Virginia active in James Bay area (November 18, 2002)

Equal partners Virginia Gold Mines (VIA-T) and TGW Corp. (GWC-V) report that initial results from a 19-hole drilling campaign on the Poste Lemoyne gold project in northwestern Quebec have extended the Orfee zone to a depth of more than 200 metres.

So far, the zone has been tested over 300 metres and returned between 0.42 and 14.13 (uncut) grams gold per tonne over widths ranging from 1 to 13 metres. The holes indicate good continuity of the zone to the west and at depth. The best results came from hole 31, which cut 13 metres (beginning at 215.6 metres below surface) running 14.13 grams or 9.56 (cut) grams gold. The hole also returned visible gold grains.

Also encouraging was hole 33, which intersected 1.7 metres (from 143 metres) grading 21.11 grams gold.

One of the holes came up dry.

Previous drilling on the zone returned 0.69 gram over 0.75 metre, as well as 34.79 grams (uncut) over 9 metres — comparable to results from channel sampling.

The Orfee zone is less continuous to the east, where it is cut by several pegmatites. The zone has been traced for 175 metres along a northwesterly strike. It dips steeply to the north for at least 50 metres. Mineralization is characterized by disseminated-to-semi-massive sulphides in a mixed package of siliceous sediments and iron formation.

The partners plan to boost their drilling budget to follow up on the results. They intend to test some geophysical and geochemical anomalies along a 5-km portion of the same structure that hosts the Orfee zone.

Meanwhile, Virginia and partner Cambior (CBJ-T) have completed 2,520 metres of drilling in 10 holes on the La Grande Sud property, also in the James Bay area of Quebec.

Three holes were collared over extensions of Zones 32 and 30.

Hole 198 was collared 200 metres east of Zone 32 to test for depth extension. The hole cut 7.4 metres (from 566 metres) of 4.4 grams gold. Gold mineralization is associated with minor veins of quartz-chalcopyrite and pyrite-chalcopyrite veinlets. The zone remains open to the east and at depth.

Zone 32 is home to inferred resources totalling 4.2 million tonnes averaging 2.1 grams gold and 0.2% copper, at a cutoff grade of 1 gram gold.

Hole 197 tested the northern extension of Zone 30 about 1 km to the northeast and encountered 4.6 metres grading 8.7 grams gold, including 0.8 metre (corresponding to a 24-cm-thick vein containing visible gold) of 63.2 grams.

Fifty-five metres to the south, hole 203 returned 3.2 metres (from 125.3 metres) of 3.2 grams gold.

All the tested anomalies failed to return significant results.

For the fourth quarter, Virginia and Cambior plan to complete 1,500-2,000 metres of drilling. The holes are designed to test Zone 32 to the east. The $450,000 program will also test the northeastern portion of Zone 30.

Under a 1999 agreement, Cambior can acquire a half-stake in La Grande Sud by spending $5.5 million on exploration over eight years.