A Tale of Two Mines: Revisited Robert Martin subman@gte.net October 30, 2003 posted October 27, 2003 written It's been a little over one month since I reported on Sterling Mining (SRLM) and Golden Phoenix Minerals (GPXM) on 321gold ("A Tale of Two Mines; Get Real to get Rich"), but things seem to be advancing rapidly in the gold and silver fields of the West, so it's already time for a quick update. Last Friday, Sterling Mining confirmed that it has launched its promised program to explore portions of its famous Sunshine Mine, areas that have never been studied: Sterling Mining Reports Encouraging Preliminary Surface Exploration Results at the Sunshine Mine COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2003--Sterling Mining Company (OTC:SRLM - News) is pleased to report encouraging preliminary surface exploration results from its Sunshine Mine property near Kellogg, Idaho. The Sunshine Mine is the richest silver mine in American history with more than 360 million ounces of production over the past century. Remember that Sunshine has not only produced 360 million ounces of silver, it currently holds 26 million ounces of reserve and another 160 million ounces of resource on its books. But Sterling's CEO Ray DeMotte isn't satisfied with that. He is actively searching out new deposits with the intent of expanding Sunshine's reserves dramatically. Preliminary findings appear encouraging. Expect this story to take the better part of 2004 to unfold. Ray DeMotte is doing what the marketplace loves, building equity by building asset base. The silver has been there all this time, but it doesn't count until it has been proven up. For those of you who did your homework and, like me, bought some shares of SRLM, the next several years could be explosive. I remain optimistic that sizable new silver deposits can be found in close proximity to the old diggings. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, DeMotte's counterpart at Golden Phoenix Minerals, CEO Mike Fitzsimonds, is attending the Chicago Natural Resource show as I write this. He is making a presentation and interacting with attendants. I won't make it to the show, but I saw the photo of 15 pounds of gold dore that Mike brought with him. He also brought some refined gold to display. The gold was recovered from GPXM's newly updated smelter at Mineral Ridge Mine, in Silver Peak, Nevada. 24-hours a day, seven days a week, the cyanide leaching loop at Mineral Ridge is now extracting gold. New mineral-bearing rock is being added to the leach pad, the cyanide levels are rising steadily, and the gold recovery is rising with it. GPXM's share price is rising as well, up 20% since last month. But even at these higher prices GPXM remains an excellent candidate for accumulation. Mineral Ridge Mine is a proven producer which, like Sunshine Mine, has large areas of potential mineralization yet to be explored. Golden Phoenix's principal geologist, Steve Craig, is the right man to explore these areas. Investors who buy into the company now - prior to further exploration of the property - will capture discounted shares before they head north. In my estimation it is only a matter of time (and not much time, at that) before Golden Phoenix establishes a significant increase in its gold reserves. That will be like putting money in the bank, and it will translate directly to a rising share price. So things continue looking good for what I called my "gold and silver bookends." Keep GPXM and SRLM on your radar screens. Specifically, watch for signs that their reserves are about to climb higher. Anticipate their intentions and direction. And don't wait too long to respond if you like what you see. As Jim Sinclair [www..jsmineset.com] announced just four days ago, the "Big Move" in gold has begun. Robert Martin October 27, 2003 Sterling Mining Company SRLM website .|..chart Golden Phoenix Minerals GPXM website .|..chart P.S. Anyone wishing to comment on this report, or share information or observations, is invited to contact me at subman@gte.net. * For the record, I have no argument with either long-term investors or company principals trading smaller blocks around their core position, and I presently do the same. ______________ 321gold Inc ref: 06568