampled an area immediately to the south and up to a kilometre away from the grid and obtained assays ranging from 0.29% to 0.79% copper and up to 0.8 g/t gold.

Papaya Target: The Papaya Target is one kilometre north of the El Bagre Target. Of nine samples collected from a vein by Ross River, seven assayed )1 g/t gold. The values of these seven samples ranged from 1.00 g/t gold to 30.66 g/t gold, with an average of 8.47 g/t gold, 90.4 g/t silver and 5.11 % copper over a width of 1.5 to 2 metres.

La Trucha Target: The La Trucha target, two kilometres north of the Papaya target, is centred around two float samples collected separately by Almaden and Ross River, 50 metres apart, that assayed 18.0 g/t gold, 410.0 g/t silver and 24.42 g/t gold, 792.2 g/t silver respectively.

El Tiburon Target: The El Tiburon target is a further one kilometre north of the La Trucha target. A single grab sample taken by Almaden assayed 1.92 g/t gold and 63 g/t silver. Two grab samples taken within the same zone by Ross River assayed 0.78 g/t gold and 385.5 g/t silver and 11.80 g/t gold and 314.2 g/t silver over two metres.

 

November 2003 : Ross River Minerals Inc. has completed a program of geologic mapping and sampling which was successful in defining two areas of porphyry-style copper gold mineralization and two extensive gold-copper-silver vein systems.

December 2004 : The 2004 exploration program included line cutting, soil geochemistry, IP, magnetometer geophysical surveys, trenching, and airborne photography. In June 2004 a 20 hole drill program totalling 1561.2 meters tested the Papaya, the Pitayo, La Trucha veins. See October 21st news release for drill results and August 20th news release for geochemistry & IP results.