Drilling continues at Mount Polley (April 12, 2004)

With assay results in hand from an additional 21 holes, Imperial Metals () is expected to release an updated reserve and resource statement for its wholly owned Mount Polley copper-gold project in central British Columbia.

Three drill rigs are on site, two of which are testing the high-grade Northeast zone, found last summer.

The best hole from the latest round of drilling at the Northeast zone was number 43, which intersected 49.2 metres grading 2.09% copper, 0.93 gram gold per tonne, and 12.05 parts per million silver, including 18.6 metres of 4.23% copper, 2.15 grams gold, and 23.53 ppm silver.

Imperial’s ongoing drilling is part of a broad effort to revive the Mount Polley mine, which produced more than 133 million lbs. copper and 370,000 oz. gold from 1997 through to 2001.

The Northeast zone has returned grades well above those of existing reserves, which stood at 31.9 million tonnes grading 0.36% copper and 0.34 gram gold when operations were suspended in 2001, owing to low metal prices.

Other results from recent drilling at the Northeast zone include the following:

— hole 32 — 12.5 metres grading 0.45% copper, 0.01 gram gold and 3 ppm silver, and 87.7 metres of 0.65% copper, 0.16 gram gold and 2.95 ppm silver, which includes 37.5 metres of 1.02% copper, 0.14 gram gold and 3.31 ppm silver;

— hole 38 — 41.8 metres of 2.16% copper, 0.66 gram gold and 12.51 ppm silver, and 7.3 metres of 0.46% copper, 0.17 gram gold and 4.97 ppm silver;

— hole 39 — 42.5 metres of 1.17% copper, 0.43 gram gold and 8.04 ppm silver;

— hole 50 — 82.5 metres of 1.3% copper, 0.2 gram gold and 9.15 ppm silver.

The best hole drilled at the Bell zone intersected 218.9 metres grading 0.5% copper and 0.43 gram gold, which includes 137.5 metres of 0.6% copper and 0.32 gram gold. The first of two holes drilled at Springer returned 345 metres of 0.4% copper and 0.24 gram gold, while the second returned 227.5 metres of 0.44% copper and 0.42 gram gold, plus a further, 221.4-metre interval of 0.37% copper and 0.29 gram gold.

The updated reserve and resource estimate being prepared will include data from all drilling at the Northeast, Bell and Springer zones.