VANCOUVER, British Columbia,
June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
Lori McClenahan, President, St.
Elias Mines Ltd. (SLI - TSX:V) announced today that the diamond
drilling contract has been successfully negotiated and signed for
drilling at the Tesoro Gold Project in Peru.
St. Elias has retained the Peruvian subsidiary of Energold
Drilling Corp. (TSX-EGD) to conduct the initial phase of the
Company's 10,000-metre drilling program at Tesoro. Energold
has a strong international presence with over 100 drill rigs
providing surface, underground and conventional drilling services.
Energold operates in 20 countries worldwide in South America, Africa and Asia.
Initial drill targets have been prioritized and laid out.
The targets are subject to final adjustment as additional
geological information is received and compiled from the ongoing
mechanical trenching program currently underway on the Tesoro Gold
Project.
Logistical support for the drilling program has commenced,
including but not limited to: prepositioning of fuel and
consumables to support drilling and related equipment, bulk water
transporting, exploration staff and camp personnel. It is
anticipated that an additional 20 Peruvian nationals will be hired
to support the drilling program. Drilling activities are
scheduled to run in two shifts, 24 hours per day, seven days a week
until the program is complete.
As at May 31, 2011, 15 trenches
totalling 1,200 linear metres have been completed with 215 samples
collected over 5m sample intervals from the trenches at the Tesoro
Project. The trenches were completed by a backhoe and a
track-mounted excavator at Zona Central (Main Structural Corridor)
and Zona Este (Parallel Structural
Corridor).
Quantec Geoscience Ltd., through detailed analysis of its Titan
24 data, has recommended a total of 52 drill holes to test the
first and second priority targets interpreted in the Property. Of
these, 26 drill holes are recommended to test the first priority
anomalous zones, and 26 drill holes are proposed to test the second
priority target zones.
Additional interpretation of the Quantec geophysical data by
in-house exploration personnel and McElhanney Engineering Group
continues and results from these studies are being utilized to
maximize exploration data and guide the drilling program.
A Brief History of the Tesoro Gold Project
The Tesoro Gold Project is 100% owned by the Company with no
underlying royalties. The Property covers approximately 6,974
hectares (17,436 acres) and is part of the prolific 300km X 30km
Nazca-Ocona gold belt parallel to the Pacific coast of southwestern
Peru. The Nazca-Ocona gold
belt has a long mining history dating back to pre-Incan time.
Gold is associated with disseminated sulphides that seeped
into quartz veins and fractures within the intrusive body.
The continuity of the quartz veins and fractures is very
impressive in the Nazca-Ocona belt. While the veins tend to
be narrow, the grade is significant and the mineralized structures
tend to extend along strike for several kilometers and to depths of
up to 1,000 meters.
To date, the Company has identified five mineralized zones with
more than 50 quartz veins (having a total combined length of 9km)
at the Tesoro Project and has carried out underground exploration
and development work on three of these veins (C1, C2 and A4 Veins.)
The veins are interpreted as mesothermal, indicating that the
vein structures may extend to considerable depths.
The Tesoro Property has never been evaluated to depth, or to its
full strike potential. This leaves a large potential for the
discovery of additional mineralization.
Qualified Person
All on-site technical work is being supervised by, John Brophy, P.Geo. and the contents of this
news release have been verified by, Paul D.
Gray, P.Geo., who is a "qualified person" as defined in
National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects.
For additional information on St. Elias and its projects, please
visit us at www.steliasmines.com or call 1-888-895-5522
(toll free US and Canada) or
contact:
European
Consultant
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U.S. Investor Relations
Consultant
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Michael Kott
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Herbert Haft
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CM-Equity AG & Co. KG
Financial Service
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The Haft Group, Inc.
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Tel: 011 4989 1890 474
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Tel: (212)
759-8865
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Email:
kott@cm-equity.de
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Email: herbhaft@haftgroupinc.com
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herbhaft@aol.com
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ST. ELIAS MINES LTD.
(signed "Lori
McClenahan")
Lori McClenahan,
President
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not
accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the
contents of this document.
This News Release may contain forward-looking statements
including, but not limited to, comments regarding the timing and
content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations,
potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking
statements address future events and conditions and therefore
involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ
materially from those currently anticipated in such
statement.
SOURCE St. Elias Mines Ltd.