Junior exploration roundup

Ground prospecting, mapping, geochemical and geophysical surveys have outlined a new zone, called La Crucitas, at Torontonian Silver Dragon Resources' (OTC BB: SDRG) Cerro Las Minitas project in Mexico's Durango state, the company reported. Trenching at La Crucitas returned 44m averaging 512g/t silver, 0.8% lead, 0.4% zinc and 0.5% copper, 40m at 282g/t silver, 1.2% lead, 2.10% zinc and 0.6% copper, and 36m of 267g/t silver, 3% lead, 2.8% zinc and 0.2% copper. *** Vancouverite Cardero Resource (TSX: CDU, Amex: CDY) has initiated a 1,100m five diamond drill hole program on its Incahuasi gold project in Argentina's Catamarca province, a company communiqué said. *** US Gold (TSX, Amex: UXG) reported cutting 1.14g/t gold and 61.2g/t silver over 36m, including 7.66g/t gold and 503g/t silver over 3m at its Shakira project near the former producing Magistral mine area in Mexico's Sinaloa state. The initial exploration program underway will consist of 9,900m drilling, surface trenching and sampling. *** Torontonian Guyana Goldfields' (TSX: GUY) diamond drilling program on the Rory's Knoll zone of its Aurora project in Guyana has encountered 190m at 5.09g/t gold, including 11m at 7.05g/t gold, the company reported. Drilling on the Walcott Hill area encountered 1.5m of 43.2g/t gold, 8m at 2.29g/t gold and 1.83m averaging 1.73g/t gold. *** Vancouverite MAG Silver (TSX-V: MAG, Amex: MVG) cut 6m of 42.5g/t silver and 0.34g/t gold during 2007 phase I drilling at its Lagartos SE project in Mexico's Zacatecas state, the company reported. MAG has completed 20 holes, or 7,066m, of the initial drilling program. *** Toronto junior Canadian Shield Resources (TSX-V: CSP) reported that phase II drilling is underway on an expanded target area at the La Estrella gold-silver-base metal property in central Peru. The phase II diamond drill program consists of 1,500m in 7-10 core holes designed to follow up on results obtained in October's phase I program, the company said. *** Toronto-based Amerix Precious Metals (TSX-V: APM) reported that core drilling has resumed at the Ouro Roxo deposit on its Vila Porto Rico property in Brazil. So far the drill program has extended known gold mineralization 600m to the north, Amerix said, adding mineralization remains open northward. *** Surface trenching and sampling at Pacific Rim Mining's (TSX, Amex: PMU) Santa Rita gold project in El Salvador has returned 5.1m at 36.4g/t gold, 4.9m of 38.2g/t gold, 5.4m grading 16.8g/t gold and 4.55m at 12.8g/t gold. Exploration work was conducted on the southern portion of the Trinidad vein over a strike length of some 750m at intervals of approximately 25m.