VANCOUVER, Sept. 8 /CNW/ - Freegold Ventures Limited (TSX: ITF) ("Freegold") and Western Standard Metals Ltd. (TSX-V: WSM) ("Western Standard") are pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement by which Western Standard will acquire a 100% interest in Freegold's Almaden gold project located in Idaho (the "Almaden Project"). In consideration, Western Standard will issue to Freegold 5 million common shares and will assume Freegold's primary secured bridge debt of approximately US$2.9 million.

The Almaden Project is located in rural western Idaho with excellent access and nearby hydro-electric power lines. The project is host to a low-sulphidation, epithermal gold deposit drilled extensively from 1978 to 1992 by a number of companies including Homestake and Amax Gold. Freegold optioned the property in 1995 and commissioned Watts, Griffis and McQuat ("WGM") to complete a feasibility study based on additional drilling and metallurgical test work completed by Freegold. The feasibility study, completed in 1997, envisioned gold production of approximately 100,000 ounces/year over a 5-year mine life by open pit mining and heap leach extraction.

Subsequent to the WGM study, Freegold commissioned an independent NI43-101 Technical Report in 2006 (Avalon Development Corp. and J.D. Graham and Associates), which outlined an indicated resource of 520,351 ounces (22,478,454 tonnes grading 0.72 grams/tonne) and an inferred resource of 361,477 ounces (18,133,902 tonnes grading 0.62 grams/tonne) at a cut-off grade of 0.38 grams/tonne gold. Since this estimate, Freegold has completed 16,500 metres of reverse circulation and diamond drilling with the intention of upgrading the resource to the measured and indicated categories.

The relatively flat lying, stratabound, near surface, disseminated gold mineralization is hosted in silicified sandstone and sinter, and is interpreted as forming in a hot-spring environment in the upper levels of an epithermal system. Relatively short, reverse circulation and diamond drill holes (60,601m in 866 holes) have outlined a deposit that is approximately 1,500 metres long, 500 metres wide and up to 150 metres in thickness. The deposit is open along strike and at depth where there is the potential to discover high-grade feeder veins to the overlying lower-grade disseminated mineralization. This style of mineralization at the Ken Snyder mine (Newmont Mining Corporation) in northern Nevada, locally contains ore grades greater than 3,430 grams/tonne and a gold resource of several million ounces (2004 Economic Geology, Volume 99, Page 1665-1686).

The Almaden Project is subject to a 4% net proceeds royalty interest payable to underlying property owners and a net smelter returns royalty of 1% (for gold prices equal to or less than US$425/oz) or 2% (for gold prices greater than US$425/oz) payable to Royal Gold Inc.

Upon closing of the agreement, Western Standard will initiate a drill program to explore the extension of the near surface mineralization that is open to the north and south, as well as test for deeper high-grade structurally controlled gold mineralization.