rig mobilized for nickel copper pgm news, page-3

The Conceição Nickel Project includes seven exploration licenses, covering a total of 46,899 hectares, located to the northwest of the town of Conceição de Araguaia in Pará State. Geophysical data from airborne magnetic and electro-magnetic surveys and from field mapping by the Company show the property to cover a series of parallel NW-trending mafic intrusive bodies. Occurrences of nickel and copper sulphide-bearing gabbros and pyroxenites have been sampled, returning copper and nickel values in the order of several thousand parts per million and limited geochemical work indicates that these have low but still highly anomalous platinum and palladium values of a few hundred parts per billion.

In January 2011, the Company completed an agreement whereby Avanco Resources Ltd. (“Avanco”), may fund nickel sulphide exploration in order to earn a 75% interest in these areas. To earn its interest, Avanco must complete surface sampling and 1,500 metres of drilling within one year of the renewal of the exploration licenses and sufficient exploration work within 36 months to generate a JORC (Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee) compliant resource with sufficient drill data and metallurgical test work necessary for the Brazilian Department of Mines to approve the Final Exploration Report.

Avanco has to date completed field reconnaissance, soil and rock-chip sampling that have outlined drill targets for nickel-copper-PGM mineralization and has scheduled ground geophysics surveys to prioritize targets. This work has also confirmed anomalous platinum and palladium values in surface sampling.




Sample

Nickel %

Copper %

Gold g/t

Platinum g/t

Palladium g/t



AV-9775

0.20

<0.01

<0.005

0.008

0.012



AV-9776

0.36

0.29

0.055

0.251

0.18



AV-9778

1.95

17.54

1.62

4.17

12.19



AV-9782

0.45

0.29

0.054

0.276

0.127


The anomalous values reported from fresh pyroxenite rock samples and from one gossan sample (sample AV-9778). Mineralogical studies on the fresh rock samples have confirmed the presence of a base metal sulphide assemblage with pentlandite (a nickel mineral), chalcopyrite (a copper mineral) and pyrrhotite.

A soil geochemistry survey completed by Avanco over one historical geophysical target (VTEM-4 target) outlined two strong and coincident nickel-copper anomalies trending WNW for over 1,000m, with peak nickel and copper values of 1,843 parts per million (“ppm”) and 1,391 ppm, respectively. Both anomalies are open along strike and the soil grid is being extended. Avanco has scheduled ground geophysics surveys to prioritize drill targets
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