Linear Gold Provides Exploration Update for Its Goldfields Project
Wednesday December 2, 2009
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, December 2, 2009: Linear Gold Corp. (TSX: LRR) (“Linear”) is pleased to outline its upcoming exploration program and highlight the exploration potential at its Goldfields Mine Development Project, host to Linear’s 100% interest in the Box and Athona Gold Deposits, located in Saskatchewan, Canada. As recently reported, the Box and Athona Gold Deposits will be developed as open pit operations with combined Proven and Probable gold reserves of 1,030,400 ounces.
The Goldfields Project includes Linear’s extensive contiguous property holdings of over 25,000 hectares, located within a prolific gold-bearing region of Saskatchewan. The project area hosts a wide variety of mineralization and historical underground development, including the Box Mine, which produced as an underground gold mining operation from 1939 to 1942. Twelve additional gold occurrences have been documented on the property. All of the known gold deposits and occurrences are exposed at surface, most of which were discovered through surface prospecting during the 1930s.
Linear’s Vice President of Exploration, Howard Bird, stated: “Linear’s exploration program will commence in January 2010 and is expected to provide a pipeline of regional exploration opportunities with the potential to yield significant new gold discoveries. There is widespread surface mineralization across the property, representing obvious targets that have not been systematically explored using modern scientific methods to identify gold occurrences hidden in the subsurface and under areas with soil or water cover. Furthermore, the exploration program will also focus on adding additional ounces to the gold resource at the Box Deposit by drilling the down-dip extension of the Box Ore Zone”.
The Box and the Athona Deposits, the two known deposits on the property, are located two kilometres apart and will utilize a central processing mill facility. The Box and Athona Deposits are both large multi-million tonne open pit deposits, located on the western flank and near the nose of the Goldfields syncline. Both deposits have potential for increased open pit gold resources and there is good potential for higher grade gold mineralization, which may be suitable for underground mining methods, below the proposed open pit limits. Results from limited drilling below the proposed design of the Box Deposit open pit, as reported by GLR Resources Inc. (“GLR”) during 2007, included:
• Hole B07-292, which returned 2.13 grams per tonne of gold over an estimated true width of 47.81 metres, including 8.35 grams per tonne of gold over 8.60 metres; and
• Hole B07-294, which returned 6.32 grams per tonne of gold over an estimated true width of 16.72 metres, including 11.47 grams per tonne of gold over 8.80 metres.
The Frontier Adit gold occurrence, located about one kilometre north of the Box Deposit, is a narrow vein, higher grade style of gold mineralization with underground sampling reported by GLR of up to 28.18 grams per tonne of gold. The Golden Pond gold occurrence, located three kilometres to the northeast of the Box Deposit, includes 1988 and 1995 drill hole results reported by GLR of up to 5.07 grams per tonne of gold over 15.0 metres and 16.5 grams per tonne of gold over 13.6 metres. These and other gold occurrences line up in distinct northerly and north-easterly trends related to and controlled by complex structural events. There are indications that several gold mineralizing events have occurred in the area. All known gold mineralization is associated with auriferous quartz veining in metasedimentary units, which have been altered, and feldspathized by nearby felsic granitic intrusions, and in felsic granitic intrusives.
There is excellent potential for continued discovery of new mineralized systems near the Box and Athona Gold Deposits and within the greater Goldfields Project area. Linear’s exploration program will initially target an approximate five kilometre by five kilometre area centered on the Box Deposit. The exploration program will include:
1. An Induced Polarization (IP) and Resistivity (DCIP) survey using the advanced Titan 24 ground geophysical system for acquiring high-resolution results to depths that are unachievable with conventional geophysics or airborne geophysics. The Titan 24 system images to an approximate 700 metre depth. Through processing, inversion and interpretation of results, information can be obtained on conductive mineralization, disseminated mineralization, alteration, structure and geology.
2. An extensive drill program with the following three objectives:
a. Drilling designed to test below the currently planned pit design of the Box and Athona Deposits with particular emphasis on following up previously reported drill results, below the Box Deposit planned pit outline, not included in the current mine plan;
b. Initial drilling of known gold occurrences, including the Frontier Adit, Golden Pond and other historic gold occurrences on the project; and
c. Following field data acquisition and the interpretation of three-dimensional model results from the geophysical program, a second drill will be utilized to drill test selected anomalies that may be indicative of large-scale bulk-tonnage and high-grade vein gold deposits. All gold deposits and occurrences discovered to date are outcropping, and were discovered through historical, rudimentary surface prospecting. The property has not been subject to systematic exploration using modern and advanced scientific methods to target gold occurrences hidden in the subsurface and under areas with soil or water cover.
The project area is located 25 kilometres from Uranium City, Saskatchewan and is serviced by excellent local infrastructure, including an airport, hydro-electric power, telecommunications, a good road system, a field office, a core shack and living quarters with kitchen facilities for the exploration team.
For further information, please contact:
LINEAR GOLD CORP.
Sean Tufford
Director of Investor Relations
(902) 422-1421
Website: www.lineargoldcorp.com
Mike Sylvestre, P.Eng., COO of Linear and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has approved the technical information and has read this press release.
