Almaden Options Caballo Blanco Project to Noranda
Almaden Resources Corporation's (Almaden) wholly owned Mexican subsidiary, Minera
Gavilan, S.A. de C.V. (Gavilan) has signed an agreement with Noranda Exploracion Mexico S.A de C.V. (Noranda), a wholly
owned subsidiary of Noranda Inc. of Toronto, for the exploration
and development of Gavilan's Caballo Blanco porhyry copper-gold
project near Veracruz, Mexico.
Terms will allow Noranda to earn a 75% interest
in the project by making all payments necessary to keep the claims
in good standing including those to the underlying owner, making
payments to Gavilan of US$2,000,000, and completing a positive
feasibility study within seven years. At feasibility, Gavilan
can request Noranda to make its best offer for Gavilan's interest.
If this offer is not satisfactory, Gavilan can seek other buyers
for a specified time period, or participate in the project. If
both parties participate Gavilan would be responsible for its
required contribution. However if available on commercially reasonable
terms, at least 50% of the costs of the project will be obtained
by debt financing, with Noranda and Gavilan cooperating on completion
guarantees to the lenders. If Gavilan elected not to participate,
it could be diluted to a 10% net profits interest.
The project consists of mineral concessions
totaling over 15,000 hectares and covers a large area of hydrothermally
altered rocks along the Pan American highway in eastern Mexico.
Three distinct areas of alteration and mineralisation have been
identified known as the Central Grid Zone, Highway Zone and Northern
Zone respectively. Most of the work to date has been carried
out on the Central Grid and Highway zones, where separate porphyry
systems have been identified. The only drilling on the project
was carried out by Almaden in 1998 on the Central Grid Zone.
This drilling intersected both porphyry-style copper-gold mineralisation
and high-grade gold-silver mineralisation in veins apparently
spatially peripheral to the porphyry system which remains to
be drill tested. In the Highway Zone, soil geochemistry, geologic
mapping, and induced polarisation geophysical surveys have identified
a separate porphyry copper-gold target. The Northern Zone is
a large area of argillic alteration, within which preliminary
prospecting and geochemical surveys have identified areas of
elevated gold-copper-arsenic in silcified rock. Samples up to
11 grams/tonne have been taken in float boulders, and this area
is thought to represent a large unexplored high-sulphidation
gold system.
Almaden is excited to have Noranda as a partner
to explore and advance the Caballo Blanco project. Noranda is
a leading international mining and metals company employing more
than 17,000 people at its operations and offices worldwide. Noranda's
total assets were $11.76 billion at year end 2000.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Duane Poliquin
The Toronto Stock Exchange
has not reviewed nor accepted responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of the contents of this news release which has been
prepared by management. Statements contained in this news release
that are not historical facts are forward looking statements
as that term is defined in the private securities litigation
reform act of 1995. Such forward -looking statements are subject
to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to
differ materially from estimated results. Such risks and uncertainties
are detailed in the Company's filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
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