Feb. 8, 2011 (Filing Services Canada) -- Santa Barbara Resources Limited (SBL - TSX Venture), is pleased to report gold intersections from the final six holes drilled on the Sancos Project in January 2011, completing the Company's first phase 4,533 m reverse circulation (RC) drill program of 24 holes.
Santa Barbara's President Christoph Lassl commented: "After the completion of our RC drilling program at Sancos we are pleased to have discovered significant gold mineralization in several of the drill holes. SARC 011 and SARC 019 have encountered potentially ore-grade intercepts over 154 metres (m) and 94 m respectively. These holes together with four adjacent drill holes which also encountered significant gold mineralization over long intersections seem to define a mineralized corridor with an apparent west-northwestern orientation. In the following weeks Santa Barbara will compile and evaluate the information from this initial drill campaign, and we are confident that the property warrants additional drilling, specifically testing the model of grades increasing towards the north at Sancos Central, as well as testing additional target areas not yet drilled. A geophysical survey is planned for selected areas on the property prior to the next drilling phase to aid in the identification and definition of structures and providing additional exploration targets."
Drill Program Update
Five of the six reverse circulation drill holes reported in this release were targeted on the Sancos Central area and one on Sancos West, for a total of 1,168 m. These results are compiled in the table below. The results of the first eighteen holes were reported on January 5, 2011 and January 19, 2011. The significant results from the entire 24-hole drill program are attached to this news release.
Holes SARC 019, SARC 020 and SARC 021 show significant intersections of gold mineralization associated with the presence of phreatomagmatic breccias. The alteration is characteristic of high sulphidation epithermal gold systems, including granular silica, massive silica, vuggy silica and hydrothermal breccias. All of these holes are drilled vertically and remained in oxide material to their final depth, and holes SARC 019 and SARC 21 also ended in mineralized rock.
Hole SARC 019 intersected 94 m at an average grade of 0.47 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, starting from surface and including 12 m @ 0.86 g/t gold, followed by 66 m @ 0.22 g/t gold with the hole ending in mineralization. This drill hole follows up on SARC 011 which contained an intersection of 154 m @ 0.45 g/t gold, including 12 m @ 0.77 g/t gold and 56 m @ 0.61 g/t gold.
Drill hole SARC 020 contains an intersection of 168 m @ 0.18 g/t gold, including 18 m @ 0.29 g/t gold while SARC 021 contains an intersection of 164 m @ 0.25 g/t gold, including 30 m @ 0.40 g/t gold. Hole SARC 021 also ended in mineralization.
Sancos RC Drilling Summary
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Drill Hole From To Mineralized Grade Oxide /
Hole Length (m) (m) Interval(m) (g/t) Sulphide
(m)
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SARC 019* 160 0 94 94 0.47 Oxide
Including 66 78 12 0.86 Oxide
SARC 020 252 38 56 18 0.29 Oxide
SARC 021* 250 38 202 164 0.25 Oxide
Including 52 82 30 0.40 Oxide
SARC 022 140 No significant intercepts
SARC 023 188 No significant intercepts
SARC 024 178 0 36 36 0.14 Oxide
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Plotting grade-thickness values of intersections with gold values greater than 0.10 g/t for each drill hole, showed drill holes SARC 019 with 58.5 gram-metres (g-m), SARC 020 with 30.9 g-m and SARC 021 with 46.0 g-m, combined with the previously reported drill holes SARC 010 (45.7 g-m), SARC 011 (68.8 g-m) and SARC 012 (27.2 g-m) forming a cluster with significant gold values at Sancos Central and confirming the northward continuation of mineralization. Additionally, five of the six holes end in mineralization
A map of the drill hole locations, the updated grade-thickness plot from drill holes and images of the drill program as well as some selected drill chip boxes can be viewed on the Company's web site at www.sbr-ltd.com .
Sampling, Quality Control and Drill Intersection Grade Calculation
All of the Sancos drill chips were sampled in continuous two-metre intervals. Details of the sample procedure can be reviewed in Santa Barbara's press release dated December 20, 2010. The average grade of a drill interval is calculated by a weighted average of the contained sample results. Drill intervals containing greater than 0.1 g/t gold are included in the calculation. Selective higher grade portions of the respective interval are reported within wider general mineralization. Drill intercepts presented above are drill intersection widths and may not represent true widths of mineralization, which cannot yet be determined. Gold assays have not been subject to a top cut.
All sample preparation and analytical procedures are conducted by ALS Chemex Laboratories in Lima, Peru. Samples are fire assayed with AAS finish on a 50 g assay charge. Additionally, all samples are analyzed by a 35 element aqua regia ICP-AES method plus trace mercury detection by cold vapour-AAS methods.
ALS Chemex's quality control system complies with International Standards ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 17025. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples. As part of Santa Barbara's Quality Control and Quality Assurance program, certified reference materials, field duplicates and blank samples are inserted continuously into the sample stream.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed by Stewart Wallis, P. Geo, a Qualified Person and consultant to the Company.
Sancos Project Summary
The Sancos Project hosts a large high sulphidation epithermal gold system where surface mineralization has a footprint of approximately 650 m x 160 m at Sancos West and 750 m x 200 m at Sancos Central. The mineralization is hosted in massive silica, granular silica, vuggy silica and hydrothermal beccias, extending vertically from over 70 m to 200 m in outcrops and drill intersections. The host rock is a slightly northward dipping sequence of andesitic breccias, tuffs and domes with large phreatomagmatic and hydrothermal breccias.
Santa Barbara, subject to certain option requirements and back-in rights, has the right to acquire a 100 % interest in the 6,200 hectare Sancos Project from Barrick Gold Corporation's Peruvian subsidiary.
About Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is a South American explorer focusing on Peru and Chile. In addition to Sancos and other exploration projects in Peru, Santa Barbara also explores the San Francisco project in the prolific Northern Chilean Maricunga gold belt where initial exploration has returned encouraging trench results, including 21.4 m of 0.85 g/t gold associated with black banded quartz veinlets. Such veinlets are indicative of high-level porphyry/epithermal gold mineralization in the district.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Christoph Lassl"
Christoph Lassl, President and
Chief Executive Officer
Please visit the Company's web site: www.sbr-ltd.com. For further information, please contact Christoph Lassl, President and Chief Executive Officer. Telephone: 593-2-2904164, Fax: 593-2-2556204 or email: christoph@sbr-ltd.com
Address: Edificio In-Luxor - Oficina 102, Camilo Destruge N24-633 y Francisco Salazar, P.O. Box 17-07-9719, Quito, Ecuador
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking" statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Santa Barbara Resources Limited believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
Sancos RC Drilling Summary
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Drill Hole From To Mineralized Grade Oxide /
Hole Length (m) (m) Interval(m) (g/t) Sulphide
(m)
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SARC 001 250 0 14 14 0.35 Oxide
SARC 002 260 146 172 26 0.23 Oxide
SARC 003 249 0 22 22 0.46 Oxide
SARC 004 238 128 134 6 0.21 Oxide
SARC 005 202 0 38 38 0.24 Oxide
SARC 006 160 98 106 8 0.29 Oxide
SARC 010* 232 0 232 232 0.20 Oxide
Including 42 80 38 0.36 Oxide
SARC 011* 154 0 154 154 0.45 Oxide
Including 22 34 12 0.77 Oxide
Including 64 120 56 0.61 Oxide
SARC 012* 184 48 184 136 0.20 Oxide
Including 82 100 18 0.47 Oxide
SARC 016* 202 192 202 10 0.21 Oxide
SARC 017 208 2 36 34 0.29 Oxide
SARC 018 200 0 30 30 0.25 Oxide
SARC 019* 160 0 94 94 0.47 Oxide
Including 66 78 12 0.86 Oxide
SARC 020 252 38 56 18 0.29 Oxide
SARC 021* 250 38 202 164 0.25 Oxide
Including 52 82 30 0.40 Oxide
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* Holes 010, SARC 011, SARC 012, SARC 016, SARC 019 and SARC 021 end in mineralization
SANTA BARBARA RESOURCES LIMITED
Unit 1, 15782 Marine Drive
White Rock, British Columbia V4B 1E6
Web page: www.sbr-ltd.com
Source: Santa Barbara Resources Limited (TSX V SBL)
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