Press Release Source: Freegold Ventures Limited
Freegold Intersects New Gold Zone and Delineates Additional Moly at Almaden
Tuesday December 18, 3:05 am ET
VANCOUVER, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Freegold Ventures Limited (TSX: ITF, OTCBB: FGOVF, Frankfurt: FR4) is pleased to report assay results from an additional 16 holes drilled at its 100% controlled Almaden gold project in southwestern Idaho. With the completion of drilling for the new 43-101 resource calculation, the Company has been focusing its latest drilling on identifying strike extensions to its gold mineralization, and further delineating the consistent molybdenum mineralization identified in the North Zone as well as in the northern portions on the Main Zone. These latest drill results provide encouragement that the Almaden project has the potential to continue to grow in size, and that molybdenum may play a significant role in enhancing the returns of the project.
Freegold's first significant step-out drilling was conducted in the Stinking Water basin area, located 1,700 feet east of the North Zone. This area was previously identified as prospective by a prior operator through scattered, widely-spaced drilling, which returned some of the highest-grade gold assays within the deposit area. Previous drilling in this basin was done on spacings of up to 500 feet, was never followed up with in-fill drilling, and was never factored in to any previous resource calculations. Freegold's first hole (SW C44) into the basin was a core hole drilled to a depth of 197 feet. Significant assays from this hole include:
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Hole From To Thickness Gold Grade Gold Grade
Number (foot) (foot) (feet) (oz/ton) (g/tonne)
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SW C44 30 197 167 0.026 0.88
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including 85 160 75 0.039 1.34
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Mineralization in this hole remains open at depth, with the last interval at the bottom of the hole grading 0.025 oz/ton (0.88 g/t). While none of the previous operators assayed for any elements other than gold and silver, it is encouraging to note the surface molybdenum values in this 1,700 foot step-out hole from the North Zone. One interval graded 0.023% MoS(2) over a 119 foot interval (from 35 to 154 feet), including a higher-grade section which graded 0.046% MoS(2) over a 50 foot interval (from 35 to 85 feet).
Five additional shallow RC holes step-out holes (SW 45 to SW 48, and SW 50) were also drilled. As the water table in this basin occurs 20 feet below surface, high water inflows into these holes through the porous surrounding rock made sample collection difficult as cuttings were washed out of the sample collection containers before they could settle. The porous rocks also caused compressed air to be diverted away from the collection zone at the bit face, washing cuttings into the surrounding rocks and causing surface mud boils around the drill. As a result of these quality control issues, the results from the five holes cannot be relied upon, and further testing of the extents of gold mineralization in this area must await the return of a core rig in the future.
Following the completion of the Phase 1 resource expansion drilling program, the RC drill rig was returned to the North Zone to determine whether the molybdenum grades picked up through scattered in-fill drilling as part of the new resource calculation, would remain consistent with closer drill spacing. Molybdenum grades previously reported from Phase 1 drilling included:
North Zone Molybdenum Assays Reported July 9, 2007
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Hole From To Thickness Mo Grade
Number (foot) (foot) (feet) (% MoS(2))
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655 10 200 190 0.049%
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Including 15 30 15 0.100%
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670 5 200 195 0.046%
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Including 30 150 120 0.070%
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681 10 165 155 0.064%
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685 5 185 180 0.060%
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Including 30 55 25 0.176%
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690 5 150 145 0.030%
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701 30 185 155 0.031%
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702 5 205 200 0.038%
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703 25 195 170 0.039%
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C42 30 120 90 0.065%
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Including 45 70 25 0.137%
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C70 95 155 60 0.050%
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C77 0 205 205 0.031%
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A total of 10 new RC holes (690, 723 to 731) were drilled as part of the Phase 2 drilling, bringing the average drill spacing for holes with molybdenum assays to approximately 200 feet. The gold mineralization intersected in these new holes in the lower grading North Zone (containing 13% of the total tonnage in the 2006 43-101 resource calculation) were generally consistent with previous results, and should allow a greater portion of this mineralization to be upgraded to higher resource categories due to the further reduction of drill spacing. Significant gold assay results from these holes include:
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Hole From To Thickness Gold Grade Gold Grade
Number (foot) (foot) (feet) (oz/ton) (g/tonne)
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690 5 155 150 0.008 0.26
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723 5 180 175 0.022 0.74
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Including 5 130 125 0.026 0.91
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724 5 170 165 0.020 0.68
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Including 10 95 85 0.030 1.01
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726 10 80 70 0.018 0.60
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727 5 175 170 0.015 0.50
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Including 5 75 70 0.023 0.80
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728 5 145 140 0.018 0.61
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Including 30 120 90 0.022 0.75
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729 15 120 105 0.021 0.71
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730 5 110 105 0.020 0.70
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731 10 185 175 0.019 0.64
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The new in-fill drilling also confirms the consistency of the molybdenum values with significant grades starting at surface and occurring over thicknesses ranging from 100 to 300 feet. Significant molybdenum assays from these 10 RC holes include:
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Hole From To Thickness MoS(2)
Number (foot) (foot) (feet) (%)
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690 5 155 150 0.030
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723 5 120 115 0.051
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including 5 80 75 0.071
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724 5 210 205 0.029
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including 10 100 90 0.043
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725 5 125 120 0.031
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including 25 65 40 0.051
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726 10 300 290 0.032
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including 10 80 70 0.052
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including 145 175 30 0.069
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727 5 185 180 0.034
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including 5 40 35 0.062
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728 5 300 295 0.026
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including 5 80 75 0.052
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729 5 120 115 0.034
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730 5 150 145 0.025
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731 10 185 175 0.050
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including 130 170 40 0.071
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Freegold's recent drilling has also targeted the syncline area between the Main and North Zones, where drilling by previous operators was limited to 100 feet in depth. Freegold's drilling was aimed at determining if sufficient deeper mineralization existed within the syncline area to allow the two zones to be joined in a future pit design. While the five RC holes (700, 713-716, and 722) did not encounter significant intervals of resource grade gold mineralization, the molybdenum envelope is seen extending into the syncline. Holes 700 and 722 both intersected molybdenum grading 0.031% MoS(2) over intervals of 70 feet (from 120 to 190 feet) and 175 feet (from 5 to 180 feet) respectively. Hole 713, located within the center part of the syncline, 300 feet to the south of the North Zone also returned 60 feet (from 30 to 90 feet) grading 0.027% MoS(2).
Molybdenum mineralization in the North Zone has now been tested with 21 holes that cover an area roughly 1,300 feet long by 500 feet long. The arithmetic average of the molybdenum intercepts reported to date from these holes is 0.038% MoS(2) over an average thickness of 170 feet. While the Company is still evaluating the significance of these molybdenum occurrences in relation to the genesis and configuration of the gold mineralization, the molybdenum may be an important element in the future development of the project. As part of its on-going reviews of the project, Freegold is commencing new metallurgical test-work at McClelland laboratories in Reno, NV aimed at evaluating a variety of processing methods that may be used to capture this potentially valuable mineral by-product.
Freegold is also pleased to report that work is also proceeding on its new 43-101 gold resource calculation. All of the assays from the Phase 1 drilling have now been received and entered into the data-base, and the last of the geological cross-sections in support of the geological model are being digitized and will be incorporated into the block modelling that will be initiated shortly.
Diamond drill core and RC samples are generally analysed on five-foot intervals. All samples are shipped to ALS Chemex at its Winnemucca, NV laboratory for preparation. Pulps are shipped to ALS Chemex Laboratories in Vancouver, B.C. for analysis. Gold values are determined using fire assay techniques with AA finish and multi element analysis using ICP-AES with aqua regia digestion.
The Qualified Person for this release is Michael P. Gross, M.S., P. Geo., VP Exploration, Freegold Ventures Limited.
About Freegold Ventures Limited
Freegold Ventures Limited is a North American exploration and development company with a new management team experienced in mine development and production that is actively exploring advanced-stage gold projects in Idaho and Alaska. Freegold holds a 100% lease interest in the Almaden gold project in Idaho. This large tonnage epithermal gold deposit was the subject of a feasibility study in 1997 calling for the development of a 95,000 oz/year open pit, heap leach mine. Freegold has finalized a 41,000-foot drilling program aimed at further expanding the size of the resource and is in the process of generating a new 43-101 resource prior to undertaking new economic evaluations in 2008. Drilling at depth and to the north and south of the known mineralization is continuing to identify new extensions to the deposit. Freegold has also discovered many new high-grade veins and bulk tonnage shear zones in its 40,000-foot drill program at its Golden Summit project outside Fairbanks, Alaska. Gold production from the processing of bulk sampled material has commenced, and in addition to on-going bulk sampling of additional areas found to contain high grade surface mineralization, the Company continues to define additional areas of larger, lower grade mineralization through on-going drilling and stripping. Exploration has also commenced on the Vinasale property in Alaska, where geophysical and surface sampling programs have recently been completed, and on the Rob property in Alaska, where recent drilling has intersected high-grade gold (29.0 g/t over 13 feet and 20.1 g/t over 13.5 feet) in Pogo-style, near surface quartz veins.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
"Steve Manz"
Steve Manz
President and C.E.O.
The TSX has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news
release. CUSIP: 45953B107
DISCLAIMER
This news release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange, British Columbia Securities Commission and the United States Securities & Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: Kristina Walcott - VP Corporate Development, (604) 662-7307, jkw@freegoldventures.com
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Source: Freegold Ventures Limited
