TORONTO, July 10, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Eastmain Resources Inc. (TSX:ER) announces that drilling is underway on its wholly-owned Ruby Hill Project. The project is located in the eastern portion of the Upper Eastmain River Greenstone belt approximately 325 km north-northeast of Chibougamau, Quebec. Ruby Hill comprises two large claim blocks totaling 257 claims, which cover 13,545 hectares of potential Eastmain Mine series rock formations.
Drilling will test approximately 30 regional airborne geophysical targets, which coincide with a prospective geological marker horizon that has been traced from the Eastmain Mine property, where previous work defined a copper-gold deposit containing approximately 255,750 ounces of gold and 4.1 million pounds of copper (Campbell Resources 2004 Annual Report). These resources are historical and may not be NI43-101 compliant and should not be relied upon.
The near-term objective of the program is to explore for high-grade, gold-copper-silver (Au-Cu-Ag) contact-type ore, similar to ores developed at the Eastmain Mine and mined at Detour Lake by Placer in the 1980's. Exploration will also target bulk-tonnage, lower-grade gold ore, similar to what is currently being delineated at Detour. Drilling will continue to the east towards the Mine property, where a number of high-priority targets will be tested later this year.
In 1969, Placer Dome Limited discovered the Eastmain Gold Mine, now owned by Eastmain Mines Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Corporation. Three distinct Au-Cu-Ag-bearing zones (A, B and C) were delineated when Placer drill-tested airborne geophysical anomalies. Previous drilling of the A zone included 13.44 g/t gold across 9.22 metres (hole 88-02) and 17.7 g/t gold, 25.1 g/t silver and 0.61% copper across 4.8 metres in hole 83-4. Drilling within the B Zone included 61.45 g/t gold across 8.95 metres in hole 88-45. VTEM surveys completed by Eastmain in 2006 clearly define these zones as well as a number of similar highly prospective anomalies on the Ruby Hill claim blocks.
Gold mineralization at the Eastmain Mine occurs within a siliceous, sulphide-bearing unit associated with komatiite at the contact between sediments and volcanic rocks. This very distinctive geologic marker horizon has been traced onto Ruby Hill claims and is key to the mine series rocks. Komatiite rocks are closely associated with gold mineralization in several major mining camps in Canada and Australia. Komatiites, which host the contact ore at Detour Lake, are also highly prospective for copper, nickel and platinum group metal (PGM) deposits.
"We are very excited to begin drilling at the Ruby Hill and Eastmain Mine Projects. This area has tremendous exploration potential and is located within a pro-mining and exploration district, ranked #1 in the world by the Fraser Institute," according to Dr. Don Robinson, President and CEO of Eastmain Resources Inc. A first-phase exploration drill budget of approximately $2 million has been allotted to the Eastmain Mine and Ruby Hill Projects for fiscal 2008.
Dr. Donald J. Robinson P.Geo, is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.
Eastmain is a Canadian gold exploration company with 100% interest in the Eau Claire and Eastmain gold deposits. The Corporation has in excess of $20 million in working capital and holds an interest in 12 projects within the district, including the Eleonore South property, where a new gold discovery has been found in a similar geologic setting to Goldcorp's Roberto deposit. Eastmain has a minimum budget of $4 million for gold exploration in Quebec.
The statements made in this Press Release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections.