Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada. February 5th, 2009. Columbus Gold Corporation (CGT:
TSX-V) ("Columbus Gold" or the "Company")
is pleased to announce the results of drilling at the Company's Summit
Project where joint venture partner Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM: TSE
& NYSE) ("Agnico-Eagle") can earn an initial 51% interest
by undertaking staged annual exploration expenditures over a five year
period. The Company is also pleased to provide an update on its Chert Cliff
and Scraper gold projects.
The
Summit Project is located along the northeastern flank of the Pequop Range,
approximately 14 miles (22 km) east of Wells, Nevada and strategically
positioned along strike and approximately 4,000 feet (1.2 km) from the
northern end of the Long Canyon gold deposit of AuEx Ventures, Inc. and
Fronteer Development Group Inc. where ongoing drilling continues to confirm
the presence of high-grade oxide gold mineralization. The Summit Project is
also in close proximity to AuEx's and Agnico-Eagle's West Pequop gold
project. A map of the Summit Project area may be viewed here:
www.columbusgoldcorp.com/i/pdf/maps/summit_location.pdf
Agnico-Eagle
completed seven rotary holes totaling 6,040 feet (1,830 meters) in their
initial drilling program at Summit.
One hole
tested the Upper Paleozoic section-equivalent to the Pilot and Joana Formations,
known to be favorable for Carlin-style gold deposits regionally. These
favorable rocks are extensive, but almost everywhere covered by alluvium.
The drill hole encountered multiple, thick sections (up to 100 ft (30 m))
of anomalous gold and arsenic both in the Upper Paleozoic section and in
the underlying Guilmette Formation carbonate rocks, with a high assay of
203 ppb over five feet (1.5 m). This was the only drill hole to test this
stratigraphic horizon in the Northern Pequop Range, which deserves
considerable attention for further work.
Three
holes tested geochemical anomalies near a thrust fault juxtaposing Devonian
Guilmette Formation and Permian sedimentary rocks. Two of these holes
encountered anomalous gold and lead in multiple zones over thicknesses of
75-100 ft (23-30 m). The gold values ranged from 10-122 ppb.
The other
three holes were located near the eastern range front, north of the Long
Canyon discovery. These holes cut Lower Paleozoic formations and
intersected scattered weakly anomalous gold over narrow intervals.
Agnico-Eagle
has advised the Company that it intends to continue with its option to earn
an interest in the Summit Project and with plans to carry-out additional
exploration expenditures during the 2009 field season.
Chert
Cliff Gold Project
Columbus
Gold is also pleased to announce that Platte River Gold Inc., has completed
drilling on the Company's Chert Cliff Property, located in the Gold Bar
District along the prolific Battle Mountain Gold Trend about 40 miles (65
km) northwest of Eureka, Nevada. The Chert Cliff Property has been leased
to privately held Platte River Gold and forms part of their Gable Property.
Various Chert Cliff Project maps may be viewed here:
http://www.columbusgoldcorp.com/s/Maps.asp?Reportid=124369
Platte
River drilled seven reverse circulation holes totaling 5,140 feet (1,567
meters) at Chert Cliff. The holes ranged from 300 ft to 1,420 ft (91 m to
433 m) in dept. All of the holes were drilled outside of the Chert Cliff
resource defined by Asarco in the 1980's. Asarco succeeded in outlining the
Chert Cliff gold deposit containing a historic resource of approximately
1.4 million tons grading 0.04 opt gold (56,000 ounces) entirely hosted in
the Webb Formation.
Drilling
by Platte River encountered additional mineralization in the Webb Formation
and also low-grade but significant mineralization in the Lower Plate Denay
Formation which is a host of mineralization at the nearby, multi-million
ounce Cortez Hill's gold deposit being developed by Barrick Gold.
The gold
mineralization encountered in holes C-4, C-7, and C-8 in the Denay
Formation occurs in carbonaceous limestone stratigraphically lower and
about 600 ft (183 m) north of the resource delineated by Asarco. The best
holes drilled were C-4, which encountered 180 ft (55 m) [from 170 ft to 350
ft (52 m to 107 m] of 0.013 opt gold, including 40 ft (12 m) of 0.025 opt
gold, in the Denay Formation, and C-1, with 0-190 ft (0-58 m) of 0.020 opt
gold in the Webb Formation.
The
confirmation of mineralization in the Denay Formation opens up many
additional targets for future drilling.
Scraper
Gold Project
The
Company also announces that Newmont has terminated its option to earn into
Columbus Gold's Scraper gold project located approximately 45 miles (72 km)
north of Battle Mountain, Nevada, and situated directly on the northern
extension of the prolific Carlin Trend of gold deposits. Various Scraper
Project maps may be viewed here:
http://www.columbusgoldcorp.com/s/Maps.asp?Reportid=166727
Newmont's
exploration activity at Scraper was carried out in late 2007 and 2008 and
included a soil geochemical survey consisting of 797 samples, the
collection of 202 rock samples, the completion of 15 miles (24 km) of IP
survey, an airborne hyperspectral survey to identify alteration minerals, a
helicopter magnetometer survey, collection of gravity data from 246
stations, the collection of 84 hand samples for petrographic work, and the
drilling of three holes totaling 3,505 feet (1,062 m).
The three
reverse circulation drill holes were located on what Newmont called the
Diatreme Vent target. The holes were generally located 2,500 feet (758 m)
from the area of gold mineralization in intrusive and Lower Paleozoic sedimentary
rocks known from surface sampling and older drill holes. All three of the
new holes cut surficial advanced argillic alteration for the first 200 feet
(61 m) and then entered variably altered diorite intrusive. Alteration of
the intrusive for the most part consisted of quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP)
superimposed on an earlier potassic alteration, marked by secondary biotite
replacement. Pyrite content of the QSP was variable but high, ranging up to
35% of the sample in select drill intervals, however none of the Newmont
holes intersected any values of interest in precious or base metals.
Newmont's
geophysical surveys will be of value in targeting future drilling at
Scraper. In particular, the IP survey yielded targets of interest,
including six untested chargeability anomalies, likely related to high
sulfides in the subsurface.
Three
general types of targets exist at Scraper: 1) disseminated zones in the
altered volcanic package, 2) Carlin-type gold deposits distal to an
intrusive body, both in Vinini Formation and in the Lower Plate package at
depth, and 3) either porphyry-hosted base-metal or polymetallic,
gold-bearing skarns associated with the intrusive itself.
Columbus
Gold will seek a new joint venture partner with a view to advance drilling
on the numerous untested targets at Scraper.
The
historic resources and figures indicated in this press release are not NI
43-101 compliant and a qualified person has not done sufficient work to
confirm the figures or to classify the historic estimates as current
mineral resources. They should not be relied upon and Columbus Gold does
not treat them as current.
Andy
Wallace is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) with the American
Institute of Professional Geologists and is the Qualified Person under NI
43-101 who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news
release. Mr. Wallace is a VP of Columbus Gold's U.S. subsidiary and a
partner of Cordilleran Exploration Company ("Cordex"), which is
conducting exploration and project generation activities for Columbus Gold.
About
Columbus Gold
Columbus
Gold Corporation is a gold exploration and development company operating
principally in Nevada. The Company has an experienced management group with
a strong background in all aspects of the acquisition, exploration,
development and financing of precious metal mining projects. Columbus Gold
controls a 100% interest, subject to royalties, in 25 gold projects
strategically located along or near Nevada's most productive gold trends.
The Company also holds a significant equity interest in Columbus Silver
Corporation, an exploration company with a growing portfolio of silver
projects in the Western United States.
Columbus
Gold's and Columbus Silver's project activities are managed on an exclusive
basis by Cordilleran Exploration Company (Cordex), owned and operated by
John Livermore and Andy Wallace who have a long and successful history of
gold discovery and mine development in the United States. Columbus Gold
maintains active generative (prospecting) and evaluation programs and, as a
key element of strategy, broadens exposure, minimizes risk and maintains
focus on high priority prospects while seeking industry finance through
joint ventures on selected projects. The Company currently has 13 of its
projects joint ventured to major and junior mining companies, including
Barrick Gold and Agnico-Eagle Mines.
ON BEHALF
OF THE BOARD,
Robert
F. Giustra
President & CEO, Director
The
TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
For more
information contact:
Ray
Lagace
Investor Relations
604 638-3474 or
1 866 689-2599
info@columbusgoldcorp.com