Pacific Ridge options Sno property

Vancouver — Pacific Ridge Exploration (PEX-V) has optioned a 60% interest in Atna Resources’ (ATN-T) Sno property, situated in Elko County, Nevada.

The Sno prospect is a low-sulphidation, vein-hosted epithermal gold prospect located in the Midas mining district within the prospective Northern Nevada Rift. Pacific Ridge reports that Sno’s geologic setting is similar to Newmont Mining’s (NEM-N) Ken Snyder mine which lies just 10 km west of the property.

According to the deal, Pacific Ridge may earn a 60% interest in the property by spending US$2 million on exploration, issuing 1 million common shares and by making advance royalty payments in the amount of US$180,000. Upon completion of the earn-in, Atna and Pacific Ridge would form a joint venture to pursue further development of the property.

Last year, Atna performed detailed geological work over the Sno property and collected a total of 92 rock samples. Assay values ranged from less than 5 ppb gold to 9.7 grams gold per tonne, with a mean grade of 308 ppb gold. The highest-grade samples came from quartz stringers that seem to be associated with north to north-northwest trending structures that contain steeply dipping, chalcedonic quartz and quartz-calcite veins. These veins are strongly altered and brecciated and hosted in Miocene-aged volcanic rocks.

Prior sampling of vein mineralization from pits and dumps assayed up to 16.0 grams gold per tonne. Pacific Ridge that this indicates the potential for higher gold gradesat depth. The junior will act as operator of the project and intends to commence a drill program in the first quarter of 2004.

The initial drill campaign will target the boiling or ‘bonanza’ level in the north-northwest trending fault zones at a depth of 250 to 400 metres below the surface. This is similar to the depth of high grade gold mineralization at the Ken Snyder mine.