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Market:	TSX
Sector:	Gold Mining
Epic:	TSX:VGQ
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Web Site:	Virginia Mines
Other Articles:	10-06-200927-05-200911-12-2008

Virginia Mines Starts 16,500 Meter Drilling Programme across Six Gold Projects in Quebec

by Jamie Ashcroft

Virginia Mines Inc. (TSX: VGQ) announced it has begun several drilling programs on its gold projects in James Bay, Quebec. Virginia will conduct a total of six drilling programs within the next six months. Across the six projects Virginia intends to drill a total of 16,500 meters.

Virginia Mines is among the most active exploration companies in Quebec, the company is primarily concentrated on its numerous properties which are spread over the vast, unexplored regions of northern Quebec.

The drlling will take place on the company’s 100% owned Poste Lemoyne Extension, La Grande Sud, Lac Pau and Anatacau-Wabamisk projects. Through its partnership with Odyssey Resources (TSX-V: ODX), Virginia also plans to begin drilling on the Auclair and FCI gold projects.

The Poste Lemoyne Extension property is host to the Orfee zone which contains resources totalling 88,588 tonnes grading 9.44 grams per tonne gold in the measured category and 114,895 tonnes grading 18.4 grams per tonne gold in the inferred category.

The drilling program will test several new gold showings discovered at surface during the 2008 and 2009 summer field programs. The drilling will cover a minimum of 20 drill holes totalling more than 2,500 metres. The new gold occurrences yielded values of up to 52 g/t Au in grab samples and up to 20.98 g/t Au over 2 metres in channel samples and are spread over more than 37 kilometres along an auriferous corridor.

At Virginia’s La Grande Sud project, the company has begun an eight holes program which is intended to total 2,150 metres. La Grande Sud property is host to the Zone 32 gold-copper mineralization which reported 4.2 million tonnes at 2.1 grams per tonne gold and 0.2% copper in the spring of 1999.

The drilling program will mainly test the possible extensions of Zone 30 that has historically yielded several auriferous intersections of varying lengths grading between 3.89 grams per tonne and 13.5 grams per tonne. The drilling program will also test other targets on the property.

At the company’s Lac Pau property a 3000-metre drilling program is scheduled for the first quarter of 2010. The drilling program will mainly test the Tricorne, Beausac-2 and Obiwan gold showings as well as several other geophysical targets.

Surface work carried out on the Lac Pau project highlighted a significant gold system that includes these showings in addition to other smaller showings. To date the system is traced over 12 kilometres and the system remains totally open laterally.

On the Anatacau-Wabamisk property a 2500-metre drilling program will test mainly the Isabelle gold showing and several geophysical targets situated in the same geological environment. The drilling program will test mainly the Isabelle gold showing and several geophysical targets situated in the same geological environment. Channel sampling of new extensions were conducted in the summer of 2009. According to Virginia the sampling yielded very encouraging results, which included several grades up to 22.97 grams per tonne gold over 2 metres.

Virginia owns 100% interest in the Wabamisk property and has the option to acquire 100% participating interest in the Anatacau property from IAMGOLD (AMEX: IAG) in exchange for $3 million in exploration work to be carried out before 31st December 2012.

Elsewhere in Quebec, Virginia’s other projects are being explored through a partnership with Odyssey Resources (TSX-V: ODX). At both the Aucliar and FCI projects Virginia has optioned half the participating interest to Odyssey subject to combined cash payments totalling $280,000 within three year and exploration investments at each project over the next six years, the combined exploration investment equals $9 million. Under the agreement, Virginia will be the operator of both work programs.

At the Auclair project the partnership is planning a 5000-metre drilling programme. The Auclair project covers a 20-kilometre-long, folded banded iron formation (BIF) at the eastern tip of the Eastmain greenstone belt.

According to Virginia, the Auclair project is in a similar geological setting to the large Musselwhite gold mine in northern Ontario.

So far previous work including till sampling and diamond drilling has revealed several gold showings with varying grades. The drilling program will test several zones of structural complexities affecting the BIF in the interpreted source areas of the gold dispersion trains as well as other targets.

Virginia and Odyssey also plan to conduct a 3500-metre drill program on the FCI project, the FCI project covers 35 kilometres of ‘favourable geology’ within the Guyer greenstone belt. To date, several gold showings have been discovered across the entire length of the property. According to Virginia, a significant gold-in-till anomaly of up to 123 gold grains remains unexplained along a fertile volcano-sedimentary contact.

The drilling program will test the lateral and vertical extensions of the project’s Golden Gap showing, which Virginia believes the probable source area of the gold-in-till anomaly, as well as a few other gold and polymetallic targets.

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