GOLD STOCKS NEWS - Gold stocks rallied Thursday morning as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) rose 1.2% to $50.29 per share. With today’s strength in gold stocks, the GDX reached its highest level since January 11 and is now higher by 8.4% in April and 8.8% year-to-date. Despite the GDX’s gains, gold itself has climbed 6.6% year-to-date, such that in recent months gold stocks as a group have not provided the leverage to gold that investors expect. However, certain individual gold stocks have risen several multiples of gold over the past year - including Spanish Mountain Gold (SPA.TSXV), which Thursday morning released an outline of work programs to be completed on its gold projects during the upcoming field season.

Shares of the Canadian-based gold explorer have climbed 26% in 2010 and 113% over the past 52 weeks - outpacing the 49% rise in the GDX during the past year. Spanish Mountain Gold falls into the small-cap gold stocks sector, which generally provides enhanced leverage to gold relative to large-cap gold stocks.

In the company’s latest announcement, the gold explorer reported that planned work at its flagship Spanish Mountain Gold Project in British Columbia, Canada, will focus on a host of tasks. These will include geotechnical drilling, additional drilling for metallurgical samples, baseline sampling for Acid Base Accounting purposes, and exploration drilling in areas proximal to the Main Zone of gold mineralization. Overall the program will consist of approximately 5,000 meters of drilling.

At Spanish Mountain’s Thunder Ridge project, located in British Columbia, Canada, additional soil geochemical sampling is scheduled to delineate possible extensions to the present area of mineralization. Furthermore, the company intends to complete 2,000 additional meters of drilling in ten holes. At the company’s earlier stage properties, Manson Creek and Prince George, further mapping and sampling are planned. These two projects are located to the north of the Spanish Mountain Gold Project.

Over the past two years Spanish Mountain Gold has grown its resource base from 2.6 million ounces of gold in 2008 to 3.9 million in 2009, and expects to continue this expansion in 2010. Looking ahead, if the company is able to execute on the work programs detailed above and delineate an economic deposit, shares of the Canadian gold explorer are likely to continue to outpace the broader gold stocks sector.