Explorator Intersects Significant High Grade Copper Oxide Mineralization at El Espino-Venus With Evidence of Multiple Stacked Mantos
Explorator Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: EXO) continues to receive drill results from its recently completed 25,000 meter Phase II drilling program at the El Espino-Venus Project in Chile that demonstrate significant copper-gold mineralisation. Results reported here are from the Ravanales copper oxide zone and the adjacent Rachel oxide/sulphide zone, where oxides overlie deeper sulphides. (See plans and tables of results below.) These two areas will contribute a large portion of the drill data to be used by Micon International for the initial 43-101 Resource Estimate to be announced in the first quarter of the year. Drilling has commenced on the 30,000 meter Phase III program to continue to expand the resource.
“We continue to obtain significant oxide copper intercepts from shallow drilling in both the Ravanales and Rachel areas” stated David O’Connor, CEO of Explorator. “Evidence of multiple, stacked copper-gold mantos in the Rachel area, as presented by the multiple intercepts in Hole MXE-150, is indicating the possibility of additional resource potential at depth. While this will not be quantified in time for the initial Resource Estimate we believe that the additional tonnage potential at open-pittable depths, combined with the lateral geological continuity that has been observed, are very encouraging indicators.”
At the northern end of the Ravanales area, the oxide portion of the deposit begins as an outcrop and dips shallowly to the south, with the bulk of the oxide ore being within 60 meters of the surface. Following the formal announcement of the 43-101 Resource Estimate, Explorator will focus on understanding the best scenario for the rapid development to production of an oxide pit. It is expected that an oxide open pit operation would commence in advance of a larger and deeper sulphide open pit in the Rachel and adjacent extension areas.
Drilling continues in areas beyond Ravanales and Rachel and is focused on mineralized extensions that have the potential to increase the Resource in subsequent calculations. The 30,000 meter Phase III program is designed to achieve this objective.
CHON CHON GOLD PROJECT
Over the course of the 25,000 meter Phase II Exploration Program in 2007, the company intersected significant high-grade gold mineralization in an area known as the Golden Triangle surrounding the old workings of the Chon Chon gold mine. Subsequent mineralogical testing seems to confirm management’s theory that the high-grade gold mineralization is the result of a discrete, secondary event that has formed a separate ore body from the primary copper-gold mineralization. High-grade gold mineralization has been intersected in the Ravanales, Rachel, La Viuda, and Portugesas areas. Further drilling is planned to test the continuity of holes which were separated by distances of 1400 meters from north to south and 800 meters from east to west (see Press Releases dated September 12, October 15, and December 12, 2007).
To date, all high-grade gold mineralization has been intersected while drilling for copper mineralization. Similarly, Hole MXE – 191 announced today (70 m at 0.99% Cu and 0.61 g/t Au) was drilled as part of the resource definition on the Ravanales oxide zone. Hole MXE-191 passed through an extension of abandoned gold workings from 66 to 68 meters and obtained substantial gold in the mineralized intercepts (2 meters at 1.11%Cu and 8.74g/tAu) adjacent to the workings. Explorator has designed and is commencing an exploration program focused on the Chon Chon gold deposit to run in parallel with the Phase III Exploration Program to specifically target gold mineralization and understand the relationship between the high-grade gold holes.
About Explorator Resources Inc.
Explorator Resources is a Canadian-based mining exploration company focused on building a strong position of copper-gold projects in South America. Explorator is initially concentrating its efforts in the mineral rich Cordillera de la Costa province in Chile. The Company’s El Espino-Venus Project lies within this prolific copper-gold mineral area and is central to an important cluster of “Candelaria-style” copper-gold deposits. El Espino-Venus is located in the Illapel district, approximately 3.5 hours drive north of Santiago. The El Espino-Venus block covers 11 square kilometers and is host to major gold and copper mineralized structures on which nine small operating mines have been developed.
To view Figure 1 – EL ESPINO-VENUS PROJECT EXPLORATION AREAS, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Figure_1_El_Espino_Venus_Project.pdf
RAVANALES COPPER OXIDE OPEN PIT TARGET.
The copper-gold oxide mineralization outcrops in the Ravanales area and consequently could provide shallow, easily-mineable oxide resource with a low stripping ratio, for a starter-pit operation. The Ravanales area has now been drilled out at a 50m x 50m spacing and will be the core of the oxide resource to be calculated by Micon.
Significant new shallow intercepts in the Ravanales copper oxide zone are listed below:
Table 1 ———————————————————————- Hole No. Depth Intercept Copper Cu% Gold g/t ———————————————————————- MXE – 113 0 to 12 12 m 0.66 ———————————————————————- MXE – 114(i) 0 to 4 4 m 0.51 ———————————————————————- MXE – 115(i) 0 to 12 12 m 0.25 ———————————————————————- MXE – 116 2 to 64 62 m 0.21 ———————————————————————- MXE – 117 2 to 76 74 m 0.59 ———————————————————————- (Incl.) 20 to 40 20 m 1.40 ———————————————————————- MXE – 118 6 to 70 64 m 1.46 ———————————————————————- MXE – 119 38 to 64 26 m 0.51 ———————————————————————- MXE – 130 0 to 24 24 m 0.36 ———————————————————————- (Incl.) 28 to 44 16 m 0.73 ———————————————————————- MXE – 131 0 to 36 36 m 0.45 ———————————————————————- MXE – 132 0 to 62 62 m 0.45 ———————————————————————- (Incl.) 0 to 2 2 m 0.28 4.03 ———————————————————————- MXE – 133 70 to 82 12 m 0.62 ———————————————————————- 88 to 106 18 m 0.77 ———————————————————————- (Incl.) 90 to 100 10 m 1.09 ———————————————————————- MXE – 191 38 to 108 70 m 0.99 0.61 ———————————————————————- (Incl.) 64 to 66 2 m 1.11 8.74 ———————————————————————- (Incl.) 68 to 70 2 m 0.45 0.98 ———————————————————————- (Incl.) 76 to 108 32 m 1.39 0.61 ———————————————————————- (i) Drill hole stopped in underground workings and unable to continue.
To view a map of Figure 2 – RAVANALES COPPER-GOLD OXIDE AREA, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Figure_2_Ravanales_Copper_Gold_Oxide_Area.pdf
Significant new intercepts in the adjacent Rachel copper oxide/sulphide zone are listed below:
Table 2 ————————————————————————– Hole No. Depth Intercept Copper Cu% Gold g/t ————————————————————————– MXE – 055 151 to 164 13 m 0.55 0.54 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 157 to 163 6 m 0.96 1.13 ————————————————————————– 184 to 210 26 m 0.39 0.19 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 184 to 188 4 m 0.33 0.60 ————————————————————————– 205 to 209 4 m 1.08 0.41 ————————————————————————– MXE – 067 153 to 183 30 m 0.46 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 168 to 171 3 m 1.42 ————————————————————————– 269 to 270 1 m 0.12 2.24 ————————————————————————– 272 to 274 2 m 0.24 0.72 ————————————————————————– MXE – 068 129 to 155 26 m 0.71 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 129 to 140 11 m 1.16 ————————————————————————– 251 to 264 13 m 0.31 ————————————————————————– 292 to 293 1 m 3.64 ————————————————————————– MXE – 069 74 to 96 22 m 0.43 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 70 to 72 3 m 0.49 1.78 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 92 to 96 4 m 0.20 0.84 ————————————————————————– 132 to 177 45 m 0.76 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 154 to 172 18 m 1.35 0.42 ————————————————————————– MXE – 078 88 to 106 18 m 0.60 ————————————————————————– MXE – 079 74 to 76 2 m 1.33 0.53 ————————————————————————– 86 to 96 10 m 0.52 ————————————————————————– 112 to 120 8 m 0.81 ————————————————————————– MXE – 101 140 to 157 17 m 0.20 ————————————————————————– 163 to 172 9 m 0.29 ————————————————————————– MXE – 102 6 to 37 31 m 0.40 ————————————————————————– 74 to 99 25 m 0.67 ————————————————————————– 131 to 158 27 m 0.95 ————————————————————————– MXE – 103 2 to 44 42 m 0.41 ————————————————————————– 56 to 81 25 m 0.44 ————————————————————————– 101 to 120 19 m 0.98 ————————————————————————– 169 to 175 6 m 1.00 0.30 ————————————————————————– MXE – 104 110 to 118 8 m 0.40 0.54 ————————————————————————– 180 to 190 10 m 1.59 0.36 ————————————————————————– 207 to 245 35 m 0.36 ————————————————————————– MXE – 105 146 to 161 15 m 0.60 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 157 to 161 4 m 2.01 0.45 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 160 to 161 1 m 7.64 1.73 ————————————————————————– 283 to 288 5 m 0.36 0.98 ————————————————————————– MXE – 108 113 to 142 29 m 0.53 ————————————————————————– MXE – 129 66 to 108 44 m 0.87 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 66 to 86 20 m 1.23 (oxide) ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 86 to 108 22 m 0.55 (sulphide) ————————————————————————– MXE – 144 27 to 39 12 m 1.15 0.41 ————————————————————————– MXE – 146 118.4 to 142 23.6 m 1.68 0.66 ————————————————————————– MXE – 148 23 to 33 m 10 m 0.18 4.41 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 29 to 31 2 m 0.15 21.86 ————————————————————————– 75 to 85 10 m 0.72 ————————————————————————– MXE – 149 30 to 34 4 m 0.80 5.49 ————————————————————————– MXE – 150 50 to 117 67 m 0.77 ————————————————————————– (Incl.) 93 to 117 24 m 1.37 ————————————————————————– 150 to 180 30 m 1.28 0.25 ————————————————————————– 228 to 267 39 m 0.54 ————————————————————————– 281 to 298 17 m 0.47 ————————————————————————– MXE – 151 94 to 109 15 m 0.44 ————————————————————————– 230 to 244 12 m 0.42 ————————————————————————– 313 to 328 15 m 1.50 0.29 ————————————————————————– MXE 157 36 to 63 27 m 0.37 ————————————————————————–
To view Figure 3 – RACHEL COPPER-GOLD SULPHIDE/OXIDE AREA, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Figure_3_Rachel_Copper_Gold_Sulphide.pdf
REGULATORY FOOTNOTE
Mr. Michael Schuler, Explorator Resources’ Vice President, Exploration is the “Qualified Person” as defined under the National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the scientific and technical work on Explorator’s exploration program and is responsible for reviewing the technical disclosure in this news release. All analytical work has been completed by ALS Chemex of La Serena in Chile; ALS Chemex is a respected international analytical service which is accredited with NATA and complies with standards of ISO 9001:2000 and ISO17025:1999. They employ a variety of international standards for quality control purposes. Samples are transported from the project to the ALS Chemex laboratory in La Serena sample by Company personnel or a reputable commercial carrier. All analytical testing is performed utilizing a variety of industry standard analytical techniques, including: (1) ALS Analytical Code Au-ICP22 (Au 50g fire assay with ICP-AES finish), (2) ALS analytical code Au-GRA22 (Au 50g fire assay with a gravity finish), (3) ALS analytical code ME-ICP61 (33 element analysis using a four acid digestion and ICP-AES analysis), (4) ALS analytical code Cu-AA62 (ore grade copper analysis using a four acid digestion and an AAS finish. All diamond drill core is geologically logged, cut in half using a diamond saw and sampled by Company geologists in one (1) to three (3) meter sample intervals depending on visual grade estimates; the archive portion of the sample is securely stored at the company’s core shed adjacent to the office in the town of Illapel.
The Company has initiated a QA/QC program consisting of utilizing standards, duplicate and blank samples and laboratory cross-checks and routinely repeats sample analysis.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information are identified by words such as “estimates”, “intends”, “expects”, “believes”, “may”, “will” and included, without limitation, statements regarding the company’s plan of business operations, production levels and costs, potential contractual arrangements and the delivery of equipment, receipt of working capital, anticipated revenues, mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, and projected expenditures. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, metal prices, risks inherent in the mining industry, financing risks, labour risks, uncertainty of mineral reserve and resource estimates, equipment and supply risks, regulatory risks and environmental concerns. Most of these factors are outside the control of the company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts: Explorator Resources Inc. John Carlesso Chairman (416) 775-7540 Email: info@explorator.ca Website: www.explorator.ca
SOURCE: Explorator Resources Inc.