Jilbey Gold proves up Bissa Hill (February 28, 2005)

Drilling and trenching by Jilbey Gold Exploration (JLB-V) have doubled the strike length of the Bissa Hill deposit in Burkina Faso.

The work focused on an induced-polarization anomaly that is believed to represent a southwestern extension of the 950-metre-long deposit.

Widely spaced trenching 180 metres southwest of the deposit resulted in 14.6 metres grading 1 gram gold per tonne, including an 8-metre interval of 1.4 grams gold. About 480 metres to the southwest, the highlight was 15 metres grading 1.9 grams gold, including a 4-metre section of 4.5 grams gold.

Rotary-air-blast (RAB) drilling 820 metres to the southwest yielded 26 metres averaging 2.5 grams gold, including 14 metres grading 3.2 grams. Roughly 320 metres to the southwest, RAB drilling encountered 26 metres grading 1.8 grams gold, including 16 metres of 2.4 grams gold.

In all, Jilbey has extended the Bissa Hill deposit by more than 1 km to a total strike length of about 2 km. The deposit remains open to the northeast and southwest, and at depth. Jilbey plans to follow up the latest results with reverse-circulation drilling, followed by infill diamond drilling with the ultimate goal of establishing a resource estimate.

The Bissa extension would seem to be 400-500 metres south of the Bissa Southwest zone, where drilling recently turned up 61 metres grading 2.1 grams gold, 9 metres of 5.1 grams gold, and 52 metres of 1.7 grams gold.

Bissa Hill has a total measured and indicated resource of 1.4 million tonnes grading 3.33 grams gold, or 147,250 oz., based on a cutoff of 0.5 gram gold. An additional 106,000 tonnes grading 2.89 grams are inferred (T.N.M., Feb. 7-13/05). The resource has been outlined to a depth of 75 metres.

Results are awaited from RAB drilling on several geochemical anomalies along a 4-km stretch between the Bissa Southwest and the Gonglou areas, to the southwest.

Under a deal inked in March 2004, Jilbey can earn an initial 60% interest in the Bissa Hill and Zandkom permits by spending US$1.5 million over three years, of which US$400,000 must be spent in the first year of the agreement. Thereafter, the company can boost its stake by 10% by completing a feasibility study on any deposits found. The junior can buy up to an additional 20% stake in each permit by paying US$15-20 per oz., based on the number of minable ounces defined in the feasibility study.