LONDON, March 2, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Crew Gold Corporation ("Crew") (TSX:CRU) (Oslo:CRU) (Frankfurt:KNC) (Other OTC:CRUGF) is pleased to announce a further resource increase at the LEFA Gold Project in Guinea.
Based on drilling carried out until the end of December 2005, the measured and indicated resource as at December 31, 2005 has risen to 3.839 million ounces (71.3 million tonnes at 1.6) versus 3.4 million ounces (68.1 million tonnes at 1.6 g/t) reported previously in January 2005. For further information on the resource data please refer to our website www.crewgold.com.
Ongoing drilling is expected to increase resources further.
The resource increase is a direct result of the drilling program that re-commenced in July 2005. With a second drilling rig now commissioned we believe ongoing analysis should lead to further increases in resource and reserves by Q2 2006. The Company has already begun construction of the new CIP plant with commissioning expected in the final quarter of 2006. Any increase in the resource and subsequent reserve would obviously extend the current life and further enhance the economics of the project.
Jan Vestrum President and CEO of Crew commented: "With the further resource increase and the ongoing exploration at LEFA, Crew is pursing the key elements to significantly grow both output and shareholder value over the next 24 months. The geological team at LEFA has continued to deliver positive results and with significant upside in and around the LEFA corridor, plus the ongoing regional work we expect to be able to announce further resource and reserve increases at both LEFA and the other Crew Projects."
The balance of this news release can be found at:
http://www.crewdev.com/pdf/CRU_NR020306_ResourceBase.pdf
Jan A Vestrum President & CEO
For more information please contact our U.K. Head Office (TEL +44 -1932 268755) or by email to enquiries@crewgold.com. For more information about Crew, additional contact information or to subscribe to future news releases, please visit our new website www.crewgold.com.