Dec 2 2010
BCGold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:BCG)(PINK SHEETS:BCGOF) has announced assay results from its second phase of underground diamond drilling at its historic high-grade gold Engineer Mine property, situated 32 kilometres west of Atlin, B.C.
In October 2010, BCGold Corp. drilled 578 metres in eight short HQ holes to target discrete high-grade gold shoots in the Engineer and Double Decker veins below the main access level (Level 5) of Engineer Mine. The metres drilled in this program were less than intended due to drill-related complications, which resulted in insufficient time to complete the planned 1,500 metres prior to freeze-up. The Company is highly encouraged by the assay results and intends to complete and supplement the originally planned drill program in early 2011. Significant Phase II assay results are reported below.
Engineer Vein – Between Levels 5 and 6
A total of seven holes in 475 metres targeted a high-grade shoot on the Engineer vein between Level 5 and Level 6 of the mine, immediately southwest of the shaft. All drill holes hit the Engineer vein in an area measuring 25 metres along strike and 60 metres vertical.
The best assay results were obtained from drill hole BCGE10-11, which intersected coarse visible electrum in a quartz-calcite breccia vein that assayed 344 g/t gold (10.03 oz/ton) and 328.0 g/t silver (9.57 oz/ton) over a core length of 0.35 metres and 19.1 g/t gold (0.56 oz/ton) and 14.9 g/t silver (0.43 oz/ton) over 0.45 metres. These intercepts average 129.0 g/t (3.76 oz/ton) gold and 121.63 g/t (3.54 oz/ton) silver over a 1.00 metre (3.28 feet) minimum mining width and are located 17 metres vertically below Level 5.
Drill hole BCGE10-07 intersected the Engineer vein stringer zone over a core length of 1.60 metres, three metres below Level 5 and 65 metres southwest of the drill hole BCGE10-11 intersections. The best assay from this interval returned 9.45 g/t gold (0.28 oz/ton) and 18.5 g/t silver (0.54 oz/ton) over 0.35 metres.
The remaining five holes from this setup intercepted similar looking vein mineralogy over comparable widths, but for the most part returned sub-gram gold and silver assay results and showed no visible electrum.
Double Decker Vein – Level 8 Targets
Phase II drill hole BCGE10-07 targeted a second gold shoot on the Double Decker vein above Level 8, at a location 35 metres up dip and 35 metres along strike to the northeast from Phase I drill hole BCGE10-01. Drill hole BCGE10-01 intersected coarse visible gold in two quartz carbonate breccia veins that averaged 22.32 g/t (0.65 oz/ton) gold and 17.59 g/t (0.51 oz/ton) silver over 0.96 metres (3.15 feet) (see BCGold Corp. news release July 8, 2010). Drill hole BCGE10-07 intersected the Double Decker vein at a depth of 153 metres and averaged 1.01 g/t gold and 1.0 g/t silver over 0.45 metres.
Interpretation of Results
BCGold Corp.'s underground diamond drilling at Engineer Mine demonstrates that the Engineer and Double Decker veins are continuous structures along strike and dip that host shoots and pockets of erratically distributed high-grade, multi-ounce gold and silver mineralization, outside previously mined areas. The Company attributes the erratic distribution of gold values in drill core, in conjunction with a consistent vein mineralogy and morphology, to be a manifestation of the "nugget effect", inherent to narrow vein, high-grade gold systems such as Engineer Mine.
Furthermore, the results of the 2010 drill program substantiate, for the first time, the gold and silver grades of historic chip and channel samples from Engineer Mine, thus providing BCGold Corp. the required confidence to incorporate these historic assay results into a National Instrument 43-101 compliant inferred mineral resource estimate.
The Company has engaged Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Ltd. ("Snowden") to estimate this resource estimate and expects to receive it in April, 2011. BCGold Corp. anticipates that the resource estimate will provide the basis for additional drilling, underground rehabilitation, bulk sampling and at least partial dewatering of the underground workings of Engineer Mine in early 2011.
The Company is funded to complete more than $1 million in exploration at the Engineer Mine property in 2011.
Sample Analysis and Quality Control
Drill core samples were prepared by Eco-Tech Laboratories Ltd., a subsidiary of the global Alex Stewart Group, BC Certified Assayers, in Whitehorse, Yukon and assayed by their ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory in Kamloops, B.C. Samples were delivered directly by a BCGold Corp. representative, with chain of custody documented. Quality control consisted of the insertion of certified reference materials (standards), blanks and duplicates into the sample shipment by BCGold Corp. personnel.
Gold analyses for all Phase II core samples were done using a fire assay of a 30 gram pulp with an atomic absorption finish. Samples containing greater than three grams per tonne gold were then analysed by metallic screen fire assay. In this method drill core samples were crushed to 70% passing through 10 mesh, then split to achieve a 250 gram sub-sample. This sub-sample was pulverized to 95% passing through a 150 mesh screen. The entire sample was weighed, rolled and homogenized and then passed through a 150 mesh screen. The resulting -150 mesh fraction was homogenized and two sub-sample portions were fire assayed. All of the resulting +150 mesh oversize material was fire assayed. The resultant fire assay beads were digested with a nitric acid followed by hydrochloric acid and then analyzed for gold by AAS to 0.03 g/t detection limit. The results for the two -150 mesh values and single +150 mesh value were then calculated based on the original sample weight providing a net gold value. In addition to the gold assays, all samples were analysed for a 35 element package of major and trace elements by ICP-AES analysis following a four acid digestion.
Mr. Bruce Coates, P.Geo., a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the technical content of this news release.
About the Engineer Mine Property
BCGold Corp. has an option to earn 100% interest in the Engineer Mine property.
Engineer Mine was a high-grade gold producer that peaked in the mid-1920s and ceased production in the early 1930s, primarily due to water ingress issues. More than 560 kilograms of gold and 278 kilograms of silver were officially produced at realized grades exceeding 39 g/t gold and 20 g/t silver, respectively, from high-grade epithermal quartz-carbonate veins on six of eight mine levels.
The presence of visible gold was the primary method of identifying and following ore shoots in the veins. There are more than 25 known veins on the property and only four have undergone limited production and exploration to date. All veins remain open at depth and little exploration has been conducted deeper than 200 metres below surface.