TORONTO , ONTARIO--VenCan Gold ("Vencan") (TSX VENTURE:VCG) is pleased to announce the commencement of its winter diamond drill program on the Fern Elizabeth Property, located in the Atikokan area of Northern Ontario.
Exploration of the Property in the form of extensive data compilation, prospecting and detailed soil sampling of specific areas was completed in the latter half of 2007, under the direction of Taiga Consultants Ltd.
The current drill program will consist of 7 to 8 holes totaling approximately 1,500 meters and will focus, initially, in the area of the old mine workings on the Fern Elizabeth Property.
The results of a recently completed geochemical soil sampling have revealed a strong arsenic anomaly which has coincident anomalies in a number of other elements, including gold. An IP/resistivity survey is underway to determine if this newly discovered zone has a distinct geophysical signature. Additional claims to the east and west have been acquired to protect the strike extensions of this anomalous area. Once the geophysical survey is completed and all recently compiled data is analyzed then the Company will formulate another drill program to test this new area.
Geochemical sampling, by the Ontario Geological Survey in recent years, defined this new area as being anomalous in gold and Vencan is anxious to determine the extent of any potential mineralization that might underlie this zone, which has received no exploration attention in the past.
Bill Nielsen, P. Geo., Director, is overseeing the overall exploration program on behalf of VenCan.
The current drill program is being managed by Doug Cruickshank, P. Geo. of Taiga Consultants.
The Fern Elizabeth Property totals 17.79 km �in size, containing 25 claim blocks and leases with excellent infrastructure, as well as both boat and all-weather road access. The Property also benefits from a very close proximity to The Valerie Falls Power Generating Plant.
Drilling is being conducted by Cartwright Drilling.
History
The Fern Elizabeth Property is located 9 kilometers northwest of the town of Atikokan, which is approximately 200 kilometers west of Thunder Bay. The area has a rich mining and exploration heritage and was a major iron-mining center in Northern Ontario through the mid 1970's. This historic gold property contains very high-grade samples of visible gold (to see these visuals, please visit the Company's website at www.vencan.com).
Bill Nielsen, P.Geo., Director, is the designated qualified person for the technical information contained in this press release.
Administration
The Board granted the issuance of 2,930,000 stock options to Directors, Officers and Consultants of the Corporation under the terms of an Incentive Stock Option Plan approved by shareholders at the last AGM held on January 17, 2008. The options are exercisable at $0.10 "per share" for a period of period of four years after closing.
WARNING: The statements made in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially from expectations and projections set out herein.
For further information: please contact
Brent Nykoliation, Director of Business Development
(416) 364-7024, (416) 364-2753 (FAX)
info@vencan.com; www.vencan.com
or
J. A. Kirk McKinnon, President and Chief Executive Officer
Richard Schler, Vice President & CFO