International Minerals increases gold resource at Goldfield Project, Nevada.

A year after acquiring the Goldfield project in Nevada through its acquisition of Metallic Ventures Gold, International Minerals (IMZ-T) has completed its first resource estimate on the project’s main deposit.

The main zone is one of only three principal mineralized areas that have been evaluated on the property over the last two decades and was the site of historical underground mining in the early 1900s that reportedly produced about 4 million oz. gold.

At a 0.4 gram gold per tonne cut-off grade, the main Goldfield deposit contains indicated resources of 8.5 million tonnes grading 1.5 grams gold for 421,000 contained oz. gold, up 74% from the previous estimate published in September 2002. Inferred resources add 6.6 million tonnes of 1.7 grams gold for 360,000 ounces of contained gold, a 348% increase over the previous estimate.

The main zone, which is open down dip to the east, has been intersected by more than 800 drill holes, and contains more than 12,000 assays from about 18,000 metres of drilling.

Highlights from the company’s ongoing drill program at the main deposit include 4.3 metres at 3.4 grams gold per tonne in hole 2010-008; 6.1 metres at 2.2 grams gold in hole 2010-009; 32 metres of 1.3 grams gold in hole 2010-089; 6.1 metres of 8.4 grams gold in hole 2010-108; 18.3 metres at 4.2 grams in hole 2010-111; and 39.6 metres at 2.4 grams gold in hole 2010-112.

Last year International Minerals produced 10.1 million ounces of silver and 36,000 ounces of gold at its 40%-owned Pallancata mine in Peru. In addition to Pallancata, International Minerals also owns a 40% stake in the Inmaculada gold-silver project in Peru. In addition to Goldfield in Nevada it also has 100% of the development stage Converse project in the state. And in Ecuador it has two projects: Rio Blanco and Gaby. Finally, it holds a 3% net smelter return royalty from Barrick Gold’s (ABX-T, ABX-N) Ruby Hill gold mine, which produced abot 80,000 ounces of gold last year.

At presstime in Toronto, where it has been listed since 1994, International Minerals was trading at $7.24 per share. Over the last year the stock has traded in a range of $3.50-$7.81 and has 119.5 million shares outstanding.