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Gold/Mining/Energy : Abacus Minerals Corporation (V.AMC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neil Irwin who wrote (351)	6/24/1999 11:35:00 AM
From: Richard Cushnie	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 397

Abacus receives $2.5-million loan Abacus Minerals Corporation AMC Shares issued 22,815,405 Jun 23 close $0.17 Thu 24 Jun 99 News Release Mr. Steve Todoruk reports Abacus Minerals Corporation has received a $2.5-million (U.S.) long-term, non-convertible, low-interest loan from the Economic and Development Assistance Fund in Ketchikan, Alaska. These funds will be committed to a $4.7-million (U.S.) exploration and development program at Abacus' Niblack volcanogenic massive sulphide project on Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska. The exploration program at Niblack will allow for approximately 1,700 metres of underground exploration and 5,000 to 6,500 metres of underground diamond drilling. The objectives of the program are to double the presently indicated resource and demonstrate continuity prior to feasibility. The drill-indicated resource at the Niblack project is 2.53 million tonnes grading 3.04 grams per tonne gold, 38.99 g/t silver, 1.71 per cent copper and 3.22 per cent zinc. Within this resource, very high-grade copper, zinc and gold sections are present. Examples of these rich grades encountered in drilling include holes such as: Hole Width Au Ag Cu Zn m g/t g/t % % LO-92 7.67 20.73 34.88 0.82 4.94 LO-97 9.20 9.99 204.52 1.39 25.80 LO-99 32.30 7.87 260.95 1.33 7.33 LO-115 15.50 3.01 36.25 4.20 1.27 Surface drilling at Niblack has followed the mineralization to depths where it has become more economically feasible to drive an underground adit to continue expanding the mineralized zone through underground drilling. The company is confident that the deposit will significantly increase in size with this next phase of development. It is anticipated that a 5.5-million-tonne resource will be sufficient to begin a prefeasibility study at Niblack. Permits are in place to conduct the underground program. Teck Corporation is the company's largest shareholder and has the right to earn a 51-per-cent interest in the Niblack project by placing the property into commercial production once a positive prefeasibility study has been delivered. The loan arranged through the EDAP will be amortized over a 20-year period at an interest rate of prime plus 1 per cent. If the company can demonstrate that an additional $7.5-million (U.S.) has been spent on the property, the interest rate will be reduced to 3 per cent. The agreement with the EDAP allows for no payments on principal or accrued interest until the sixth year of the loan. Collateral on the loan will be backed with the timber rights on the patented claims at the Niblack property. The company is considering the negotiation of the early harvest and sale of select areas of timber, thereby generating cash flow and supporting the loan's pay-back process. To meet the criteria set forth in the loan agreement with the EDAP, Abacus has commenced negotiations to secure the remaining $2.2-million (U.S.) required to finance the next stage of development at the Niblack project. (c) Copyright 1999 Canjex Publishing Ltd. canada-stockwatch.com