News Release:
AMBREX MINING CORPORATION AND NORANDA RATIFY OPTION AGREEMENT ON
ARIPUANA PROPERTY, BRAZIL - NORANDA COMMENCES DRILLING
MONTREAL, Oct. 21 /CNW/ - Ambrex Mining Corporation (''Ambrex'') and
Noranda Mining and Exploration Inc. (''Noranda'') are pleased to announce the
signing of an option agreement on the 2,000 hectare Aripuana base metal
property in Mato Grosso State, central Brazil.
Under the terms of the option agreement Noranda, through its wholly owned
Brazilian subsidiary, is entitled to acquire up to 70% of the shares of a new
Brazilian company, Minera‡ao Rio Aripuana, S.A. (''MRA''), incorporated to
hold the Aripuana property, by spending CDN$28.9 million over five years.
Should Noranda fully exercise this option, Ambrex would be left with 14.7% of
the shares in MRA and the remaining 15.3% of the shares would be held by SGV
Merchant Banking-Intragroup Restricted Ltd. (6.3%), a wholly owned subsidiary
of St. GeneviŠve Resources Ltd., and Madison do Brasil Minera‡ao e
Participa‡oes S.A. (9%).
Pursuant to the option agreement, Noranda is entitled to earn an initial
55% of the shares as follows:
1. Noranda would initiate a $2 million exploration program to be
completed by December 31, 1998 and would effect an equity investment
of $650,000 in Ambrex in 1997 and $150,000 in early 1998 for the
purpose of Ambrex making required property payments. In addition,
Noranda would make a $1.1 million payment to the underlying royalty
holders in April 1998.
2. Noranda would then incur a further $10 million of exploration
expenditures by December 31, 2000.
3. Noranda would make a $3 million cash payment to be paid pro-rata to
the other shareholders of MRA at the time of a production decision.
Assuming the full exercise by Noranda of this initial option of 55%,
Ambrex would remain with 22.05% of the shares in MRA. In addition, Noranda
would then have the right to acquire a further 15% of the shares of MRA by
spending an additional $12 million by December 31, 2003. This would leave
Ambrex with 14.7% of the shares in MRA.
In anticipation of the closing of the option agreement, Noranda commenced
its exploration program. Drilling by Noranda to date, includes 2 holes on the
''Valley Deposit'' in the vicinity of and on the same section as earlier
announced Ambrex 1996 hole DDH - 08 (the discovery hole). This drill hole
intersected 14.5 meters of 10.0% Zn, 1.3% Pb, 0,08% Cu, 36.4 g/t Ag and 0.02
g/t Au between 129.7 and 144.2 meters core length. WATTS, GRIFFIS AND MCOUAT
(''WGM'') IN CONSULTATION WITH FORMER AMBREX PERSONNEL PREPARED A FORMAL
CALCULATED INDICATED RESOURCE OF 2.0 MILLION TONNES GRADING 10.7% ZN, 2.0% PB,
AND 87.5 G/T AG FOR THE ''VALLEY DEPOSIT''. Noranda's intention is to confirm
and test for extensions to this deposit as well as explore the potential of
the remainder to the property.
Initial Noranda hole AR97-20 was a short vertical hole designed to
provide additional geological control of the mineralized stratigraphy of the
''Valley Deposit''. This hole overcut hole DDH-08 and was in the oxidized
layer to a depth of 30.1 meters, intersecting a gossan between 16.0 and 20.3
meters. Once in fresh bedrock at 30.1 meters, three separate narrow
intersections of massive sulphides were noted down to a depth of 35.5 meters.
An exhalative sedimentary horizon continued to a depth of 54.2 meters.
Underlying this mineralized zone is probably a rhyolite flow sequence. Assays
are pending from this hole. This geological section is considered typical of
a volcanogenic massive sulphide (''VMS'') deposit.
A second hole AR97-21 was collared on the same section and designed to
step out 150 meters down the dip plane from the intersection of hole DDH-08
and hole AR97-20. This hole intersected the favourable horizon, as projected,
at a vertical depth of 300 meters. Approximately 115 meters (core length) of
variably mineralized exhalative sediments have been encountered including
several intersections of massive locally banded sulphides; the hole continues
and assays are pending.
Noranda also informed Ambrex that the data processing of the magnetic and
Time Domain EM geophysical surveys which were undertaken in August have been
completed. These surveys have delineated a coincident EM and magnetic anomaly
associated with mapped surface gossan and anomalous Cu, Pb, Zn and AG soil
geochemical anomalies, located in the southeast portion of the property some
1.5 kilometres from the ''Valley Deposit'' extending the potential mineralized
zone.
Ambrex is a mining exploration company active in precious and base metal
exploration in Brazil. The company trades on the Canadian Dealing Network and
has 49,551,505 issued and outstanding shares.
NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED
THE CONTENT OF THIS PRESS RELEASE
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For further information: Pierre Laflamme, (514) 866-6001; or Mary Peschka or Paul Piazza, (416)
869-0626 |
