Bema ups stake in Victoria (August 11, 2004)

Vancouver — Through a private placement, Bema Gold (BGO-T), is investing $4 million in Victoria Resource (VIT-V), thereby raising its stake in the company to 33% from 30%.

Proceeds will allow Victoria to keep drilling on its Mill Canyon gold-silver property in the Cortez Mountains of Nevada. Victoria is earning an interest in the property from Newmont Mining (NEM-N), which retains a back-in right.

Mill Canyon is 1.6 km east of the Cortez Hills gold discovery, in the Battle Mountain trend. The drilling follows the discovery of a 355-metre mineralized alteration zone containing high gold grades.

Hole 36 intersected 6.1 metres grading 4.04 grams gold per tonne at a down-hole depth of 489.8 metres, as well as 25.9 metres grading 10.4 grams gold starting at 503.5 metres down-hole (including 15.2 metres of 13.7 grams gold).

Hole RJR-1 was drilled to follow-up on the wide intersection in hole 36. The hole contained several anomalous low-grade gold zones over 249 metres of a calcite halo zone above the mineralized zone found in hole 36. The company wants to drill more holes using the information from down-hole measurements in the two holes drilled on the zone so far.

Drilling of the Open Cut target earlier this year identified four high-grade “Carlin-type” gold zones over an area measuring 185 by 125 metres within what is thought to be a large structural corridor. High-grade gold mineralization was intersected, in eight of the 10 holes, up to 9.1 metres grading 40 grams gold per tonne.