Timberline Discovers High-Grade Gold Zone

COEUR D'ALENE, ID - Timberline Resources Corporation reported initial results from drilling at its 100-percent owned, royalty-free Butte Highlands Gold Project.
Timberline completed the first four holes (totaling 6,757 feet) of its planned 17-hole surface core drilling program before the early onset of heavy snowfall forced the cessation of exploration activities for the season. Assays have been received for the first three holes with results confirming known mineralized zones and identifying a new high-grade gold zone to the northwest. The program was designed to validate and expand the historic estimates, to obtain material for petrographic and metallurgical evaluation, and to assess 3-D control for planning and permitting the exploration decline and, ultimately, a producing mine.
The most encouraging hole to-date, BH-DDH 08-03, was drilled 100 feet northwest of previously-tested mineralization boundaries. The hole returned several mineralized gold intervals, including 2.0 feet of 0.62 ounces per ton (oz/t), 37.0 feet of 0.22 oz/t, 5.0 feet of 0.26 oz/t, 9.0 feet of 0.43 oz/t, and 35.0 feet of 0.14 oz/t. These results demonstrate the northwest extension of the Upper, Middle, and Lower zones, while the latter two intervals comprise a new discovery at depth, a potential offset portion of previously-identified zones. Both the extension and the discovery have the potential to greatly increase mineralization estimates at Butte Highlands.
Results for BH-DDH 08-02, intended to test a narrow gold zone proximal to a diorite dike, were also positive and encouraging. In addition to a 7.2-foot interval grading 0.11 oz/t gold within typical Wolsey shale host rock, the hole also intercepted a 267-foot zone of mineralized diorite with grades up to 0.18 oz/t gold, including 25.0 feet grading 0.10 oz/t. It is important to note that the identification of slightly higher-grade diorite material, or the delineation of similarly wide zones of lower-grade material with underground bulk mining potential, could have a significant positive impact on mineralization estimates as they do not currently include diorite-hosted gold. Additional testing of diorite targets will be considered for future drilling phases, most likely from underground.
Timberline Vice-President of Exploration Paul Dircksen stated, ``Although this year's program was abbreviated, it has thus far achieved or exceeded our goals and expectations by meeting grade requirements throughout the main zone and providing an exciting new discovery to the northwest. Given the depth and relative difficulty of surface drilling at Butte Highlands, we are contemplating a redesigned program for 2009, reducing the number of surface holes and prioritizing the rapid development of the exploration decline to expedite drilling from underground.''
Butte Highlands is located 15 miles south of Butte, Montana within a favorable geologic domain that has hosted several multi-million ounce gold deposits including Butte, Golden Sunlight, Montana Tunnels, and Virginia City. The property was extensively drilled by Placer Dome, Battle Mountain, ASARCO, and Orvana Minerals in the 1980s and 1990s, and contains historic mineralization outlined by Orvana (not compliant with NI 43-101 or SEC Guide 7) exceeding 500,000 ounces of gold at a grade of nearly 0.3 oz/t. Past drilling highlights include gold intercepts of 50 feet of 0.65 oz/t, 31 feet of 1.06 oz/t, and 11.5 feet of 1.99 oz/t.