Pediment climbs on Los Planos results (November 26, 2007)

Vancouver — San Antonio keeps on growing for Pediment Exploration (PEZ-V, PEZFF-O), with drilling expanding the targeted Los Planos zone with every stepout.

Drilling at Los Planos, part of the San Antonio project in Mexico, has consistently returned significant gold oxide intersections followed by mixed oxide-sulphide mineralization.

A north-south-trending zone within the San Antonio shear zone, Los Planos extends to surface under shallow cover and has a downdip length of more than 300 metres. The zone is thought to be a northern continuation of the historic Las Colinas deposit, though to date, Los Planos has displayed higher grades and wider thicknesses.

Four recent drill holes continued to test the southern extension of Los Planos. All four cut shallow intersections of oxide mineralization followed by deeper primary gold intersections. Hole 25 returned 88.2 metres grading 2.44 grams gold per tonne from 64 metres down-hole, including 19.8 metres grading 5.1 grams gold. Hole 24, 50 metres west, cut 125 metres of mineralized shear, including 82 metres of 0.99 gram gold from 123 metres depth.

Holes 16 and 17, the most southerly holes to date, also encountered mineralized shear. Hole 16 returned short oxide intervals followed by 51.8 metres grading 1.7 grams gold from 121 metres down-hole, while hole 17 hit 30.5 metres grading 1.3 grams gold in the near-surface oxide layer and then 88.4 metres of 1.05 grams gold from 167 metres depth in the sulphide zone.

Pediment is also conducting infill drilling in the central part of Los Planos to bring the drill spacing to 50-metre intervals. Results from infill drilling are typical for the zone: hole 21 intersected 57.9 metres of 1.11 grams gold from the oxide zone followed by 51.8 metres of 2.09 grams gold from the primary mineralization.

Los Planos has now been traced for 1,000 metres along strike, and is still open. The zone also remains open to the east (updip) and west (downdip). Expansion drilling to the east has revealed a series of post-mineral faults that have dropped and effectively extended the mineralized system within a set of fault-bounded, near-surface subzones of oxidized mineralization. Hole 14 returned 33.5 metres of 0.59 gram gold from 25 metres depth, followed by 16.8 metres of 0.59 gram gold from 66 metres.

San Antonio is located on the Baja Peninsula, 40 km southeast of the port city of La Paz. Gravel roads and a high-voltage power line traverse the property. The project’s main deposit is Las Colinas, which hosts an estimate (non-National Instrument 43-101-compliant) of 340,000 contained ounces gold. Las Colinas lies 500 metres south of Los Planos in an offset portion of the same north-south-trending structural corridor.

Pediment started drilling at Los Planos in May, pulling four diamond-core holes. Due to problems with drill penetration, the company switched to reverse-circulation (RC) drilling. About 10,500 metres of RC drilling have been completed to date.

In the late 1990s, Echo Bay Minerals, now part of Kinross Gold (K-T, KGC-N), explored the Colinas deposit with a 31-hole RC drill program. The drilling formed the basis of an estimate that put the resource at 10.6 million tonnes grading 1.02 grams gold.

Pediment moved up 44 or 14.6% on the drill results, and has a 52-week trading range of 38 to $3.50.