Mandorin Goldfields Inc. Friday, October 30, 1998
Mandorin Secures Zimbabwean Gold Mining Claims At Tafuna Hills
MANDORIN GOLDFIELDS INC ("MGD-V;MRGFF-L")RIO AMARILLO MINING LTD ("RIO-V;RAMGF-L")-
Mandorin Secures Zimbabwean Gold Mining Claims At Tafuna Hills
Mr Malcolm L. Stevens, Chairman and President of Mandorin GoldfieldsInc. ("Mandorin") announces that
Mandorin has entered into a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with Picard Holdings Limited ("Picard") to
purchase Picard'smining claims.
This agreement replaces the Letter of Agreement entered into betweenMandorin, Picard and Rio
Amarillo Mining Ltd ("Rio") (see announcementsdated July 3, 1998 and October 13, 1998).
The agreement between Mandorin and Picard covers Mandorin's ZimbabweEPO's 1072 (Mazowe), 1073
(Mufurudzi) and 1080 (Tafuna Hills) and Picard'smining claims over extensive areas of Tafuna Hills. The
claims cover bothgold and base metals. EPO 1073 is the subject of a 50:50 joint venture withRio (see
announcement dated October 13, 1998), on which Rio has agreed tospend C$750,000 over two years.
The combined Zimbabwean assets of Mandorin and Picard have beenindependently valued by Watts
Griffis and McOuat in a report dated 15 April1998 as having a fair market value C$3.4m to C$4.0m.
Since the valuation,the joint venture with Rio has been announced. Based upon an agreedexpenditure by
Rio of C$750,000 for a 50% interest, this agreement valuesMufurudzi (EPO 1073) at C$1.5m against a
median valuation by Watts Griffisand McOuat of C$900,000.
The properties are situated in the Shamva region of Zimbabweapproximately 100km northeast of the city
of Harare and cover a total areaof 60,000 hectares. They lie within the Harare Shamva Greenstone Belt,
alarge, arcuate, Archean volcanic/sediment package situated within thenorthern portion of the Zimbabwe
craton. The Harare Belt is one of thelargest Archean volcanic belts in the craton with dimensions of
140km x80km.
The EPO's cover a portion of the eastern half of the Bindura-ShamvaGreenstone Belt. The greenstone
belt is made up of a sequence of Archeanultramafic to felsic volcanics, sediments and intrusives
unconformablycapped by a younger sequence of greywacke, conglomerate and intercalatedtuffs. These
represent a suite of rocks very similar in composition andstatigraphy to other gold bearing Archean
Greenstone Belts such as theAbitibi Greenstone Belt in Canada or the Yilgarn Block of
WesternAustralia.
Within the Tafuna Hills EPO (1080) (31,600 ha), Tafuna Hill itself isrenowned for its unusually high
concentration of auriferous quartz veins.Within the 1,200 ha Tafuna Hill area, eleven mines have
produced a total of7.5 tonnes gold and 15.45 tonnes of tungsten ore.
Gold is hosted by lenticular and stringer quartz veins situated infractures and narrow shears within the
volcanics. Associated mineralsinclude arsenopyrite, pyrite, scheelite and rarely chalcopyrite and
galena.The currently known deposits form two groups, one on the northwest side ofthe hill and the other
group of mines defining a broad north-south-trendingband just east of the summit.
Away from the hill, several ancient gold showings are found within theShamvaian Group sediments and
the Bulawayan Group (Upper Greenstone)volcanic package. To date these are only minor showings but
immediately offthe EPO within the Mazowe Valley, several important gold deposits arehosted by both of
these units.
The Upper Greenstones also contain horizons of ultramafic flows andintrusions,
anthophyllite-corderite-tremolite-cummingtonite-rich bands andoxide iron formations. These rock types
are prospective for Kambalda-stylenickel, Archean volcanogenic massive sulphide and iron
formation-hostedgold deposits. It is unknown if exploration for these deposit types hasbeen performed in
the past.
Mazowe (EPO 1072) lies in the Mazowe Valley bottom, to the northeastof Tafuna Hill. Mazowe encloses
the town and minesite of Shamva.
Although the area has not been explored using modern methods, thenumber of pits and shafts indicate
the Mazowe lies along a metallogenetictrend for gold. It is unlikely that many (if any) of the historic
producershave been drilled.
Watts Griffis and McOuat has estimated a Fair Market Value for Tafuna(EPO 1080) and the adjoining
Mazowe (EPO 1072) of C$2,800,000 -C$3,200,000.
The consideration for the purchase of Picard's mining claims is16,000,000 Mandorin shares and
US$150,000 cash. The agreement betweenMandorin and Picard is subject to regulatory approval.TEL:
(888) 212-3835
Ms. Christine ReynoldsTEL: (61 2) 9251 5855
Mr. Jim Becke
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