$2,625,000 financing completed
Now we can see some results in upcoming drill programs.
Western Pacific Gold Inc WPI
Shares issued 11,827,329 Apr 29 close $0.65
Tue 29 Apr 97 News Release
Mr Nicholas Mather reports
The company has closed a financing for total proceeds of $2,625,000.
Subject to regulatory approval, WPI will issue to European institutional
investors 3,020,000 units and to Canadian investors 480,000 special
warrants at $0.75. Each unit will consist of one share and one warrant
exercisable at $1.00 within one year. Acting as agent, David Williamson
Associates Ltd provided the assistance in closing the financing and will
continue to work closely with WPI management.
The proceeds will place the company in a strong position to aggressively
complete drill target selection and commence drilling programs planned on
properties in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea over the next year.
Exploration on WPI's projects on the main island of Guadalcanal in the
Solomon Islands have been progressing according to schedule. WPI has
secured renewal of its tenements as reported in Stockwatch April 10 1997
for two years over the entire tenement area. Further, a letter of intent to
grant WPI a special prospecting licence over the Alumino Creek area has
been issued by the Ministry of Energy, Mineral and Water Resources. The
Alumino Creek area covers highly prospective ground on the Koloula Gold
Ridge transform structure in the southeast of WPI's tenement position on
Guadalcanal. The company is at an advanced stage with land owner
negotiations for access. WPI management believes the area hosts a
significant mineralized epithermal gold and porphyry copper system. Field
investigations will commence upon completion of landowner access
agreements.
The company is currently assessing 25 of the best aeromagnetic targets
outlined by independent consultant, Etheridge Henley Williams, on WPI's
project areas.
WPI is the Solomon Island's most active and capable exploration company
with a field crew of six highly qualified staff geologists and up to 30
local field assistants. WPI has an office and accommodation base in Honiara
and maintains regular contact and liaison with the relevant government
departments.
In the Solomon Islands, WPI will focus on the definition of drill targets
on the five best prospects. A drilling program comprising 5000m of reverse
circulation drilling is scheduled for June.
At Mbetilonga in the northwest portion of the project area, WPI's field
crews have identified extensive areas of altered and silicified sediments
and volcanics containing attendant pyrite and chalcopyrite mineralizations.
Higher grade secondary copper mineralization and native copper have also
been identified. Approximately 250 samples have been collected and are
awaiting shipment to assay laboratories in Australia. As previously
announced, WPI ensures retention of half a sample in registered assay
laboratories in Australia and does not engage in any on site sample
preparation. WPI believes that copper and gold mineralization identified by
Freeport and WPI in the Mbetilonga tenement has been introduced along
marginal fracture zones on the edge of a subsided fault block. The crew is
currently investigating a large dipole aeromagnetic anomaly on the western
corner of this fault block.
WPI has negotiated an access agreement at Itina Creek, the site of a large
7 sq km aeromagnetic anomaly with signatures similar to Ok Tedi. A field
crew has been scheduled to investigate the area.
A further 85 channel samples from the Chupukama prospect have been
collected and await assay. The company believes that Chupukama extends over
a strike length of up to 700m and 150m wide, grading 1.3 g/t with up to 12
g/t in 15m sections.
WPI continues to negotiate access agreements on the Sutakiki project where
it wishes to test a 9,000 square metre breccia target with 4 sq km of
surrounding concentric alteration zones. Alluvial gold mining in the Suta
River and quartz carbonate/pyrite filler veins and disseminations. Also
from Topacatcha Creek, a 5m composite in fractured altered andesite located
a further 200m upstream returned an average grade of 1.13 g/t gold.
The acquisition of Magma Mines NL has provided WPI with a major presence in
gold exploration in Papua New Guinea. With the recent discovery of
significant gold mineralization south of the 14 million ounce Porgera gold
project by the Carpenter/Madison project, WPI has stepped up exploration
plans in Papua New Guinea as all the projects are on similar structural
features as Madison, in particular, the northeast dilatant transform
fracture systems.
WPI has been informed that its EL 1184 Wamum tenement and BHP's tenement,
EL 1014 Ofi Creek, has received Papua New Guinea Mining Advisory Board
approval and awaits ministerial approval. Orders for the determination of
BHP's renewal application on EL 1014 have been issued by the PNG Superior
Court.
WPI's granted Telefomin project, covering 1,100km of land between the giant
Ok Tedi and Frieda River deposits containing 32-42 million ounces of gold
equivalent, respectively, has the occurrence of four known aeromagnetic
anomalies and stream sediment responses up to 507 ppm gold in leach
samples, 15 g/t gold in skarn mineralization and 80m at 1.1 g/t gold in a
trench (all results by Kennecott in the 1970s), and the location of the
project on a dilatant northeasterly transform fracture demonstrates and
extraordinary potential of this project area. WPI is currently reappraising
and reinterpreting its existing high resolution aeromagnetic data for the
southern half of the tenement. A field reconnaissance program is expected
to commence in June.
The Ofi Creek project, hosts inferred tonnages of 85m at 0.6 g/t gold and
0.4% copper. WPI believes that there is potential to expand the tonnage by
up to three times on the basis of mapping and aeromagnetic interpretations
and increase the grade of the project by discovering additional resources
in overprinting epithermal gold zone yielding up to 20 g/t in Ofi Creek.
Gold-copper mineralization occurs in quartz stockworks in alteration zones
associated with stocks at the historically prospective Edie porphyry in the
area. Drill intersections encountered by CRA returned up to 43.3m at 2.09
g/t gold and 0.68% copper and 36m at 1.79 g/t gold and 0.45% copper at
Idzan Creek.
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