Ventana Continues to Extend Mineralization at La Bodega Project
VANCOUVER, Jan. 10 /CNW/ --
-54 metres of 7.90 g/t gold in La Mascota SW Extension-
VANCOUVER, Jan. 10 /CNW/ - Ventana Gold Corp. (TSX: VEN) ('Ventana' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce results from
thirteen additional holes drilled on multiple exploration targets
within its La Bodega gold, silver and copper project in Colombia. These
results continue to extend the mineralization within the project's La
Mascota, La Bodega, Las Mercedes and Aserradero zones beyond that
contained in the current inferred resource announced on November 8,
2010. A complete listing of drill intercepts and details on the cross
sections are available on the Company's website at www.ventanagold.com.
Highlights
-- La Mascota SW Extension hole 368 returns 54 metres of 7.90 g/t
gold with 20.73 g/t silver in the first test of deeper
mineralization in this area, supporting the theory that gold
mineralization may increase at depth.
-- La Mascota holes 363 and 371 return 22 metres of 6.93 g/t gold
with 100.12 g/t silver and 21.1 metres of 8.23 g/t gold with
74.88 g/t silver, respectively, within the La Baja tenement.
-- Las Mercedes hole 347 returns 4.4 metres of 7.90 g/t gold with
75.64 g/t silver and extends this zone to the southwest.
-- Las Mercedes hole 351 returns multiple intercepts including 16
metres of 4.18 g/t gold and 10 metres of 5.00 g/t gold within
the La Baja tenement, providing further evidence that Las
Mercedes extends through this tenement.
-- Aserradero hole 370 returns 35 metres of 4.81 g/t gold in the
farthest north eastern portion tested to date.
Details
Results of Drilling to Extend Mineralization
The drilling results detailed below represent extensions of
mineralization reported in Ventana's NI 43-101 inferred mineral
resource estimate announced on November 8, 2010 and demonstrate that
the mineralization tenor remains robust as drilling extends at depth,
on new zones and along strike to the southwest.
Hole 368, on section 8855E in the La Mascota SW Extension, intercepted
54 metres of 7.90 grams per tonne gold with 20.73 grams per tonne
silver starting at 402 metres drilled depth, which includes 14 metres
of 18.18 grams per tonne gold with 56.09 grams per tonne silver from
402 to 416 metres and 3 metres of 38.13 grams per tonne gold from 452
to 455 metres. It was drilled to the north at -50 degrees inclination
from a site 150 metres lower in elevation and 200 metres further south
from previous drilling in the area. It was targeted to test a potential
parallel mineralized structure and to test mineralization at depth.
Geochemical results from other holes drilled farther uphill in the SW
extension area indicates that better gold mineralization may be present
deeper in the system. The true thickness of these intercepts is not
known as further drilling is required to determine the geometry of the
structures encountered. Hole 373, further uphill on section 9000E
tested a parallel structure 100 metres south of the La Mascota trend
and intercepted 9.4 metres of 2.15 grams per tonne gold with 82.6 grams
per tonne silver.
Drilling at La Baja continues to confirm the existence and continuity of
the La Mascota zone through this mineral tenement. Hole 363 on section
9050E intersected 22 metres of 6.93 grams per tonne gold with 100.12
grams per tonne silver. Hole 371, also on section 9050E, tested the
same structure about 35 metres down-dip and intersected 21.1 metres of
8.23 grams per tonne gold with 74.88 grams per tonne silver. The
elevated silver values are consistent with previous intercepts in this
area and further confirm that average silver grades are increasing to
the southwest.
On the Las Mercedes zone, hole 347 on section 9900E intersected 4.4
metres of 7.90 grams per tonne gold with 75.64 grams per tonne silver.
It is on the same section as previously reported hole 359 that
intersected 4.2 metres of 5.62 grams per tonne gold, further confirming
the extension of the Las Mercedes zone. To-date, the northeast portion
of the La Mercedes zone has been defined for a distance of over 400
metres along strike and the southwest portion has been defined for a
distance of over 200 metres along strike.
Hole 351 on section 9475E has confirmed the existence of the Las
Mercedes zone extension into the newly acquired La Baja mineral
tenement. It intercepted a series of mineralized structures with
results including 16 metres of 4.18 grams per tonne gold starting at 43
metres drilled depth, 28.7 metres of 2.39 grams per tonne gold starting
at 257 metres, and 10 metres of 5.00 grams per tonne gold starting at
343 metres drilled depth.
Hole 370 on section 0150E is in the Aserradero zone and intercepted 35
metres of 4.81 grams per tonne gold on the furthest northeast section
drilled to date on that target zone. Hole 365 was also drilled on
section 0150E and intercepted 6.8 metres of 4.03 grams per tonne gold
approximately 40 metres up-dip from hole 370. Since the inception of
drilling into Aserradero, ten holes have been drilled into this zone
and nearly all have intercepted ore grade mineralization.
Infill Drilling Results
Infill drilling also continues at the La Bodega project in an effort to
upgrade the initial resource from inferred to measured and indicated.
Hole 357 on section 9425E was an infill hole within the centroid of the
main La Mascota zone and returned two robust intercepts of 68.7 metres
of 5.43 grams per tonne gold with 29.89 grams per tonne silver starting
at 206 metres drilled depth and 27 metres of 12.13 grams per tonne gold
with 20.71 grams per tonne silver starting at 294 metres. Hole 366,
also on section 9425, intercepted 29.1 metres of 5.50 grams per tonne
gold with 37.60 grams per tonne silver.
Holes 350 and 367 were drilled on section 0050E in the La Bodega zone
and intercepted 5 metres of 5.72 grams per tonne gold and 5.8 metres of
4.76 grams per tonne gold respectively.
Ten drills continue to be active at the La Bodega project with drilling
focused on exploration of newer target areas and infill in an effort to
upgrade the initial inferred resource to the measured and indicated
category.
For the locations of the reported drill holes please see map at http://files.newswire.ca/914/Ventana_SW_Extn_La_Baie.doc. The intercepts from the reported drill holes are summarized below:
____________________________________________________________________
|Drill Hole # | From | To | Drill |True |Gold |Silver|Copper|
| |(metres)|(metres)|Intercept|Width|(g/t)|(g/t) | (%) |
| | | |(metres) | | | | |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-347| 61.30 | 65.70 | 4.40 | 3.4 |7.90 |75.64 | 0.31 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|_______|
| | 181.00 | 185.30 | 4.30 | 3.3 |4.43 | 9.37 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-350| 22.55 | 23.50 | 0.95 | 0.5 |4.20 | 7.00 | 0.05 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 44.00 | 47.00 | 3.00 | 1.6 |2.26 | 6.74 | 0.03 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 131.00 | 132.00 | 1.00 | 0.5 |4.56 | 1.79 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 153.00 | 160.00 | 7.00 | 3.8 |2.09 | 6.04 | 0.05 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 167.03 | 168.00 | 0.97 | 0.5 |9.27 | 4.97 | 0.03 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 231.00 | 237.00 | 6.00 | 3.3 |2.82 | 2.00 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 381.00 | 382.00 | 1.00 | 0.6 |23.00|18.00 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 412.00 | 417.00 | 5.00 | 2.8 |5.72 |20.02 | 0.22 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-351| 43.00 | 59.00 | 16.00 |10.6 |4.18 |11.73 | 0.04 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 52.00 | 55.00 | 3.00 | 2.0 |16.79|38.00 | 0.06 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 68.00 | 69.00 | 1.00 | 0.7 |6.52 |10.00 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 257.35 | 286.00 | 28.65 |18.9 |2.39 |11.21 | 0.04 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 272.00 | 273.00 | 1.00 | 0.7 |14.15|52.00 | 0.23 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 343.00 | 353.00 | 10.00 | 6.5 |5.00 |16.85 | 0.02 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 347.00 | 348.00 | 1.00 | 0.7 |21.50|134.00| 0.04 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-354| 212.00 | 222.50 | 10.50 | 4.4 |2.88 |29.12 | 0.09 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 239.00 | 260.29 | 21.29 | 9.2 |1.93 |27.59 | 0.05 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-357| 31.00 | 32.00 | 1.00 | 0.6 |2.54 | 6.93 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 72.00 | 74.00 | 2.00 | 1.2 |2.16 |27.95 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 149.00 | 152.09 | 3.09 | 1.9 |7.15 | 0.83 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 195.00 | 199.03 | 4.03 | 2.5 |3.16 |29.27 | 0.23 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 206.30 | 275.00 | 68.70 |42.3 |5.43 |29.89 | 0.14 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 206.30 | 214.00 | 7.70 | 4.8 |20.38|31.40 | 0.05 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 279.00 | 285.00 | 6.00 | 3.7 |2.65 |22.50 | 0.21 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 294.00 | 321.00 | 27.00 |16.5 |12.13|20.71 | 0.03 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 308.00 | 313.00 | 5.00 | 3.0 |18.24|65.94 | 0.02 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|AND | 316.99 | 321.00 | 4.01 | 2.4 |33.02|23.45 | 0.03 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 331.80 | 337.00 | 5.20 | 3.2 |7.92 | 0.46 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-363| 162.00 | 184.00 | 22.00 |18.5 |6.93 |100.17| 0.05 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 170.00 | 176.00 | 6.00 | 5.0 |11.61|108.77| 0.05 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 205.00 | 206.00 | 1.00 | 0.8 |3.63 | 0.21 | 0.33 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-365| 155.00 | 157.00 | 2.00 | 0.9 |2.88 | 9.16 | 0.23 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 239.00 | 240.00 | 1.00 | 0.5 |7.71 | 0.55 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 259.94 | 261.00 | 1.06 | 0.5 |3.07 |13.95 | 0.27 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 269.00 | 275.80 | 6.80 | 3.2 |4.03 | 3.28 | 0.02 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 305.00 | 324.00 | 19.00 | 9.0 |2.62 | 4.54 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 312.42 | 319.50 | 7.08 | 3.3 |4.10 | 9.43 | 0.02 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-366| 37.00 | 38.00 | 1.00 | 0.7 |4.14 | 0.72 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 71.62 | 73.00 | 1.38 | 1.0 |2.85 |51.50 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 171.90 | 173.43 | 1.53 | 1.1 |3.66 |49.80 | 0.30 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 192.93 | 222.00 | 29.07 |21.4 |5.50 |37.60 | 0.26 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 204.00 | 211.00 | 7.00 | 5.2 |14.44|110.39| 0.71 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-367| 19.50 | 21.00 | 1.50 | 1.0 |2.11 | 2.80 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 39.62 | 42.00 | 2.38 | 1.6 |11.39|22.34 | 0.05 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 65.00 | 69.00 | 4.00 | 2.7 |3.33 |11.79 | 0.03 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 126.00 | 128.20 | 2.20 | 1.5 |4.16 |25.25 | 0.26 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 286.00 | 287.00 | 1.00 | 0.7 |3.22 | 0.66 | 0.02 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 386.20 | 392.00 | 5.80 | 3.7 |4.76 |18.23 | 0.16 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-368| 67.05 | 74.00 | 6.95 | N/A |5.68 |29.65 | 0.27 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 83.82 | 85.00 | 1.18 | N/A |3.13 |16.40 | 0.03 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 95.00 | 99.06 | 4.06 | N/A |8.16 |159.31| 1.57 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 316.00 | 328.00 | 11.01 | N/A |3.13 |63.12 | 0.14 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 402.00 | 456.00 | 54.00 | N/A |7.90 |20.73 | 0.04 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 402.00 | 416.00 | 14.00 | N/A |18.18|56.09 | 0.05 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|AND | 452.00 | 455.00 | 3.00 | N/A |38.13| 5.03 | 0.06 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-370| 79.00 | 94.00 | 15.00 | 5.6 |2.12 | 0.63 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 192.00 | 193.00 | 1.00 | 0.4 |2.28 | 2.79 | 0.03 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 284.00 | 319.00 | 35.00 |13.2 |4.81 | 5.33 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 309.00 | 314.00 | 5.00 | 1.9 |12.40| 5.09 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 331.00 | 346.20 | 15.20 | 5.8 |3.06 | 2.54 | 0.01 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 331.00 | 335.00 | 4.00 | 1.5 |9.37 | 5.37 | 0.03 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-371| 144.00 | 152.00 | 8.00 | 5.7 |9.52 |74.88 | 0.17 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 144.00 | 146.00 | 2.00 | 1.4 |34.83|254.50| 0.06 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 169.90 | 191.00 | 21.10 |15.2 |8.23 |69.66 | 0.10 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|INCLUDES | 178.91 | 181.00 | 2.09 | 1.5 |48.24|136.58| 0.35 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
| | 399.00 | 402.20 | 3.20 | 2.3 |3.65 | 9.41 | 0.03 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
|DDH-10-LB-373| 127.20 | 136.60 | 9.40 | 6.4 |2.15 |82.60 | 1.36 |
|_____________|________|________|_________|_____|_____|______|______|
Drill intercepts are based on a 0.5 gram/tonne gold cut-off with no
upper cut. Drill intercept lengths are down-hole lengths of
mineralization with true widths calculated assuming a 70 degree dip for
the mineralized structure. N/A - insufficient information to determine
true width.
Review by Qualified Person, Quality Control and Reports
The results of Ventana's drilling program have been reviewed, verified
and compiled by Jon Lehmann, L.P.G., a qualified person as defined by
National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). Mr. Lehmann has over 25 years
of mineral exploration experience, is a Licensed Professional Geologist
in the State of Washington and a member in good standing of the
Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
To ensure reliable sample results Ventana has a rigorous QA/QC program
in place that monitors the chain-of-custody of samples and includes the
insertion of blanks, duplicates, and certified reference standards in
each batch of samples. Core is photographed and sawed in half with one
half retained in a secured facility for verification purposes. Sample
preparation (crushing and pulverizing) is performed at an independent
local laboratory established by a joint effort between the regional
environmental permitting agency and the German Geological Survey, and
at the Colombian preparation laboratory of ALS Chemex Laboratories.
Prepared samples are direct-shipped to ALS Chemex Laboratories in Lima,
Peru, an ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory, for analysis.
About Ventana
Ventana is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration and development company
with mineral rights to 4,591 hectares of exploration property in
northeastern Colombia. The Company has two project areas, La Bodega and
Cal-Vetas, of which the flagship La Bodega project contains multiple
high-grade zones of gold, silver and copper mineralization. Ventana has
announced the results to the project's scoping study and completed its
first inferred mineral resource which includes 27 million tonnes
grading 3.9 grams per tonne gold, 21.5 grams per tonne silver, and
0.14% copper for a total of 3.5 million ounces of gold, 19.2 million
ounces of silver and 84.9 million pounds of copper. There is
significant potential to expand the resource and the Company intends to
continue aggressive exploration at the project both from surface and
underground.
Cautionary Note Concerning Inferred Mineral Resources: Mineral resources that are not classified as mineral reserves, such as
inferred mineral resources, do not have demonstrated economic
viability. Ventana's scoping study is an assessment that is
preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are
considered too speculative geologically to have the economic
considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized
as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary
assessment in the Ventana's scoping study will be realized.
Ventana's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VEN.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Information
Certain of the statements made and information contained in this press
release may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning
of applicable securities legislation. All information and statements
which are not historical fact constitute forward-looking information
and, in many cases, can be identified by words such as 'may', 'will',
'expect', 'plan', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'estimate', 'potential', or
other similar terminology. The forward-looking information contained in
this press release is based on the reasonable expectations and beliefs
of management as at the date of this press release and involves
numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both
general and specific to Ventana and the industry in which the Company
operates. Such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to future prices of gold, the factual results of current
exploration, development and mining activities, changes in project
parameters as plans continue to be evaluated as well as those factors
disclosed in Ventana's documents filed from time to time with the
securities regulators in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and
Ontario. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties
materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual
results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry
results, may vary materially from those described in this press
release. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance
on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by law,
Ventana does not intend to and assumes no obligation to update or
revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information, plans, events or otherwise.
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please visit www.ventanagold.com or contact:
Letitia Cornacchia, VP Investor Relations
tel +1 (416) 644-5084
email lcornacchia@ventanagold.com