Placer Dome mum on high grade Cortez Hills results

Vancouver – Placer Dome (PDG-V) is neither confirming nor denying rumours about an intersection that graded 1.5 ounces gold per ton over more than 400 feet at the Cortez Hills project in Nevada. News reports over ten days ago regarding a recent Nevada Geological Society meeting had taken a while to circulate. At a discussion of the project’s exploration drill program it was revealed that Placer had drilled the high grade hole in the area between the Cortez Hills and the Pediment deposits.

The Cortez mine lies along the Battle Mountain trend in north-central Nevada, 100 km southwest of Elko. The project is a 60:40 joint venture between Placer Dome and Rio Tinto(RTP-N).

Placer acknowledged recent market rumours surrounding the Cortez Hills discovery but tried to tone down the enthusiasm in a press release today.The company said it has drilled 44 holes in its ongoing drill program which is to comprise between 100 and 200 holes on the deposit this year. When asked when the drill results could be expected, the project’s geologist was uncertain but thought it would be further along in the program.

Placer stated that the results are preliminary and more work is needed before it can ascertain the impact of these results on the current reserve/resource figures.

Sticking to its previous figures, the company reiterated that total proven and probable reserves are 5.25 million ounces contained in 37.4 million tonnes grading 4.36 grams per tonne. In addition there are 3.6 million tonnes grading 4.73 grams for 544,000 oz. gold in the measured and indicated resource category and another 7.4 million tonnes at 4.3 grams for 1 million oz. in the inferred category.

The company did not deny that the high-grade hole rumoured to average 1.5 oz gold per ton over 400 feet exists, but would not disclose any more information about its nature and location. When contacted to verify the rumours, Placer’s investor relations manager Greg Martin confirmed only that “a geologist from the mine did do a presentation and that it is available on our website but you won’t find that in the presentation. He said that he wasn’t at the meeting so didn’t know exactly what was said, but believed it was an extrapolation made based on some comments made at the meeting.

Market reaction was decidedly positive with Placer Dome’s share price gaining about 6% over the last few days to close at $16.38 on the TSX Exchange, as investors pondered the implication of these results on resource figures.

Meanwhile too, investor enthusiasm spilled over to companies with properties in the area. White Knight Resources (WKR-V) nearly doubled to $1.15 before being halted on the TSX Venture Exchange yesterday. Victoria Resources (VIT-V) were down somewhat on profit taking after reaching highes of $1.40 from $0.80 on Wednesday. Victoria had recently intersected four high-grade Carlin-type gold zones over at its Mill Canyon property about 1.1 km east of the Cortez Hills deposit.