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Cranbrook, B.C. 09 August,
2005:
Eagle Plains
Resources Ltd. (EPL:TSX-V) announces that it has
executed an option agreement with Blind Creek
Resources
Ltd. (a private B.C. company)
whereby Blind Creek may earn a 60% interest from EPL in the
Blende silver-lead-zinc-copper
deposit located in the Wernecke Mountains, approximately 65 NE
of Keno in central Yukon Territory. The property is owned 100% by
EPL (subject to a 1% NSR), and consists of 73 quartz claims covering
approximately 3700 acres. The property has remained dormant since
1994.
Blind Creek has agreed to
complete a total of $5,000,000 in exploration expenditures, pay EPL
a total of $250,000 cash ($15,000 upon TSX-V acceptance) and issue
1,000,000 common shares by December 31st,
2010. EPL will
remain operator of the project up to the completion of $1,000,000 in
expenditures. A 10% finders fee has been reserved for B.
Kreft, and will be paid by the vendor.
The Blende is a
carbonate-hosted deposit on the south edge of the Mackenzie
Platform, hosted by Middle Proterozoic Gillespie Group dolomite. A
N.I. 43-101 compliant report was completed on the property in 2004
by B. Price, P.Geo. In his technical report, Price used
calculations prepared in 1991 by Billiton Metals Canada Ltd., which
identified a resource estimate for the property comprising a total
of 19,600,000 tonnes (21,500,000 tons) grading 56.0 g/T silver and
5.84% combined lead-zinc. Within this resource is 15,300,000 tonnes
grading 67.5 g/T silver and 6.27% combined lead-zinc.
In terms of contained metals,
the Blende property contains at least:
-
35M ounces
silver
-
1.3B lbs
zinc
-
1.2B lbs lead
Price noted that
“Mineralization estimates are considered reliable and relevant, but
were prepared prior to National Instrument 43-101 standards. The
resource calculations have been examined in detail by the writer and
conform with the definition of an Inferred Mineral
Resource.”
Although initially explored as
an open pit target, Eagle Plains and Blind Creek management believe
that there is excellent potential to outline additional resources,
and possibly develop the deposit as an underground operation, which
would allow mining of a smaller tonnage with higher grade. By
adjusting the cutoff grade of the blocks calculated previously, the
current resource could be reduced in tonnage, but increased in grade
to 4.1 million tonnes grading 105 g/T (3.1 oz/t) silver, 6.7% lead,
and 4.6% zinc. At the completion of work in 1994, the deposit was
found to be open along strike to the west, and down-dip.
Numerous high-grade
intersections have been reported by past operators, including hole
88-02 which assayed 282 g/t (8.22 oz/t) silver, 12.2% lead, and 4.4%
zinc over 19.8m from a depth of 70.7 to 90.5m. Hole 88-03
returned 8.5m grading 550.1 g/t (16.04 oz/t) silver, 15.3% lead and
4.6 % zinc from 118.0 to 126.5m, and hole 90-15 intersected 9.5m
grading 351.2 g/t (10.24 oz/t) silver, 14.11% lead, and 6.59%
zinc from 60.1 to 69.6m. Step-out drilling in 1994 confirmed the
continuation of ore-grade mineralization westward, with the addition
of significant copper values. Hole 94-81 contained 14.9 m of
mineralization which assayed 228.4 g/t (6.66 oz/t) silver,
9.71% lead, 5.48% zinc, and 0.78% copper from 9.2m to 24.1m, while
hole 94-84 intersected 8.5m which returned 136.1 g/t (3.97 oz/t)
silver, 6.74% lead, 3.65% zinc and 2.43% copper from 45.5-54.0m.
Price estimates total
expenditures on the property from 1984 to 2001 to be approximately
$4.2 million. In his report, he proposes a 2-phase, $1.3 million
exploration program consisting of extensive diamond drilling to
outline a higher grade resource which may be amenable to underground
development.
Mineralization at the Blende
was originally noted by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1961 and
was first staked in 1975 by Cyprus Anvil Mining Corp., which carried
out mapping and geochemical sampling later that year. Archer Cathro
& Associates (1981) Ltd. restaked the property in April 1981 and
conducted trenching and rock sampling from 1981 to 1984. NDU
Resources Ltd. purchased the property in 1987, and in 1988 drilled 3
holes (718 m) and explored by mapping and hand trenching. In 1989
NDU carried out mapping, road construction, soil sampling, magnetic
and VLF-EM surveys. Billiton optioned the property in 1989
and as project operator drilled 15 holes (3659.7 m) in 1990.
Billiton’s 1991 work included completion
of the soil geochemical and geophysical coverage, drill-testing of
the deposit over a 3.3 km strike length, and preliminary
metallurgical tests. The 1991 drilling consisted of 62 holes
totaling 11,525m, including 15 holes in the West Zone, 34 holes in
the East Zone and 13 holes in the central area between the two
zones. Billiton elected in 1993 to convert
its interest to a 10% net profits royalty. In 1994 NDU drilled 7
step-out holes (596m) which successfully extended the West Zone 150m
further westward (the West Zone remains open in this direction).
This activity is the last recorded exploration of the
property. In March, 1998 NDU merged with United Keno Hill
Mines Ltd. (UKHM) and the property came under the control of UKHM,
which subsequently went into receivership. Eagle Plains acquired the
property by staking in January, 2001, soon after the original claims
expired.
Eagle Plains Resources continues to conduct
research, acquisition and exploration projects in western
Canada. The Company controls over 30 gold and
base-metal projects, many with third parties including NovaGold Inc.
(NG:AMEX,TSX), Amarc Resources Ltd. -
a Hunter Dickinson Group Company
(AHR:TSX-V), Northern Continental
Resources Inc. (NCR:TSX-V), and Golden Cariboo Resources Inc.
(GCC:TSX-V). These agreements expose Eagle Plains to over
$16.5 million in exploration expenditures over the next five years.
In recent years, Eagle Plains has completed option agreements with
Billiton Metals, Rio Algom Exploration, Kennecott
Exploration, Viceroy Resource Corp. and numerous other
junior exploration companies, resulting in over 27,000m (90,000 ft)
of drilling and over $8,000,000 in exploration spending on its
projects since 1998.
On behalf of
the Board of Directors
Signed
“Tim J. Termuende”
President and
CEO
For further information,
please contact
Mike Labach at 1 866 HUNT
ORE (486 8673)
Email: mgl@eagleplains.ca or visit
our website at http://www.eagleplains.ca
The TSX Venture Exchange has
not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the
adequacy or
accuracy of this release. This news
release may contain forward-looking
statements including but not limited to comments regarding the
timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological
interpretations, receipt of
property titles, potential mineral
recovery processes, etc.
Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and
therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results
may differ
materially from those
currently anticipated in such
statements.
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