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

To: Margy Cadieux who wrote (51)	2/17/1998 11:55:00 AM
From: Mr Metals	Respond to of 397

*NEWS RELEASE** Abacus Minerals Corporation - JV to explore properties adjacent to Neves Corvo mine district Abacus Minerals Corporation AMCShares issued 180404051998-02-16 close $0.37Tuesday Feb 17 1998Mr Steve Todoruk reports The company has submitted to the Portuguese Government Mining Agency an application and was subsequently invited to submit a draft contract for two mineral exploration concessions within the South Portuguese zone of the Iberian Pyrite belt. The concessions, totalling 195 sq km, adjoin the world class Neves Corvo mine which is owned 49% by Rio Tinto Mining and 51% by the Portuguese government. The draft contract is presently going through a normal 30 day process of public review after which time it is expected that finalization of the contract will be executed by the Portuguese Government Minister responsible for granting concessions. Phelps Dodge Exploration, of Phoenix, Arizona, has signed a formal joint venture partnership agreement with Abacus to explore this highly prospective property upon the successful acquisition of the concessions. Phelps Dodge will have the right to earn a 70% interest in the project by financing the first US$7,000,000 in exploration. At that point Abacus will participate as to a 30% working interest. The Neves Corvo mine, adjacent the pending concessions, is considered to be one of the world's richest and highest grade volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits. It also contains exceptionally high tin values. The mine presently comprises six different orebodies contained within a pyritic massive sulphide resource of 270,000,000 tons grading 0.5% copper and 0.2% zinc. Two of the more significant orebodies include the Neves and Corvo with reserves of 42,000,000 tons grading 7.6% copper of which 4,300,000 tons grades 2.5% tin and the Lombador with reserves of 47,000,000 tons grading 6.2% zinc. Recent studies have indicated significant gold credits are contained within the ore. Occurring over a strike length of 3,000 metres, the sulphide deposit is open to the northwest and southeast. Straddling the northwesterly trending favourable felsic volcanic geology and known ore deposits of the Neves-Ourique volcanic lineament, the pending concessions immediately adjoin the northwest boundary of the Neves Corvo mine property. The closest of the Neves Corvo deposits, the Lombador, is less than 3,500 metres from the applied for Abacus concessions boundary and is reputed to be wide open to the north and down dip. The most northerly and most recent drill testing of the Lombador area was in 1994. Although zinc is the dominant metal in the Lombador ore, the 1994 drilling encountered intercepts grading up to 8% copper over 4 metres. This suggests an excellent potential for additional high-grade copper mineralization to occur more proximal to the pending concessions boundary. A fairly extensive preliminary review of data generated by previous operators on the applied for Abacus concessions has been completed and a more thorough review of all original data will begin immediately. This will include a complete reinterpretation of all historical geophysical data by Phelps Dodge geophysical personnel. Special emphasis will be given to gravity survey data as these surveys were instrumental in the discovery of Neves Corvo and more recently the Las Cruces deposit in the Spanish sector of the Iberian Pyrite belt and the Lagoa Salgada deposit to the northwest of Neves Corvo. Las Cruces, discovered in 1996 by Rio Tinto, presently has 15,000,000 tons grading 6% copper at less than 200 metres below surface. Abacus believes the successful acquisition of the concessions, directly on strike and adjacent to the Neves Corvo Mining District, will provide an exceptional exploration opportunity. (c) Copyright 1997 Canjex Publishing Ltd. canada-stockwatch.com Mr Metals