Puma prowls on Russian PGE trail (February 14, 2005)

Vancouver — Drilling by Consolidated Puma Minerals (CPW-V) has extended platinum-group-element mineralization by more than 1,400 metres at the East Pansky project in northwestern Russia.

The property is on the Kola Peninsula and borders the Federova Tundra project of Barrick Gold (ABX-T).

Puma, which is 55%-owned by Bema Gold (BGO-T), has drilled 13,387 metres to date. Highlights include: 5.5 metres grading 0.47 gram gold, 3.38 grams platinum and 7.33 grams palladium per tonne starting at 129 metres down-hole; 7.1 metres grading 0.24 gram gold, 1.3 grams platinum and 2.98 grams palladium at 133.3 metres down-hole; 2.1 metres of 0.39 gram gold, 5.97 grams platinum and 11.52 grams palladium at 8 metres down-hole. Assays are pending for 21 holes.

The drilling has outlined the high-grade mineralized horizon over 35 km along strike, though most of the horizon remains untested.

The drilling has been concentrated in the East Chuarvi zone, one of five main mineralized structures. East Chuarvi contains a high-grade core with a strike length of 600 metres and a depth extent of at least 250 metres. Puma continues to drill along the 1,400-metre zone, and the system remains open along strike and downdip.

The East Pansky property covers 52 km of the Lower Proterozoic Federova-Pansky ultramafic-to-mafic layered intrusion. The intrusion is 3-6 km wide at surface and resembles those found in western and northwestern Finland, where the Arctic Platinum project is being developed by Gold Fields (GFI-N).

Puma plans to drill 5,000-7,000 metres at East Pansky, and map and sample the nearby Kuksha licence.