Feb 9 2011
AQUILA RESOURCES INC. (TSX:AQA)(FRANKFURT:JM4A) has announced additional drill results from a 20 hole drilling program at the Peninsula Gold target in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The Peninsula Gold target is one of several gold occurrences Aquila is evaluating in the Marquette Greenstone Belt as a part of the Michigan Gold Project – a strategy to develop gold resources in the Upper Peninsula. Aquila is also involved in a joint venture with HudBay Minerals Inc. ("HudBay") (TSX:HBM)(NYSE:HBM) at the Back Forty Project, which is an advanced stage of exploring and developing a large VMS gold and zinc deposit – also in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Highlights from the final seven holes of the Peninsula drill program include:
- 18.57 grams/tonne (g/t) gold over 8 meters in Pen 10-14
- 35.93 g/t gold over 4.5 meters in Pen 10-20
"We continue to be encouraged by the high grade nature of the intercepts at Peninsula which illustrates the potential of our Michigan Gold Project," stated Tom Quigley, President and CEO of Aquila. The high grade intercepts are contained within a zone of shearing and brecciation which has now been defined over approximately 300 meters of strike length. The current drilling is focused on near surface mineralization and has resulted in a number of very high grade intercepts including 225.78 g/t gold over 0.5 meters in Pen 10-11 (see Aquila press release dated January 19, 2011), and 315.13 g/t gold over 0.5 meters in Pen 10-20.
The Peninsula shear zone remains open at depth and along strike, and a 2,700 meter follow up drill program will be implemented as soon as possible. The focus of the additional drilling will be to expand the known mineralized horizon.
An additional 3,000 meters of drilling is planned for three additional targets in the Marquette Greenstone Belt. Drill results from a five-hole drill program completed in January are pending from Silver Creek. Work is also continuing on several other targets in the Marquette Greenstone Belt – as the Company continues to consolidate land and access agreements in preparation for drilling campaigns later in 2011.
Other Gold Projects
In addition to the Michigan Gold Project, Aquila has several other projects located in the continental United States which are in advanced stages of evaluation and/or acquisition. These properties range from grass roots prospects to prospects hosting resources (non 43-101 compliant). The corporate objective is to generate a diversified high potential portfolio of gold projects and develop substantial resources in the near term. Additional information on these acquisitions will be forthcoming as soon as possible.
HudBay Strategic Alliance
Aquila is also pleased to report progress on the Strategic Alliance with joint venture partner HudBay, with multiple targets currently being evaluated for inclusion in the Alliance. The Strategic Alliance (see Aquila press release dated October 15, 2010), provides seed money to seek out base metal targets in Michigan and other areas, and further provides for funding of CDN$2,000,000 for individual Strategic Alliance Projects at which time a 50/50 joint venture would be formed, with HudBay having the right to increase its interest by an additional 15% by funding through feasibility and permitting.
Thomas O. Quigley is the Qualified Person for Aquila as described in National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for contents of this release.