Metallic Ventures advances Esmeralda

Ongoing underground infill drilling by Metallic Ventures Gold (MVG-T) continues to cut high-grade gold values on the prospectus vein system on the Esmeralda property, 100 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada.

Selected results include:

• hole 45 — 13 ft. running 1.23 oz. gold and 6.12 oz. silver per ton, including a 3.5-ft. section grading 3.5 oz. gold and 8.79 oz. silver;
• hole 46 — 3 ft. averaging 1.68 oz. gold and 6.62 oz. silver;
• hole 47 — 2 ft. of 0.55 oz. gold and 3.01 oz. silver per ton;
• hole 48 2.5 ft. of 0.12 oz. gold and 0.07 oz. silver per ton.

The holes have verified the continuity of the 3800 zone and have increased its overall minable extent and volume. The high-grade portion of the 3800 zone has now been drilled over a strike length of at least 150 ft.

Meanwhile, encouraging results have been obtained from the western extension of the Morning Glory vein system, along strike and within the same vein system hosting the Martinez resource.

Hole 14 returned 2.3 ft. grading 0.19 oz. gold and hole 18 contains a 3-ft. section running 0.21 oz. gold. The holes targeted 300 ft. west of the main Morning Glory vein.

Reverse circulation drilling on the westerly extension of the Chesco vein also continues to cut anomalous gold and silver values. Hole 9 intersecting 15 ft grading 0.20 oz. gold and 2.5 oz. silver, including 5 ft. of 0.40 oz. gold and 5.48 oz. silver.

A new underground resource figure for Prospectus will be calculated once the current drill campaign wraps up. At last count, underground resources for the vein stood at 187,993 tons grading 0.49 oz. gold and 1.9 oz. silver.

Overall measured and indicated resources at Esmeralda stand at 30.7 million tons grading 0.031 oz. gold, for 952,700 contained ounces. An additional 9.2 million tons of material running 0.025 oz. gold are classified as inferred.

Metallic hopes to have Esmeralda producing at full steam by early 2004. The company is fine-tuning the operation’s 350-ton-per-day, carbon-in-leach mill to handle feed from stopes on the Prospectus and nearby Martinez veins.

The mill is expected to begin processing development ore in early January, with full production slated for the end of that month. A tailings dam expansion to accommodate future production is at the midway point.

So far, more than 6,000 ft. of underground development have been completed on Martinez and Prospectus. At Prospectus, five crosscuts are being driven towards the ore body; three of them the 3575, 3755 and 3800 crosscuts — have intercepted the vein. Construction of the initial sill drift will begin next week. Ore from the sill drift will be stockpiled for the mill start up.

The first crosscut in the Martinez mine has also been completed; a second is underway. Both will allow development of ore along the Morning Glory vein.

Rehabilitation of the old Chesco underground workings in anticipation of underground core drilling and future production is almost done.

Shares in Metallic Ventures were 80, or 10%, higher at $8.79 in mid-afternoon trade in Toronto following the news on Nov. 24.