Northern Star Mining Corp.: New Gold Discovery in Abitibi Gold Belt
09:55 EDT Tuesday, July 18, 2006
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - July 18, 2006) - Northern Star Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE:NSM) is pleased to announce that Britannica Resources Corp. has made a gold discovery on the Revillart property located 10 km northwest of the town of Malartic, Quebec, on a property subject to an option/joint venture agreement (see press release March 21, 2006).
Following initial reconnaissance work, magnetic and induced polarization surveys were carried out over a portion of the property, resulting in the discovery of a magnetic anomaly coincident with a number of I.P. anomalies. The anomalous zone is over 900 meters in length and 300 meters in width and appears open in both strike directions.
Britannica reports that it undertook an initial stripping and trenching program over a small portion of the anomalous zone.
Exploration work revealed an intensely altered and sheared zone consisting of chloritic, ankeritic and silicate alteration and enrichment, exhibiting both stockwork and boudinage structures, over a minimum width of 30 meters. The stripping was carried out only where bedrock was easily accessible, therefore the zone remains open in all directions.
The zone appears to be coincident with the Blake River/Kewagama formations contact, an important mineralization horizon in this portion of the Abitibi gold Belt.
Mineralization within the shear zone consists of pyrite, chalcopyrite and fine free gold.
An initial series of rock samples spaced approximately 6 meters apart
across the width of the shear zone returned the following gold values:
Sample # Gold glt
-------- --------
Rev 06-01 17.60
Rev 06-02 11.63
Rev 06-03 3.33
Rev 06-04 4.065
(1) All assays were done using a standard 50 gram AA finish at
Bourlamaque Assay laboratories in Val-d'Or.
Mr. Robert Gagnon, p.geol is the qualified person under the
Canadian Standard 43-101.
The project is located on an important contact horizon (Kewagama/Blake River) which, some 10 km to the west contains the following producing gold and base metal mines: Laronde (Agnico Eagle), Bousquet, Doyon and a number of past producing mines including O'Brien, Kewagama, and Cadillac. To the east the past producing Camflo Gold Mines is also located on this horizon.
A Quebec government report states "...the Eastern Blake River group emphasizes the strong gold potential in these rocks. This also shows that certain areas located very near established mining camps, such as the Doyon-Bousquet-Laronde camp, still remain unexplored" (ref. M.R.N. report 2004 32 D/7).
The Revillart project is a joint venture consisting of 21 claims comprising 880 hectares (see news release March 21, 2006).
The property is located in the Blake River volcanics straddling the contact horizon of the Blake River Group.
The property is easily accessible, as the TransCanada highway crosses the southern portion. Numerous roads allow year round access to all parts of the property.
Northern Star is very excited by this new gold discovery on one of its properties, as the exploration work and expenditures carried out by Britannica allows Northern Star to concentrate on the development of its Midway Gold project located straddling the Cadillac Break, whilst at the same time allowing exploration discoveries to be made on its other gold projects of the Abitibi Gold Belt.
On the Midway project, exploration and development work consisting of deep drilling (depths greater than 3000 feet); dewatering, access, and development of the Malartic Goldfields no.1 shaft (3000 feet in depth) and new levels; surface exploration and development, and the start up of a bulk sampling program continues.
An update on the Midway project will be released shortly.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Michel David, President
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Northern Star Mining Corp.
Michel David
President
(819) 825-8088
(819) 825-1199 (FAX)
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
