Ottawa, ON: Patrician Consolidated Gold Mines Ltd. ("Patrician") has recently staked the Blackwater Lake Property in the western part of the Northwest Territories. The property is located about 160km southeast of Norman Wells or 550km northwest of Yellowknife in the Mackenzie River Valley north of Blackwater Lake. The property consists of 33 claim units in two discontinuous groups and encompasses 26,800 hectares (66,000 acres). Access is via a winter road to Norman Wells, which parallels the Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

Exploration by DeBeers Canada Inc. (formerly Diapros) was conducted in the region from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980's. Several phases of reconnaissance stream sediment sampling identified a distinct kimberlitic indicator mineral anomaly in the area of Blackwater Lake. Available data indicates that many of the observed grains displayed physical characteristics, such as original textures and lack of abrasion, suggesting limited transport from source.

Exploration grids were established in 1980 and 1981 on a portion of the area now encompassed by Patrician's Blackwater Lake property. Approximately 345 line kilometres of grid was laid out at 100m intervals for soil sampling and magnetic surveys. Roughly 1,800 samples of glacial sediments were collected from the uppermost 0.5m. The sampling revealed a number of anomalous sample sites with kimberlitic indicator mineral counts up to 166. The maximum count in any one sample is of 145 for garnet, 117 for ilmenite and 7 for chrome diopside. The abundance of the indicator minerals is similar to published results for the area surrounding the Lac de Gras kimberlite cluster, as well as for other regions of Canada hosting kimberlite pipes. Patrician interprets the mineral assemblage at Blackwater Lake as distinct from that at Lac de Gras, indicating a separate and most probably local source.

In order to locate the source of the indicators, an airborne magnetic survey was flown in 1979 over the area. It was followed by a ground survey in 1980. The latter succeeded in detecting a number of small elliptical magnetic anomalies, up to 100m across and from 40 to 60 nT above background, a few of which were later drilled. The light drill was usually unable to reach bedrock and the three holes that did succeed encountered non-magnetic dolostone. Hence the magnetic responses remain, for the most part, unexplained.

Recent compilation and analysis of the till sampling data by Patrician shows a clustering of highly anomalous sample sites for garnet and ilmenite in two main areas in the northern half of the property. Mineral grain characteristics indicate a nearby bedrock source. Patrician is continuing to assess available data while preparing for the upcoming summer field season

The Blackwater Lake area is referenced in Kevin Krajick's book "Barren Lands" and Mathew Hart's recent book "Diamond: A Journey into the Heart of an Obsession". For maps showing the property location, boundaries and technical information, please visit Patrician's new web site www.patriciandiamonds.com.

For further information, please contact:

Robin B. Dow
President
1-888-834-7708
email: rdow2563@rogers.com