Firestone cuts high-grade zinc in Guatemala (April 17, 2006)

Vancouver — Management of Firestone Ventures (FV-V, FSVEF-O) is pleased with initial drill results from the company’s Torlon Hill zinc project, in western Guatemala, following intersections of high-grade mineralization.

The first six holes of a planned 20-hole program delivered wide, exceptionally zinc-rich intercepts, including:

* Hole TH06-1 — intersecting 28.8 metres (from surface) grading 11.2% zinc and 1.9% lead, including 17.4% zinc over the top 15.7 metres;

* Hole TH06-2 — coring 33 metres (from surface) running 22% zinc and 1.4% lead, including an initial 17.1-metre section of 31.9% zinc and 1.8% lead; and

* Hole TH06-3 –returning an initial 16.1 metres of 8.9% zinc and 2.7% lead, followed by 5.9 metres of 4.7% zinc, and a deeper 11.4-metre section of 6.9% zinc and 2.5% lead.

“These first six holes were drilled at close spacing in an area of high-grade zinc mineralization locally exceeding forty per cent zinc exposed on surface,” says Firestone president Lori Walton. “It was our intention to test the continuity of mineralization exposed at the surface, and these holes have done so spectacularly.”

Zinc mineralization at Torlon Hill occurs primarily as smithsonite, a zinc carbonate (ZnCO3), over an area of about 100 by 700 metres (the Santa Rosa Corridor). The zone occurs as a mineralized Permian dolostone breccia faulted onto a large serpentinite complex. Supergene weathering has oxidized the carbonate zone to depths of at least 50 metres.

Processing of zinc oxide ores requires a different treatment than more commonly mined sulphide ores. The oxide mineralization requires a solvent-extraction reagent process to liberate the zinc, similar to that now used at many of the world’s oxide copper operations. Typically, the oxide zinc-bearing ore is leached by an acid solution, then mixed with an organic extraction solution to pull the metal out from the acid leach. Final extraction occurs by means of an electrolytic solution resulting in the production of cathode zinc.

The company’s drill program is testing a 200 by 100-metre central zone of the Santa Rosa Corridor. It is also looking at expansion potential in the vicinity and plans a resource estimate.

Small-scale historic mining at Torlon first exploited the lead mineralization in the 1500s, but the zinc deposits were never evaluated until recently. Firestone’s drilling is the first the property has seen.

The company holds an option to purchase a 100% interest in the project, including surface rights, from a local co-operative for payments totalling US$385,000 over four years. The project is situated about 12 km northwest of the western Guatemalan city of Huehuetenango, located on the Pan-American Highway.

Shares of Firestone Ventures soared following the initial drill results, closing up 61% to 67 apiece on volume of 5.7 million. With 34.4 million shares outstanding, the company posts a $23-million market capitalization.