First Mining Gold

First Mining is a mineral property holding company whose principal business activity is to acquire high quality mineral assets with a focus in the Americas. The Company currently holds a portfolio of 21 mineral assets in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.A.

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Message: Obtains Option to Evaluate and Lease Benson Mines IOCG+/-REE

Obtains Option to Evaluate and Lease Benson Mines IOCG+/-REE

posted on Sep 30, 2009 04:00PM
Sept. 11, 2009

Gold Canyon Obtains Option to Evaluate and Lease Benson Mines IOCG+/-REE

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 11, 2009) - Gold Canyon Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:GCU)(PINK SHEETS:GDCRF) ("Gold Canyon" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary Gold Canyon Kratz Spring LLC has entered into a 12 month option agreement to evaluate and lease tailings and mine dumps originating from the Benson Mines IOCG +/-REE deposit in the State of New York. Work on this evaluation will be conducted as part of the Joint Exploration Agreement (JEA) between Gold Canyon Kratz Spring LLC and its joint venture participant Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), which was announced earlier this year. JOGMEC is a government organization established under the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and is responsible for fostering international exploration and development of strategic minerals, amongst other mineral and petroleum related activities. JOGMEC holds an 80% option to all of the JEA projects. The objective of the JEA is to identify, analyze and perform metallurgical evaluations leading to production of REEs from Iron Oxide Copper Gold +/-Rare Earth Element (IOCG+/-REE) style deposits.

Benson Mines was at one time one of the largest iron ore mines in New York. Iron was extracted from 1889 to 1975. The primary ore body at Benson Mines was discovered in 1910, with the most intensive extractions taking place from 1944 to 1968. During that 25 year period, Benson Mines produced roughly one million tons of iron ore annually.

The IOCG style mineralization of the Benson Mines mine tailings and dumps, has not been subjected to extensive study to determine the commercial recovery of REE. However, other IOCG deposits in the State of New York have emerged as possible resources for REE and undergone metallurgical testing by both the United States Bureau of Mines and private researchers. Gold Canyon Kratz Spring, as operator of the JEA, will start evaluation of the Benson Mines tailings and dumps immediately.

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