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Gold/Mining/Energy : The River Valley Intrusion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Condor who wrote (22)	1/24/2001 2:23:56 PM
From: Brumell	Respond to of 36

Aquiline expands property position in River Valley Aquiline Resources Inc AQI Shares issued 9,160,808 Jan 22 close $0.30 Wed 24 Jan 2001 News Release Mr. Marc Henderson reports Aquiline has further expanded its already significant property position in the River Valley area near Sudbury, Ont., by entering into a letter agreement with a two local prospectors to acquire 110 claim units in Henry and James townships. This acquisition further solidifies Aquiline's position as one of the three principal landholders in the River Valley intrusion, which is a large layered mafic intrusion that is highly prospective for platinum group metals (PGM). The other two landholders of consequence -- Pacific North West Capital Corp. and Mustang Minerals Inc. -- have both entered into multimillion-dollar joint venture agreements with major South African PGM producers, leaving Aquiline as the only junior company in River Valley that will control and operate its own discovery. Terms of the acquisition, which are subject to Canadian Venture Exchange approval, call for Aquiline to make staged payments of cash and shares over a multiyear period in return for 100 per cent of the property, subject to a 3-per-cent net smelter return. Aquiline has a right to acquire the net smelter return at any time by making a cash payment of $250,000 per percentage point. First year payment terms are $12,000 in cash and 25,000 shares. There is no work commitment. Aquiline plans to conduct preliminary exploration on the property -- which is essentially unexplored -- during the summer field season. The property was acquired for its strategic position as it adjoins the joint venture block held with Mustang where an initial drill program is approaching and because it overlies a portion of the western limb of the River Valley intrusion. With this acquisition, Aquiline believes most if not all of the prospective ground in River Valley is now well held although the company remains open to the possibility of further opportunistic PGM acquisitions in Sudbury and elsewhere given the magnitude of the underlying supply deficit in palladium and the consequent need to explore and discover new commercial PGM deposits. (c) Copyright 2001 Canjex Publishing Ltd. stockwatch.com

To: Condor who wrote (22)	1/24/2001 2:26:55 PM
From: Brumell	Respond to of 36

....and one more for you Condor. Hope you are enjoying your holiday. Everyone is working hard in the north while you're away :-)) URSA Major Minerals Announces Geophysical Results Targeting Extensions Of Shakespeare Nickel, Copper, Palladium-Platinum Deposit In Sudbury Area Toronto, Ontario -- URSA Major Minerals Incorporated ("URSA Minerals") is pleased to announce results of geophysical surveys on the Shakespeare nickel-copper-platinum group metal (PGM) deposit, located 60 kilometres west of Sudbury, Ontario. Induced polarization (IP)/resistivity and magnetometer surveys conducted by JVX Ltd. have resulted in several priority exploration targets within gabbroic rocks along strike from and parallel to the deposit. In particular, JVX Ltd. has identified a strong spectral IP response that is a very high priority target extending northeast along strike from the known deposit. The geophysical survey was carried out over a 7.7 mile (12.4 km) grid using a proton precession magnetometer system and time domain IP system. The survey was designed to delineate disseminated sulphide zones in gabbroic rocks and determine areas favourable for PGM mineralization. The known sulphide mineralized zone at the Shakespeare deposit has a strike length of approximately 1400 feet (426 m) and is characterized by a strong chargeability, low resistivity and high magnetic response. These features persist for an additional 1400 feet (426 m) southwest and 1000 feet (305 m) northeast of the known mineralization and represent exploration targets for further investigation. The geophysical response to the northeast is particularly strong. In addition, the geophysical survey has identified a target that is located parallel to the known deposit and toward the base of the host layered gabbroic sill. The Shakespeare deposit had previously been estimated by Falconbridge Limited ("Falconbridge") to contain a near-surface, drill indicated Inferred Resource of 1.9 million tonnes grading 0.36% nickel, 0.42% copper, 0.44 g/t palladium, 0.40 g/t platinum and 0.23 g/t gold. URSA Minerals' assay results on 108 channel samples of the mineralized zone gave an average value of 0.41 g/t palladium, 0.38 g/t platinum, 0.20 g/t gold, 0.36% copper, 0.23% nickel and 0.016% cobalt. The geophysical results indicate that there is significant potential to increase the size of the resource. URSA Minerals can earn a 51% interest in the Shakespeare property from Falconbridge by issuing 150,000 shares and completing $600,000 in exploration expenditures over a three-year period. URSA Minerals has the further option to increase its interest to 75% by issuing an additional 150,000 shares and completing an additional $600,000 in exploration expenditure. The initial 50,000 shares were recently issued to Falconbridge. URSA Minerals has 5,089,554 shares outstanding. For further information contact: Dr. Richard H. Sutcliffe, President and CEO Phone: 416-864-0615 Fax: 416-864-0620 website:www.ursa-major.com

To: Condor who wrote (22)	1/25/2001 11:43:12 AM
From: Brumell	Respond to of 36

Even more interesting stuff!!! January 25, 2001 StockHouse News Desk By Craig Stanley (cstanley@stockhouse.com) StockHouse Columnist Junior Mining: Getting in on the Platinum Group Boom Toronto, ONT, January 25 /SHfn/ -- Over the past year, stock markets in North America have witnessed the collapse of Internet stocks and a general decline in the technology sector. As these markets continue to trade without direction, investors are left wondering which sector will be the next "hot thing." Well, behind the scenes, a bull market has been raging, one that has received little coverage in the mainstream financial press: the skyrocketing prices of platinum group elements (PGEs). The above chart sums up what has been happening in the shadows of the tech decline. Palladium prices rose 29% in 1999, soared 120% in 2000 and are up almost 10% this year alone. Though not as drastic, the rise in platinum is no less significant: up 18% in 1999, followed by a 42% jump in 2000 and a 2% gain already in January. Compare these results to the two precious metals that garner the most news attention: gold and silver. Gold prices dropped 2% in 1999, followed by a further 5% decline in 2000. Silver was up 8% in 1999 before falling 15% in 2000. PGEs consist of platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh), osmium (Os), iridium (Ir) and ruthenium (Ru). The most common of these are palladium and platinum, with futures contracts trading in New York on the Commodities Exchange (COMEX). Palladium prices rose 29% in 1999, soared 120% in 2000 and are up almost 10% this year alone. The phenomenal rise in prices for these metals basically boils down to two factors: diminishing supply from Russia and strong growth in industrial uses, particularly in automotive catalytic converters that reduce hydrocarbon emissions. Yet despite the rise, investors holding shares of junior mining companies exploring for these metals have not benefited from sustained appreciation, or increased liquidity in, their stocks. Four things appear to be behind this lackluster performance: The downturn in gold and silver prices: The general decline in these metals has unfairly cast a gloom over the entire mining industry. Investors only looking at the mainstream financial press are not being informed of the bull market in PGEs. A lack of major players: In North America, there are only two companies that solely mine PGEs: North American Palladium [T.PDL], with a market cap of just over $750 million, and Stillwater Mining [SWC], with a market cap of US$1.5 billion. Contrast this situation with the energy sector, where the sheer number of companies with significantly larger market caps drives investors to more speculative stocks as they look for the next big discovery. Fallout from Bre-X: The Canadian junior mining sector has languished under a suspicious cloud since the collapse of Bre-X in the mid 1990s. The Internet bubble: Speculative money that might have been invested in the sector instead found its way into Internet stocks over the past couple of years. But the word on PGEs might be finally getting out. After hitting a 52-week low of $5.50 on April 17, shares of North American Palladium have steadily moved higher, closing at $15 on Tuesday (a 172% increase). Shares of Stillwater have climbed 61% from their 52-week low of US$24.25 on June 23, closing on Tuesday at US$39. The fundamentals that have helped bolster prices so far are not disappearing. Money has also been moving back into the juniors, with the CDNX mining subindex climbing from below 4,000 in May to over 5,500 in January. Is the rise in PGE prices solely a speculative bubble? Perhaps, but the fundamentals that have helped bolster prices so far are not disappearing, arguing against a drastic decline. This article initiates StockHouse's coverage of Canadian-listed junior mining companies exploring for PGEs. In addition to explaining the reasons behind the rise in prices, this column will alert investors to stocks of junior miners that could appreciate significantly over the next year, based on a number of criteria including: The geology of areas being prospected and proximity to known deposits. Timetables for drill results and the interpretation of results. Management's experience and track record in exploration and in protecting small investors' stakes. The company's size of stake in a project and joint venture partners. Analyst coverage from brokerage houses. The promotion of the stock. Readers should appreciate that junior mining stocks are extremely speculative, may experience long periods of low trading volumes, and are not appropriate for risk-averse investors. The following tables list some of the players involved in the hunt for PGEs. The first two tables contain companies grouped according to the location of the prospects -- historically, if one junior discovers a deposit, then others in the same area get a boost (e.g., Voisey's Bay). Sudbury Area Aquiline Resources [V.AQI] Aurora Platinum [V.ARP] Canalaska Ventures Ltd. [V.CVV] Champion Bear Resources Ltd. [V.CBA] Consolidated Venturex Holdings Ltd. [V.CVA] Crowflight Minerals [V.CML] Freewest Resources [M.FWR] International Freegold [T.ITF] Mustang Minerals [V.YMU] Pacific North West Capital [V.PFN] Sparton Resources [V.YSP] Wallbridge Mining [T.WM] Northern Ontario Avalon Resources [V.AVL] Canadian Golden Dragon Resources [V.CGG] Classic Gold Resources [V.CGU] Denstone Ventures [V.DST] East West Resource Corp. [V.EWR] L.E.H. Ventures [V.LEH] LMX Resources [V.LMX] New Millenium Minerals [V.PGM] Starcore Resources [V.SOE] Other PGE Players Anooraq Resources [V.ARQ] Idaho Consolidated Metals [V.IDO] Muskox Minerals Corp. [V.MSK] Starfield Resources Inc. [V.SRU]