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Snowfield Development Corp. ("Snowfield") takes this opportunity to update and clarify for its shareholders the status of the Ticho Diamond Project located near Drybones Bay, Great Slave Lake, N.W.T., approximately 50 km south east of Yellowknife, NWT. The Ticho Project, encompassing approximately 40,000 acres of mineral claims, hosts the Mud Lake kimberlite sill discovered by Snowfield in early 2003. The Mud Lake Kimberlite is located on the Drybones No. 4 Mineral Claim, which Claim was the subject of an Option Agreement with Consolidated Gold Win Ventures Inc. ("Gold Win") which granted Gold win an option to earn a 39.6% interest in the Drybones No. 4 Mineral Claim (see NR 06-12)
The essence of the Option Agreement obligated Gold Win to pay Snowfield an aggregate of $1,250,000 in cash payments, issue to Snowfield 5,000,000 common shares of its capital stock and fund an aggregate of $2,500,000 in exploration and development work on the Drybones 4 Mineral Claim. The cash payments, share issuances and exploration funding payments were spaced in tranches over a 12 month period. As announced by Snowfield on July 19th, 2006 (NR 06- 27) Gold Win defaulted on their first exploration funding payment and were deemed to be in default of the Option Agreement. The second exploration funding tranche, due July 31st, 2006, has also now been defaulted by Gold Win and Snowfield has accepted a Notice of Abandonment of the Option Agreement from Gold Win (NR 06 - 29).
Despite Gold Win's failure to meet its option agreement obligations, Snowfield has continued to move ahead with all of the exploration programs scheduled for the 2006 summer season. During the past ten days, the Company completed a large till sampling program in the Sipper Lake area of the Drybones No. 4 Mineral Claim, approximately 800 meters to the east of the Mud Lake Kimberlite. Several km of access trails were constructed and seventy samples were retrieved and shipped to Overburden Drilling Management Ltd. ("Overburden") for sorting of kimberlite indicators.
The Company is also currently, contrary to certain prevarications and mis-information contained in News Releases issued by the management of Gold Win, awaiting the results from the second batch of kimberlite core sent for caustic fusion analysis at the Thunder Bay Laboratory of Kennecott Canada ("Kennecott"). The Company fully expects that those caustic fusion results, when received and interpreted in conjunction with the first submitted batch of results, will again simply confirm that the Mud Lake Kimberlite is a diamondiferous body as previously reported by the Company on February 6, 2006. (NR 06 - 04).
Most importantly, Snowfield has made significant progress in undertaking a bulk sample of up to 500 tonnes of kimberlite from the Mud Lake Kimberlite. To date, the Company has completed a new all-season access trail over rock and gravel terrain from the Pebble Beach Camp to the bulk sample site. This route became necessary as a result of the earlier weather related ice-road delays which precluded the use of the original winter access route which is too boggy for the movement of heavy equipment and kimberlite. This all-weather route was approved as a field amendment to Snowfield's existing Land Use Permit by the MacKenzie Valley Land & Water Board (the "MVL&WB") following an inspection of the project by Resource Management Officers on June 19, 2006.
The actual bulk sample, as authorized under Snowfield's MVL&WB Land Use Permit, as amended May 4, 2005, is progressing with the total bulk sample area having been cleared and the actual bulk sample site overburden excavated down to granite. The original bulk sample plan was a trench sampling program to remove, under winter conditions, up to an estimated total of 160 cubic meters, approximately 500 tonnes, of kimberlitic material from a surface trench excavation for processing and testing. The modified bulk sampling program proposed by Snowfield's technical consultants requires that the sample be extracted by way of a drifting technique utilizing a ramp approximately 100 metres in length and a decline which will descend to a depth of approximately 15 meters at a gradient of 15E as opposed to the originally proposed trench and ramping method. Snowfield is currently awaiting a final field inspection by the NWT Workers' Compensation Board prior to the commencement of blasting which is expected to occur by the beginning of next week.
As a formality, Snowfield has recently submitted an application to the MVL&WB to further amend its Land Use Permit to increase the total area of disturbance required to undertake the bulk sample of kimberlitic material to an area of up to approximately 4.0 ha which will include the actual area of the ramp descending to the adit from which the kimberlitic material will be extracted and the immediate surrounding area of disturbance to be utilized for site access, overburden material storage, equipment storage areas and temporary facilities for equipment maintenance and personnel accommodations. This application consolidates and details the total areas of sampling and surface area disturbance referenced in the May 4, 2005 Land Use Permit amendment application. Snowfield expects this application, which doesn't affect Snowfield's current bulk sampling activities, to be approved at an early date
During the current year, Snowfield has expended in excess of $750,000 on exploration expenditures on its Ticho Diamond Project. These expenditures have been fully funded by Snowfield with no exploration funding payments having been received from Gold Win.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Robert T. Paterson"
President
SNOWFIELD DEVELOPMENT CORP.
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