Freewest hits bonanza grades

Vancouver — The first eight holes of a second round of drilling have returned promising values from the Clarence Stream gold property in southwestern New Brunswick.

Freewest Resources Canada (FWR-M) ended a first pass of drilling in April after completing 3,474 metres in 39 holes. The drilling targeted multiple zones of gold-bearing mineralization that were intermittently exposed by trenching over a collective strike length of 2 km.

The mineralization occurs in shear-hosted quartz veins in metasedimentary and gabbroic rocks. The quartz vein system is aligned roughly parallel to the contact with the St. George batholith.

At the Central zone, where the junior cut 21 metres averaging 15.06 grams gold per tonne in the earlier program, seven of the new holes cut significant widths and grades of gold mineralization. The latest results include:

• Hole 40 (which hit the zone 90 metres below surface) — 12.5 metres averaging 6.6 grams gold from 122.6 metres down-hole, including a 2-metre section of 18.8 grams gold;
• Hole 41 (which hit the zone 50 metres below the surface) — 14.9 metres grading 7.8 grams gold from 78.7 metres down-hole, including two higher-grade portions ranging up to 10.4 grams gold over 4.4 metres;
• Hole 42 (which hit the zone 25 metres below the surface) — 12 metres grading 7.2 grams gold from 35 metres down-hole, including a 1-metre section running 33.5 grams gold;
• Hole 43 (which hit the zone 50 metres below the surface) — 12 metres grading 7.1 grams gold from 74.2 metres down-hole, including a 3.5-metre interval running 14.4 grams gold;
• Hole 44 (which hit the zone 25 metres below the surface) — 9.5 metres grading 21.5 grams gold from 30.3 metres down-hole, including a 2.5-metre section running 64 grams gold;
• Hole 45 (which targeted the zone at 50 metres below the surface) — 8.5 metres grading 0.39 gram gold from 119.1 metres down-hole and a 0.5-metre section running 12.2 grams gold from 8.2 metres down-hole;
• Hole 46 (which tested the zone at 90 metres below the surface) — 9 metres grading 5.5 grams gold from 119.1 metres down-hole; and
• Hole 47 (which also tested the zone 90 metres below the surface) — 9 metres grading 3.9 grams gold from 131.6 metres down-hole.

The first 10 holes of the current program tested the Central zone over a 75-metre strike length to a vertical depth of 90 metres.

Assay results for holes 48 and 49 are pending. The drilling continues.