World Mining Exploration News

Gold mining company Ventana Gold Corp. announces drilling results from several holes that are targeted at a comparable structure MASCOTA zone La La Bodega on gold exploration projects in Colombia. 146 holes encountered 14.0 meters grading 14.18 grams per tonne gold, starting at a depth of 296.0 meters. The hole was drilled at minus 50 degrees inclination near the 9550 and found a significant new mineralized zone appears to contain high-quality parallel structure, hydrothermal breccias. It is located about 325 meters into the footwall and the main La southeast MASCOTA structure.

To ensure the sample is found to have gold content of gold ore a good Ventana has strict standardization of QA / QC program in place to monitor the chain-of-custody of samples and including the insertion of blank, duplicate, and certified reference standards in each batch of samples. (more…)

General Metals Corporation is pleased to announce drilling in the Hill Zone has encountered additional large high grade results including 175 feet interpreted to be true width, grading 0.034 opt Au Equivalent in hole GM-80. Holes GM-79 and GM-80 are situated on Section 3,600 North in the Hill Zone Target. Hole GM-80 was drilled as a 200 foot down dip step out from mineralization encountered in hole GM-79. Both holes intersected wide zones of mineralization estimated to have a true thickness of roughly 150 feet.

Successful drilling in this previously untested area of the Hill Zone is very important because it demonstrates continuity of mineralization between sections 3400 North and 3800 North near the south end of the Hill Zone. Drilling continues to define and expand surface oxide gold – silver mineralization at the Independence which the Company believes is amenable to open pit mining and heap leaching, with an estimated true width ranging from 45 to more than 200 feet, (more…)

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (Amex: NOG) (”Northern Oil”) today announced that it has entered into a letter of intent with a financial institution for a senior secured, reserve-based revolving credit facility providing up to $25 million of financing for future drilling activities. As proposed, $15 million of financing would initially be made available for drilling projects, specifically developmental drilling on Northern Oil’s North Dakota Bakken and Three Forks position. The remaining $10 million of financing under the facility could become available upon subsequent recalculations of reserves based on the deployment of the immediately-available principal amount. The facility will be available for a period of four years and will feature a floating rate of interest competitive with other senior secured revolving credit facilities provided to other companies in the oil and gas industry. The facility will be subject to the usual and customary financial covenants. Final execution of a definitive agreement regarding the credit facility is subject to various conditions, including completion of due diligence and negotiation of definitive loan documentation, among other things.
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Heritage Oil Limited (TSX:HOC)(LSE:HOIL), an independent upstream exploration and production company, announces that it has commenced drilling the Miran West-1 well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This is the first exploration well to be drilled on the highly prospective Miran licence.

Highlights

- First ever well to be drilled on the Miran licence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
- The well will target the three principal proven reservoir formations in the region
- It is expected to take approximately three months to drill and complete the well
- High-impact exploration continuing across the portfolio

Heritage announced on 30 October 2008 that it had entered into an agreement with Great Wall Drilling Company Ltd. to use the GW Rig #10 to spud Miran West-1. (more…)

George W. Bush may be the undisputed champion when it comes to presidential vacations, but his staff is working overtime. As the clock ticks down to Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, the Bush administration is working feverishly to dismantle at least 10 major safeguards of the nation’s air, water, endangered species and national parks.

Most of the damage took place before Nov. 15, 60 days before Inauguration Day. That’s because most new federal rules take effect 60 days after being published in the Federal Register. Once in effect, they are more difficult and time-consuming to undo.

In recent weeks, the Bush administration has:

–Opened up 2 million acres of Western land to the development of oil shale, one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet. (more…)

Greenlanders vote today on a proposal to wrest more autonomy from Denmark, an effort at increasing control over their natural resources that may founder in the face of the global economic slump.

The referendum, which polls show is likely to be approved, would give the 56,000 mainly native Inuit citizens of Greenland full control over deciding whether they want to secede from Denmark. Currently, the government in Copenhagen would have to approve such a move. It would also for the first time mandate a division of income from natural resources with Denmark, which has ruled the territory since the 18th century.

With commodity prices plunging from records, some Greenlanders are expressing doubts that the world’s biggest island can escape its dependence on Danish subsidies, which account for half of public spending. (more…)

Midland Exploration Inc. is pleased to announce that the first year exploration with Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (”Agnico-Eagle”) on the James Bay gold properties has been very successful in finding several new gold bearing outcrops with values as high as 9.1 g/t Au. Prospecting along aeromagnetic anomalies high has led also to the discovery of a significant new base metal and precious metal showing returning 6.1% Cu, 0.26 g/t Au and 30.8 g/t Ag. These gold properties are currently held 100% by Midland Exploration Inc and are under an option agreement with Agnico-Eagle.
These new diversified mineralization discoveries clearly demonstrates the significant potential for finding orogenic gold and gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits in the Lac Trieste and Lac Duhesme greenstone belts lengthening through the Midland’s Property. Midland is very encouraged by these results which dictate additional works in the form of ground geophysics, stripping and channel sampling, detail geochemistry and diamond drilling.
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Repsol has been awarded exploration rights in Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area, allowing the company to move forward with its plans to increase oil and gas finds and production in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

Repsol has successfully bid for three blocks, two in the Central Ridge/Flemish Pass and one in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin. The company was partnered by Husky Oil and Petro-Canada in the winning bids.

Over the period of the 2008-2012 strategic plan, Repsol aims to spend E9.3 billion on its upstream business, of which E4.8 billion will be spent on identifying and developing new exploratory areas.
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