SPOKANE, Wash., Oct. 13, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Timberline Resources Corporation (Pink Sheets:TBLC) announced today that it has completed the first two holes of its diamond drill program at the Snowstorm Project in north Idaho's "Silver Valley". Timberline can earn a 49-percent interest in Snowstorm from Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) by funding $250,000 of project expenditures. Successful completion of the current drill program is expected to fulfill Timberline's earn-in requirement.
The program will consist of 6 to 10 holes drilled at four widely-spaced sites (roughly 1,500 feet apart) along the projected mineralized horizon. Drilling depths will range from 250 to 800 feet. The program will test the stratabound copper-silver potential at Snowstorm along strike for 5,000 feet and down dip for 2,000 feet. A second drill rig has recently been brought on-site to expedite the drilling.
The first two drill holes have been completed and the resulting core has been sent to the lab for assay. The holes were located approximately 1,500 feet west of the historic Snowstorm Mine and both have returned intervals exceeding 50 feet of Revett quartzite with visible copper-silver mineralization.
Timberline's Director of Technical Services, Paul Dircksen, stated, "We are pleased with our progress to date. Two primary objectives of the program are to confirm a uniform bed thickness, amenable to bulk underground mining techniques, and to test the consistency and continuity of the disseminated mineralization within the favorable quartzite unit. The first two holes have provided us with positive indications on both counts."
The copper-silver mineralization outlined by Timberline through its dump sampling program earlier this field season returned ore grade assays of 0.9 to 2.5-percent copper and 0.5 to 3.0 ounces per ton (oz/t) silver from multiple locations along a nearly 1.5-mile strike length. These results, along with geologic mapping and fieldwork, have demonstrated the potential for a world-class stratabound copper-silver deposit at Snowstorm similar to those found at Troy, Rock Creek, and Montanore, high-tonnage ore bodies with a combined average grade of 0.74-percent copper and 1.73 oz/t silver.
Timberline also announced today that it has filed its initial "Form 10 SB" with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as it seeks to become a fully-reporting company. The filing can be reviewed on-line from the Timberline website at http://www.timberline-resources.com/documents/timberline_form10_SB.pdf.
Timberline Resources Corporation is a mineral exploration company focused on the cost-effective acquisition and exploration of promising mineral properties in the western United States. Timberline's flagship property is the Snowstorm Project in north Idaho's "Silver Valley", where it can earn a 49-percent interest from Hecla Mining Company in a bulk-tonnage stratabound copper-silver target, potentially similar to well-known deposits in western Montana. Timberline has less than 7.3 million shares outstanding and its common stock is quoted on the OTC Market under the symbol "TBLC".
Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on beliefs of management as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. The timing of the SEC registration and review process is inherently uncertain and may be delayed indefinitely, and if completed does not guarantee that Timberline will attract additional market attention or complete any necessary financing in the future, or that the price of Timberline's securities will rise.