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TORONTO,
ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 24, 2009) -
CASTLE GOLD CORPORATION (Castle Gold, the Company) (TSX VENTURE:CSG) is pleased to announce the results from a
study of the mineral resources contained within the Transition Zone and
the Sulphide Zone (Transition/Sulphide Zone) of mineralization that
exists below the oxide reserves at the Company's 100 percent owned El
Castillo open pit mine in Durango State, Mexico.
The Transition/Sulphide Zone mineral resource includes 27.9 million
tonnes at an average grade of 0.7 grams per tonne gold for a total of
624,712 ounces contained gold in the Inferred resource category. This
resource was calculated at a cut-off grade of 0.5 grams per tonne gold.
Tonnage, grade and contained ounces of gold within the Transition/Sulphide
Zones are also calculated for varying cut-off grades in Table 1 -
Transition/Sulphide Zone Resource Summary at Different Cut-Off Grades,
El Castillo Mine. This compares and is in addition to an oxide resource
currently being mined at El Castillo of 94.3 million tonnes grading
0.39 grams per tonne gold for a total Measured and Indicated resource
of 1,177,000 ounces gold at a cut-off of 0.15 grams per tonne gold. (refer to technical report filed on Sedar, August 2008).
Thomas Atkins, President and CEO of Castle Gold commented on the
mineral resource stating: "Determining the size and grade of the
Transition/Sulphide Zone resource is the first step in a multi-step
process to evaluate the potential of this material to yield
economically recoverable quantities of gold. The next step is to
determine the metallurgy of this material and the extent to which the
gold is economically recoverable. Metallurgical testing is currently
underway and we expect preliminary results from this work in March or
April of this year. Results from the resource and metallurgical work
will then be incorporated into a NI 43-101 technical report that, if
the gold has the potential to be economically recoverable, will
facilitate our determining Measured, Indicated and Inferred resources
for this material. From a geostatistical
basis much of the current resource would be in the Measured and
Indicated resource categories. If gold is economically recoverable, it
is possible that some of this material may have the potential to be
brought into the mine plan and may assist the Company in evaluating a
further expansion in production beyond the 50,000 ounces of annual
production currently being envision to be
achieved later this year."
The resource is calculated from the historic database of 211 reverse
circulation and diamond drill holes that were drilled beyond the depths
of the oxide material (beyond 100 metres depth) to an average depth of
approximately 230 metres (maximum depth of 400 metres). The resource
was calculated employing the inverse distance squared methodology at
the indicated gold cut-off grades, the same methodology employed in the
calculation of the El Castillo oxide resources. The Company is in the
process of performing preliminary metallurgical testing to determine
the mineralogical nature of the Transition/Sulphide gold mineralization
based on samples taken from lengths of material from four historic core
holes intersecting these zones. Metallurgical work is being performed
by SGS Mineral Services (Lakefield,
Ontario). This
preliminary work is expected to be completed in March or April of this
year.
Table 1 Transition/Sulphide Zone Resource Summary at Different Cut-Off Grades, El Castillo Mine ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSITION ZONE INFERRED RESOURCES Cut off Grade Tonnes Grade Contained Gold ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (gpt) (000's) (gpt) (ounces) 0.30 37,856 0.48 583,046 0.40 18,857 0.61 372,561 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.50 11,071 0.73 261,479 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.60 6,853 0.85 188,160 0.70 3,967 1.00 128,007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SULPHIDE ZONE INFERRED RESOURCES Cut off Grade Tonnes Grade Contained Gold ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (gpt) (000's) (gpt) (ounces) 0.30 59,825 0.46 879,110 0.40 30,045 0.57 551,765 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.50 16,818 0.67 363,233 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.60 10,070 0.76 244,954 0.70 5,116 0.86 140,830 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMBINED TRANSITION-SULPHIDE ZONE INFERRED RESOURCES Cut off Grade Tonnes Grade Contained Gold ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (gpt) (000's) (gpt) (ounces) 0.30 97,680 0.47 1,462,156 0.40 48,903 0.59 924,326 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.50 27,889 0.70 624,712 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.60 16,923 0.80 433,114 0.70 9,083 0.92 268,837 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qualified
Person Comments/Quality Control Procedures
This press release has been reviewed by Mr. Darren Koningen,
P. Eng., Castle Gold's Vice President Project
Development. Mr. Koningen is a Qualified
Persons under National Instrument 43-101. The resource evaluation was
prepared by Miguel Cardona, Exploration Manager for Castle Gold. Mr.
Cardona is a BSc geological engineer with over 20 years experience in
mineral exploration, project development and resource calculation. Mr.
Cardona calculated the resource using Surpac
software with the inverse distance squared resource calculation
methodology at the indicated gold cut-off grades. This same methodology
was employed in the independent third party calculation of the oxide
resources within the El Castillo deposit. Drill data was from
historical drilling, the data base of which was previously verified by
the independent third party.
About Castle Gold
Castle Gold Corporation is a growth oriented gold producer with
projects focused in the America's.
The Company owns a 100% interest in the El Castillo gold mine in Mexico and a 50% interest in the El Sastre gold mine in Guatemala. Castle Gold is
also advancing exploration and development work at its La Fortuna
gold-silver-copper project in Mexico.
TSX-V Trading Symbol: CSG Total Shares Outstanding: 75.3MM Fully Diluted: 81.7MM 52-Week Trading Range: C$0.15 - $0.64
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
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