Arizona Star drills California gold bet

The property covers an area of about 75 square miles, situated 40 miles northwest of Yuma, Ariz., in Imperial Cty., Calif.

Arizona Star, a 40%-owned subsidiary of Bema Gold Corp. (TSE), recently acquired Bema’s 35% interest in the Imperial Cty. joint venture for $280,000 and 1.8 million shares of Arizona Star. Bema will also receive another $250,000 from Arizona Star at the end of one year. The above is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Bema President Clive Johnson says the upcoming 15,000-ft drilling program is designed to test further the Ocotillo gold zone and explore various geochemical anomalies on the property.

To date, gold mineralization has been defined by drilling in two areas — the Indian Rose deposit and the Ocotillo gold zone. At the Indian Rose deposit, a mineable reserve of 5.1 million tons grading 0.023 oz gold per ton has been defined with a strip ratio of 2.6:1 waste to ore.

At the Ocotillo zone, situated one mile east of the Indian Rose deposit, 17 holes have been drilled indicating mineralization of similar style and with potentially higher grade, says Johnson.

A gas vapor geochemical survey on the property has outlined five anomalies to the northwest of the Indian Rose deposit, directly on trend with the Mesquite mine. The company’s geologists suggest the anomalies might indicate potential for a Mesquite-type deposit.

Bema has also agreed to a private placement in the shares of Arizona Star. Bema will purchase 1.5 million units at 25 cents per unit comprising one share of Arizona Star and one warrant to purchase an additional share at 40 cents over the next year.

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