Trading Symbol:
SLI
(TSX Venture Exchange)
EKL
(Frankfurt
Exchange)
SELSF
(U.S.
Clearing Symbol)
News Release
2008-07
April 1, 2008
NEWS RELEASE
TESORO GOLD PROJECT
,
PERU
– Pleasant
Surprises from C1 Vein and A4 Vein
Lori McClenahan, President of St. Elias
Mines Ltd. (the “Company”), is pleased to provide the following
update with respect to the ongoing underground exploration and development
program at the
Tesoro Gold Project (the “Property”) located
in southwestern Peru.
Recent
results received from the C1 Vein and the A4 Vein
have revealed two welcome surprises.
At the C1 Vein, which has yielded
consistently high assay results (face and bulk samples averaging 1.0 oz/t
gold), a face sample has returned an assay of 11.0 oz/t.
At the A4 Vein, which is less
consistently mineralized than the C1 Vein with moderate gold grades (2 to 7g/t
gold) but has “bonanza” pods, results received from recent face
samples have returned assays ranging from 8.0 to 90g/t gold (0.23 to 2.6 oz/t)
with an average grade of 1.0 oz/t.
C1 Vein, Zona Canchete
The shaft on the C1 Vein has
been deepened to the 100m level.
A
cross cut is currently being driven to intersect the
veins to the north of the
shaft.
In addition, the length of
the
C1 Vein has been extended by additional
drifting on the 60m and 40m levels.
On the 60m level, the vein has been traced for approximately 170 meters,
with consistently good grades (average 0.8 oz/t gold in 67 face samples) in the
easternmost 120 meters of the vein.
On the 40m level, the vein has been traced for 110 meters with
consistenly good grades throughout (average 1.2 oz/t gold in 57 face
samples).
Near the east end of the
drift on the 40m level, one face sample returned a robust assay of 11.0 oz/t
gold across 12.0cm.
The C1 Vein has yielded consistently
high assay results for a strike length of over 100 meters and for a vertical
depth of 100 meters.
To date, face-sample
assays and bulk-sample assays have averaged approximately 1.0 oz/t gold and a
total of 332 tonnes of bulk sample material averaging 0.97 oz/t gold has been
extracted from ongoing underground exploration development .
The C1 Vein is only one
gold-bearing quartz vein located at Zona Canchete within the northern area of
the Property.
T
here are eight main veins with an aggregate length of
about 920 meters within an area measuring 350m X 480m in Zona Canchete.
A4 Vein, Zona Central
The A4 Vein System has
completely different characteristics from the C1 Vein in that the gold grades
are moderate with pockets or pods of multi-ounce material occurring.
Results have been sporadically
spectacular (up to 11 oz/t gold in a 4-tonne bulk sample) with gold grades
between the “bonanza” segments generally in the 2 to 7g/t range.
To date, a total of 188 tonnes of bulk
sample material averaging 0.75 oz./t gold has been extracted from the A4 Vein.
In the
underground workings on the A4 Vein, it appears that there is more
mineralization than is apparent from assay results of systematic face sampling
at 2m intervals.
For example, between
12 meters and 20 meters south of the shaft on the 42m level, six face samples
yielded moderate assays that ranged between 0.60 and 6.63g/t gold (average grade
is 0.1 oz/t).
However, four face
samples from a stope immediately below this low-grade interval gave assays of
8.0 to 90g/t gold (
0.23 to 2.6 oz/t
) with an average grade of
approximately 1.0 oz/t.
Similarly,
12 to 16 meters north of the shaft on the 42m level, three face samples average
4.18g/t gold, while a face sample immediately above this returned an assay of
60g/t gold (1.75 oz/t).
The Company
is very pleased and somewhat surprised with this development, and it is
apparent that more detailed sampling must be conducted on the A4 Vein.
In the future, systematic sampling will
be done at
1m intervals and select
sampling will be done wherever the vein appears fertile (vuggy and limonitic).
There are eight main veins (or vein
swarms) with an aggregate length of about 3,000m within an area measuring 1000m
X 1200m in Zona Central.
Lori McClenahan, President of St. Elias
Mines Ltd. states “We are very
pleased with the results to date.
We are continuing to build resources at the Tesoro while carrying out
the exploration and development plan.
The overall objective of the plan is to develop the Project by incrementally
expanding the operation from artisanal levels of production through to a
profitable production level while concurrently defining resources or
reserves.”
The
Tesoro Gold Project is 100% owned by the Company with no underlying
royalties.
The Property comprises
approximately 1,500 hectares in three contiguous claims situated in a highland
desert plateau in southwestern Peru.
The claims are within the well-known Nazca-Ocoña metallogenic
province, a 300km X 30km gold belt paralleling the Pacific Coast of
southwestern Peru in which there are more than 70 gold deposits comprising
narrow but generally high-grade gold-bearing quartz veins.
Although the veins are narrow, the
mineralized structures tend to extend along strike for kilometres and to depths
of 1,000 metres.
All technical work is being
supervised by, and the contents of this news release have been verified by,
John Brophy, P.Geo, a Canadian geologist residing in Peru
, who is a “qualified
person” as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure
for Mineral Projects.
For additional information
on St. Elias and its projects, please visit us at www.steliasmines.com or call
1-888-895-5522 (toll free US and Canada
).
ST.
ELIAS MINES LTD.
(signed “Lori
McClenahan”)
Lori McClenahan,
President
The TSX Venture
Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy
or the accuracy of the contents of this document.
This news release contains
forward-looking statements regarding the ongoing and upcoming exploration work
and expected geometry of geological formations and structures.
Actual results may differ materially
from those currently anticipated in such statements.