Columbus Gold Acquires Five Nevada Gold Projects
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. September 29, 2006. Columbus Gold Corporation (CGT: TSX-V) ("Columbus Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has acquired five Nevada gold projects, all strategically located within Nevada's prolific gold trends and historic mining districts, from Company director John Prochnau (the "Vendor"). Under the terms of the Agreement, the Vendor will receive US$93,000.00 of which US$27,000.00 will be in cash and US$66,000 will be payable with 100,000 common shares of the Company at an agreed and deemed value of C$0.75 per share. The Vendor will retain a 1.5% net smelter return royalty on each property. The Agreement is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
These acquisitions, described in more detail below, increase the Company's total project portfolio to 20 properties, 16 of which are gold projects located in Nevada. Seven of the Company's properties are joint ventured to major and junior mining companies.
The Spring property consists of five mineral claims located approximately 10 km northwest of Columbus' Golden Mile gold project in Mineral County. The claims cover gold mineralized skarns and jasperoids within Triassic Luning formation and adjacent quartz monzonite intrusive bodies in a geologic setting very similar to Golden Mile. Past exploration by Canyon Resources and Bond Gold in the 1980's demonstrated widespread gold mineralization with grades up to 8.3 g/t along 3 m. The Spring claims will be re-evaluated in conjunction with the Company's ongoing exploration program at Golden Mile.
The Winnemucca Mountain property consists of 14 mineral claims located on the lower east flank of Winnemucca Mountain in Humboldt County. The claims cover a large, north-trending zone of quartz-carbonate stockwork veining in Triassic sediments containing extensive low grade gold mineralization. Widely-spaced drill holes by Santa Fe and others between 1985 and 1992 traced associated gold mineralization along the zone, with values to 0.86 g/t Au along 29 m and 0.34 g/t Au along 72 m, for a strike length of nearly 1 km and to a depth up to 180 m. The geologic environment and indicated gold grades at Winnemucca Mountain are similar to those characterizing the Florida Canyon Mine (2 million+ ounces gold production from 1986-2005) located 45 km to the southwest.
The Mill Canyon property consists of two mineral claims located 16 kilometres (km) northwest of Barrick's 25 million ounce Pipeline-Gold Acres mine complex in Lander County. The claims cover part of a "window" of altered Roberts Mountain formation, host to most of the Carlin-style gold mineralization in the area, within which past work has outlined gold, mercury and arsenic anomalies. The claim area is one of intense exploration activity with surrounding land held by Barrick and Newmont. It is the Company's intention to joint venture the Mill Canyon claims.
The Del Oro property consists of six mineral claims located within the historic Goldbanks gold-antimonymercury district in Pershing County. Gold mineralization occurs as veins and stockworks in Triassic volcanics and sediments while mercury occurs in a classic opalite setting within Tertiary volcanics. The area was the site of intense past exploration in the 1980's and 1990's with Kinross reported to have outlined a large body of low grade gold mineralization in the core of the district. The Del Oro claims contain untested gold anomalies in a similar geologic setting.
The White Canyon property consists of five mineral claims located in the historic Beowawe mercury district located midway between Carlin and Battle Mountain in Eureka County. The claims cover a range front fault, containing anomalous gold and pathfinder elements in quartz veins up to 6 metres (m) thick, extending several km northeasterly from the Beowawe geothermal field. The property is subject to a mineral lease providing for annual cash payments to the Company and a net smelter return royalty of 3%. The claims that form the property have been sub-leased to Atna Resources Ltd., and form part of its Beowawe Project.
John Prochnau B.Sc. (Mining Engineering), M.Sc. (Geology), and Director of Columbus Gold is the Qualified Person who reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
ABOUT COLUMBUS GOLD
Columbus Gold Corporation is a gold exploration and development Company operating principally in Nevada. The Company has an experienced management group with a strong background in all aspects of the acquisition, exploration, development and financing of precious metal mining projects. Columbus owns a 100% interest, subject to royalties, in 16 gold projects strategically located along or near Nevada's most productive gold trends and 4 non-core silver and copper projects located in Arizona. The Company's project activities are managed by Cordilleran Exploration Company ("Cordex"), owned and operated by John Livermore and Andy Wallace who have a long and distinguished history of gold discovery and mine development in Nevada.
The Company maintains active generative (prospecting) and evaluation programs and, as a key element of strategy, broadens exposure, minimizes risk and maintains focus on high priority prospects while seeking industry finance through joint ventures on selected projects. The Company currently has seven of its projects joint ventured to major and junior mining companies.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,
Robert Giustra
President, CEO & Director
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For more information contact:
Ray Lagace
Investor Relations
604-638-3474
info@columbusgoldcorp.com