Tuesday, 28 November 2006SYDNEY-based exploration company ADV...

Tuesday, 28 November 2006

SYDNEY-based exploration company ADV Group has been further convinced of the world-class potential of the Jabal Sayid project in Saudi Arabia after the second diamond drill hole sunk on the property returned an intersect of 164.3m grading 2.79% copper.

Chairman Fletcher Quinn said the latest assay results supported those announced earlier by the company earlier this month, which included an intersect of 122m at 2.7% copper, more than double the expected grade.

"The 164m intercept establishes a very substantial body of mineralisation and it is noteworthy that this hole ended in mineralisation, with drilling being stopped as the depth capacity of the rig was reached," he said.

"It indicates the presence of significant gold and silver credits (0.44 gram per tonne gold and 23.3gpt silver) over the entire intersection, which increases the grade by 10% to 164m at 3.1% on a copper-equivalent basis.

"Further it reinforces our view that Jabal Sayid is likely to rapidly emerge as a world-class ore body and that the grade in the previously announced open-pittable target of 100-150 million tonnes at 1-1.5% copper, based on 50km of previous drilling, may indeed prove to be conservative."

ADV is currently undertaking due diligence on a portfolio of assets in Saudi Arabia owned by Bahrain-based company Vertex.

Vertex is completing a pre-feasibility study at Jabal Sayid, with the first drill program planned to total 5000m. An initial JORC-compliant resource is expected to be produced at the end of the program.

ADV has provided a $1.5 million loan to Vertex to fund exploration at Jabal Sayid, which can be converted into a 25% stake in Vertex.

The Australian company has also been granted first and last right of refusal to enter negotiations to acquire a greater interest in Vertex, with both parties agreeing to a period of exclusive dealing to the end of March 2007.

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