BEGINNING OF
SEVERAL DRILLING PROGRAMS IN JAMES BAY
PLANNED
EXPLORATION BUDGET OF OVER CA$20 MILLION FOR 2012
Virginia Mines
Inc. (?Virginia?) is pleased to announce the beginning of drilling programs on
several of its projects located in the James Bay region, province of Quebec.
During the next four months, Virginia will carry out more than 28,000 metres of drilling on its
base-metal Coulon (Cu-Zn-Ag) and Gayot
(Ni-Cu-EGP) projects and on many other gold properties including Lac Pau, Nichicun, Poste Lemoyne Extension, and La Grande Sud.
The Lac Gayot property covers the entire Venus Achaean greenstone
belt, which contains mainly ultramafic sills and lavas fertile in MgO. This ultramafic sequence is host to 12 mineralized
zones rich in nickel-platinum-palladium spread over a lateral distance of 25
kilometres. Values of 0.5 to 15% Ni reaching up to 17.2 g/t Pd-Pt
were obtained at surface while some drill intersections yielded up to 9.03% Ni,
0.6% Cu, 9 g/t Pd-Pt over 2.55 metres and
2.2% Ni, 1.41% Cu, 2.29 g/t Pd-Pt over 11.4 metres.
Exploration
work is to begin in mid February.
LAC PAU PROJECT (100% Virginia ? option 50% to IAMGOLD)
Drilling planned for the winter of 2012 will aim at
testing the new Charlie showing identified in the summer of 2011. The Charlie
showing outcrops over 10 metres by 20 metres and consists of a network of
quartz veins and veinlets with traces of sulphides housed within a pyroxenitic
intrusive that also comprises centimetric fragments of tonalite. Veins of a
thickness varying between 5 and 50 centimetres are oriented between N20? and
N80?. Despite the small amount of sulphides observed in
these veins, grab samples collected to characterize them
yielded values from 1.2 g/t Au to 40 g/t Au. Channels completed
over the entire vein network also yielded encouraging results. The best results
included 3.68 g/t Au over 5 metres; 3.59 g/t Au over 4 metres; 14.55 g/t
Au over 1 metre; 7.64 g/t Au over 0.85 metre; and 6.95 g/t Au over 1 metre. The
four other channel results varied from 1.34 g/t Au over 1 metre to 3.93 g/t
Au over 1.4 metres. Work shall begin in February 2012.
A drilling
program totalling about 3,000 metres
is planned for the winter of 2012 on
the La Grande Sud property. The property is host to
the Zone 32, which comprises indicated resources of 4.2 Mt @ 2.1 g/t Au ? 0.2% Cu (published on March 11, 1999) and also
covers numerous other zones and gold showings spread over several kilometres
within and around a tonalitic intrusive. Drilling
will concentrate on the depth extension of Zone 32. Work shall begin by the end
of January 2012.
Virginia intends to spend more than $20 million in exploration work on its projects during the
current year. Work will be carried out mostly on the James Bay territory, in
the Caniapiscau, LG-2, LG-4, and Opinaca-Eastmain as
well as on the Nunavik Territory on the Baie Payne and Lac Gayot
projects.
About Virginia