Cadillac Mining Corporation CQXFF

CADILLAC MINING CONSOLIDATES SOUTHERN UTAH GOLD DI

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VANCOUVER, Jan. 17 /CNW/ - Cadillac Mining Corporation (TSXV: CQX) ("Cadillac") is pleased to announce the assembly of a large land position in the Goldstrike (also known as Bull Valley) Mining District in western Washington County, southern Utah.
Cadillac has executed three leases comprising 33 patented claims, and has acquired a further 163 Federal claims by staking, contiguous with the patented claims.  A lease on the fourth and final group of patented claims is under active negotiation.  Only the leases are subject to a production royalty of 2.5% of net smelter return, as commonly defined in the industry, while no securities will be issued under the agreements.  Initial advance royalty payments will aggregate at approximately US$40,000.  When the final parcel is acquired, the property will comprise approximately 3800 acres, covering all of the known hard-rock gold occurrences of the historic Goldstrike District.  The project, situated about 5 miles east of the Nevada border, is easily accessible by approximately 30 miles of paved and graveled roads northwest of St. George, Utah.
Hardrock mining in the Goldstrike District dates to the early 20^th century, when narrow 'bonanza' grade veins were mined from shallow shafts and adits.  In the 1980's the advent of heap leaching of oxidized low-grade ores encouraged Tenneco Minerals to place the property into production.  Published records indicate that between 1988 and 1996, 209,835 oz. gold and 197,654 oz. of silver were recovered from 6,858,000 short tons of ore mined from twelve near-surface deposits, extending over a roughly four mile-long trend.  Over the life of the heap leach operation, where large-scale mining ceased in 1994, the average grade delivered to the pads was reported at about 0.041 oz. gold per ton, or 1.40 gram per tonne.
The Goldstrike District lies within a recognized SW-NE trending corridor that stretches approximately 115 miles from the Delamar gold deposit in Nevada, to the Parowan iron deposits in Utah.  It is thought to be the expression of a deep-seated mineralizing system tapping a basement lineament.  The project is situated at the southern edge of a Tertiary volcanic field where it overlaps deformed Paleozoic rocks and overlying Eocene-Oligocene sediments.  Mineralization is controlled by a complex and poorly understood structural regime that includes a low-angle thrust fault and a northeast-striking set of arcuate high-angle faults.  The latter bound a sequence of horsts and grabens along which silica-related gold mineralization was introduced.  Gold is associated with widespread silicification, locally described as intense.  Low-grade disseminated gold occurs in silicified hydrothermal breccias, silica flooded sandstone, and jasperoidal limestone.  Mineralization, which is associated with arsenic, mercury, and antimony, resembles "Carlin-type" in many respects.
The only exploration conducted subsequent to the termination of operations comprised three core holes to about 300-ft. depth under each of the main pits, and finally a six-hole RC program in 1999 mainly near the largest pit to reported depths of 1200 to 1680 ft.  Results were deemed inadequate at the time to justify further exploration.
The Company has acquired a significant quantity of production and exploration data converted to digital form in 1999.  Cadillac is pursuing additional exploration and mining information reportedly in the possession of other parties.  It is management's intention to assemble all such data in a digital model to gain a clearer understanding of the geological setting and controls to the gold-silver mineralization over the breadth of the district.  This wealth of historical data is expected to lead directly to numerous drilling targets.
In addition to exploring known trends for extensions to the previously mined deposits (that would be particularly attractive at today's elevated metal prices), it will be the Company's strategy to drill for higher grade mineralization at depth. This approach has been successfully applied at several of the open pits in Nevada where the geological environment is similar.
Since the late 1980's the Utah portion of the Great Basin has not seen the intensity of exploration experienced in neighbouring Nevada, despite the fact that the State has a long and significant mining history, and its governmental agencies are supportive of the industry.   It is encouraging to note that the Fraser Institute ranks Utah closely behind Nevada in terms of overall attractiveness for exploration.
Victor Erickson, President & CEO of Cadillac Mining Corp., commented, "Management feels that Cadillac's re-consolidation of the Goldstrike District presents an extraordinary opportunity.  By applying recent advances in the understanding of Great Basin deposit models to a camp that was last mined at a time of much lower and declining gold prices, we are confident that the potential for discovery of economic surface and deep-seated gold mineralization is high."  
Qualified Person:
Andre J. Audet, P.Eng., Vice-President - Exploration, Cadillac Mining Corporation, fulfills the position of Qualified Person for Cadillac Mining Corporation, as per National Instrument 43-101. 
About Cadillac Mining:
Cadillac is a junior resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of large-scale precious and base metal mineral properties inQuebec and the western USA.  Currently it has 25,534,828 shares outstanding.
Disclaimers
Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be "forward-looking statements".  Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual developments or results or level of activity or performance to vary materially from those projected by Management.
Neither 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 the release.
For further information:
Cadillac Mining Corporation
Victor Erickson, P.Eng.
President & CEO
Tel.: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.cadillacmining.com