Jan 21 2011
Midas Gold, Inc. today announced assay results from its 2010 core drilling program on the West End Deposit at the Company's Golden Meadows Project, Idaho.
A total of twelve drill holes were completed at West End as part of Midas Gold's resource definition and exploration drill program that was designed to develop a mineral resource to a level suitable for reporting under Canadian Instrument 43-101, the results of which will be announced during Q1/11. West End is an epithermal gold-silver discovery made at the past producing West End Mine.
"Our recent drilling at the former producing West End deposit clearly shows the potential for resource expansion in this rapidly expanding brownfields play," said Stephen Quin, President & CEO of Midas Gold. "Past production from oxides in the West End deposit is estimated at over 400,000 troy ounces of gold and our recent drilling indicates that the West End mineralized system is very large and open in all directions," he said. "We are very pleased with the results from West End to date and, with our drilling now complete, resource estimation is well advanced and we have begun planning for an expanded drill program for this coming field season."
These drill results, along with those from previous drilling, indicate that the West End deposit is a series of tabular, moderately dipping, lenses within a broad structural corridor along the trace of the West End Fault System, a major ore controlling structure within the district. A mineral resource estimate is being prepared for the West End deposit and will be released during Q1/11.
2010 Exploration Program at Golden Meadows
The drilling at West End was undertaken as part of a 12 hole, 2,536m drill program completed in 2010 by Midas Gold Inc., which program focused on the West End area. All drilling was undertaken with HQ core drilling, with core logged and sawn in half on site, and samples sent offsite for assay.
The Golden Meadows Project encompasses most of the historic Stibnite-Yellow Pine Mining District in South-central Idaho. Midas Gold, Inc. (a private company) owns or controls over 4,000 hectares in the district and has recently entered into a letter of intent with Vista Gold Corp. to combine Vista's Yellow Pine deposit, which Vista has reported as containing significant gold mineral resources in the Golden Meadows project area, with Midas Gold's interests, in a new company ("Newco"). As a result, Vista will become a 35% shareholder of Newco.
The Stibnite-Yellow Pine district lies at the intersection of major, regional fault systems and lies on the margins of the western ring fractured margin of the Tertiary Thunder Mountain caldera complex. Gold mineralization within the Golden Meadows Project appears to be related to an intrusion related, gold-rich system overprinted by a younger, epithermal gold system with increased silver and antimony. Historic gold production of approximately one million ounces from the district came primarily from high grade underground gold-antimony production immediately north of Hanger Flats from 1928-38, open pit mining at Yellow Pine from 1938-52, or from heap leaching of oxide gold occurrences, including West End and Homestake, from 1974 to 1997. The deeper sulphide gold potential has seen little attention in modern exploration. The principal gold deposits identified to date within the Golden Meadows Project are Hanger Flats and West End, along with Vista's Yellow Pine deposits, all associated with significant structural corridors. In addition, numerous other smaller gold targets have been identified, some of which have historic gold resource estimates, and which remain to be explored for their deeper sulphide potential.
Quality Assurance
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed by Stephen P. Quin, P. Geo., President and CEO of Midas Gold, Inc. The exploration activities at the West End deposit were carried out under the supervision of Christopher Dail, C.P.G., Qualified Person and Project Manager for the Golden Meadows Project.
Gold is analyzed by fire assay fusion with 30g charges with an atomic absorption spectroscopy or gravimetric finish for gold. Analyses are carried out by ALS CHEMEX in their Reno and Winnemucca, Nevada laboratories. Blank and standard samples are used for quality assurance and quality control. After the completion of the drilling programs, random check assays were analyzed at Inspectorate and American Assay Laboratories in Reno, Nevada.
Source: Midas Gold, Inc.