GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., April 20, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Calais Resources Inc. (OTCBB:CAAUF), herein the "Company", is pleased to announce that on Friday, April 16, 2004, it commenced drilling operations at its Consolidated Caribou Gold and Silver project.
Calais is working under contract with Idea Drilling Co. from Virginia City, Minnesota. The drill being used on the project is a Christensen/Atlas Copco CS 1000 hydraulic drill. The drill program is running 2 shifts per day, seven days per week. This first phase of drilling will target the major NoName vein approximately 1,700 feet northeast on strike from the Caribou Mine. Calais will be targeting the NoName vein with multiple drill holes at each drill site. Our first hole in this program, Hole CR04-128 is designed to hit the NoName vein 100 feet southwest of the intercept made in hole CR97-104 (drilled in 1997). Hole CR97-104 hit the NoName vein down hole at 1,341.5 feet below the surface at an elevation of 8,740 feet. The intercept in hole CR97-104 was actually 43 feet wide with a true width of 30 feet at .36 ounces gold per ton, and 0.76 ounces silver per ton.
Identifying the size of the NoName vein system is very important to Calais, as the NoName vein is the largest gold and silver producing vein from the Caribou Mine. It is standard practice to measure three factors in order to interpret the size of a vein system: the length of the vein (also known as the strike), the depth of the vein (also known as vertical depth), and the width of the vein. Calais previously hit the NoName vein 1,800 feet away from the Caribou Mine with hole CR97-104. From the results of hole CR97-104, surface exploration, geological reconnaissance, and other analysis, Calais believes the NoName vein system is at least 1,800 feet in length or strike, and may be as long as 10,000 feet. We interpret the surface expressions and assays results to indicate that the NoName pierces the surface for up to 10,000 feet. We know that the vertical depth of the NoName vein at the Caribou Mine is approximately 1400 feet in vertical depth. Geology and mineralogy also suggest greater depth from 1,400 feet.
The NoName vein pierced the surface at the Caribou mine and was mined from the surface to 1,400 feet down and out 500 feet on the strike. For width, we know the NoName vein ranged up to 30 feet true width at the Caribou Mine. Calais also knows that hole CR97-104 was as wide as 43 feet actual with 30 feet true width. Widths of vein systems pinch and swell in size throughout their strike and depth. Calais has good previous indicators of the NoName vein system for the dimensions including length or strike, vertical depth, and width. This and future drill projects will allow us to identify the strike, depth, and width of the NoName vein system.
As previously announced, this phase of the drill program is 16,000 feet. The overall drill program for the Consolidated Caribou Gold and Silver District is 150,000 feet, targeted to be completed by the end of 2004, upon completion of financing sufficient to pay the costs of the expanded drill program. Calais Resources is currently exploring capital and equity opportunities to secure and finalize the expanded phases of our 2004 drill program.
For Further Information please contact:
Tom Hendricks, CEO and President Calais Resources, Inc. Phone 303-258-3806
Matt Witt, CFO Calais Resources, Inc. Phone 720-529-9500
Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Forward Looking Statements
The future conduct of the company's business and it's response to issues raised by third parties are dependent upon a number of factors, and there can be no assurance that the company will be able to conduct its operations as contemplated. Certain statements contained in this release using the terms "may", "expects to", "projects", "estimates", "plans", and other terms denoting future possibilities, are forward-looking statements in accordance with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The accuracy of these statements cannot be guaranteed as they are subject to a variety of risks that are beyond our ability to predict or control and which may cause actual results to differ materially from the projections or estimates contained herein. The risks include, but are not limited to, the risks described in the above press release; those risks set out in the company's disclosure documents and its annual, quarterly and current reports; and the other risks associated with start-up mineral exploration operations with insufficient liquidity, and no historical profitability.