Almaden Minerals Ltd. ("Almaden", "the Company") (TSX: AMM)(AMEX:
AAU) is pleased to report on its ongoing exploration activities in
Mexico where field crews of Almaden and its partners have been
working on multiple projects this year. To date in 2008 three of
Almaden's Mexican projects have been drilled as part of programs
entirely funded by operating partners for a total of roughly 11,500
meters in 45 holes. Almaden anticipates further drilling will be
completed on several projects later in 2008 when weather permits
activities to resume after the rainy season. Almaden's Chairman
J.D. Poliquin commented, "We have had a large amount of work
completed by our partners so far this year including considerable
drilling. We have also been advancing several exciting new
properties along for future joint venture and development. We
anticipate and look forward to reporting on a busy winter 2008/2009
field season in Mexico."
A summary of the work completed in the year to date follows.
Bufa Project
Lincoln Gold Corp. ("Lincoln") has an option to earn a 60%
interest from Almaden in this project. A program of diamond
drilling was operated by Lincoln in 2008 consisting of 12 holes
totalling 4,500 meters. Highlights from this program, which
included 2.5 meters of 4.12 g/t gold and 281 g/t silver in
LBDDH-001 and 1.5 meters of 10.7 g/t gold and 516 g/t silver in
LBDDH-003, were reported in an Almaden news release of July 10th,
2008. Lincoln has informed Almaden that work is scheduled to
recommence at the Bufa project as soon as the weather permits.
Quality control and assurance protocols were employed in the
program including the insertion of standards, blanks and duplicates
in the sample stream. Samples were analysed at ALS Chemex labs for
multiple-element analyses and gold-silver assays in accordance with
mineral industry practices.
Caldera Project
The Caldera project is a 100% Almaden owned project acquired in
late 2007 through staking. In the spring of 2008 Almaden conducted
a program of mapping, rock, soil and stream sediment sampling and
test IP geophysics on the more than 60,000 hectare property which
covers several areas of hydrothermal alteration. Alteration mapping
has confirmed the presence of acid-sulphate alteration including
zones of massive to vuggy silica, quartz-alunite and kaolinite over
an 8 by 2 kilometre area. Stream sediment sampling has returned
values from below detection to 90 ppb gold. Additional staking has
been carried out to cover anomalous areas that were not within the
original block staked. Rock samples taken to date in areas of acid
sulphate alteration have returned values from below detection to 40
ppb gold and 0.6% molybdenum. High values of arsenic and mercury
were also returned in this sampling program. Almaden's management
believes that the Caldera project represents a well preserved high
sulphidation system and work is planned to advance the project this
winter 2008/2009 field season with further sampling and prospecting
to define drill targets.
Campanario Project
The 100% owned Campanario project is located in Oaxaca State and
was acquired through staking by Almaden. The project covers a large
area of brecciation interpreted to be hydrothermal in origin.
Fragments in the breccia are heterolithic and include variably
altered clasts and vein material. Feldspar phenocrysts of many of
the fragments are adularised and the breccia is crosscut by several
episodes of quartz-sulphide veining. A part of the breccia system,
which forms a conical ridge, may represent a diatreme-type body. In
this area past sampling by Almaden has returned significant gold
grades including 18 rock-chip samples of subcrop and float that
ranged from 0.007 to 3.59 g/t gold and averaged 0.41 g/t gold. A
preliminary four line soil sampling program was carried out on 100
meter spaced lines with samples taken every 25 meters. The samples
returned gold values from 10 to 525 ppb gold, averaging 65 ppb
gold. Almaden plans a work program on the Campanario project
consisting of mapping and sampling this autumn.
Caballo Blanco Project
Canadian Gold Hunter ("CGH") has an option to earn a 70%
interest in the Caballo Blanco project from Almaden and since
December 2007 operated a diamond drill program consisting of 5,931
meters of drilling. CGH is the operator on the project. CGH
reported (see Almaden news release of September 23rd, 2008) that
the Cerro la Paila area gold-bearing silica breccias have now been
traced by surface sampling and diamond drilling over a north-south
distance of 750 metres and up to about 350 metres in an east-west
direction. The gold-bearing breccias are up to 150 metres thick;
however on many sections the drill holes were abandoned in
mineralized silica breccia and the depth extent of the
mineralization is not known. The best hole drilled at Cerro la
Paila is 08CBN-004, which intersected 94.5 metres grading 2.09 g/t
gold. The next phase of drilling at Cerro la Paila, which is
scheduled to start in early November, 2008, will be completed using
larger drill rigs that are capable of drilling deeper holes.
In a separate area of the property, the Central Grid zone, 2,467
metres were drilled in nine holes to test two targets, Pedrero and
Porvenir, which are gold-rich porphyry copper targets defined by
coincident magnetic, I.P. and geochemical anomalies. The highlight
of the drilling at Pedrero was 41.15 meters of 0.42 g/t Au and
0.27% Cu to the end of the hole which was abandoned due to poor
drilling conditions. This drilling was the first to have been
conducted at the Pedrero area which is located three kilometres
from known porphyry occurrence Porvenir. The drilling confirmed
copper and gold values in a very large sulphide system as defined
by I.P. surveys. Broad intervals of copper-gold mineralization are
associated with intensely altered monzodiorite intrusions.
Additional targets within the Central Grid will be drill tested in
the next phase of drilling which is anticipated to commence in
November, 2008. Appropriate quality control and quality assurance
protocols were utilized in the program operated by CGH. Standard
reference samples and various duplicates are inserted in each batch
of assays. Drill core samples were analysed at ALS Chemex
Laboratories in North Vancouver and analyzed for gold by fire assay
and for silver and 34 other trace and major elements by ICP-MS in
accordance with standard industry practices.
Cerro Colorado Project
The 100% owned Cerro Colorado project is located in Oaxaca State
and covers an area of hydrothermal alteration and mineralisation
typical of a high sulphidation precious metal system including
vuggy silica and argillic alteration. In addition zones of quartz
veining have been identified. In these areas past soil sampling and
IP geophysics conducted by Almaden have returned significant silver
and gold in soil coincident with areas of elevated resistivity and
chargeability. Almaden intends to better define these areas for a
future diamond drilling project with detailed mapping and sampling
in the winter of 2008/2009.
Fuego Project
The 100% Almaden owned Fuego project was drilled by a past
partner in 2006. This drill program returned important gold and
silver values in a newly identified epithermal vein system (see
Almaden news release of June 13, 2008). Drill intersections
included 0.39 meters of 4.26 g/t gold and 100 g/t silver and 2.66
meters of 1.1 g/t gold and 68.5 g/t silver. Almaden plans a mapping
and sampling program for the winter field season to better define
targets for future drilling. Assays reported from this drill
program were analysed at ALS Chemex Laboratories of North Vancouver
using industry standard fire assay and ICP methodologies. A quality
control program was employed which consisted of the insertion of
blanks, standards and field duplicates into the sample stream.
Matehuapil Project
Apex Silver Mines Ltd. ("Apex Silver") has an option to acquire
a 60% interest in the Matehuapil project from Almaden which holds a
100% interest in the project subject to a NSR royalty payable to
the Mexican government. Apex Silver has informed Almaden that it
has conducted surface work on the property. Almaden will receive of
technical data from Apex Silver resulting from their work programs
of 2008 in an annual report. Almaden will report on these results
when a report is received.
Realito Project
This 100% Almaden owned project is located in Sonora State,
Mexico. Claims staked by Almaden cover an area of hill forming an
intensely argillic altered and silicified volcanic and intrusive
rocks interpreted by to represent a porphyry copper lithocap.
Historic reports indicate that streams draining the area were
exploited for alluvial gold. A work program including rock chip
sampling, alteration mapping and stream sediment sampling is
planned for the winter 2008/2009 field season.
San Carlos Project
The 100% Almaden owned San Carlos Project is located in northern
Mexico about three hours south of Monterrey City in Tamaulipas
State. Almaden has had two past partners explore this project. The
results of this work have defined a large intrusion hosted
copper-gold porphyry system associated with peripheral skarns
developed in carbonate rocks. In July and August of 2008 Almaden
completed a grid based soil sampling, ground magnetics and IP
geophysical program. This work has outlined a new area of anomalous
geophysical responses and copper, gold and molybdenum in soil
geochemistry now named the Lupe zone which has been traced for over
1 kilometre along strike. Within the Lupe zone gold in soil samples
range from 0.0055 to 0.64 g/t gold (averaging 0.068 g/t gold), 79.3
ppm to 15,221 ppm (1.5%) copper (averaging 1,095 ppm copper), 0.1
to 7.6 ppm silver (averaging 1.1 ppm silver) and 0.6 to 73.3 ppm
molybdenum (averaging 6.5 ppm molybdenum). The Lupe zone soil
anomaly occurs on top and along the flanks of a ridge which is
underlain by a discrete chargeability anomaly interpreted to
reflect elevated sulphides. The anomaly is at least 200 meters
wide, spanning across five two hundred meter lines surveyed with IP
geophysics. On one line eight consecutive 50 meter spaced soil
samples over 400 meters ranged from 621 ppm to 3690 ppm copper
(3.7% copper) and averaged 1331 ppm copper (0.13% copper). These
same samples ranged from 19.6 ppb to 100 ppb gold, averaging 56 ppb
gold. In 2003 a past partner drilled three holes located peripheral
to this target area but the target itself has never been drill
tested. Results from the past drilling included 245.27 meters of
0.04% Cu and 0.008% Mo, and 12 meters of 0.11% Cu in a separate
hole. Assays reported from this drill program were analysed at Acme
Analytical Laboratories of Vancouver using industry standard fire
assay and ICP methodologies.
Terrerillos Project
The 100% Almaden owned Terrerillos Project located in Puebla
State covers an area of high level epithermal alteration identified
and acquired by staking during Almaden's ongoing regional
exploration program. In 2008 a stream sediment survey was completed
over the project. This work returned highly anomalous Hg, As, Sb
values as well as weakly anomalous gold and silver. Almaden
believes that these results are consistent with a high level
epithermal environment and plans follow-up prospecting for the
winter season of 2008/2009.
Tuligtic Project
The 100% owned Tuligtic project covers an area of alteration and
mineralisation typical of both a porphyry copper-gold and
epithermal gold-silver system. In 2008 Almaden completed a program
of IP and ground magnetics geophysical survey, grid based soil
sampling, mapping and rock chip sampling. This work has identified
a large chargeability and magnetic high anomaly associated with
elevated copper, molybdenum and gold in soil. The anomaly is
spatially associated with a zone of intense sericite-quartz-pyrite
alteration and stockwork veining within which earlier biotite
alteration has been observed preserved along with copper minerals
including chalcopyrite as well as weathering derived malachite. The
alteration identified is interpreted to represent a
quartz-sericite-pyrite cap to a large porphyry copper-gold system.
The IP geophysics and soils have defined the target for drilling
however additional and more detailed mapping and sampling program
is planned for the autumn of 2008 to help optimize these drillhole
locations.
Viky Project
In September Apex Silver Mines Ltd. ("Apex Silver") notified
Almaden that it has terminated its option to acquire a 60% interest
in Almaden's wholly owned Viky silver-lead-zinc project located in
western Coahuila State, Mexico. In 2008 Apex Silver h completed a
roughly 2,500 meter drill program on the project. Almaden has
recently received technical information from Apex Silver regarding
the results of this work, which is currently under review. Almaden
will report results from this program in the near future once these
results have been compiled with previous data gathered by
Almaden.
Yago Project
Consolidated Spire Venture Ltd. ("Spire") holds an option to
acquire a 60% interest in Almaden's 100% owned Yago project,
Mexico. The Yago project covers an area of low sulphidation
epithermal gold-silver bearing veins. The project is located in
Nayarit State roughly 60 kilometers north of Tepic City. In 2007
Spire conducted a trenching and limited drilling campaign that was
shortened by the onset of the rainy season. Spire is required to
make expenditures in 2008 and Almaden anticipates that this will
include drilling on several exciting vein targets identified in
Spire's last work program.
Morgan J. Poliquin, P. Eng., the President and COO of Almaden
and a qualified person under the meaning of National Instrument
43-101 reviewed the technical information in this news release.
Analyses reported from work conducted by Almaden were carried out
at ALS Chemex Laboratories of North Vancouver using industry
standard aqua regia, ICP and fire assay techniques. With respect to
work carried out by Almaden's partners, readers are referred to the
relevant past Almaden news releases to see detailed quality control
information employed by the respective operating partner
company.
About Almaden
Almaden is a mineral exploration and development company with a
track record of making new discoveries in Canada and Mexico.
Almaden currently has an interest in 22 properties where others are
responsible for ongoing exploration and development. Almaden will
continue with its successful business model of identifying new
projects in Mexico, Canada and the United States through grass
roots exploration and managing risk by forming joint ventures with
partner companies which then carry the cost of exploring and
developing our projects. Almaden's grass roots exploration programs
are designed to identify new mineral exploration projects in
mineral terrains geologically permissive for world-class ore
deposits. Almaden is seeking partners with the suitable business
and geological resources to explore and assess the potential of
these projects through drilling.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Morgan J. Poliquin, M.Sc., P.Eng., President, COO and
Director
Almaden Minerals Ltd.
Statements contained in this news release that are not
historical facts are forward looking statements as that term is
defined in the private securities litigation reform act of 1995.
Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially
from estimated results. Such risks and uncertainties are detailed
in the Company's filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
The Toronto Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchanges have not
reviewed nor accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy
of the contents of this news release which has been prepared by
management.
Contacts: Almaden Minerals Ltd. Morgan J. Poliquin, M.Sc.,
P.Eng. President, COO and Director (604) 689-7644 (604) 689-7645
(FAX) Website: www.almadenminerals.com
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