Billiton drilling extends zone at Blende zinc-lead property

Drilling on the Blende property in central Yukon has extended the new zone of mineralization encountered in the first hole of this season’s drilling program.

The previously released discovery hole intersected 286 ft. grading 4.2% combined lead-zinc.

Billiton Metals Canada is earning a 50% interest in the property from owner NDU Resources (VSE) by spending a total of $4.3 million by year-end. Billiton spent about $1.5 million on the Blende property last year and outlined a preliminary reserve in the West zone of about 12.6 million tons grading 5.2% combined lead-zinc with a strip ratio of about

2-to-1.

The new zone, dubbed the East zone, is about 6,600 ft. to the east of the West zone on the same structure. The structure has been traced on surface for over 13,000 ft.

Nine holes intersected the East zone over a strike length of about 600 ft. and a dip extent of about 500 ft.

The two best holes included Hole 91-25 which intersected 108.3 ft. (from 137.1 ft. to 245.4 ft.) grading 2.03% lead, 2.33% zinc, and 0.54 oz. silver per ton.

Hole 91-34 intersected 128.0 ft. (from 170.6 ft. to 298.6 ft.) grading 0.02% lead, 4.02% zinc, and 0.19 oz. silver.

The remaining seven holes typically intersected between 30 and 60 ft. grading 3% combined lead-zinc.

Billiton also did some drilling on the West zone to test its western extent. The drilling added about 300 ft. of strike and also indicated that the zone does not pinch out to the west as previously thought.

The West zone dips to the south at 45-60 degrees and has now been traced over a strike extent of about 2,000 ft. and to a depth of about 500 ft. Both the East and West zones remain open to depth and along strike, and drilling is continuing to test their extent.

Drill sites are also being prepared in the Central zone located between the East and West zones. Geophysical and geochemical surveys have identified targets in the Central zone similar to those in the East and West zones. The market appears unimpressed by the drilling results. After peaking at over $2.75 during the start of the drilling program, NDU now sits back at the $1.25 level where it began before the drilling started.

NDU has about 5.8 million shares outstanding, including a 1-million share placement of special warrants sold to Noramco Mining (TSE) and a number of its associates last August at $1.25 each. The warrants convert at no cost into shares of NDU.