Virginia
Mines Inc. (?Virginia?) is pleased to announce the beginning of drilling
programs on several of its projects located in the James Bay region, province
of Quebec. During the next four months, Virginia will carry out more than 18,000 metres of drilling on its Coulon base-metal project (Cu-Zn-Ag) and on many other
gold projects including Poste Lemoyne Extension,
Lac Pau and Anatacau-Wabamisk. Important
geophysical surveys will also be conducted on the Ashuanipi,
Lac Pau, Nichicun, Trieste and Escale
projects.
POSTE LEMOYNE EXTENSION PROPERTY (100% Virginia)
Virginia has just initiated line cutting and IP surveys on its Poste Lemoyne Extension property, which will be followed
in mid-January by a drilling program comprised of a minimum of 15 holes totalling 3,000 metres. The property is
owned 100% by Virginia but the 112 claims acquired before October 2005 are
subject to a 1% NSR to Globestar Mining Company.
The Company may buy back half of this NSR (0.5%), at any time, for $500,000.
The property is host to the Orf?e zone, which
contains resources totalling 88,588
tonnes grading 9.44 g/t Au in
the measured category and 114,895
tonnes grading 18.4 g/t Au in the inferred category (NI 43-101 ?
published on April 8, 2003).
Drilling to be conducted
in the winter of 2011 will test mainly geophysical and geological targets
associated with an important gold till anomaly, which was defined in the
summer of 2010 while sampling the glacial till (samples of 15 kg) on the David grid. The anomaly extends over an
east-north-east direction of 1.6 kilometres and to a width of approximately
250 metres. It groups together around 60 auriferous till samples, with
about 15 that each contain over 100 gold grains (to a maximum of
691 gold grains) mostly of delicate shape thus indicating a proximal
source. This gold till anomaly is the most important one ever discovered by
Virginia in the James Bay region. Prospecting and stripping carried out on
this anomaly in the fall of 2010 defined a dioritic
unit with feldspar phenocrysts (FP) and
quartz-feldspar phenocrysts (QFP) that coincides
relatively well with the position of the gold till anomaly. Erratic boulders
of this porphyritic quartz-feldspar (QFP) diorite,
more or less deformed, altered and mineralized in disseminated pyrite, graded
up to 11.02 g/t Au in
selected samples. The samples collected on the few outcrops observed in this
unit also confirmed the presence of gold anomalies in the intrusive, with
results varying generally from 0.48
g/t Au over 3 metres to 1.37 g/t
Au over 5 metres. The last sample taken at the known eastern limit of
this unit returned 2.74 g/t Au.
LAC PAU PROPERTY (100 % Virginia)
During the
winter of 2011 Virginia will conduct important line cutting and IP surveys on
its Lac Pau project as well as drilling totalling 3,000 metres. Surface
work carried out up to now outlined an important auriferous mineralized
system that includes the Hope, Tricorne and
Beausac-2 showings as well as many other smaller showings. This 12-kilometre-long gold corridor lies
within sheared and altered tonalitic intrusives and remains totally open laterally. Up to now
the best results obtained at surface within this corridor reached up to 2.27 g/t Au over 10 metres (including
an interval of 3.91 g/t Au over 5
metres ) on the Hope showing, up to 5.61
g/t Au over 3 metres and 10.74 g/t
Au over 4 metres on the Tricorne showing, and
up to 5.22 g/t Au over 7 metres
(including 14.43 g/t Au over 2 metres)
on the Beausac-2 showing (press releases of September 2, 2009 and September
30, 2010). Drilling carried out in 2010 generated many interesting
intersections on the Tricorne showing including 3.43 g/t Au over 6 metres
(PAU-10-004) and 1.15 g/t Au over
10.95 metres (PAU-10-001). Hole PAU-10-028, which tested a kilometric IP
anomaly (open at both ends) intercepted a large intersection grading 0.52 g/t Au over 45.8 metres,
including 1.08 g/t Au over 11 metres.
This intersection is located 1.3 kilometres north-east of the Jedi showing in
its interpreted extension.
Drilling
planned for the winter of 2011 will test mainly the Hope, Tricorne
and Jedi showings as well as many other geophysical and geological targets
located along the Lac Pau auriferous corridor.
ANATACAU-WABAMISK PROPERTY (100% Virginia on Wabamisk ? option 100% Virginia on Anatacau)
A 1,500-metre drilling program is
planned for the winter of 2011 on the Anatacau-Wabamisk
property. Virginia owns a 100% participating interest in the Wabamisk portion and has the option to acquire IAMGOLD Corporation?s 100% participating interest in the Anatacau portion in consideration of
$3 million in exploration work to be carried out before December 31, 2012. Drilling will aim mainly at the depth extension of
the Isabelle showing as well as at other regional targets. It is to be noted
that shallow holes drilled during the winter of 2010 on the Isabelle showing
yielded some interesting intersections with 46.5 (uncut) g/t Au over 4 metres (18.26 (C) g/t Au over 4
metres) in hole WB-10-12, 5.89 g/t Au over
2 metres in hole WB-10-07, and 2.75
g/t Au over 10 metres in hole WB-10-04.
COULON PROPERTY (100 % Virginia)
During
winter 2011 Virginia will conduct a $2 million exploration program on its Coulon project that will consists of 9,000 metres of diamond drilling as well as ground geophysics (InfiniTEM). Drilling will test mainly the extensions of
lenses 43, 44, 16-17 and 201 as well as many other geophysical targets within
the favourable volcanic stratigraphy. Exploration
is to begin in mid-January.
AIRBORNE DRILLING PROGRAMS
Virginia
will also complete, during the winter of 2011, a limited helicopter-supported
drilling program that will consist of about 10 holes for a total of approximately 1,500 metres. Drilling will test auriferous and base metal targets
located in areas without direct access, most particularly on the ?l?onore R?gional,
FCI and P?n?lope properties. Work should begin in
late February.
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