Attention Business/Financial Editors:
VIRGINIA GOLD MINES INC. - DRILLING BEGINS AT LA GRANDE SUD IDENTIFICATION OF A NEW GOLD-BEARING STRUCTURE
QUEBEC, April 9 /CNW/ - Virginia Gold Mines Inc. (''Virginia'') is
pleased to announce the beginning of a drilling program on its La Grande Sud
property 100% owned by Virginia and located in the James Bay area of Quebec.
It is on this property that, in November 1997, Virginia announced its first
resource calculation of 250,000 ounces on Zone 32. Zone 32 has been identified
in the spring of 1997 and drill tested on a 50-metre spacing over a 500-metre
length and at a depth of 200 metres. This important subvertical structure
consists of three parallel lenses which, when they join, form a unique zone
that can reach up to 50 metres in width. The Zone 32 is completely exposed at
surface and presents many features favourable to an open pit situation.
A brief drilling program has also been conducted on the La Grande Sud
property. This program led to the identification of a new promising zone. The
only diamond-drill hole done under the Ugo showing has intersected the
following:
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Zone Ugo g/t Au metres
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DDH-111 10.91 3.40
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The Ugo Zone is part of the new gold-bearing structures identified in a
2-kilometre radius of Zone 32.
Associated with a shear zone crosscutting basalts near the east contact
of the tonalite and characterized by the presence of quartz, veinlets, visible
gold, pyrite, and chalcopyrite, the Ugo Zone extends further east the
gold-bearing corridor recognized on the La Grande Sud property. The best
channel sampling results had returned 1.75 g/t gold over 16 metres. Moreover,
numerous grab samples collected in a 25-metre radius centred on the main
showing returned grades between 10.83 and 31.68 g/t gold.
Virginia Gold Mines is among the most active mining exploration companies
in Qu‚bec, Canada, with $15 million in cash, approximately 25 million shares
issued and outstanding, and is debt free. The company concentrates its
activities in the vast unexplored regions of northern Qu‚bec. Virginia owns
more than 50 properties covering 6,000 square kilometres. |
