TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - January 08, 2009) - Victoria Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE: VIT) ("Victoria" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that, effective January 5, 2009, it has appointed Mr. John C. McConnell to the position of Executive Vice President. Mr. McConnell is a well-respected mining engineer with 35 years experience in all aspects of mine exploration, development and operations. At Victoria, his primary focus will be to advance the Company's existing projects towards production. He has been on the Board of Directors of Victoria since August 2007 and will continue to serve on the Board.
"It has always been our intention to advance the Company's gold projects towards production and John has brought a great deal of development and operating experience to Victoria in his capacity as a director. We are delighted to add to our management team such a strong, senior mining engineer and we believe that having John on board as a permanent employee will provide increased momentum towards our objective of becoming a near term gold producer," said Chad Williams, President and CEO of Victoria Gold Corp. "Furthermore, as an existing director of Victoria, John is very familiar with our business and we expect him to have an immediate positive impact on our projects."
Mr. McConnell's most recent position was as the Chief Operating Officer of Strategic Resource Acquisition Corporation and prior to that he was the President and CEO of Western Keltic Mines, until it was acquired by Sherwood Copper. Previously he was the Vice President of De Beers Canada's NWT Projects, responsible for the permitting and development of their $1 billion Snap Lake diamond mine. His career has spanned much of North America including the position of General Manager of the Nanisivik Mine in Nunavut. Mr. McConnell's previous employers also include Breakwater Resources, Strathcona Mineral Services, Cominco and Placer-Dome. Mr. McConnell's strong engineering skills are complemented by finely tuned experience in stakeholder management and permitting.
In his capacity as Executive Vice President, Mr. McConnell will focus on advancing Victoria's existing gold projects towards production. Mr. McConnell will assist with the permitting and engineering design for a proposed adit to access the Helen Zone for underground work. At the Big Springs project, Mr. McConnell will be responsible for managing studies to assess the viability of mining this estimated 1.2 million ounce NI 43-101 compliant gold resource.
Mr. McConnell will also evaluate the viability of mining near surface gold zones where previous drilling has identified significant gold grades and widths at some of Victoria's key projects. At Mill Canyon, for example, the Company has previously reported assay results including 12.8 metres of 27.96 g/t from drill hole OC-10 and 25.9 metres of 10.38 g/t from hole OC-36. The results reported on September 25, 2008 by the previous owners of the Santa Fe project, Gateway Gold Corp, are also encouraging indicating significant widths of good gold grades, such as 141 metres of 2.06 g/t from drill hole SF 08-06 and 135 metres of 2.17 g/t from hole SF 08-07.
"Victoria has a high calibre, well rounded management team with the right skills in place to build a successful gold company. I am very excited to be joining a small capitalization company with a pipeline of advanced gold projects and a track record of discovery," said Mr. McConnell.
Shares for Debt Arrangement
The Company has entered into a shares for debt arrangement with a vendor of services to the Company whereby Victoria will issue 84,538 common shares to satisfy an outstanding account payable in the amount of $20,120. The number of shares is based on a share price of $0.24, which is the volume weighted average trading price (VWAP) for the Company's shares on the TSX Venture Exchange for the five trading days prior to the date hereof. The shares for debt arrangement is subject to receipt by Victoria of all necessary stock exchange approvals. The common shares of Victoria to be issued pursuant to such arrangement will be subject to a four-month hold period.
About Victoria
Victoria aims to be a high growth, lower risk company focused on gold. The Company's strategy is to add value per share through efficient exploration, project development, accretive acquisitions, and effective marketing. Maintaining a low risk profile through project diversification, sound financial management, and operating in secure jurisdictions are key priorities for Victoria's management team.
On Behalf of Victoria Gold Corp.
Chad Williams, P. Eng, CEO, President & Director
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this discussion, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include metal prices, exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
This news release and the information contained herein does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States and securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or exemption from registration.
