Goldminco cuts gold at Balabag (April 10, 2003)

Vancouver The first drill program targeting the Balabag Ridge in the Philippines has returned encouraging gold-silver values for owner Goldminco (GCP-V)

The 594-metre program tested for mineralization below a series of small-scale workings along a prominent 1.1-km long ridge. Some 300 channel and chip samples collected over a portion of the ridge returned a weighted average of 10.97 grams gold and 258.69 grams silver.

The first two holes targeted the Unao Unao area and despite cutting zones of silicified and brecciated andesite no significant mineralization was encountered.

Moving over to the Miswi area, hole 3 cut 14 metres grading 5.2 grams gold and 85 grams silver per tonne from 79 metres downhole. Included in this section was a higher-grade portion running 16.6 grams gold and 311 grams silver over 3 metres.

Collared in the Tinago area, hole 4 hit a small-scale mining stope, while hole 5 returned 9 metres grading 5.4 grams gold and 122 grams silver. Included in this section was a higher-grade portion running 19.7 grams gold and 450 grams silver over 2 metres.

Mineralzation occurs in quartz veins hosted in a package of andesitic volcanic rocks. The veins and wall rock contain mainly pyrite with minor galena and sphalerite

Based on the results the junior aims to further define the vein orientations in the Unao Unao area through hand trenching.

Located in the southern Philippines on the westerns side of Mindanao island, the Balabag prospect was first discovered in 1995 and originally explored by Rio Tinto (RTP-N).