12.8 m of 30.51 g/t Au at MagdalenaYamana Gold drills 12.8 m of 30.51 g/t Au at Magdalena
Yamana Gold Inc (C:YRI)
Shares Issued 353,329,316
Last Close 5/23/2007 $14.33
Thursday May 24 2007 - News Release
Mr. Peter Marrone reports
YAMANA PROVIDES DRILLING UPDATE AT AMELIA INES AND MAGDALENA DEPOSITS AT GUALCAMAYO, ARGENTINA
Yamana Gold Inc. is providing the most recent results from the continuing exploration program at its 100-per-cent-owned Gualcamayo gold project in San Juan province, Argentina. A total of five diamond drill holes (including infill and exploration holes) were recently completed at the Amelia Ines and Magdalena satellite deposits located approximately one kilometre and 1.5 km northwest, respectively, of the main Quebrada Del Diablo resource area.
Yamana intends to complete a feasibility study for QDD by the end of June followed by an update for Amelia Ines and Magdalena by the end of September. The feasibility study in June will relate only to QDD although it will contemplate a scale and size of operations anticipating significant production from Amelia Ines and Magdalena after start-up at QDD in mid-2008. Proven and probable reserve estimates and mine plan in the main feasibility study will relate only to QDD and the update in September will relate to the two satellite deposits.
The Amelia Ines and Magdalena deposits are hosted within fractured and brecciated marbles similar to the QDD deposit and a skarn breccia. The last resource estimates for the Amelia Ines and Magdalena deposits were completed in 2004, and are shown in the accompanying table.
Mineral deposit Resource category Tonnes Grade Contained
(000s) Au (gpt) ounces Au
(000s)
Amelia Ines Measured 203 3.12 20
Indicated 1,910 2.79 171
Measured + Indicated 2,114 2.82 192
Inferred 383 1.95 24
Magdalena Inferred 2,526 1.87 151
Table taken from previously published 43-101 report "Update on Resources,
Gualcamayo Gold Project, December, 2004," by Geosim Services Inc.
Of the five diamond drill holes recently completed, certain holes were drilled to upgrade inferred resources to a measured and indicated status and others were drilled to test the downplunge extent of the mineralization at both deposits which remains open ended. Drilling results were extremely successful, as shown in the following drill intercepts (all intercepts are core length).
Magdalena:
- Hole QD-400 intersected 4.90 grams per tonne Au over 149.15 metres from zero to 149.15 m, including 30.51 gpt Au over 12.80 m from 80.90 m to 93.70 m.
- Hole QD-403 intersected 6.61 gpt Au over 45.22 m from 67.18 m to 112.4 m, including 13.91 gpt Au over 19.64 m from 90.76 m to 110.4 m.
- Hole QD-399 intersected 10 gpt Au over 21.50 m from 39.70 m to 61.20 m, including 15.21 gpt Au over 7.21 m from 47.65 m to 54.86 m.
Amelia Ines
- Hole QD-389 intersected 2.65 gpt Au over 78.67 m from 97.70 to 176.37 m, including 4.64 gpt Au over 25.75 m from 99.85 m to 125.60 m.
- Hole QD-397 intersected 2.58 gpt Au over 63.96 m from 47.50 m to 111.46 m, including 9.33 gpt Au over 12.30 m from 74 m to 86.30 m.
The holes at Magdalena show potential to upgrade the majority of the inferred resource to a measured and indicated status at a significantly higher grade and to expand the limits of the deposit. Of particular interest are holes QD-400 and QD-403. The high-grade intercept of 30.51 gpt Au over 12.8 m correlates with a steep, northwest-plunging, marble and skarn breccia zone. This same zone was intersected 120 m farther downplunge to the north in QD-403, returning 6.61 gpt Au over 45.22 m and remains open to the northwest.
At Amelia Ines, hole QD-389 was drilled to test the southern margin of the deposit and returned 2.65 gpt Au over 78.7 m in largely oxidized marble breccias. This intersection lies outside the current model, remains open to the southwest and may represent the faulted offset of the feeder structure for the deposit.
Additional drilling is currently under way at both Amelia Ines and Magdalena to convert inferred resources to measured and indicated status and expand their open-ended, downplunge potential. A resource update and metallurgical column testwork is expected to form the basis of the update to the feasibility study for these deposits.
The drilling results and open-ended potential at Magdalena and Amelia Ines show potential to expand the global resource base at Gualcamayo at higher grades and significantly improve the project economics. These results suggest the following benefits:
- allows Yamana to oversize the plant and operations as part of the main QDD feasibility study, while Amelia Ines and Magdalena continue to be studied;
- suggests a larger, higher-grade orebody for Amelia Ines and Magdalena;
- provides additional options that include milling of higher-grade ore from Amelia Ines and Magdalena which would ultimately benefit the QDD Lower West targeted underground zone;
- extension holes between Amelia Ines and Magdalena suggest that what were considered two separate orebodies may tie together; and
- extension holes at Amelia Ines toward QDD Lower West zone and at Magdalena toward the north and southeast suggest that the orebodies are open and may be larger than currently anticipated.
Quality control
Exploration on the Gualcamayo project is being conducted under the supervision of Rick Diment, PGeo, the company's qualified person as defined under NI 43-101. All samples were collected in accordance with industry standards. Samples were submitted to Alex Stewart Assayers SA for fire assay and ICP analysis, an ISO 9001:2000-certified lab, in Mendoza, Argentina. Check assays were submitted to ALS Chemex, an ISO 9001:2000-certified lab, in its Santiago, Chile facility.
Accuracy of results is tested through the systematic inclusion of standards, blanks and check assays.
) 2007 Canjex Publishing Ltd.