Argonaut Gold Inc. Completes Resource Expansion Drill Program at El Castillo
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 12/02/10 -- Argonaut Gold Inc. (TSX: AR) ('Argonaut' or the 'Company') is pleased to present the final assay results for the 2010 resource expansion drill program at the 100 percent owned El Castillo gold mine in the State of Durango, Mexico.
The 2010 drill program included 308 drill holes spanning over more than 35,400 meters. The drilling, which commenced in December of 2009, was divided into two phases. Phase I consisted principally of a 100 meter drill grid to define the approximate limits of the El Castillo gold system. This program was completed in mid April and consisted of 136 drill holes totaling 15,851 meters.
A second phase of drilling immediately followed and was designed to fill-in and better define mineralized zones identified from Phase I. The Phase II program, which totaled 172 drill holes spanning over 19,500 meters, brought the drill spacing to approximately 50 meters. Since the last update on October 12, 2010 an additional 28 holes were completed. All drill results have been compiled and are being utilized to complete an updated resource estimate as part of a revised National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ('NI 43-101') compliant technical report which is scheduled for completion by year end.
Visit www.argonautgoldinc.com for a list of drill hole assay results completed in 2010.
Core Drilling
In early November, the Company also completed a small (7 hole) core drilling program to obtain additional material for metallurgical testing of transition and sulfide mineralization. It consisted of seven holes totaling 802 meters. Core material representative of transition and sulfide mineralization has been shipped to Kappes Cassidy & Associates in Reno where composites are currently undergoing column leach testing.
Tom Burkhart, Vice President of Exploration for Argonaut Gold noted, 'The increase in the mineralized envelope at El Castillo provides as a strong indication of the potential for mine expansion at El Castillo. A new resource estimate, containing all the drilling, changes in operating costs and incorporating the overall mine improvements at El Castillo will be completed by year end.'
About Argonaut
Argonaut is a Canadian gold company engaged in exploration, mine development and production activities. Its primary assets are the production-stage El Castillo Project and the exploration-stage La Fortuna Project, both located in the State of Durango, Mexico. Argonaut is a producing gold company created by former executive management team members of Meridian Gold Inc.
Creating the Next Quality Mid-Tier Gold Producer in the Americas.
Qualified Person Comments
Preparation of this press release was supervised by Thomas Burkhart, Argonaut Gold's Vice President of Exploration and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Mr. Burkhart also reviewed the reverse circulation drill program and on-site sample preparation procedures at El Castillo.
For additional information on the El Castillo gold mine, please refer to the Technical Report On The El Castillo Project, Durango, Mexico (July 31, 2008).
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from management's current expectations. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors. Except as required by law, Argonaut Gold Inc. assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this news release.
To view the '2010 El Castillo Drilling' figure, please visit the following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/agrdrl2010.pdf
Contacts:
Argonaut Gold Inc.
Nichole Cowles
Investor Relations Manager
(775) 284-4422 x 101
nichole.cowles@argonautgoldinc.com
www.argonautgoldinc.com