VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Feb. 3, 2011) -Gold Canyon Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:GCU)(PINK SHEETS:GDCRF) ("Gold Canyon" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that initial leach analyses run on Portage Zone mineralization indicate gold is soluble using cyanide leach solutions. A series of nine representative samples of Portage-type mineralization from holes SP10-022 and -024 were submitted to SGS Laboratories, Toronto for bulk leachable extract of gold (BLEG) analysis. BLEG analyses were run on 30 gram samples of pulp (>80%, -400 mesh) immersed in a hot 0.5% NaCN solution and agitated for 48 hours. A fire assay with atomic absorption finish was run on a duplicate split of the same pulp.
The Portage Zone is part of the Company's 100% controlled Springpole Gold Project, located 110 kilometers northeast of the Red Lake Mining Camp, Ontario, Canada.
Summary of Portage Zone BLEG and Fire Assay Results:
We acknowledge that the BLEG procedures are more aggressive than typical operating conditions but the results suggest that gold should be recoverable using conventional leaching technology. The results also corroborate historical tests which produced recoveries of approximately 80% on pulps ground to -200 mesh and subjected to similar solutions and leach times. The Company has more extensive metallurgical testing planned as part of a full evaluation of mineralization at Springpole.
"Although these results are just a first look at the metallurgical behaviour of this gold mineralization, we are very pleased to see that a significant amount of gold readily goes into solution using conventional processes," comments Dr. Quinton Hennigh technical advisor to Gold Canyon.
Winter Drill Program Update
Three diamond drill rigs are presently drilling off the ice at Springpole. Conditions remain cold and suitable for build-up of ice on the lake. Six holes have been completed to date; all testing shallow to mid-level parts of the northwest and middle Portage Zone. These holes are critical for demonstrating continuity of mineralization to surface. Rig #1 has been relocated (as of 2nd February, 2011) to the southeast portion of the Portage Zone where it will attempt to further expand this zone southeastward. The first complete assays from these first holes are expected back in approximately 10-14 days.
Presently, the strike length of the northwesterly-striking Portage Zone stands at approximately 950 meters. This zone remains open at depths in excess of 300 meters along its entire length. True widths of the zone generally range from 90 to 150 meters, but locally widen to as much as 250 meters. The zone remains open at depth, to the southeast and northwest where it appears to plunge underneath the Main Zone, a zone comprised of a series of high grade veins.
The Winter 2011 drill program is the third phase of an ongoing program of drilling and remodeling of the Springpole deposit to move it towards prefeasibility. Drilling is planned through late March 2011, at which time work will begin on revising the resource estimate for the deposit.
About Springpole
Springpole is an alkaline intrusion hosting a gold system that represents a potentially new style of Canadian Archean Shield gold deposit. Springpole shares many similarities with deposits such as the Cripple Creek Gold deposit in Colorado. The Portage Zone is hosted by a trachytic porphyry intrusion displaying polyphase autolithic breccias that contain gold mineralization of remarkably uniform grade. Other zones, including East Extension, Camp and Main, consist of high grade veins and pods hosted in diatreme breccias composed of intrusive and country rocks. These diatreme breccias surround the northwest and northern margins of the Portage Zone. The known mineralized zones underlie a total known area of about 4 square kilometers representing only about 15 percent of the greater alkaline intrusive complex which remains yet to be explored.
Quinton Hennigh, Ph.D., P.Geo. and Alan Roberts, M.Sc., P.Geo. are the Qualified Persons pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 responsible for, and have reviewed and approved, the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Hennigh is acting as a technical adviser to Gold Canyon and Alan Roberts is the Senior Geologist of Alaska Earth Sciences, Inc. and Project Manager at Springpole.
About Gold Canyon Resources Inc.:
Gold Canyon is engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mineral and precious metals properties. The Company controls a 100% interest in the Springpole Gold - Horseshoe Island Gold, Platinum, Palladium Project and Favourable Lake Poly-metallic property currently under option to Shoreham Resources Inc. pursuant to an option and joint venture agreement entered into in December 2005 - all in the Red Lake Mining District of Ontario, Canada.
Through its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Gold Canyon Resources USA Inc., the Company controls a 100% interest in the Cordero Gallium Project situated in Humboldt County, Nevada, U.S.A.
Gold Canyon entered into a Joint Exploration Agreement with the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) in January 2009.
Additional information can be found on the Company's website: www.goldcanyon.ca
Akiko Levinson, President & Director