Golden Minerals

[MWM]

Golden Minerals Provides an Update on the Development Drift at El Quevar and Reports Additional High Grade Drill Intercepts

AUM.TO 22.20 0.00

Press Release Source: Golden Minerals Company On Wednesday April 6, 2011, 7:00 am EDT

GOLDEN, CO--(Marketwire - 04/06/11) - Golden Minerals Company (AMEX:AUMN - News) (TSX:AUM - News) ("Golden Minerals" or "the Company") today provided an update on the progress of underground development drifting at the El Quevar project and also announced additional high grade intercepts at holes drilled on the El Quevar Yaxtché deposit. The El Quevar project is located in the Salta Province in northwestern Argentina.

The Company has completed approximately 430 meters of development drifting at El Quevar at the 4,774 meter elevation, and has advanced approximately 200 meters along strike in the central Yaxtché zone. The drifting has encountered over 40 mineralized structures believed to be tension faults. These structures trend to the north and east, averaging N60E, and are steeply dipping to the northwest. The Company is conducting uniform channel sampling of these structures. Although they are narrow, generally less than a quarter of a meter in width, indications from x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology show that the structures tend to be of substantial grade, typically in excess of one kilogram per tonne silver. These structures were not anticipated in the current modeling of the El Quevar deposit, in which mineral concentrations are modeled to follow the alteration envelope, generally trending N60W. The Company has decided to delay completion of the previously announced Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) to allow further work to assess the impact that these structures may have on the mining plan and global El Quevar resource. Delivery of a purchased underground diamond drill, anticipated in late April, will permit the drilling of a fan pattern of holes to better understand the interaction of these structures with the other mineralization at El Quevar. Continuation of the development drift should also contribute to the understanding of these newly discovered structures, and provide further information regarding confirmation of the mine model.

Surface drilling at El Quevar continues to be focused on the Yaxtché deposit. Recent drill holes for which results have been received include QVD-251, located on the far western end of the Yaxtché deposit (through the post-mineral cover), which intersected six meters averaging 629 grams per tonne silver. Drill hole QVD-259, drilled as an infill hole in the central part of the West Yaxtché, returned three meters of 558 grams per tonne silver. Drill hole QVD- 262, another infill hole located about 250 meters west of QVD-259, returned a five meter intercept of 592 grams per tonne silver that included a two meter intercept averaging 1,314 grams per tonne silver, a 12 meter intercept of 437 grams per tonne of silver that included a two meter intercept of 1,571 grams per tonne silver, and a four meter intercept that averaged 460 grams per tonne silver. Drill hole QVD-263, located about 150 meters southeast of QVD-262, intersected 14 meters averaging 551 grams per tonne silver, including a three meter intercept of 1,301 grams per tonne silver.

The Company has completed more than 200 diamond drill holes to define the entire two kilometer long Yaxtché mineralized zone. Of these holes, approximately 90 percent are within the alteration zone where mineralization has been identified. Of the holes within the alteration zone, 75 percent have encountered silver mineralization greater than 100 grams per tonne silver over a minimum one meter intercept.

The Company has also received results for an additional drill hole recently completed on the western trace of the ManiSub target, which is located approximately 500 meters southwest of the Yaxtché deposit. Drill hole QVD-237 contained an 18 meter intercept that averaged 192 grams per tonne silver, which included a two meter intercept of 583 grams per tonne silver. Previously reported drill hole QVD-220, located on the ManiSub approximately 1,200 meters east of QVD-237, returned two meters averaging 411 grams per tonne silver and an additional intercept of six meters of 463 grams per tonne silver. Additional drilling is now planned for the ManiSub along the approximately 1,200 meter strike length between drill holes QVD-220 and QVD-237. The Company may also conduct additional drilling during 2011 at the Carmen target, located approximately 500 meters north of the Yaxtché deposit. To date 24 drill holes have been completed at the Carmen target. Highlights include drill hole QVD-228 which averaged 524 grams per tonne silver and 0.29 grams per tonne gold over two meters, along with 405 grams per tonne silver and 2.2 grams per tonne gold over an additional two meters, and drill hole QVD-231 which averaged 504 grams per tonne silver over six meters.

A drill hole location map and listing of all drill intercepts for the holes at El Quevar for which the Company has received and verified results are available at http://www.goldenminerals.com/.