VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - July 29, 2010) - Ventana Gold Corp. (TSX:VEN) -
Hole 261–6.0 Metres of 42.3 Grams Per Tonne Gold and 45.6 Grams Per Tonne Silver; Plus 4.2 Metres of 52.1 Grams Per Tonne Gold and 123.4 Grams Per Tonne Silver
Ventana Gold Corp. ("Ventana" or the "Company") is pleased to announce drill results from 17 additional holes at the La Bodega gold project in Colombia. Results from 13 of these holes are reported here and a complete listing of drill intercepts is available on the Company's website at www.ventanagold.com.
Six of the new holes reported (241, 242, 246, 251, 253, 256) are within and extensions of the La Bodega zone, the site of Ventana's initial high-grade discovery in 2006; four holes (245, 248, 249 and 261) are infill holes in the La Mascota zone; and three holes (237, 250 and 255) are step-out holes onto the El Cuatro property. Refer to the attached map and cross sections for details: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/vencsmap729.pdf.
On the El Cuatro property, holes 255 and 237 returned excellent results. Hole 255 on section 9000E returned 13.1 metres grading 4.44 grams per tonne gold and 841.99 grams per tonne silver starting at a depth of 55.5 metres. Hole 250 on the same section returned 19.5 metres grading 2.37 grams per tonne gold as well as 309.24 grams per tonne silver starting at a depth of 59.4 metres. Another 100 metres to the southwest, hole 237 on section 8900E returned 23.5 metres grading 5.07 grams per tonne gold and 45.54 grams per tonne silver starting at a depth of 447.0 metres. The mineralized structures encountered to date on El Cuatro are exhibiting significantly higher grade silver values than elsewhere on the project. To better define the orientation of mineralization, Ventana has initiated drilling at 50 metre spacing in areas of El Cuatro where these wide-spaced exploration holes have encountered significant intercepts. The holes reported here are located along the southwest boundary of the recently acquired La Baja property.
Earlier this year, Ventana reactivated drilling on the La Bodega zone to infill certain areas and probe for extensions of mineralization both down-dip and along strike to the southwest. The program has generated a number of previously reported longer length and high-grade intercepts indicating the presence of a high-grade core running through the La Bodega zone. Hole 251 on section 0375E toward the northeastern boundary of La Bodega returned two long and higher grade intercepts. At 237.0 metres in depth, 3.32 grams per tonne gold and 13.95 grams per tonne silver was intercepted over 57.0 metres. At 310.9 metres in depth, a 33.1 metre interval intercepted 4.06 grams per tonne gold and 10.22 grams per tonne silver. Step-out holes 241 (14.6 metres grading 2.59 grams per tonne gold starting at 410.0 metres depth), 246 (12.1 metres grading 2.27 grams per tonne gold starting at 436.9 metres depth) and 256 (32.0 metres grading 2.18 grams per tonne gold starting at 162.0 metres depth) were drilled from accessible locations 100 to 150 metres along strike to the southwest in the steep La Rosa area. Although they intercepted several mineralized structures and extended mineralization to the southwest toward La Mascota, the steep terrain did not permit adequate testing of the extension of this high-grade core zone. Testing the extension potential of this zone as well as down-dip extensions of La Mascota will be a primary objective during the remainder of 2010, and the Company is in discussions with contractors to acquire a larger drill with directional drilling capability to accomplish this.
In the La Mascota zone, hole 261 on section 9775E is located close to the centre of the La Mascota zone where drilling has consistently returned the highest grades and widest intercepts. The hole intercepted 49.0 metres grading 6.69 grams per tonne gold starting at a depth of 377.0 metres, and 13.1 metres grading 18.20 grams per tonne gold starting at a depth of 433.0 metres. These intercepts provide further confirmation that the La Mascota mineralization continues at depth.
Select drill hole intercepts are reported below:
Drill intercepts are based on a 0.5 gram/tonne gold cut-off with no upper cut. Drill intercept lengths are down-hole lengths of mineralization with true widths ranging between 20%-90% of the reported down-hole lengths depending on hole angle.
A complete listing of drill intercepts reported to date is available on the Company's website at www.ventanagold.com.
Review by Qualified Person, Quality Control and Reports
The results of Ventana's drilling program have been reviewed, verified and compiled by Jon Lehmann, L.P.G., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). Mr. Lehmann has over 25 years of mineral exploration experience, is a Licensed Professional Geologist in the State of Washington and a member in good standing of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
To ensure reliable sample results Ventana has a rigorous QA/QC program in place that monitors the chain-of-custody of samples and includes the insertion of blanks, duplicates, and certified reference standards in each batch of samples. Core is photographed and sawed in half with one half retained in a secured facility for verification purposes. Sample preparation (crushing and pulverizing) is performed at an independent local laboratory established by a joint effort between the regional environmental permitting agency and the German Geological Survey, and at the Colombian preparation laboratory of ALS Chemex Laboratories. Prepared samples are direct-shipped to ALS Chemex Laboratories in Lima, Peru, an ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory, for analysis.
Independent NI 43-101 technical reports have been prepared by Samuel Engineering, Inc., dated May 1, 2010 for the La Bodega project and by EurGeol Miller O'Prey, P.Geo., dated June 14, 2008 for the nearby California-Vetas project, to provide an updated review of the exploration activities that have occurred on the projects. These reports are posted on Ventana's website at www.ventanagold.com.
About Ventana
Ventana is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration and development company with mineral rights to 4,573 hectares of exploration property in northeastern Colombia. The Company's flagship La Bodega project in northeastern Columbia contains multiple high-grade zones of gold, silver and copper mineralization occurring in north-northwest dipping parallel-sheeted vein zones, breccias and mineralized faults within a broad, northeast trending regional fault zone. The La Bodega project has excellent road access and is close to existing infrastructure including power and water. The Company is conducting an aggressive exploration program and is advancing engineering studies to develop the deposit.
Ventana's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VEN.
For additional information please visit www.ventanagold.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Information
Certain of the statements made and information contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information and statements which are not historical fact constitute forward-looking information and, in many cases, can be identified by words such as "may", "will", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "potential", or other similar terminology. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is based on the reasonable expectations and beliefs of management as at the date of this press release and involves numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific to Ventana and the industry in which the Company operates. Such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to future prices of gold, the factual results of current exploration, development and mining activities, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated as well as those factors disclosed in Ventana's documents filed from time to time with the securities regulators in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, may vary materially from those described in this press release. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by law, Ventana does not intend to and assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, plans, events or otherwise.