DENVER February 17, 2010–Apollo Gold Corporation (“Apollo”) (NYSE Amex: AGT) (TSX: APG) announces additional assay results from nine drill holes at its Grey Fox Project, including one of the best drill intersections to date of 17.9 meters (“m”) at an average gold grade of 14.3 grams per tonne (“gpt”) located on the boundary of Grey Fox and the Pike River properties with indication that the mineralization is open towards Pike River to the north.
Results are pending from the remaining 14 holes completed as part of a 53-hole, 9,936-meter drilling program in 2009, including the first six holes drilled on Pike River, at the prospective Contact Zone at the Grey Fox and Pike River properties, which are adjacent to Apollo’s Black Fox gold mine in the Township of Black River-Matheson, Ontario, Canada.
Results from the nine holes are shown in Table One (GF09-47 through GF09-55) with the mineralized zone intercepts highlighted, including true width intercepts of:
•17.9 m at an average gold grade of 14.3 gpt (or 59 feet at 0.4 ounce per ton (“opt”)) within 100 m from surface in hole GF09-55; and
•5.1 m of 5.2 gpt (or 17 feet at 0.15 opt) in hole GF09-52.
Figure One below shows the location of the nine holes as well as the rest of the 53-core hole program completed in 2009. Assay results were released on holes GF09-17 through GF09-46 in previous Apollo news releases. It is expected that the results from the 2009 drill program will be compiled in an initial Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated Resource estimate by the second quarter 2010.
Richard F. Nanna, Senior Vice President of Exploration for Apollo, said, “The impressive results from hole GF09-55 on the boundary of the Pike River property are one of the best ever for the Grey Fox Project and we are pleased that the results indicate the Contact Zone mineralization is open to the north on to Pike River and the west-southwest trending Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone.”
Assay results from the first six holes from the 2009 drill program completed at Pike River, located along strike of GF09-55, are pending. The Contact Zone is a mineralized fault contact between metasediments and mafic volcanic rocks. It has been identified through drilling along 700 meters of its length and remains open along strike to the north, south and at depth. Most of the holes announced in this news release (GF09-47 to GF09-53) are located within the central part of the known Contact Zone.
The Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone and its numerous splays are associated with many past and currently producing gold mines, including the Black Fox Mine, in the Timmins Mining District. The Grey Fox Project is located about 3.5 kilometers southeast of Apollo’s Black Fox Mine, which commenced gold production in May 2009. The recently acquired Pike River property lies between the Black Fox and Grey Fox properties. Apollo controls all three adjoining properties totaling a 17 square kilometer land package.
Previously released drilling by Apollo successfully intersected gold mineralization similar to the host rocks of the Black Fox gold deposit. The 2009 drilling program at Grey Fox followed up the 16-hole drilling program completed in 2008, which included a high grade intercept of 3.5 m grading 455 gpt (13.27 opt) as well as several separate one meter gold intervals grading from 12 to 277 gpt (0.35 to 8.08 opt).
All assay work was completed by Polymet Labs of Cobalt, Ontario, which is ISO 9001:2000 certified in North America. This news release was reviewed by Richard F. Nanna, Professional Geologist, Apollo’s Senior Vice President, Exploration and Development and designated “Qualified Person” under Canadian National Instrument 43-101. All drill assay results are available on the Apollo website at www.apollogold.com.
Apollo Gold Corporation
Apollo is a growing gold producer that operates the wholly owned Black Fox Mine in Ontario, Canada. Apollo also is exploring the adjoining Grey Fox and Pike River properties, all in the Timmins gold district in Ontario, Canada, as well as the Huizopa Joint Venture, (80 percent Apollo and 20 percent Minas De Coronado, S. de R.L. de C.V.), an early stage, gold-silver exploration project, approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Minefinders’ Dolores gold-silver mine, in the Sierra Madres in Chihuahua, Mexico.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release includes “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “intends,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. All statements regarding the timing of and any addition to estimated mineral resources, timing of assay results from Grey Fox and Pike River, the ability of the Company to successfully obtain Measured and Indicated Resource status and to expand the Contact Zone towards and along the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include: the results of assays and additional exploration, sampling and drilling efforts, delays caused by equipment failures and weather, unexpected changes in business and economic conditions, political or economic instability, significant decreases in gold prices, changes in interest and currency rates, local and community impacts and issues, labor accidents, environmental risks and other factors disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in Apollo documents filed from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the NYSE Amex, The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. All forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on information available to Apollo on the date hereof. Apollo assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements
