Jun 12 2015
Columbus Gold Corporation is pleased to announce that it has commenced drilling at its 100% owned Eastside Project in Nevada. Drilling will consist of 250 rotary holes, of which 175 holes totaling about 45,000 meters (150,000 feet) are planned to be completed in 2015. Drilling has commenced with one drill and will increase to two drills in late June and subject to results, three drills in the fall.
The purpose of the drilling is to extend the area of known gold mineralization in the Original Target, and to infill gaps between widely spaced existing drill holes containing significant gold. The 2015 drilling also includes up to 25 of the 175 holes to test New Targets 4 and 6, and the northern half of New Target 1. A target map is available at the following link: www.columbusgoldcorp.com/i/nr/2015-06-11-map.pdf
About Eastside Gold Project
Columbus' land position at Eastside was recently expanded from 607 to 725 BLM claims, and now totals ~5,870 hectares (14,500 acres) or 58.7 km2 (22.6 mi2). The new staking, both on the north and the south, was positioned to cover New Target 6 and New Target 7, and the pediment area of shallow gravel cover between New Targets 5 and 7. The claim block covers all rhyolite flow dome complexes with associated hydrothermal alteration, and any other nearby target, regardless of host rock, with significant gold values in surface sampling.
The Original Target at Eastside hosts a large area of shallow oxide gold mineralization still open to the south that measures about 1,600 m long and up to 600 m wide (5,280 ft by 1,980 ft).
The project has outstanding infrastructure for mining and processing; is 32 km (20 mi) west of Tonopah, Nevada, and lies 9.7 km (6 mi) north of paved highway US 95, the main road route from Las Vegas to Reno. A good gravel road from the highway, along with a major power transmission line both pass through the claim block. The current drilling area is on the east flank of the Monte Cristo Range and a portion of the claim block extends well into the adjacent flats, which would provide excellent operating sites. The valley is known to have shallow water available in the same aquifer, which provided water for milling the Tonopah ores in the early 1900's. The area is high desert with sparse vegetation, and year-round drilling is possible.
Gold at Eastside occurs near, and is associated with, the contact of an altered Tertiary rhyolite dome and the surrounding tuffs and volcaniclastic rocks intruded by the dome. Geologic mapping was completed in 2014 over the Eastside claim block at a scale of 1:6,000. This mapping has identified 41 separate rhyolite domes, which Columbus believes to be significant for potentially controlling gold mineralization at Eastside. The domes range from 100 m to 1,000 m (328 ft to 3,280 ft) in diameter. Hydrothermal alteration has been identified in, or near, about half the domes. Dozens of faults have been identified and mapped throughout the claim block, mostly trending north and northeast. Areas with hydrothermal alteration, particularly silicification and quartz veining, have been mapped, and sampling of all these altered areas is in progress with 2,700 samples collected so far. Based on results received to date, Columbus has identified seven drill targets, in addition to the Original Target, and continues to identify other areas of interest throughout the property.
Andy Wallace is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) with the American Institute of Professional Geologists and is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release. Mr. Wallace is the principal of Cordilleran Exploration Company (Cordex), which is conducting exploration and project generation activities for Columbus Gold on an exclusive basis.