To All:
Before doing anything rash today the following may be of interest from this mornings Calgary Sun:
canoe.ca
April 16, 1997
Indomin still keen on play
By MICHAEL PLATT
Calgary Sun
Bre-X Minerals Ltd.'s Busang woes haven't diminished the deposit's multi-million-ounce potential,says an established Canadian exploration firm.
While Bre-X fights to prove the validity of its claim, Toronto-based Indomin Resources Ltd. has been quietly testing its own piece of Busang -- with positive results.
"The geological structure is correct for a large emplacement of gold -- after 12 months of detailed geo-chemical surveys, we believe it warrants drill testing," said Paul Loudon, president of Indomin, which has eight gold and two diamond projects in Indonesia.
Indomin's Busang North, 40 km northeast of the Bre-X claim and part of the same geological structure, has turned up abundant free gold.
Loudon says his company staked the area following Bre-X success at Busang, and has no plans to abandon the site.
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"Even if Bre-X's piece of Busang proves less than first reported, it's still a valid find," he said. "That's why the market embraced Bre-X's initial results -- the area has a history of large gold deposits."
Allegations that Bre-X may have tampered with core-samples to exaggerate their find are unfeasible, says Loudon. "If Bre-X had reported 70 million ounces of gold in downtown Edmonton, I could understand the doubt. But Busang is geologically correct for a major find," he said. "And to think those guys salted 48,000 samples -- it begs credibility."
Indomin will begin drilling Busang North at the end of April, when its Contract of Work (COW) is granted by the Indonesian government. The Bre-X debacle had delayed all COWs, but Indonesia recently gave the go-ahead for all pending contracts -- with the exception of Bre-X.
Bre-X must wait until independent assays are completed by Strathcona Mineral Services Ltd. at the end of April before it will be considered for the contracts.
Bre-X originally claimed over 70 million oz. of gold at Busang -- an amount that would make it the
gold find of the century.
But Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., a potential Bre-X mining partner, said its own tests revealed "insignificant" amounts of gold, ripping $3 billion from Bre-X's market capitalization.
The Indonesian government has said it believes Busang is worth mining, and is conducting its own review of the site. It expects those results will be released in May.
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Any comments???
T. |
