Columbus Gold Corporation ("Columbus Gold") is pleased to announce results of the final drill hole MO 12-99 of its recently completed Phase I drilling program at the Montagne d'Or gold deposit on its 100% owned Paul Isnard Project in French Guiana.
The Phase I drilling program consisted of 45 diamond core holes totaling 15,824 metres. Drill hole MO 12-99 was a step-out hole, located 150 meters west of the earlier drilling which outlined a 43-101 compliant inferred gold resource of 1.9 million ounces within 36 million tonnes grading 1.6 gpt gold. MO 12-99 intercepted a 40 meter interval averaging 1.07 grams per tonne gold (31 meters averaging 1.35 gpt gold after removal of two internal post-mineral dikes) within the principal Upper Felsic (UFZ) mineralized zone.
Columbus Gold considers drill hole MO 12-99 particularly important since it has significantly increased potential of the Montagne d'Or deposit outside the originally defined 1.9 million ounce mineralized envelope and resource area where the other Phase I drill holes focused on resource expansion internally and immediately below the defined deposit.
As reported via news release on November 22, 2012, Columbus Gold announced the results of the other thirty one diamond core holes that formed the Phase I program: MO 12-74 to 98 and 100 to 105 totaling 10,873.65 metres. The holes were laid-out to confirm and expand, internally, along strike and at depth, the Montagne d'Or gold deposit within which earlier widely spaced holes had outlined a 43-101 compliant inferred resource of 1.9 million ounces gold within 36 million tonnes grading 1.6 gpt gold.
Except for two short holes drilled south into the hangwall of the known mineralization all holes from the Phase I program contain significant gold intercepts, generally consistent with earlier results, within the principal UFZ and Lower Favorable (LFZ) mineral zones defined by the original work. Of particular note are drill hole MO 12-92 with 53 metres grading 4.37 gpt gold (3.86 gpt cut to 31.1 gpt) within 113 metres averaging 2.43 gpt gold (2.17 cut) in UFZ and drill hole MO 12-78 with 29 metres grading 2.51 gpt gold in LFZ.
To view the Phase I Assay Table: http://www.columbusgoldcorp.com/i/nr/2012-12-13-table.pdf
To view the Phase I Drill Plan and Cross Sections: http://www.columbusgoldcorp.com/i/nr/2012-12-13-sections.pdf
With the Phase I drill program at Paul Isnard now complete, Columbus Gold is commissioning a resource update and reviewing and interpreting full drill results in preparation for implementation of a planned Phase II program, for a further +/- 15,000 metres, designed to further expand the Montagne d'Or gold deposit and convert inferred resources to an indicated category.
The Montagne d'Or gold deposit is made up of multiple east-west striking, south-dipping bands of gold mineralization, including the principal UFZ and LFZ with an aggregate average thickness of about 70 meters, which have now been traced by drilling for a strike length of 2,250 meters and a vertical depth in excess of 200 meters. The zones remain open in part along strike and at depth. Lower grade bands of mineralization also occur above and below the principal UFZ and LFZ but are less well defined.
Columbus Gold's independent consultant and Qualified Person, John Prochnau (P. Geo), B.Sc. (Mining Engineering), M.Sc. (Geology), has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.
Source: http://www.columbusgoldcorp.com/