News release, and more encouraging results from Anooraq:
drill data can be obtained from the web-site
hdgold.com
click on companies, then Anooraq, and then news releases.
Regards
Dan
March 29, 2000, Vancouver, Canada ? Robert G. Hunter, Chairman of Anooraq
Resources Corporation (CDNX-ARQ), is pleased to announce that drilling at the
Platreef property in South Africa has substantiated significant
platinum/palladium/rhodium/gold (PGM) resources over 800 metres of strike length
north from the adjoining PPRust PGM Mine property operated by Anglo American
Platinums Corporation Ltd. Drilling is ongoing.
Drill hole 14 on the attached Drill Hole Location Map is a discovery hole that
extends the occurrence of important PGM mineralization 200 metres beyond the
continuity established by earlier announced drilling. Results from hole 14 include
17.00 metres grading 3.09 grams PGM per tonne; 5.50 metres grading 5.62 g/t
and 2.10 metres grading 4.12 g/t.
PGM mineralization being delineated is open north along strike and down-dip to
the west. Plateau Resources (Pty) Ltd., the property vendor, drilled holes DT1
through DT8 totalling 1,226 metres that identified the mineralized Platreef horizon;
now Anooraq?s drill holes 1 to 15 totalling 2,822 metres have continued to
delineate significant PGM values over bulk mineable widths. Significant assay
results from all core holes compiled to date are shown on the attached Table of
Assay Results. Drilling has been focused on an initial 600 metres of strike length
of the Platreef, with 9.4 kilometres of the prospective horizon still to be
investigated. Anooraq is planning to rapidly develop the property and acquire its
ownership interest.
Assay results show that palladium values in Platreef PGM intersections exceed
platinum values by a factor of 1.25 times. By weighted average, platinum forms
41% of the total PGM value, palladium 51%, rhodium 2% and gold 6%. Market
prices for these metals are currently US$480/oz. for platinum, US$615/oz. for
palladium, US$1,700/oz. for rhodium and US$285/oz. for gold. The average base
metal content (copper + nickel + cobalt) in the Platreef intersections is 0.25%.
Anooraq has a two-stage right to purchase up to 100% of Plateau Resources, a
South African subsidiary of Pinnacle Resources Inc. of Denver, which holds the
Platreef property covering 74 square kilometres of ground extending 10 kilometres
north along strike from the PPRust Mine which, with 650,000 ounces of annual
PGM production, is the most profitable PGM mine in the world. Anooraq?s drilling
started at Platreef on February 1, 2000 and is ongoing. Initial drilling is expanding
the area of Plateau?s successful 1998 drill results (DT1 through DT8) in the
southern portion of Drenthe Farm. Strike extension drilling north towards Witrivier
Farm is also underway.
The Platreef is located in the northern limb of South Africa?s Bushveld Intrusive
Complex which produces 70% of the world?s platinum and 25% of the world?s
palladium. The Platreef forms the base of the Bushveld Complex trending through
the PPRust and Platreef properties and is equivalent to the highly productive
Merensky Reef in the western portion of the Bushveld Complex. The Platreef
horizon dips moderately to the west, affording targets for both open pit-mineable
PGM resources and their underground-mineable down-dip extensions.
PGMs enjoy buoyant market conditions with prices near all-time highs due to
strong global demand and uncertain supply. They have a dual role for jewelry and
investment, as well as being industrial minerals consumed in essential and
growing high-tech applications in autocatalysts, computers and wireless
communications.
Mark Rebagliati, P.Eng., International Exploration Manager and Consultant to
Anooraq, is supervising a rigorous quality assurance program for the Platreef
drilling. From NQ (1.9 inch) diameter core, one-half sawn core samples are being
collected over geologically defined and logged intervals by Anooraq geologists at a
secure core logging facility. All samples, including standards and duplicates, are
shipped to Set Point Laboratories in Johannesburg, South Africa which is owned
by Set Point Technology Holdings, one of South Africa?s leading scientific and
industrial technology groups. Set Point prepares the samples for platinum,
palladium, rhodium and gold analysis by 50-gram fire assay fusion with lead as a
collector followed by an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission
spectroscopy (ICP-AES) finish. Platinum group elements and gold analyses are
reported in parts per billion. In addition, the samples are analysed for nickel,
copper and cobalt by ICP. Base metal results are reported in parts per million.
Duplicate samples are being analysed for platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold
at Set Point Laboratories and also at SGS South Africa (Pty) Ltd. in Springs,
South Africa.
For further details on Anooraq Resources Corporation and the Platreef properties,
contact Investor Services at (604) 684-6365, or within North America, at
1-800-667-2114.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Robert G. Hunter
Chairman
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in
this news release.
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