VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 14, 2006) - True North Gems (TSX VENTURE:TGX) is pleased to announce the completion of processing of its 2005 emerald rough and the production of 13,147 carats of polished goods, including faceted gems, cabochons, and faceted, round and tumbled beads. The emerald rough was recovered from its 2005 exploration program at the Company's wholly owned, 105 claim Tsa da Glisza emerald property in the Finlayson Lake area, Watson Lake Mining District, Yukon Territory, Canada. A total of 12 kg of clean emerald rough was recovered during 2005 mini-bulk sample processing (see press release February 9, 2006).
The distribution of the gem, near-gem and non-gem emerald rough recovered from 2005 are tabulated below. As per standard gemstone protocols, all weights for the rough are in grams (1 g equals 5 carats).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Grams Rough Total grams Gem Near-gem Non-gem
--------------------------------------------------------------------
11,885.37 736.89 6,347.86 4,800.62
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The emerald rough grade (grams/tonne) and gem, near-gem and non-gem emerald weight percent distributions are given below. The results indicate significant improvement in the proportion of both gem and near-gem material. The lower 2005 rough grade is related directly to improved emerald preparation protocols, resulting in a higher quality final concentrate which has contributed to increased cutting yields and polished grades.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Rough Grade & Dist'n Total Gem Near-gem Non-gem -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1999-2004 g/t rough 14.88 0.54 4.60 9.75 2005 g/t rough 3.60 0.22 1.92 1.45 1999-2004 wt% distribution 3.63 30.88 65.49 2005 wt% distribution 6.20 53.41 40.39 --------------------------------------------------------------------
Cutting of the emerald rough, including 940.63 g gem and 8,461.21 g near-gem, was undertaken between September 2005 and April 2006. More than 23,200 carats of polished emeralds have been received for the project to date, with more than 13,100 carats comprising 56% of the total recovered from the 2005 sampling and processing program.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Polished Carats Total carats Facet stock Cabochon Bead stock -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1999-2004 10,090.68 250.89 134.26 9,705.53 2005 13,147.35 418.80 124.05 12,604.50 --------------------------------------------------------------------
The polished grade to date for the emerald-bearing mini-bulk samples (5,200 tonnes) from the Summit and Far West Zones, including facet, cabochon and bead distribution, are tabulated below, shown in carats per tonne.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Polished Grade (Carats per tonne) Total carats Facet stock Cabochon Bead stock -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1999-2005 ct/t 4.48 0.13 0.05 4.30 --------------------------------------------------------------------
"We are very pleased to report improved facet cutting yield (11.4% from 2.67%), cabochon and bead cutting yield (40.1% from 12.33%), and gem and near-gem class distribution (59.6% from 34.5%) from the parcels of emeralds recovered in 2005 as compared to the 1999-2004 gem and near-gem material," said Greg Davison, Tsa da Glisza Project Manager. "In addition, comparable increases to the polished grade and the grade of faceted and cabochon emeralds were achieved." The rough and polished grades, and emerald class distribution at Tsa da Glisza are comparable to operating and developing mines in geologically similar terranes in Africa and South America. The determination of emerald value per tonne for the Tsa da Glisza exploration samples is pending.
The planning and execution of the emerald exploration programs at the Company's Canadian properties, including Tsa da Glisza, are under the supervision of Greg Davison, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
True North Gems is a public company listed on the TSX Venture exchange and is engaged primarily in the exploration and development of coloured gemstone deposits in North America and Greenland.
The Company relies on litigation protection for "forward-looking" statements.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
True North Gems Inc.
Greg Davison, P. Geo.
Vice President Exploration
(604) 687-8055 or 1-800-399-8055
greg@truenorthgems.com
True North Gems Inc.
Greg Fekete
President
(604) 687-8055 or 1-800-399-8055
www.truenorthgems.com
