Lantern lights up for Quincy (March 17, 2006)

Reverse-circulation drilling by Quincy Energy (QUI-V, QCYE-O) has returned some impressive silver grades from the 1,423-acre (576 hectare) Lantern prospect in Pershing Cty., Nevada.

The best results came from drilling on the mineralized Auld Lang Syne bedrock at the south end of SP Ridge where drilling by previous operators turned up 45 ft. grading 0.017 oz. gold per ton.

Hole L-5 returned several mineralized intervals, including 25 ft. (from 85 ft. below surface) of 4.91 oz. silver, and 20 ft. (from 185 ft.) of 37.63 oz. silver, including a 5-ft. section running 137.24 oz. Another 35 ft. beginning at 220 ft. down-hole runs 4.96 oz.

Hole L-4 cut two significant zones of mineralization, with a 20-ft. section (from 180 ft.) averaging 4.1 oz., and another 12 ft. (from 580 ft.) running the same grade.

The holes tested a zone of sub-parallel, epithermal veins and veinlets that outcrop to the north on the summit and east slope of SP Ridge. So far, the steeply dipping zone has been traced by drilling over an area measuring 2,500 by 985 ft. It remains open in all directions.

Both holes also returned near-surface zones of anomalous gold. Follow-up exploration is planned.

Meanwhile, a trio of holes designed to test a resistivity anomaly in area containing several large gold-bearing banded quartz vein boulders failed to yield any gold.

The Lantern prospect is situated some 10 miles south of the formerly producing Hycroft gold-silver mine and around 2 miles south of the closed Rosebud gold mine. The property is home to a historic (pre-National Instrument 43-101) resource totalling 296,000 oz. gold at an average grade of 0.012 oz. gold equivalent, based on at least 90 reverse-circulation holes. A small silver resource was also calculated in the SP Ridge area.

The Lantern area comprises a fault-bounded basin filled with Tertiary-aged lake sediments, with local Tertiary volcanic rocks. Quincy compares the north-trending faults between the lake sediments and volcanic rocks to the geologic setting at Hycroft and Rosebud.

Meanwhile, a recently agreed merger deal will see Quincy become a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Metals (EMC-V, EMCKF-O). Energy Metals targets advanced uranium properties in Wyoming, Texas, and New Mexico that are amenable to in situ leaching (ISL) technology. Quincy brings with it uranium projects in Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oregon and Ontario. It also owns a portfolio of gold properties in the United States.

Quincy shareholders will receive 0.2 of an Energy Metals share for each Quincy share. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and the consent of shareholders holding at least 30% of Quincy’s outstanding shares.

Paul Matysek, president of Energy Metals, says the proposed business combination with Quincy is the next step in the company’s strategy to eventually become “one of the largest U.S. domestic uranium producers and resource base-holders in the public sector.”

Energy Metals also recently swallowed up Standard Uranium, which owns a 99% interest in a joint venture that owns a uranium processing facility in South Texas, along with Texas mining leases and an exploration database.