Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness
Thu, May 20, 2010
Wed, May 19, 2010 High Desert Gold Reports Strong Initial Exploration Results at San Antonio Gold Project, Sonora, Mexico
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 19, 2010) - High Desert Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE:HDG) ("HDG" or the "Company") announces strong preliminary exploration results at the Company' high-grade, gold-silver San Antonio Project in Sonora State, Mexico. The Company also announces the acquisition of additional mineral rights at San Antonio, bringing the total land package to 4,230 hectares.
Company geologists, performing preliminary exploration in preparation for the Company's first drilling program, have discovered very high grade gold values from chip sampling along a key target zone on the property. Assays include the following:
| Sample | Width metres | Gold g/t | Silver g/t | Lead % |
| Samples of vein material returned values of up to: | 1.22 | 100 | 70.5 | 0.74 |
| The wallrock samples of skarn mineralization contained values of up to: | 2.13 | 44.1 | 160 | 11.85 |
The Company has slowly been building its land position here over the last two years, subsequent to a reconnaissance visit by the EVP of Exploration, Randall Moore in 2007. With this last acquisition the Company now owns or leases a large land package covering the areas needed to develop its exploration concepts in this important high grade gold-silver target.
Gold-silver mineralization in this high priority target area occurs within quartz veins and stockwork zones within "skarned" limestones and sandstones. The Company has already followed this target zone for more than one kilometre along strike. Drill planning is in progress and is expected to start in the Third Quarter 2010.
In addition, the Company has recently obtained historical technical reports commissioned by Campbell Resources, dated from 1992 that confirm management's interpretation of the geology at San Antonio, and which provide additional insight. The reports were prepared before the establishment of NI 43-101 standards and are not NI 43-101 compliant. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, the issuer is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources and the historical estimate should not be relied upon. While the Company is not relying on this information, management believes that the reports provide useful background data. The reports include estimates, based on earlier drill results, of potential resources of one million tonnes grading 10 gpt gold (approximately three hundred thousand ounces) within the immediate vicinity of the main structural zone. The reports do not include a complete tabulation of all prior drilling results so the Company cannot verify this estimate. Company geologists believe the estimate is a reasonable expectation for the limited area covered by the historic drill program. The Company plans to drill these areas to confirm and expand on these past drilling results.
Management's preliminary interpretation is that gold and silver mineralization may extend a substantial distance from the main structural zone and that the project has significant size potential. The high-grade nature of the mineralization is evident from the assay results obtained from samples collected by Company geologists from the historic open pit.
The San Antonio property was the focus of both historic small-scale underground mining at the turn of the century and a small surface excavation which was completed within the past 20 years. The surface excavation consists of a cut approximately 110 metres long, 5-10 metres wide and 10-30 metres deep. The material from the excavation was placed on heaps for leaching with the higher grade material trucked offsite for processing. Recent bulk sampling by HDG of the material on one of the old leach pads returned average values of 1.8 g/t gold and 35.3 g/t silver. Bulk sampling of a smaller pad, which does not appear to have been subjected to leaching, returned average values of 3.1 g/t gold and 40.4 g/t silver. Photographs of the cut and the area sampled, as well as the Company's interpretive diagram of the San Antonio cross section, can be found under the San Antonio Project section of the Company's web site, [ www.highdesertgoldcorp.com ].
While the Sonora Gold Belt is recognized as a world-class gold and silver mining region, there has been little to no modern exploration within 80 km. of the Company's San Antonio gold project.
Selected rock chip samples from within the excavation zone are listed below:
| Sample Number | Sample type/length | Sample Description | Gold (gpt) | Silver (gpt) |
| 73897 | 7.6m chip | Silicified siltstones with stringer quartz veins | 3.5 | 22.3 |
| 73900 | Grab | Skarn, massive black silica with magnetite | 7.14 | 46.8 |
| 73949 | 2.1m chip | Massive silicified sandstone | 3.66 | 119 |
| 73950 | 0.9m chip | Hematite stained clay | 2.57 | 27.7 |
| 73951 | 0.6m chip | Fault zone, gouge+ limestone rock fragments | 1.82 | 14.0 |
| 73952 | 3.1m chip | Gossan | 1.71 | 9.6 |
| 73953 | 0.9m chip | Silicified sandstone with thin quartz veinlets | 6.94 | 31.6 |
| 73954 | 1.22m chip | White vuggy quartz vein with rock fragments | 100 | 70.5 |
| 73955 | 0.9m chip | Hematite stained quartz vein | 8.3 | 491 |
| 73956 | Grab | Open spaced white quartz | 14.05 | 81.1 |
| 122449 | 1.52m chip | Open spaced quartz within arkosic sandstone | 12.45 | 142 |
| 122450 | 2.74m chip | arkosic sandstone silicification+clay alteration | 2.36 | 6.04 |
| 122451 | 4.57m chip | Silicified arkosic sandstone | 2.11 | 12.25 |
| 122452 | 2.1m chip | Silicified arkosic sandstone | 1.65 | 11.85 |
| 122453 | 2.44m chip | Silicified arkosic sandstone with rare quartz vein | 22.3 | 46.5 |
| 122454 | 2.44m chip | Massive silicified arkosic sandstone | 23.7 | 25.2 |
| 122455 | 2.44m chip | Massive silicified arkosic sandstone | 21.3 | 113 |
| 122456 | 2.13m chip | Massive silicified arkosic sandstone | 44.1 | 160 |
| 122457 | 3.66m chip | Clay altered arkosic sandstone | 2.41 | 44.2 |
| 122458 | 2.74m chip | Clay altered arkosic sandstone | 3.44 | 16.65 |
| 122460 | 2.44m chip | Silicified limestone with quartz veinlets | 1.315 | 6.37 |
| 122463 | 2.44m chip | Silicified limestone with quartz veinlets | 3.82 | 3.42 |
| 122464 | 2.44m chip | Gossan | 3.87 | 18.05 |
| 122465 | 2.44m chip | Silicified limestone with quartz veinlets | 3.45 | 14.75 |
Sample widths of "vein material" are interpreted to be approximately true widths of the mineralization sampled, whereas other listed samples are interpreted to be part of a larger mineralized interval limited by exposure and so widths may not be representative of the true width.
Ralph Fitch, President and CEO of the Company stated "These very exciting exploration results together with the increased size of our land package at San Antonio set us up with a high priority drill target and the possibility of rapidly building resources within HDG. San Antonio offers the possibility of developing high grade gold resources in the near-term as do the Canasta Dorada (Sonora Mexico) and Gold Springs (Nevada/Utah) gold properties. I believe this will be a very positive year for the Company."
HDG sampling indicates that the mineralized zone is over one kilometre long. The zone is not continuously exposed due to alluvial and thin volcanic cover. However, HDG has located a small window within the volcanic cover 650 metres along strike from the trench which exposes weakly silicified and iron stained carbonates returning values of 0.352 g/t gold, 5 g/t silver, 0.16% lead and 0.27% zinc, indicating that the mineralized system continues under the volcanic cover.
A total of 187 samples have been collected from the HDG property position. Values range from 0.05 to 100 g/t gold and from 0.08 to 492 g/t silver.
The Company has also now acquired an additional land package at the San Antonio gold property and holds four concessions which cover a total of 4,230 ha. The San Antonio gold project represents an exciting new acquisition for HDG with the potential to host large, high-grade, and bulk-mineable gold systems in a region that has seen limited modern exploration. HDG plans to quickly move the property forward with continued geologic and geochemical investigations during the coming months, to be followed by drilling. The recent successful financing by the Company assures an aggressive exploration program in 2010.
The Qualified Person on the San Antonio property is Randall Moore, Executive Vice President of Exploration, High Desert Gold Corporation and he has reviewed and approved the content of this press release. Assays were performed by ALS Chemex ("ALS") which is an ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory. Gold was analyzed by the Au-AA23 method, with values greater than 10 gpt re-assayed using Au- GRA21. All other elements were analyzed by the ME-MS41 method.
Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "should," "estimates," "expects," "believes," "indicates," "targeting," "suggests," "potential," "possibility," "interpretation" and similar expressions. Information concerning the interpretation of historical reports and estimates, chip sample results and also geology may be considered forward-looking statements, as such information constitutes a prediction of what mineralization might be found to be present if and when a project is actually developed. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties, which are more fully described in the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis of Financial Position and Results of Operations filed and publicly available on SEDAR at [ www.sedar.com ]. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. In addition, the historical reports discussed above were not prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources under NI 43-101, the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources as defined in NI 43-101 and the historical estimates should not be relied upon. Except as required by law, HDG assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
