Better than expected.Golden Phoenix Completes 8000 Feet of Drilling at Its Mineral Ridge Gold Mine; Reports Initial Exploration Objectives and Results
Jun 3, 2008 1:32:00 PM
SPARKS, Nev., June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GPXM) is pleased to report that, since start-up of its drilling division in February of this year, over 8000 feet of exploratory drilling has been completed on time and on budget at its Mineral Ridge gold and silver mine, located in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Initial discovery includes an extension of the Mary limestone formation bearing 0.15 opt gold.
Three objectives were established for the start-up of the drilling program at Mineral Ridge: 1) testing and tuning of the equipment and drilling team; 2) performance of condemnation drilling to establish a future site for a gold-and-silver processing mill adjacent to the existing ADR plant; and 3) evaluation of select areas through deep drilling needed to provide a structural baseline for geological analysis to guide future exploratory and mining initiatives. A fourth objective, testing of the rig's custom designed angle attachment, commenced on May 27th with the successful completion of three angle holes between 300 and 600 feet deep.
David A. Caldwell, CEO and Chief Geoscientist of Golden Phoenix said, "The Drilling Division, working under the direction of our Technical Services Group, has completed a near-flawless start-up of our exploration activities. We are drilling at an average rate of 350 feet per day, including eight deep structure holes in hard ground. Atlas Copco, the manufacturer of the drill equipment, is providing us superior field support and the rig is performing above our expectations in all aspects, including power and versatility. Additional staffing is underway in preparation for the expansion of operational availability of the drill rig slated for later this summer."
Over 1600 assay samples have been taken at Mineral Ridge and are being processed by American Assay in Reno, Nevada. The first assay certificates are beginning to arrive, with the average processing time forecast to be approximately 30 days due to heavy volume and demand.
Mr. Caldwell continued his commentary on the drilling, "Regarding the first assay reports, the information we are receiving is confirming the depth and breadth of the geological structures we intend to follow. The presence of significant levels of detectable gold in all of the holes bears witness to our belief that Mineral Ridge is a highly prospective property, and will prove worthy of a sophisticated exploration program spanning several years. Of particular interest is the discovery of an extension of the Mary limestone, hosting five feet of 0.15 oz gold. We are currently working on a third-party feasibility analysis to define the known gold, which is slated to be completed this fall, and we are hoping to put significant gold ounces onto our ledger and then methodically build upon those ounces as the drilling continues."
Preliminary interpretation of the assay results for the first six holes is as follows:
Drill hole MR08301 - Targeted deep mineralization along a suspected north-south west dipping structure projected to lie between the Wedge and Brodie open pits. It intersected the structure at 650 feet, which was gold bearing with 5'/0.014 opt Au. The drill hole also intersected shallow, low-grade mineralization related to the Wedge pit beginning at the collar and including 15'/0.018 opt Au from 90 to 105 feet.
Drill hole MR08302 - Offset from previously drilled mineralization on the east side of the Bluelite deposit. Multiple objectives included expansion of known Bluelite mineralization, exploration for suspected deeper mineralized horizons, and collection of geologic data to define a projected structure possibly related to a second, later, gold mineralizing event. Results substantiated multiple horizons of gold mineralization. It intersected six gold horizons with grades greater than 0.01 opt Au between 0 and 450 feet deep, including two horizons with grades greater than 0.07 Au. Four of the six horizons are at depths greater than those drilled by previous operators in this area. The aerial extent of the lower horizons is unknown. The upper gold horizon in this hole correlates with the Bluelite mineralization, extending it to the north and east.
Drill Holes MR08303, MR08304 and MR08305 - The primary objective was to define the projected structure with respect to MR08302 and extend drilling into an unexplored area between the two known deposits. The holes are located north of the Bluelite deposit and southwest of the Solberry deposit. MR08303 intersected multiple horizons of weakly anomalous gold to a depth of 655 feet. MR08304 intersected multiple horizons of weakly anomalous gold to a depth of 470 feet. MR08305 intersected weakly anomalous gold to a depth of 180 feet including 5'/0.016 opt Au from 175 to 180 feet.
Drill Hole MR08306 - The objective of the hole was to bracket and complete the definition of the structural zone, discussed above, in an area where previous drilling did not intersect the Mary limestone. The Mary lime is a member of the Wyman formation and one of the major ore hosts in the district. MR08306 intersected 60 feet of Mary lime beginning just below the alluvium and intersected 5'/0.155 opt Au from 60 to 65 feet deep in a shear zone at the base of the Mary lime. Additional zones of lower grade Au were intersected at intrusive meta-sediment contacts down to 205 feet. Additional drilling will follow up on these intercepts in the near future.
Tracking and definition of the projected structural controls on the high-grade gold shoots will be an ongoing process. The new geologic data will be incorporated into the database for 3-D modeling and interpretation. Future relogging of drilling completed by previous operators will be undertaken to provide standardization of lithologic units across the Bluelite area for better definition of the structure and development of a new predictive model for discovering and delineating additional mineralization on the property.
Please visit the Golden Phoenix website at https://www.Golden-Phoenix.com/
Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. is a Nevada-based mining company committed to deliver value to its shareholders by acquiring, developing and mining superior precious and strategic metal deposits in North America using competitive business practices balanced by principles of ethical stewardship. Golden Phoenix owns the Mineral Ridge gold and silver property near Silver Peak, Nevada, the Northern Champion molybdenum mine in Ontario, Canada, and is majority owner of the Ashdown Project LLC gold and molybdenum property.