Latitude Minerals Exercises Option on Tonsina PGE Property
SPOKANE, WA, October 13, 2000, Latitude Minerals Corp. (LTU.CDNX):
Further to Latitude's News Release dated September 20, 2000, Latitude wishes to announce that it has renegotiated the terms of its agreement with WGM Inc. Under the terms of the new agreement, Latitude has been granted the right to acquire a 90% interest in WGM's Tonsina Platinum-Palladium property located in south-central Alaska. In order to exercise this option, Latitude must spend US$2 million over a 4 year period and issue to WGM 200,000 common shares in its capital stock in three tranches over the first 2 years of the agreement. If the property becomes an "advanced-stage project", Latitude is require to issue to WGM an additional 550,000 shares. WGM will have a carried interest until a bankable feasibility study is submitted. Should WGM elect to sell its 10% position, Latitude will have first right of refusal. This agreement is subject to regulatory approval. The new agreement will enable the Company to aggressively seek a joint venture partner or standard project financing for the project through a private placement.
The Tonsina Property is a Platinum-Palladium prospect located NE of Valdez, Alaska, nine (9) miles off the Richardson Highway. The property is composed of 16 prospecting sites and 46 state claims comprising 4,400 acres. This 6.9 square mile property consists of a large layered mafic-ultramafic complex, which has dunite at the base grading upward through pyroxenite, websterite to gabbro and norite at the top of the system. There is a striking amount of layered chromite bands throughout the layered dunite and pyroxenite series. Some of these layers are enriched with respect to PGE. Total strike length of the complex is in excess of 10 miles. The 3 massifs, Bernard Mountain, Sheep Hill and Dust Mountain all have similar geology (visit our company website to view the map). Preliminary surface samples from Dust Mountain, contain assays up to 0.347 oz/T Pd and 0.260 oz/T Pt, with 10 samples averaging over 2 g/tonne (0.06 oz/T).
Geophysical evidence indicates that all three massifs are part of the same mineralized ultramafic complex. Latitude conducted a preliminary helicopter reconnaissance program this summer. Preliminary samples collected from Sheep Mountain contained up to 1.47 g/ tonne combined Pt-Pd.
The large, layered ultramafic series at Tonsina is a high-quality property with excellent discovery potential. It represents a significant opportunity for Latitude Minerals to diversify its portfolio beyond gold and into other strategic precious metals. Platinum and Palladium are vital and essential components in the production of fuel cells and automotive catalytic converters.
Additional information can be obtained by contacting Norman Eyolfson in Investor Relations (416) 762-8995 or by visiting the Company¹s website at latitudeminerals.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
Latitude Minerals Corporation.
John R. Carden,
President
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