"Exciting News"
August 4, 1999
VSE Symbol : AMC
DRILLING PROGRAM STARTS ON PORTUGAL MASSIVE SULPHIDE PROJECT
Abacus Minerals Corporation (the "Company") is pleased to announce that a diamond drill rig has been mobilized to the Ferragudo
project in Portugal. Joint venture partner Phelps Dodge Exploration Corporation is the operator and will drill a minimum of 2,000
metres on the property. A second drill rig is being considered to ensure that the drilling is completed in a timely manner.
Based on information generated from all available geological and geophysical data, including gravity and recent UTEM (University of
Toronto ElectroMagnetic) surveys, two drill sites have been selected. The first drill hole will test a moderately high gravity trend with
an associated UTEM conductor at depth in an area known as Cabeça do Porco, located in the southeast portion of the Ferragudo
property. The first drill hole will be up to 800 metres in length.
The second hole will test a moderate gravity high in the northwestern portion of the Ferragudo property known as Cavandelas. This
hole is planned for a depth of up to 500 metres. Additional drill holes will be based on the results of the first two holes and other
geophysical targets that are under consideration.
The drill targets that were selected was based on a compilation of geology, drill hole logs, historical gravity and other geophysical
data as well as a UTEM survey that was designed and completed earlier this year. Previous efforts in the area suggest that near
surface potential is limited and the greatest remaining potential to discover significant massive sulphide deposits occurs at depth.
UTEM surveys have the capability of relatively deep penetration and conductor discrimination that offer the ability to identify potential
targets at depth to be tested with diamond drilling. UTEM surveys successfully detected the 48,000,000 tonne zinc-copper
Lombador deposit at the Neves Corvo Mine.
The Ferragudo project adjoins the northwest corner of the world-class Neves Corvo mine that is owned by Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTZ) and
the Portuguese government. The property boundary is approximately 3,500 metres from the Neves Corvo mine workings. Reserves of
the Neves Corvo Mine come from six different deposits, which include 38,000,000 tonnes of 7.5% copper, 48,000,000 tonnes of
6.2% zinc and 0.5% copper, and 4,500,000 tonnes of 2.5% tin and 9.0% copper. These reserves exist within a larger 270,000,000
tonne pyritic mass.
The Iberian Pyrite Belt has been mined for over 5,000 years. Most of this mining activity was limited to near-surface showings.
However, in the past 25 years, geophysical techniques have identified deeper deposits in this belt. The discovery of the Neves Corvo
deposits in 1976 is an excellent example of the benefits of an integrated program utilizing geological and geophysical techniques.
The newest discovery in the Iberian Pyrite Belt is the unusually high-grade Las Cruces deposit in Spain where published reserves
are 15,000,000 tonnes of 6.0% copper, 20,000,000 tonnes of 6% zinc-lead, and 1,000,000 tonnes of 6.0 g/t gold.
Abacus will announce additional drill targets, as they are identified by Phelps Dodge.
On Behalf of the Board,
ABACUS MINERALS CORPORATION
"Steve L. Todoruk"
Steve L. Todoruk, P.Geo.
President
The Vancouver Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept the responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news
release. |
