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| | Mon Jan 5, 2004
Firestone Announces Acquisition of Significant Gold Property
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| | VANCOUVER, Jan 5/CNW - Firestone Ventures Inc. (FV:TSX-VEN) is pleased to announce the acquisition of an option to earn an 80% interest in the Sonora Gulch property, consisting of 96 claim units 110 km west of Carmacks, Yukon Territory, Canada. In the past, placer gold mines operated periodically on streams draining the Sonora property and angular gold nuggets, tetradymite (a bismuth telluride mineral), galena and scheelite were recovered in placer concentrates.
The Sonora property is underlain by metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks intruded by quartz porphyries and ultramafic sills. The Big Creek Fault which transects the property is the locus of a regional belt of porphyry mineralization, gold veins and breccias (which include the Casino, Cash, Revenue and Freegold Mountain properties). The Sonora property was previously explored in the 1970's and 1980's for porphyry copper-molybdenum mineralization and for gold veins. A total of 26 drill holes were completed, averaging 100m in depth and collared at high elevations on the property. The last significant exploration on the Sonora property took place in 1985.
Two styles of gold mineralization have been identified to date. The Tetradymite Vein System is a 1 km-long narrow zone of gold-bismuth-tellurium bearing quartz-sulphide-carbonate vein and breccia. Within the Tetradymite Vein System, values up to 62 g/t Au over 0.4 m and 3.5 g/t Au over 6.1 m from trenching and 18.9 g/t Au over 0.9 m and 5 g/t Au over 3.0 m from drilling were reported. A strong gold-silver-arsenic-tellurium-bismuth-antimony geochemical anomaly was identified along trend, southeast of the Tetradymite vein system. A second type of gold mineralization was found in a nearby quartz porphyry and consists of quartz-arsenopyrite-sphalerite-stibnite veins reported to carry up to 12.2 g/t Au.
Firestone's management believes that there are strong similarities between the Sonora property and the Teck/Sumitomo Pogo gold deposit under development within the Tintina Gold Belt of Alaska and the Yukon. The Pogo deposit, discovered in the 1990's in Alaska, is a gold-arsenic-bismuth-tellurium quartz vein system with a geological reserve of 9.0 million tonnes grading 18.9 g/t for a total of 5.5 million ounces of contained gold. The Sonora property and the Pogo deposit exhibit similar geochemical signatures and mineralogy.
The Sonora property is characterized by easy access. There is an all-weather road to within 25 km of the property and an established network of winter roads for haulage of equipment and supplies. A gravel airstrip suitable for small fixed-wing aircraft is established on the property ridge top.
Firestone can earn an 80% interest in the Sonora property by paying $150,000 in cash and issuing 350,000 common shares over 4 years. A 2% Net Smelter Returns Royalty is reserved for the Vendors, half of which may be purchased by Firestone at any time for $1,000,000. The option agreement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance for filing.
Exploration of the property will commence in the coming months. The primary work will be focused upon the compilation and reinterpretation of pre-existing data sets with a view to the identification of new drill targets.
On behalf of the Board
"Dr. Ken Powell"
Chairman and President
For further information please contact Jim Porter, Chief Financial Officer and Director at (604) 681-6638 or jporter@firestoneventures.com. Also see http://www.firestoneventures.com
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS IN NO WAY PASSED UPON THE MERITS OF THE CONTENTS AND HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED OF THE CONTENT OF THIS RELEASE. THE COMPANY RELIES ON LITIGATION PROTECTION FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. |
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