J-Pacific Gold Announces 2008 Exploration Plans
Aggressive programs designed to advance gold properties
VANCOUVER, JANUARY 31, 2008 - J-Pacific Gold Inc. ("J-Pacific" or "The Company") (TSXV - JPN) today released its exploration and development plans for 2008.
In making the announcement, J-Pacific CEO Nick Ferris said that the planned exploration programs are some of the most aggressive undertaken by the Company to date, following on several programs successfully completed during 2007.
The exploration and development plans for 2008 include core drilling on the Montgolfier Project in Quebec, and on the Blackdome Gold Mine in British Columbia. As well, core drilling and underground exploration sampling are planned for the Elizabeth Gold Property, also in British Columbia, just 30 kilometres from the Blackdome Gold Mine.
Corporate Developments
The Company is pleased to report that Dominick & Dominick LLC of New York has successfully arranged for the divestiture of J-Pacific shares held by Jipangu Inc., a long-time Japanese investor in the Company. J-Pacific has been advised that approximately 12 million shares previously owned by Jipangu have been purchased by a number of well-qualified investors, including industry-leading investment funds, strengthening the Company's shareholder base.
Montgolfier Gold Project, Quebec
In the first three months of 2007, J-Pacific executed an initial drill program at Montgolfier that yielded very encouraging results. Eight priority targets generated by SRK Consulting ("SRK") were investigated by 26 core holes totalling 9,710 metres. Highlights of the 2007 program included intercepts of host rock in several targets, and strong gold mineralization encountered in holes JPN07-17 (10.42g Au/t over 1.0 metre) and JPN07-21 (6.44g Au/t over 3.2 metres). See news releases dated March 22 and July 19, 2007, for more detailed information on drill results, on the J-Pacific website.
On January 24, 2008, J-Pacific announced the commencement of drilling for the 2008 campaign, which consists of an initial 18 holes (news release 03, 2008). This program is designed to test the lateral and depth extensions of gold mineralization encountered during the 2007 program. An additional 1,200 metres of drilling is included as a contingency, to allow testing of other targets on the project. Maps detailing the planned drill holes are available for download on the Company's website.
The Montgolfier Project straddles the Casa Berardi Tectonic Zone, approximately 30 kilometres east of the Casa Berardi Mine, where Aurizon Mines Ltd. has outlined a mineral reserve of 4.7 million tonnes grading 7.7g Au/t (equivalent to 1,169,000 oz Au), with an indicated mineral resource of 3.1 million tonnes grading 5.3g Au/t (equivalent to 526,000 oz Au), and an inferred mineral resource of 5.1 million tonnes grading 6.6g Au/t (equivalent to 1,060,000 oz Au) (Source: Aurizon Mines Ltd. website).
Elizabeth Gold Property, British Columbia
Also in 2007, J-Pacific completed a highly successful drill program at the Elizabeth Gold Property, consisting of 14 holes totalling 1,725 metres. Highlights of the program included gold holes E07-43 (37.5g Au/t over 11.2 metres), E07-42 (10.45g Au/t over 4.5 metres), E07-44 (10.52g Au/t over 4.53 metres), E07-48 (12.38g Au/t over 3.24 metres), and E07-50 (21.26g Au/t over 1.15 metres). See news releases dated September 13 and October 16, 2007, for more detailed information on drill results. The program focused on infill drilling, to connect areas of known mineralization in the Southwest Zone.
Given these promising results, J-Pacific plans an aggressive exploration program designed to move the Elizabeth Gold Property toward potential development. Planned exploration will include surface drilling, trenching, mapping, and underground exploration sampling and drilling.
The Elizabeth Gold Property is centrally located in prospective terrain 30 kilometres (18 miles) south-southwest of the permitted mill at the J-Pacific-owned Blackdome Gold Mine, and 30 kilometres (18 miles) north-northeast of the historic gold mining town of Bralorne, where over four million ounces of gold have been produced. The Elizabeth Gold Property's proximity to J-Pacific's permitted gold mill at the Blackdome Gold Mine means any eventual production from Elizabeth could be accommodated at the Blackdome facility.
Blackdome Gold Mine, British Columbia
In the spring of 2007, J-Pacific completed a Phase 2 core drill program consisting of 13 holes totalling 2,079 metres. Twelve of the 13 holes successfully reached their targets. The drilling focused on obtaining sufficient new data about the structural formations under the Blackdome basalt cap. The program provided a better understanding of the geological structures under the Blackdome peak and demonstrated the presence of gold mineralization in the No. 17 Vein.
In 2008, J-Pacific plans a 3,000-metre surface drill program focusing primarily on the Giant Vein and associated structures. This program will test the vein to the south of previous drilling, and explore a structural intersection where 2007 surface sampling of float and a 0.5-metre-wide vein returned values of 0.30, 1.99, 2.04, 2.66 and 9.32g Au/t.
Located in the Clinton Mining District of British Columbia, approximately 250 kilometres north of Vancouver and 70 kilometres west-northwest of the town of Clinton, the Blackdome Gold Mine yielded 240,000 ounces of gold from 338,000 tonnes of ore between 1986 and 1991.
Currently, the Blackdome Gold Mine has an inferred mineral resource (A. Boronowski, 1999), as reclassified by SRK Consulting (2001), of 124,120 tonnes, averaging 12.8g Au/t and 33.7g Ag /t, totalling 50,834 ounces of gold and 134,386 ounces of silver. The infrastructure and processing facilities remain at the mine, as do the majority of permits for operation.
In summary, Mr. Ferris said that J-Pacific was especially fortunate to have not one but three promising gold projects located in Canada. "Our properties are secure, unhampered by country risks and regulatory restrictions that bedevil many junior exploration companies with overseas properties. With the Montgolfier Property, we can rely upon the encouragement and financial support of the Quebec government. In British Columbia, our promising Elizabeth Project is ideally located just 30 kilometres from the Blackdome Gold Mine, complete with all of its surface infrastructure ready to be utilized by both projects just as soon as we can move into production," he said.
Other Projects
J-Pacific continues to maintain drill permits for its Callaghan and Golden Trend Projects in northeastern Nevada, in preparation for future drill programs.
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For more information, visit www.jpgold.com, or call or e-mail:
MEDIA INQUIRIES
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MARSTON WEBB INTERNATIONAL
TEL: +1 (212) 684-6601
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J-PACIFIC GOLD INC.
802-1166 ALBERNI ST.
VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA V6E 3Z3
TEL:+1 (888) 236-5200
FAX: +1 (604) 684-6678
E-MAIL: INFO@JPGOLD.COM
INVESTOR RELATIONS
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