Rio Narcea fills in Salave (January 17, 2005)

Infill drilling by Rio Narcea Gold Mines (RNG-T) has extended the higher-grade portion of the Salave deposit in northern Spain some 50 metres to the northwest. Hole 42 cut 15.3 metres grading 10.8 grams gold per tonne, beginning at a down-hole depth of 215 metres.

The hole also returned a 13.8-metre section (from 189.55 metres) grading 6.8 grams gold. In all, hole 42 yielded six intervals containing significant gold mineralization. The higher-grade portion of the deposit remains open to the northwest.

Other highlights from the latest batch of 25 holes include the following:

— Hole 21 — 54.9 metres (from 15 metres) grading 3.4 grams gold;

— Hole 22 — 20.3 metres (from 168.5 metres) grading 7.1 grams;

— Hole 23 — 31.7 metres (from 109.7 metres) grading 9.3 grams, including 10.7 metres (from 112.3 metres) of 20.5 grams, and 44.4 metres (from 167.6 metres) of 6.1 grams;

— Hole 24 — 67.5 metres (from 1.8 metres) averaging 4.2 grams;

— Hole 26 — 37.9 metres (from 187.6 metres) grading 5 grams, including 20 metres (from 198 metres) of 7.8 grams;

— Hole 31 — 70 metres (from surface) averaging 5.3 grams;

— Hole 36 — 62.4 metres (from 70.6 metres) running 4 grams gold per tonne.

So far, the company has completed about two-thirds of a 15,500-metre program of infill drilling in anticipation of a bankable feasibility study, expected later this year. The company is also preparing documents for permitting, and is carrying on with metallurgical and hydrological work.

Late last year, Roscoe Postle Associates pegged Salave’s measured resource at 354,000 tonnes averaging 2.7 grams gold per tonne, while the indicated resource was estimated to be 14.8 million tonnes grading 3 grams gold, and the inferred figure stands at 2.8 million tonnes grading 2.5 grams gold. All the estimates employ a cutoff grade of 1 gram gold per tonne (T.N.M., Nov. 19-25/04).