Colombia Crest Gold Launches New Soil and Geophysical Surveys
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 03/21/12 -- Colombia Crest Gold Corp. ("Colombia Crest"; the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: CLB)(PINKSHEETS: ECRTF)(FRANKFURT: EAT) is pleased to announce that field crews have initiated a soil sampling program covering six square kilometres and an airborne and ground geophysical survey covering 80 square kilometres, at the Fredonia and Venecia projects, Colombia.
"Soil sampling has a proven track record in the Middle Cauca Belt for discovering near surface porphyry mineralization. Our Arabia target was exposed at surface making it easier to detect with soil sampling, while this advanced technology has yet to be used in Colombia and will allow detection of porphyry targets just below surface," commented Hans Rasmussen, President and CEO. "Certainly there are more targets on our 34,000 hectare land package waiting to be discovered."
On the back of the success of the soil sampling program at Arabia in late 2011, Colombia Crest sees the potential for outlining additional drill targets through a soil sampling program across additional concealed porphyry gold targets (please follow link to view President and CEO, Hans Rasmussen, explain the significance of the anomalous soil sample results at the Arabia porphyry targets: http://www.youtube.com/user/ColombiaCrest). The additional soil samples will be collected along a 100 metre by 100 metre grid (600 samples) over areas that are thought to be prospective based on airborne magnetics and regional geologic interpretation completed in 2011.
Along with the soil survey, the Company has initiated a program to collect airborne and ground geophysical data designed to map/detect alteration related to porphyry gold mineralization beneath post-mineral cover, soil or forest. Airborne electromagnetics, developed by Geotech Ltd of Ontario, Canada, employs a helicopter-towed technology called ZTEM, which is designed to map resistivity variations in the subsurface - for porphyry exploration, the technology maps alteration associated with porphyry-style mineralization. Useful products from a typical survey include resistivity sections and plan maps, all of which can be compared directly with any surface mapping, sampling or drill results. The technology has a proven track record on porphyry deposits in Chile, British Columbia and Alaska. For more information, visit Geotech's website at www.geotech.ca.
The ground geophysical technique will be an induced polarization ("IP")/resistivity survey, which maps the distribution of disseminated sulfides, and conductive clay and fault zones. Disseminated pyrite is abundant in the quartz-sericite-pyrite portion of the alteration zones in a porphyry gold deposit. Therefore, this geophysical technique is effective for detection and mapping the pyrite halo surrounding the central potassic core of a porphyry. Typically, the core has a lower IP chargeability response, but higher magnetic characteristics, where magnetite is more abundant than pyrite. There are several magnetic anomalies in the Arabia area that have potential to be buried, mineralized porphyry gold-copper systems. Once detected with geophysics, drilling is the next step toward discovery.
The Company also notes in respect to the 2012 Annual General Meeting scheduled for March 22, 2012, that during November, 2011, as previously reported, IAMGOLD acquired a 14.5% ownership position in the Company and was granted anti-dilution rights giving it the right to acquire and maintain up to a 19.9% interest in the Company. IAMGOLD Corporation therefore held more than 10% of the Company's outstanding shares as at the Record Date for the upcoming Meeting. That information was inadvertently omitted from the Information Circular for the Company's upcoming meeting.
About Colombia Crest Gold Corp.
Colombia Crest Gold Corp. is focused on systematically exploring, developing and monetizing promising new gold projects in Colombia as well as realizing the potential of its 100 percent-owned San Simon project in Bolivia. The Company employs a team of seasoned geologists, each with 20+ years of experience exploring and discovering this type of porphyry deposit around the world, including Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Alaska, Indonesia, and Eastern Europe.
Along with a strong working capital position, the Company will accelerate the exploration programs at the Fredonia and Venecia projects where it has optioned over 34,000 hectares (81,600+ acres) located in the Cauca River Valley. Situated approximately 40 km south of the city of Medellin, in Antioquia Department, the properties are positioned within the Middle Cauca Belt, which is the most prolific gold belt in Colombia with more than 500 years of gold mining history and several new gold discoveries.
(Hans Rasmussen's recent update: http://www.colombiacrestgold.com/_resources/videos/CLB_1080p)
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Contacts:
Colombia Crest Gold Corp.
Hans Rasmussen
President and CEO
604-684-7160
hans@colombiacrestgold.com
www.ColombiaCrestGold.com
Progressive Investor Relations
Benjamin Curry
604-689-2881
ben@progressive-ir.com