Lateegra Updates Work at El Picacho, Mexico
Friday, February 23, 2007
February 23, 2007, Vancouver, B.C.: Lateegra Gold Corp. (the “Company”) (TSX.V – LRG, Frankfurt - LTGA) and Tara Gold Resources Corp (OTC: TRGD.PK) (Frankfurt T8N) are pleased to provide an update to the activities and fieldwork being carried out on the El Picacho Project in Sonora, Mexico:
The Phase 1 drill exploration program has been increased to 3000m. A total of 1000m is confirmation drilling aimed at verifying historical resource estimates, confirming mine head grades and mining widths, while allowing the correlation of data provided from 22 historic drill holes within the El Picacho structure. A further 2000m is designated for exploration of additional targets defined on the El Picacho 3,236 ha mineral claim block. The El Picacho structure was drilled by previous operators along a strike length of 1250m.
The Company has contracted Layne De Mexico S.A. de C.V. to drill a minimum 2000 meters with an option for additional meterage. Layne is using a CS-1500 truck mounted long stroke rig that arrived on the project last week. A second locally supplied rig and crew is augmenting this activity with a Longyear 38 drill rig. The first three holes have been drilled and logged with holes number 4 and 5 presently underway. (Please refer to the Company’s website for a map of hole locations in the phase 1 drill program.)
In addition to drilling, approximately 1700m of existing development drifts are being rehabilitated for an aggressive confirmation sampling program aimed at verifying extensive historic channel sampling that blocked out five meter average mining widths grading 7 grams/tonne gold equivalent (gold and silica by-product combined value) modeling a 230,000 tonne compiled non NI 43101 compliant historic resource, as reported within the mine development plans of previous owners.
Recent mapping and rock sampling has extended the mineralized structure of El Picacho another 500m to the northwest. The structure remains open along strike both to the northwest, southeast, and to depth. Dos Amigos, the 3 kilometer long gold bearing structure lying parallel to El Picacho continues to be extensively mapped and sampled with trenching underway to delineate drill targets.
Work also continues on a third parallel mineralized structure where recent 4 and 8gms gold/tonne grab samples, previously reported, were taken 0.5km apart and on strike with an existing 76meter 4x4 meter cribbed shaft, also planned for rehabilitation. The Company has no recorded data associated with the massive effort required in the sinking of this shaft.
The existing crushing plant is in operation providing silica from existing stockpiles to local smelters serving to both supplement operational overheads and maintain this key market for future process tailings.
Robert Findlay, COO states “We are particularly excited about drill hole MPDH-07-04, for which assays are pending, which intercepted approximately 7 meters of strongly silicified rock down dip from existing underground workings. With completion of this program the Company will be very close to defining one of several underground targets suitable for immediate mining. Previously mined out areas demonstrate a very competent hanging wall dipping from 65 to 70 degrees with minimum mining widths of 4 to 5 meters. Considering this, mining at El Picacho looks to be very well suited to a low cost mine plan via more productive longhole stoping methods. In addition, the 3 kilometer long gold-bearing Dos Amigos structure, identified in the fall of 2006, will be the focus of additional work with the aim of developing a potential near-surface resource that would offer reduced mining cost with which to compliment the mill feed from underground. As such, the Company is working to optimize mine plan scenarios to supply mill feed for a proposed 600 to 1,000 metric tonnes per day operation.”
