Castle Gold finds more mineralization around La Fortuna mine

A second set of assay results from surface mapping and sampling at Castle Gold‘s (CSG-V) 100%-owned La Fortuna concession in Mexico’s northwestern Durango state has returned up to 39 grams gold per tonne and up to 1,500 grams silver from outcrop samples.

The mapping program at the La Fortuna gold-silver-copper project was designed to better understand the geology and structures outside of the established mineralization at the La Fortuna mine.

The mine has a National Instrument 43-101 compliant measured and indicated resource of 4.8 million tonnes grading 1.98 grams gold per tonne for contained gold of 308,000 ounces.

The program, which began earlier this year, initially concentrated on mapping and sampling road cuts and mineralized outcroppings that appear to be related to the gold mineral resource at the La Fortuna mine. Similar mapping, road-cut and outcrop sampling have explored areas of apparent alteration outside of extensions to the historic La Fortuna mine.

Samples from two new areas, 1 to 2 km northeast of the mine at the Ramada prospect and the PN prospect, produced results from outcrop and grab samples including sample RR 45 at the Ramada prospect, which assayed 39.30 grams per tonne gold and 154 grams silver per tonne. Sample PN 72 from the PN prospect returned 5.37 grams gold per tonne and 1,510 grams silver.

Castle Gold plans to drill test the most attractive targets in the first half of 2010.

So far the best result of the mapping and sampling program, released in September, was sample FF-89, taken south of the La Fortuna mine, which assayed 41.1 grams gold.

At the Ramada prospect, 78 samples were collected and assayed. Of these, 11 graded in excess of 0.15 gram gold (the same resource cut-off grade as Castle Gold’s El Castillo mine), with five of the samples exceeding 2 grams gold. The samples also yielded elevated values of lead, zinc and copper.

At the PN prospect, 34 of the 93 samples have graded in excess of 0.15 gram gold, with nine exceeding 1 gram gold and three exceeding 5 grams gold. Sample PN 32 returned 11.10 grams gold and 230 grams silver and included 0.61% copper.

The reconnaissance program has also identified Cerro Pelon, another area of interest that appears to have the potential for a copper-gold porphyry style deposit.

Castle Gold owns a 100% interest in the El Castillo gold mine in Mexico and a 50% interest in the El Sastre gold mine in Guatemala.

At presstime, Castle Gold was trading at $1.20 per share. Over the last year the company has traded at a low of 15¢ per share.

Castle Gold has 75.5 million shares outstanding.