Bird River Resources Inc C.BDR

NEWS ... all good ... BUT

[dorinho]

Why the extreme caution .... not enough info YET for mill set-up? Between you and I and the lamp post .... get an operation going next year! I'm obviously being the neophyte that I am!! Bueno suerte, Dorinho December 06, 2004 03:23 PM US Eastern Timezone Boulder Mining Corporation: Indian River Gold Project, Yukon VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 2004--Boulder Mining Corporation (TSX VENTURE:BDR): Continuing gold grades 3.6 km to the west John H. McAdam, President of Boulder Mining Corporation is pleased to report the continuity of strong gold grades from the remaining pits on the Indian River gold project, including sites 10 and 11 located 3.6 km and 3.7 km further west of the first 9 site locations. In addition, an in-house preliminary economic assessment has been undertaken by the Company. The results and studies as presented below provide strong incentive for Boulder to continue to aggressively advance the Indian River Gold Project located in the Yukon. LATEST RESULTS Presented below are the recovered gold values from each of three sample sites. Site 9 is located in the vicinity of the previously reported sample sites whereas sites 10 and 11 are located 3.7 and 3.6 kilometers to the west respectively. Sample Location Weight Thickness Recovered Grade ------------------------------------------------------------------ (grams (grams per per (kilograms) (metres) tonne(i)) cubic --------- ------- ------- metre(ii)) --------- Site 9 50+44E 1+19N 20,495 1.73 0.172 0.344 ------ ----------- Including 13,702 1.08 0.262 0.524 Site 10 12+11E:0+86S 42,184 3.84 0.159 0.318 ------- ------------ Including 28,660 2.88 0.208 0.416 Including 15,032 1.25 0.316 0.632 Site 11 13+90E:0+24N 35,589 3.28 0.182 0.364 ------- ------------ Including 28,619 2.27 0.256 0.512 Including 14,166 1.13 0.468 0.936 (i)raw weight of gold which does not account for the purity of the gold itself. (ii)assumes a bulk density of 2 tonnes per cubic metre. The program was conducted under the supervision of independent consultants. Program protocol is described in the Company's News Release dated October 27, 2004. Nelson Baker, B.Sc., P.Eng, V.P. Exploration is the Qualified Person for this Project. PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT During 2004, three programs were undertaken on the Down Stream Bench that have increased the knowledge base of the project dramatically; a spring trenching program, a rotasonic drilling campaign and a fall pitting program. The highlights of each program are: 1) Spring Trenching: all samples from all 15 trenches spread over the Down Stream Bench averaged 0.658 grams of gold per cubic metre (0.329 grams per Tonne.) Note; only 6 trenches reached the bedrock interface which typically has the strongest values. 2) Rotasonic Drilling: 50 holes show an average 7 metre depth to bedrock, average 4.6 metres of gold bearing gravel, and an average of 2.4 metres of cover. The estimated volume of material on the drilled portion of the Downstream Bench is 106 million Tonnes of which 70 million Tonnes are gold bearing gravel. 3) Fall Pitting: 11 pit sites were sampled and the average of all samples from all pits averaged 0.376 grams of gold per cubic metre. (0.188 grams of gold per Tonne) The weighted average (based on thickness intervals) of the spring and the fall pitting samples collected on the Downstream Bench combined is equal to 0.576 grams per cubic metre. (0.288 grams per Tonne) The average of 10 Auger holes drilled by Western Prospector on the Upstream Bench is 1.16 grams per cubic metre (0.58 grams per Tonne). The volume of gravel on the Upstream Bench is estimated to be in excess of 73 million Tonnes of Gravel. To the extent that it is warranted, it is management's goal to develop the Indian River Project into a long life operating mine generating a positive cash flow. The Indian River Paleochannel Gold deposits sit as raised terraces and have shallow overburden. A hypothetical scenario of an open pit panel mine has been studied and presented below are preliminary estimates of what a large scale operation might look like. It is important to communicate this information to shareholders as the economics of larger scale alluvial mining projects are not generally well known. Because the gold has been liberated there is no requirement for drilling, blasting, crushing, grinding or chemicals. Grades that are uneconomic in the hardrock domain may be very profitable in an alluvial operation. Hypothetical Operating Scenario: The operation was considered as an open pit bulldozer operation using movable screening gravity plants. Annual tonnage is 12.2 m Tonnes of which 40% is waste and not processed. Costs were subdivided in to Mining, Recovery Plant, Supervision, Camp Costs and Contingencies. Some of the major operating considerations are listed below: 7 D-11 Caterpillar Bulldozers 150 Sluicing days per Year 2 Large Excavators 105 Stripping Days per Year 4 Moveable Screening/Sluicing Plants 51 Person Camp Hypothetical Grade: Grams/m3 Grams/m3 -------- -------- 0.376 (1) 0.576 (2) Ounces of Annual Production 39,135 59,950 Annual Revenue@$530Cdn. $20.7m $31.8m Annual Cost(i) $16.0m $16.0m ----------------------------------------------------------- Annual Operating Profit $4.7m $15.7m ----------------------------------------------------------- Cost per Ounce ($US) $344 $225 ----------------------------------------------------------- Preliminary Capital Estimate(ii) $25m $25m Payback (years) 5.4 1.6 ----------------------------------------------------------- (i) includes a 20% contingency (ii) includes a 30% contingency (1)(Fall Pitting Only) (2)(Average for all pits in 2004) INSUFFICIENT WORK HAS BEEN PERFORMED ON THE BOTH THE UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM BENCHES TO CLASSIFY RESOURCES OR RESERVES PURSUANT TO POLICY 43-101. DETAILED ENGINEERING STUDIES WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE OPERATING AND CAPITAL COSTS CAN BE DETERMINED OR IF THE HYPOTHETICAL OPERATING SCENARIO IS FEASIBLE OR WHETHER ALTERNATE TECHNIQUES WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE. DOWN STREAM BENCH FINDINGS A very important determination is that the Downstream Bench is almost certainly a "bedload alluvial deposit". Alluvial deposits are not well understood and generally lumped together. This of course is not appropriate and would be equivalent to lumping all hardrock deposits as one type. The significance of this is that there is a continuity and a regularity to be expected in a bedload type of deposit. At the other end of the spectrum are "streaky" placer deposits which are notorious for limited extent. In hard rock terms, a bedload deposit might be equivalent to a bulk tonnage deposit whereas the streaky placers might be equivalent to narrow vein deposits. The energy regime as determined by observations of the character of the gravel and the grain size distribution of recovered gold at the west end of the Downstream Bench (Sites 10 and 11) is virtually the same as at Sites 1 to 9 located some 3.6 km to the east. This is significant, especially when combined with the characterization of the deposit as a bedload deposit. In other words, management feels the Downstream Bench was deposited under fairly uniform energy environment which should translate to continuity and regularity of grade. Insufficient sampling has been completed to determine the grade however the results to date are sufficiently strong as to be of economic interest. There is a precedent for long term operations in the Klondike as the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation operated from 1933 to 1966 and was ultimately taken over by what is now Teck-Cominco. Teck Corporation successfully ran an operation for many years on a tributary of the Indian River and today still enjoys royalty income from alluvial operations in the Yukon. The Company is determined to bring all the science and discipline to the table to advance the project in an orderly and professional manner. Boulder Mining is earning a 70% interest in the Indian River Property from Western Prospector Group (TSX VENTURE:WNP). Boulder Mining Corporation also has the right to earn a100% interest subject to a royalty interest in the Tevrede IOCG (Iron Oxide Copper Gold) project in Namibia. On behalf of the Board of Directors Boulder Mining Corporation John H. McAdam, President and Director The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Contacts Boulder Mining Corporation Brad Aelicks VP Corporate Finance [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Website: www.bouldermining.com