TORONTO, May 16, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Condor Gold Corp. (Pink Sheets:CDRGF) is pleased to announce that additional metallurgical work conducted by Lakefield Research Limited on a 30 kg. sample taken from its Jackrabbit Project in Chester Township, Ontario, Canada, has verified the presence of valuable industrial minerals in addition to the gold, copper and silver.
The Jackrabbit Project, which encompasses a large (6x3) mile elliptical and composite porphyry-emplacement, hosts a high-grade Au-Ag-Cu setting and a low-grade Au-Ag-Cu disseminated setting. The high-grade setting, totalling approximately 470,000 ounces of gold resource (as categorized in the Company's press release of March 26, 2003), was delineated by drilling, ramping and drifting from surface to an arbitrary depth of 600 feet along approximately 10% of the porphyry marginal boundaries. The remaining 90% of the porphyry marginal boundaries are yet to be tested for high-grade intersections. The low-grade disseminated Au-Ag-Cu mineralization represents an open pittable, potential multi-million-ton resource grading 1 to 1-1/2 grams of gold per ton, to a drill depth of 1,000 feet. See reference to borehole E-03-027 described in the Company's press release of April 21, 2003. Within the disseminated zone, Condor has delineated an area of 90 million tons of the low-grade, open pittable greisen porphyry, which has potential economic credits of at least 5 million ounces of gold, excluding copper and silver credits. At least five other areas of similar size remain to be tested. Assaying was conducted by Activation Laboratories Ltd. accredited by SCC to ISO/IEC standards.
In addition to the Au-Ag-Cu metals, substantial economic credits are expected from the host rock, being a quartz eye greisen porphyry in the form of silica (quartz) concentrates and muscovite (mica) concentrates. Recovery studies conducted by Lakefield Research Limited of samples taken from the 90-million-ton area have confirmed the (quartz) eye greisen porphyry is bi-minerallic and can be readily separated into 55% granular quartz (silica) concentrate, and 45% muscovite (mica) concentrate.
The silica concentrate assays up to 95.8% SiO2 and can be sold for between CDN $20 to CDN $100 per ton, subject to quality and market conditions. Annual local consumption is approximately 1 million tons by smelters located in Sudbury, Noranda and Timmins. The North American market is substantially larger and also includes uses such as glass and fibreglass production, pool filters, golf course bunkers, chemical production, ground fillers and rubber, paint and putty production.
The mica (muscovite) concentrate reached 100% in Lakefield's third cleaner concentrate. The IMIL prices and data for January 2001 for wet ground mica range from CDN $840/ton to CDN $1,400/ton and for dry ground mica range from CDN $300/ton to CDN $560/ton. North American demand for wet ground mica comes from uses such as cosmetics for glitter, automobile paint, plastic filler, paint extender, drilling mud additive, anti-stick additive in moulds, coating for shingles and roofing, joint filler in wallboard and various other construction applications.
Alternatively, portions of the mica concentrates can de diverted to yielding a rubidium concentrate. Condor's assays have confirmed rare earth concentrations of rubidium ranging from 55 grams/ton to 250 grams/ton. Rubidium's uses are rapidly developing with research and development and include various medical research applications, thin film batteries, vacuum tubes, ion engine for space vehicles, photocells, electron tubes, stabilizer in atomic clocks and thermoelectric generation. Producer prices quoted range from U.S. $10 to U.S. $25 per gram depending on purity and quantity.
In additional to its stated objectives to further advance exploration work on its Jackrabbit Au-Ag-Cu Project, Condor plans to conduct further market studies on these end-product concentrates to better assess their economic contribution to the overall profitability of the Project.
CONDOR GOLD CORP.
The Corporation is a public company incorporated under the laws of Ontario and is traded on the U.S. Pink Sheets under the quotation symbol: CDRGF. The Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns or controls interests in gold properties in the townships of Chester, Benneweis and Yeo, with a total strike length of eighteen miles. The properties are located adjacent to a paved main Highway No. 144 just south of the town of Gogama, Ontario, or about 147 kilometers north of Sudbury. Frank P. Puskas, B.Sc., M.Sc., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 has reviewed and verified the data, including the analytical and test data referred to in this press release. Further information can be obtained from the Corporation's website.
For further information, contact:
Alexander Stewart: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Condor Gold Corp.
Telephone: (416) 368-6161
Facsimile: (416) 368-7805
Address: 390 Bay Street, Suite 2020
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2Y2
Website: www.condorgold.com
The Corporation currently has 72,337,200 common shares outstanding.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities of the Corporation in any jurisdiction. The purchase warrants and the underlying common shares described above were not registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent an applicable exemption from the registration requirement.