Fairmile expands Buffalo Valley resource — Echo Bay monitoring drill program at Nevada property

Fairmile Gold (FLA-A) has reported encouraging results from a reconnaissance drilling program at its Buffalo Valley gold project in Nevada’s Battle Mountain trend.

Reconnaissance drilling expanded, from the A/B/O complex westward, the area of potential gold mineralization, linking it with gold mineralization discovered half a mile away at Target L.

Two zones are now recognized at Target L: North Margin and South Margin.

Also, a new structure of gold mineralization, known as the East zone, was discovered this season at Target F. Several of the other target areas show alteration and promising geochemical patterns.

In this year’s program, which totalled 50,912 ft., Fairmile drilled 82 holes, exploring 15 of 19 targets. In April, Echo Bay Mines (ECO-T) entered an arrangement with Fairmile whereby 66 holes (40,957 ft.) were drilled.

The 1997 program resulted in a 14% increase in the previous resource, and the addition of a small resource at Dore Hills. The total resource now stands at 600,106 oz. gold.

An additional 100,747 oz. have been identified, but Fairmile says the resource requires further drilling before it can be included in the official estimate.

Reconnaissance drilling both at Target L and west of the A/B/O complex indicates that the alteration continues between these two targets under a shallow gravel cover. While the gold identified is relatively low in grade, Fairmile believes the potential exists to identify permeable structures in this mineralization.

Drilling at Target F resulted in the discovery of the East zone. A small amount of coarsely crystalline gold was found in hole 80, and additional screen assays are being run to determine the extent of the coarse gold at the East zone.

Highlights of the East zone drilling include:

* 40 ft. grading 0.014 oz. gold per ton, 75 ft. of 0.022 oz., and 25 ft. of 0.077 oz. in hole 30;

* 65 ft. of 0.013 oz. in hole 72;

* 40 ft. of 0.011 oz. and 15 ft. of 0.027 oz. in hole 73; and * 25 ft. of 0.011 oz. and 5 ft. of 0.072 oz. in hole 80.

Following receipt of final screen assays and pathfinder geochemistry, Echo Bay will have 30 days to decide how it will proceed at Buffalo Valley.