Aurora Minerals Drills into Gold Quartz Veining in Northland

The Perth based gold exploration company Aurora Minerals Ltd operating the Hazelbrook epithermal gold project in Northland, has completed its first drilling at its Backyard prospect, Huia trend in EP 40730, east of Kaeo.

Aurora Minerals says in its quarterly report to March 31, 2006, that the drilling consistently intersected epithermal-style quartz/pyrite veining and alteration. Anomalous arsenic was encountered in a number of the diamond drill holes, further verifying the epithermal model.

However the report says surface gold mineralisation was not replicated at depth in the current programme, with a maximum of 35ppb of gold.

The Hazelbrook project is a joint venture with Emerald Mining Ltd, part of an international investment group with global interests including oil and industrial enterprises. Emerald can earn a 50% share in the project by providing NZ$10 million to Aurora for JV expenditure, including NZ$2 million in the first year.

The quarterly report says Emerald has indicated that it wishes to continue with the funding of the joint venture and that the first tranche of funds for the next $2 million for Year 2 will be made available prior to the due date in June 2006.

Drilling at the Backyard prospect commenced in January 2006 and was completed in late March. A total of 4 diamond holes for 489 metres and 21 reverse circulation holes for 2039 metres were drilled.

The Toolshed and Eastern Anomaly prospects located respectively to the west and east of Backyard, were still being investigated for access and drilling.

Meanwhile prospecting and geological mapping in Aurora's Rockville PP 39273 on the northwest corner of the South Island, was to commence in May to delineate the extent of a potential gold-bearing zone.

The permit covers 148 sq km in the historic Aorere goldfield near Collingwood, in the Golden Bay area.

Aurora says in the report that it identified at its Junction prospect a number of NE trending, narrow quartz veins in a package of sheared and altered sericite-pyrite schists.

Within this structurally controlled zone of intense silica/pyrite alteration, chip samples were located averaged 2.2 g/t gold over 3.2 metres. The highest assay was 5.2 g/t gold.

The zone lies within the Aorere goldfield in an area previously mined for alluvial gold but masked from prospecting by a thin veneer of glacial till and sand, Aurora says.