Sona Resources begins 5,000 metre drill program at Blackdome mine

Sona Resources (CVE:SYS) announced Tuesday it has begun a 5,000 metre surface diamond drill program at its Blackdome gold mine in southern British Columbia.
The Vancouver, B.C.-based company said initial holes at the 34,794 hectare property will target the south end of the Giant vein, and will trace the structure southwest for more than one kilometre.
The northern end of the Giant vein has been found to host an inferred resource of 63,100 tonnes, grading 9.04 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 16.27 g/t silver, as of June 2010.
Other known gold mineralization, including the Watson and Southwest veins, will also be drill tested, Sona said.
The Blackdome property, which is located in the Clinton mining district, is a joint venture with SXDLP of Dog Creek, B.C.
In late 2010, Sona granted SXDLP a four-year option for the purchase of up to 10% of the shares in No. 75 Corporate Ventures, a subsidiary of Sona that holds all the mineral claims, mining leases, ore processing plant and equipment for the Blackdome project.
The company recently announced the start of a 3,000 metre surface drill program at its Elizabeth gold deposit, located 30 kilometres south of Blackdome.
High grade intersections containing visible gold had been delineated in the Elizabeth area from the last drill program, with the most southwesterly cross-section, consisting of three drill holes, which returned composite assay values of 109.5 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold over 1.1 metres in hole E10-67; 20.0 g/t gold over 0.7 metres in hole E04-11A; and 77 g/t gold over 2.2 metres in hole E10-69.
Sona said it aims to return the Blackdome mill to production over the next two years at a rate of 200 tonnes per day.