Vancouver, BC – The Company is pleased to announce the onset of the 2003 field exploration program over its Del Norte property, located 28 km east of Stewart, BC. The first phase of the program is concentrating on a 20 km long contact between sedimentary rocks of the Salmon River Formation and volcanic rocks believed to be of the Betty Creek Formation. Other than a 4 km long stretch bisected by Del Norte Creek, most of this favourable geological contact remains unprospected. Previous work on the 4 km long central portion disclosed more than a dozen mineralized occurrences, the most promising of which, now called the Kosciuszko Zone, was discovered in 2002. A chip sample across a 10 metre width of quartz-carbonate-sulphide cemented breccia hosted in argillite returned a weighted average grade of 0.179 oz/ton gold and 18.4 oz/ton silver (0.442 gold equivalent grade). The best of three holes drilled into the zone in 2002 returned 0.339 oz/ton gold equivalent over an estimated true width of 8.0 metres.

Assay results have now been received from 2003 float boulder sampling conducted 6 km south of the Kosciuszko Zone along a creek sub-parallel to the northerly trending contact. Quartz float boulders from this vicinity have returned values up to 3.28 oz/ton gold. The area features moderate to thick forest cover and will be intensively prospected in the coming week to determine the source of the float.

Other areas will also be examined as snow conditions allow. The object of this preliminary surface program is to identify as many drill targets as possible, to be tested later in the field season in conjunction with follow-up drilling of strike extensions of the Kosciuszko Zone.

Alex Walus, P.Geol., is in charge of the 2003 field program. Assays are performed at Pioneer Laboratories of Richmond, BC.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

“D. Cremonese”

Dino Cremonese, P.Eng.
President

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