Northgate Minerals Corp fka NGX

[NYBob]

Northgate Minerals Successfully Completes 2010 Diamond Drill Program at Kemess Underground

11.30.2010
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http://www.northgateminerals.com/NewsReleases/NewsReleaseDetails/2010/Northgate-Minerals-Successfully-Completes-2010-Diamond-Drill-Program-at-Kemess-Underground1123411/default.aspx

VANCOUVER, Nov. 30 /CNW/ - Northgate Minerals Corporation (TSX: NGX, NYSE Amex: NXG) is pleased to report assay results for the final 16 drill holes from its infill diamond drilling program at the Kemess Underground Project located five kilometres ("km") north of its Kemess South mine in north-central British Columbia.

Drilling Highlights

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- Hole KN-10-13 intersected 80.0 metres ("m") of 2.4 grams per tonne
("g/t") gold and 0.78% copper within a broader interval of 185.6 m,
which returned 1.556 g/t gold and 0.571% copper.

- Hole KN-10-17 intersected 59.5 m of 1.15 g/t gold and 0.516% copper
within a broader interval of 328.5 m, which returned 0.609 g/t gold
and 0.268% copper.

- Hole KN-10-25A intersected 46.0 m of 1.43 g/t gold and 0.489% copper
within a broader interval of 266 m, which returned 0.559 g/t gold and
0.261% copper.

- A higher grade zone in the northeast quadrant has been identified and
is continuous and supported by several holes, including a previously-
released hole KN-10-03, which returned one of the best intercepts in
the Kemess resource database.
- The weighted average grade of all holes drilled in the 2010 program
were higher than previous resource block estimates in the block cave
zone by 12% for gold and 3.5% for copper.
>>

"We are excited to have completed the 2010 drill program at
Kemess Underground, which has exceeded our expectations"
commented Ken Stowe, President and Chief Executive Officer.
"Now that all assay results are in hand, we see further confirmation with hole KN-10-13 that a compact, continuous higher grade zone exists beneath the eastern third of the resource area currently being considered for a bulk underground mining operation.
The 2010 results from the higher grade sector consistently
exceed grades for both copper and gold when compared to the 2005
resource model.
We now look forward to completing a new underground resource estimate, which is expected early in the first quarter of 2011 and will support studies to determine the economics of the potential underground mine at Kemess."

Overview of the Kemess Underground Project and 2010 Exploration Program

The Kemess Underground diamond drill program, the final results of which are reported herein, was conducted in order to better define the 70+ million tonne proposed block cave portion of the Kemess North deposit estimated from previous drilling to contain in excess of 1.4 million ounces of gold and 500 million pounds of copper.

The Kemess Underground drill program was also designed to document the geotechnical characteristics of the higher grade core to determine the potential for large scale, underground, bulk mine production that could be milled at the existing Kemess infrastructure and utilize the existing permitted tailings capacity in the Kemess South pit.

The 2010 program in its entirety consisted of 30 drill holes totalling 16,439 m. Drilling contractors were successful in completing 26 holes to targeted depths. Only one drill hole from the program failed to intersect mineralization (hole 22), confirming the eastern fault-bound margin of the deposit. Geotechnical analysis is underway and the assay and geologic results from the 2010 program are being combined with previous drilling results in order to update the resource estimate for the 70+ million tonne, proposed block cave portion of the deposit. This updated resource estimate is expected to be released with Northgate's annual resource and reserve statement in the first quarter of 2011.

Figure 1: Plan showing collar locations of the final 16 holes drilled in 2010 relative to previous collars relative to block cave area outline.



Figure 2: Plan showing area of resource within an interpreted 1.0 g/t gold grade shell relative to block cave area outline.



2010 Drilling Results

Table 1 below summarizes intersections for the final 16 holes of the 2010 drilling campaign. Intervals have been selected based on their position relative to a block cave mining outline designed from scoping study work completed earlier in 2010.

Table 1: Assay Results from 2010 Diamond Drill Holes - Final 16

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Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Cu % Au (g/t)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-06 236.0 602.0 366.0 0.249 0.481
including 384.0 454.9 70.9 0.362 0.847
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-11 365.0 536.0 171.0 0.242 0.398
including 409.0 460.0 51.0 0.275 0.528
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-13 211.0 504.0 293.0 0.403 1.051
including 279.0 464.6 185.6 0.571 1.556
Including 369.0 449.0 80.0 0.783 2.397
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-15 275.8 534.0 258.2 0.325 0.524
including 400.0 430.0 30.0 0.577 1.258
Including 458.0 482.0 24.0 0.625 0.897
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-16 321.9 675.0 353.1 0.196 0.443
including 492.5 580.5 88.0 0.372 0.895
including 522.5 544.5 22.0 0.479 1.164
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-17 214.5 543.0 328.5 0.268 0.609
including 312.0 471.0 159.0 0.402 0.931
including 350.5 410.0 59.5 0.516 1.149
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-18 261.0 617.0 356.0 0.187 0.331
including 407.0 429.0 22.0 0.302 0.712
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-19 190.0 343.8 153.8 0.268 0.772
including 240.0 343.8 103.8 0.275 0.930
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-20 276.0 620.0 344.0 0.204 0.351
including 286.0 361.6 75.6 0.310 0.494
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-21 196.9 356.3 159.44 0.121 0.337
including 196.9 228.0 31.1 0.098 0.352
and 324.2 356.3 32.1 0.471 0.968
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-23 231.0 525.0 294.0 0.233 0.442
including 261.0 285.0 24.0 0.318 0.641
Including 397.0 423.0 26.0 0.281 0.473
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-24 235.6 606.6 371.0 0.19 0.417
Including 487.9 527.0 39.1 0.307 0.729
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-25A 308.0 574.0 266.0 0.261 0.559
Including 447.0 491.0 46.0 0.489 1.428
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-26 267.0 564.0 297.0 0.265 0.616
including 426.0 468.0 42.0 0.338 0.839
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>

2010 Results Compared to 2005 Open Pit Resource

Comparison of all 2010 drill hole results against the previous 2005 Kemess North resource model shows that the current program's results are, on average, 12% higher for gold and 3.5% higher for copper, using a weighted average of resource blocks captured by a 20 x 20 m prism centered on each drill hole trace.

While the 2010 results show both positive and negative variance from the 2005 resource model, the comparison demonstrates that existing 2005 estimates are conservative globally and that a higher grade zone in the northeast quadrant, defined by holes KN-10-03, 05, 07A, 09A, 10, and 13, was significantly underestimated. These variations are believed to be attributable to the 2005 resource model being based on interpolation from wider-spaced drilling that was unconstrained with respect to important grade domains, such as different alteration and or geological controls, whereas the 2010 results now recognize these factors within the resource. With the benefit of the information provided by the 2010 results, it appears that the 2005 resource model tended to overestimate low grade regions and underestimate high grade regions. Work is now underway to update the resource for an underground mining scenario and to account for the distinct grade domains that exist in this subsection of the Kemess North deposit.

Appendix 1: All 2010 Diamond Drill Hole Collar Locations

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East- North- Eleva- Azi- Total
Hole No. ing ing Nad83E Nad83N tion muth Dip Depth Comment
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KN-10-01 10560 16182 636503 6326501 1681 255 -70 45.0 Abandoned
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KN-10-01A 10560 16182 636504 6326502 1681 262 -75 602.0
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KN-10-02 10513 16005 636462 6326323 1705 257 -72 642.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-03 10706 16394 636642 6326718 1578 252 -71 504.0
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KN-10-04 10402 16298 636341 6326612 1712 253 -69 633.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-05 10713 16343 636651 6326668 1587 253 -71 561.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-06 10434 16221 636376 6326537 1703 246 -71 663.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-07 10599 16370 636536 6326691 1606 248 -70 339.0 Abandoned
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KN-10-07A 10599 16370 636536 6326691 1606 248 -70 532.0
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KN-10-08 10494 16244 636435 6326562 1685 176 -76 612.0
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KN-10-09 10493 16246 636434 6326563 1685 0 -75 120.5 Abandoned
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-09A 10494 16246 636435 6326563 1685 3 -74 620.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-10 10735 16256 636675 6326582 1616 247 -66 575.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-11 10753 16184 636210 6326494 1647 257 -69 575.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-12 10604 16140 636549 6326461 1681 358 -58 624.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-13 10624 16307 636563 6326629 1620 262 -69 549.0
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KN-10-14 10264 16146 636209 6326456 1786 332 -67 714.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-15 10647 16226 636588 6326548 1647 257 -69 584.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-16 10267 16147 636212 6326457 1786 25 -69 708.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-17 10554 16343 636492 6326662 1636 252 -65 612.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-18 10267 16141 636211 6326451 1786 192 -68 708.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-19 10688 16410 636624 6326733 1579 251 -71 527.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-20 10411 16027 636359 6326342 1722 252 -70 762.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-21 10783 16319 636721 6326646 1582 252 -77 477.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-22 10762 16389 636698 6326715 1574 249 -80 485.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-23 10355 16184 636298 6326497 1738 247 -71 671.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-24 10372 16109 636318 6326423 1728 255 -75 654.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-25 10464 16137 636405 6326457 1699 255 -75 100.6 Abandoned
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-25A 10461 16141 636406 6326457 1699 253 -74 619.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
KN-10-26 10520 16255 636461 6326573 1673 239 -72 621.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Quality Control - Analyses and Sample Location

Details of quality assurance/quality control procedures for sample analysis and drill hole survey methodology are reported in detail in the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") compliant Technical Report filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on May 6 2005. All 2010 drill holes have had their down hole surveys completed by non-magnetic based instruments such as gyroscope or DeviFlex.

Qualified Persons

The program design, implementation, quality assurance/quality control and interpretation of the results are under the control of Northgate's geological staff, which includes a number of individuals who are qualified persons as defined under NI 43-101. Carl Edmunds, PGeo, Northgate's Exploration Manager, has reviewed the technical contents of this release.

Note to Investors:

The terms "Qualified Person", "Mineral Reserve", "Proven Mineral Reserve", "Probable Mineral Reserve", "Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource", and "Inferred Mineral Resource" used in this news release are defined in accordance with NI 43-101.

Northgate Minerals Corporation is a gold and copper producer with mining operations, development projects and exploration properties in Canada and Australia. Our vision is to be the leading intermediate gold producer by identifying, acquiring, developing and operating profitable, long-life mining properties.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information: