Gold Exploration Activities At Buckskin Rawhide Property
VANCOUVER, BC - Emgold Mining Corporation reported its surface exploration activities at the Buckskin Rawhide Property, located about 40 miles south of Fallon, Nevada. Since acquiring the Property, Emgold has made two important discoveries: the Black Eagle High Grade Vein Target and the Chicago Mountain Bulk Disseminated Target.
The Buckskin Rawhide Property is comprised of 52 unpatented claims totaling 1,040 acres, of which 46 claims are currently under a lease and option to purchase agreement with Nevada Sunrise LLC, a private company. Six additional claims were staked by Emgold. The Property is located in the Rawhide Mining District.
The Buckskin Rawhide Property is a volcanic-hosted, structurally controlled, epithermal gold-silver prospect in the Walker Lane gold belt of western Nevada. The Walker Lane is a regional shear zone and known gold trend that hosts large and small historic and currently operating gold-silver mines, including mines of the Comstock Lode, Tonopah District and Rawhide District. Buckskin Rawhide geology and mineralization are associated with lithologic units and structures of the Rawhide caldera, as well as structures from the Walker Lane and Basin and Range.
Kennecott Minerals conducted surface sampling along the Black Eagle Fault, a north-south trending structure situated on the west side of Emgold's claim block, between years 1996 and 2002. Kennecott was exploring for bulk disseminated gold deposits similar to the one found at the adjacent Denton Rawhide Mine (now called the Rawhide Mine), which was being operated by Kennecott Rawhide Mining Company at that time. They assayed a total of 125 rock chip and grab samples over a strike length of 5,700 feet in the area of Black Eagle Fault. The average grade of those samples was 0.031 ounces per ton gold. Kennecott also drilled 36 reverse circulation holes in the area along the Fault, with 20 of those holes showing gold anomalies greater than 0.005 ounces per ton. However, Kennecott was not looking for high grade gold associated with the Black Eagle Fault.
Prior to acquiring the Property, Emgold's geologists recognized the potential for high grade vein targets along the Black Eagle Fault, in addition to the potential for bulk disseminated gold targets. Surface sampling of that structure by Emgold resulted in the discovery of high-grade gold-silver mineralization that has been designated the Black Eagle High Grade Vein Target.This Target was identified by rock chip sampling with gold grades ranging from non-detectable to 9.00 ounces per ton gold and from non-detectable to 17.58 ounces per ton silver and is interpreted to be a steep-dipping mineralized shoot. The Black Eagle High Grade Vein Target, which consists of fault gouge, quartz veins, and silicified wall rocks overprinted with iron-manganese oxides, is 360 feet in strike length and open to extension. Potential exists for other high grade shoots along the Black Eagle Fault and within other faults on the Property.
Emgold's continuing exploration of the Black Eagle Fault involved detailed rock sampling and geologic mapping of new structures and extensions of previously mapped faults and veins. Results were positive, with anomalous gold values ranging from non-detectable up to 0.034 ounces per ton and silver values ranging from 0.031 ounces per ton to 12.3 ounce per ton in 6 and 12-inch channel samples of bedrock, structures, and one grab sample from a historic mine dump. Dry sample weights varied from one to two pounds.
Forty-four additional rock chip samples were taken by Emgold to further explore the Black Eagle Fault, for a total of 108 surface samples to date. These include 101 surface rock chip samples of bedrock and structures, and seven grab samples of historic mine dumps. To date, the total length of the Black Eagle area sampled to date is 6,000 feet.
A comparison of the average Kennecott sample grades to Emgold's samples on the Black Eagle Fault indicates that the samples taken by Emgold are much higher grade than the historic samples. The higher grade has been identified because Emgold sampled rocks exposed primarily on and adjacent to the high grade zone, while Kennecott analyzed the targets in the vicinity of that structure, looking for bulk disseminated mineralization.
Confirmation drilling will need to be completed to confirm the reliability of historic data.
Emgold's most recent geologic mapping of the area near the Black Eagle Fault also resulted in the discovery of a new fault. Eight channel samples, each 12-inches in length, of bedrock and structures taken at and near the new fault showed low grade anomalous gold mineralization, with values ranging from less than 0.001 to 0.019 ounces per ton gold. Silver values ranged from 0.049 to 2.73 ounces per ton.
Geologic mapping and surface sampling, conducted by Emgold at Buckskin Rawhide, also continued on the eastern half of the Buckskin Rawhide claim block in the Chicago Mountain Bulk Disseminated Target where the Company previously discovered a low grade bulk disseminated gold exploration target that is exposed at surface. Nine additional rock chip samples were taken as further confirmation sampling of historic sampling, for a total of 15 Emgold rock chip samples to date. Results are summarized in Table 2 below.Total samples taken in this mineralized zone, including historic samples, is now 120.
The Chicago Mountain Bulk Disseminated Target is an area approximately 4,000 feet in length and 400 feet in width situated on the eastern half of the Buckskin Rawhide claim block, with gold mineralization at the surface.Several companies conducted reconnaissance exploration programs in this area between the years 1996 and 2002. Of the 416 surface samples taken of rock outcrops in the area between Buckskin Mountain and Chicago Mountain, 105 samples defined an anomalous northwest-trending mineralized zone with grades ranging from 0.003 ounce per ton gold to higher grades of over 0.06 ounces per ton gold in the center of the zone.
Kennecott Minerals also conducted reverse circulation drilling during that period of time, with results indicating the presence of gold mineralization from the surface to depths of 165 feet.
The results do justify further exploration of the Property, including additional mapping and sampling. In addition, core and reverse circulation drilling for both the Black Eagle High Grade Vein Target and Chicago Mountain Bulk Disseminated Target is recommended. Emgold is currently developing plans and budgets for this work, as well as permitting this activity.
The company's address is Suite 1400, 570 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 3P1, 604.687.4622, fax: 604.687.4212.