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Foran provides results from North Star drilling

2004-04-29 14:32 ET - News Release


Mr. Stephen Masson reports

PARTIAL RESULTS FROM NORTH STAR UNDERGROUND SAMPLING AND SURFACE DRILLING

Foran Mining has provided the following update for the North Star gold project. The company apologizes for the delay of this press release after its stock was halted as recently received data, drill logs, sample and underground face maps had to be checked and verified. It is important to note that approximately 40 per cent of assays for both surface drilling and underground sampling remain outstanding. The results received to date from the underground development, sampling and surface diamond drilling of this past winter are as follows:

Underground development and sampling

The underground ramp and portal development began in early January with sill drifting of the North Star vein beginning in late March. The sill drift on the vein is presently 200 metres (656 feet long).The North Star vein has great continuity along the 200 metres (656 feet), where it is exposed in the drift with an average width of 2.12 metres (seven feet) at the 100 level. Surface drilling from this past summer indicates the vein is open to the south and drilling of this winter indicates it remains open to the north. Deeper drill holes have intersected the North Star vein at depths of 600 feet, 800 feet and 1,000 feet. The vein is generally better mineralized in both gold values and sulphides than that was indicated in drill holes at the same level. Preliminary grades, calculated by weighted averages of face samples in Table 1 on the vein so far are averaging. Samples over an ounce were not capped as no sample exceeded two ounces. This preliminary grade is consistent with the blast-hole results and face samples from Foran's unprocessed 7,000-ton surface bulk sample, and with Lakefield Research's metallurgical results. Values in the faces range widely from 0.5 gram to 49 grams per tonne (g/t) (0.014 to 1.4 ounces of gold per ton) even for the same face.The vein consist mainly of a "pay zone" 0.5 metre to one metre (1.6 feet to 3.2 feet) wide with grades of 15 to 35 grams (0.43 to one ounce gold per ton), with higher values occasionally up to 145 grams Au per tonne (4.3 ounces gold per ton). This pay zone along the footwall of the vein carries the remaining portion of the vein which commonly range in values from two to 10 grams Au per tonne (0.058 to 0.29 ounces gold per ton) over widths of 0.5 to three metres (1.6 to 9.8 feet). The pay zone is characterized by chalcopyrite, sphalerite-rich sheared quartz. Where drill holes assays in the vein at its south end indicated the grade of the vein was very low (less than one gram), visible gold was observed underground in the muck pile from drifting (mining) along this portion of the vein for at least 100 feet. This portion which contains quite coarse visible gold up to two centimetres contains little sulphides and is strongly chloritic.The vein is steeply dipping, 80 degrees to the east, with strong footwall and hangingwall rocks. Mining along this structure has presented no problems in development. The underground workings are relatively dry and both development rock and vein material produce fine muck with no oversize. Foran Mining Corporation - http://www.foranmining.ca