Northern Freegold Commences 12,000 m Diamond Drill Program
at Nucleus Zone at Freegold Mountain Project, Yukon
Vancouver, BC: June 18, 2009. Northern Freegold Resources Ltd. (NFR: TSX-V) is pleased to announce drilling commenced May 31, 2009 at the Nucleus Zone on the district scale 166 sq km Freegold Mountain Project in the Yukon Territory. A second drill rig was added on June 14, 2009. A minimum of 12,000 metres of Diamond drilling is planned for 2009. Since 2006 NFR has drilled 106 holes, totaling 24,416 m on the Nucleus Zone and at the time of this release, 7 drill holes totaling 1,380 m have been completed in 2009. A NI 43-101 compliant resource calculation on the Nucleus Zone is still on schedule to be released within two weeks.
In 2008, a 53 hole 13,287 m drill program in the Nucleus Zone identified high grade gold mineralized zones over a 750 m strike area from east to west, including hole GRD08-099 which intersected 1.27 m of 410.00 g/t gold within 9.36 m of 70.19 g/t gold (7.67 m true width) in a gold-rich�copper skarn (see press release dated January 14, 2009). This high grade mineralization occurs within the low grade, bulk tonnage, near surface gold initially targeted at Nucleus and remains open in both directions and to depth. Selective highlights from the 2008 drilling at Nucleus are included below:
� Hole GRD08-068 intersected 37.80 m of 10.41 g/t gold including 3.25 m of 100.69 g/t gold.
� Hole GRD08-073 intersected 46.96 m of 14.51 g/t gold including 1.23 m of 92.74 g/t gold.
� Hole GRD08-099 intersected 9.36 m of 70.19 g/t gold including 1.27 m of 410.00 g/t gold.
� Hole GRD08-114 intersected 4.0 m of 68.95 g/t gold including 0.96 m of 256.00 g/t gold.
� Hole GRD08-113 intersected 3.60 m of 55.27 g/t gold including 0.73 m of 142.00 g/t gold.
Geological modeling for the Nucleus Zone over the winter months has provided a significantly different model than previously interpreted and the current drilling will use this current model to focus on following up on this high grade mineralization, as well as to further define the low grade bulk tonnage potential.
Bill Harris, CEO & COO commented "With $11 million in working capital, NFR is well financed to continue exploration and building resources at the Freegold Mountain Project. We look forward to another exciting season including the current 12,000 m drill program focused on following up and expanding both the high grade and bulk tonnage resource potential within the Nucleus Zone as well as geological reconnaissance to understand the mineralized system between the Nucleus and Revenue Zones."
A project scale field geological reconnaissance exploration program is also currently underway on the Freegold Mountain Project. Three geological teams are conducting geological mapping, re-logging historic drill holes, trenching, soil sampling and stream sediment sampling, focused initially on the 4 km area encompassing the Nucleus and Revenue Zones. Incorporation of the data generated from the reconnaissance program with existing geophysical, geological and geochemical data will be used to advance the understanding of the geological and petrogenetic model at Nucleus and Revenue, as well as assist in refining drill targets in different areas of the district scale Freegold Mountain Project..
The company also recently completed 8.18 line kilometers of a horizontal loop electromagnetic (HLEM) geophysical survey over the Nucleus Zone. Preliminary results (dated June 05, 2009) from the HLEM survey indicate several anomalies, including anomalies coincident with the known high grade skarn mineralization. Additional geophysics may be conducted during the 2009 exploration season depending on the final interpretation of the survey data.
Drill sections and a 3D visualization can be viewed at www.corebox.net or by following a link on the Company's website at www.northernfreegold.com.
Nucleus Zone
The Nucleus Zone is located in the western portion of the Freegold Mountain Project. A total of 106 holes have been drilled in the Nucleus Zone since 2006 (24,416 m). The Nucleus Zone was originally identified as a low grade bulk tonnage near surface gold target. The majority of past exploration drilling focused on targeting the low grade bulk tonnage gold mineralization that appears to be associated with north-south trending vein systems. High grade gold bearing quartz + chalcopyrite � pyrite veins and gold bearing infill in breccias, and gold-rich � copper skarns have now been also indentified in a different orientation within the Nucleus zone area. Data generated from oriented core analysis coupled with ongoing geological modeling of the Nucleus zone has revealed that the gold-rich � copper skarns encountered to date appear to follow the east-west orientation of the foliation within the metasediments and that a set of gold bearing quartz + chalcopyrite � pyrite veins also trend east-west, in addition to the previously targeted north-south trending vein systems.
Mineralization was encountered in all of the step out holes drilled on the west side of the Nucleus Zone. Mineralization in this area occurs as gold-bearing sulphide-rich veins/veinlets. This drilling combined with historical drilling and step-out drilling to the east have extended the mineralized zones up to 750 m long from east to west, and the mineralized zones remain open in both directions.
Freegold Mountain Project
The road accessible Freegold Mountain Project is situated within an active exploration and mining area in the Tintina Gold Belt of the Yukon which includes the producing Minto Mine of Capstone Mining Corp. to the north, Casino Deposit and Carmacks Copper Deposit of Western Copper Corporation to the west and east, and the White Gold Property of Underworld Resources to the northwest.
The Freegold Mountain Project is a district scale Project that covers 166 square km (64 square miles). Within the project expanse are at least 20 known mineralized zones, some with historical resource estimates (not compliant with NI 43-101). Northern Freegold has been actively drilling on five of those zones (2% of the total project area), two of which NI 43-101 resource calculations will be released within 2 weeks (Nucleus and Tinta), and 3 of which are still at an exploration stage (Goldy, Stoddart, Ridge).
The district scale Freegold Mountain Project is situated within the Dawson Range portion of the Tintina Gold Belt, characterized by plutonic rocks of the ca 100 million year old Cretaceous Dawson Range Batholith and Early Jurassic metaplutonic rocks, intruding Devono-Mississippian metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Yukon-Tanana terrane. The Dawson Range is a well-mineralized belt over 100 km long, extending from Mount Freegold northwesterly to Western Copper's Casino copper-gold porphyry deposit. This belt is transected by the west-northwest trending Big Creek Fault, which provides the locus for many mineral occurrences including placer gold deposits, porphyry gold-copper mineralization, gold veins and breccias. The Freegold Mountain Project covers a 35 km long section of this belt.
A total of 3,896 m of Diamond drilling was completed in 17 holes in the Tinta Zone in 2008. Drilling on the Tinta Vein system increased NFR's understanding of the vein's location and appearance at depth, confirming the presence of parallel veins and splay veins and providing more evidence of multiple episodes of mineralization. The vein system is 1250 m long, the main vein is 1.6 m wide on average (though it pinches and swells vertically and horizontally) and drilling has shown it continues to a depth of at least 350 m. A NI 43-101 compliant resource is being calculated on the Tinta Zone and will be released within two weeks.
In the central part of the Freegold Mountain Project, 27 holes, or 5,147 m of Diamond drilling were completed in the Goldy, Ridge and Stoddart Zones in 2008. Two previously undrilled zones (Stoddart and Ridge) gave encouraging results. The Ridge Zone was drilled over a 250 metre strike length, with 8 of 9 holes returning good grades of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc. A new interpretation of the Goldy Zone following a deep intersection of a new target has shifted our understanding and uncovered the potential for a sizeable mineralized system.
The central part of the Freegold Mountain Project is an area rich in mineral occurrences, many of them high grade. This area also has the highest concentration of placer mines on the Freegold Project. Metal zoning and the orientation of mineralization in the central part of the Freegold project suggest a larger mineralizing system. Many small, historical gold showings are located between Stoddart and Goldy. Surrounding them are the multi metal-bearing targets of Ridge, Stoddart and Tinta. The most common strike directions for the showings are northwest (parallel to the Big Creek Fault) and north.
The technical information disclosed in this release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Fabrizio Colombo, P.Geo.
Northern Freegold is a well financed rapidly advancing Canadian-based precious metals exploration and development company, which brings local expertise and strong management to focus on the development of economic mineral resources on the district-scale Freegold Mountain gold and copper project in the Yukon and the Burro Creek gold and silver property in Arizona.
Northern Freegold Resources Ltd.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Signed "Susan P. Craig"
Susan P. Craig President
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
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