Horizonte Minerals PLC
29 January 2007
Horizonte Minerals plc / Index: AIM / Epic: HMZ / Sector: Mining
29 January 2007
Horizonte Minerals plc ('Horizonte' or 'the Company')
Expands exploration portfolio with acquisition of
4,660 hectare Crixas nickel-copper project
Horizonte Minerals plc, the AIM listed exploration and development company
focused on Brazil and Peru, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded
mineral rights totalling 4,660 hectare on the prospective Achaean aged Crixas
greenstone belt.
Field work within the project area, developed as part of Horizonte's generative
exploration programme, led to the definition of multiple nickel-copper (Ni - Cu)
anomalies. The Company subsequently applied and has been awarded the mineral
rights (100% owned) to three contiguous exploration licences covering 4,660
hectares on the tightly held Archean aged Crixas greenstone belt. The three
areas cover the northern extension of the belt and are associated with the
Corrego Alagadinho basal mafic to ultramfic sequences, which are associated with
gold and nickel deposits in the region. The Anglogold/Kinross, Mina Serra Grande
(Crixas) goldmine is located just 12 km to the southeast. This mine produces
approx. 200.000 ounces/year at an average grade of 7g/t.
Horizonte has completed a first pass regional stream sediment sampling programme
covering 49 first order drainage basins within the project area, which defined
five anomalous target areas. The results show strong Ni-Cu anomalies and mafic/
ultramafic signatures in several catchments. The Judas Tadeu anomaly is by far
the strongest on the project and the highest order Ni-Cu stream sediment anomaly
generated by Horizonte in Brazil to date. Several lower-order Ni-Cu anomalies
were also defined.
The Company will now commence follow-up work aimed at testing the potential for
a sulphide nickel deposit. Rock samples are currently at the laboratory for
analysis and regional aero geophysical data has been purchased with
interpretation underway.
Horizonte CEO Jeremy Martin said, 'We are excited that we have been able to gain
a position in this prospective greenstone belt, which is an area we have been
developing over the last six months. The first pass stream sediment sampling
programme has defined several highly anomalous drainages, which will undergo
rapid follow up. We believe that any quality sulphide nickel targets will be of
great interest to the Major producers already operating in this area.'
Sampling, assaying, and QA/QC
Procedures adopted by Horizonte in the collection, preparation and storage of
samples from the auger drilling programme, conform to industry-wide best
practice and with chain of custody being observed for all samples. Analysis is
undertaken by ALS Labs at its laboratories in Vancouver, Canada, and the Company
maintains QA/QC on all analytical work via the inclusion of certified reference
materials and field duplicates and blanks, in addition to monitoring of the
laboratory's own internal check-analyses.
The above information has been reviewed and verified by Mr. Jeremy Martin, a
Director and Chief Executive of Horizonte, for the purposes of the Guidance Note
for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in March
2006. Mr. Martin, with six years of mining and management experience, graduated
with a degree in geology from the Camborne School of Mines, and an MSc in
mineral exploration from the University of Leicester and is a member in good
standing with the Society of Economic Geologists and the Institute of Mining
Analysts.
* * ENDS * *
For further information visit www.horizonteminerals.com or contact:
Jeremy Martin/David Hall Horizonte Minerals plc Tel: 020 7495 5446
David Paxton Hichens Harrison Tel: 020 7382 7785
Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477
John Frain/Fergal Meegan Davy Tel: +353 1 679 6363
Notes to Editors:
Horizonte Minerals Plc is an AIM listed mineral resources exploration group
focused on the discovery, appraisal and development of gold and base metal
deposits in Brazil and Peru. The Company has two gold exploration projects in
Brazil, and one silver-zinc-lead project in Peru. The two Brazilian gold
projects, Tangara and Falcao, are located to the south of the highly prospective
Carajas Mineral Province. Both projects cover an area of approximately 300 sq km
and are centred over greenstone belts, with known gold mineralisation. The scale
of these project areas, the overall aerial extent of the mineralised system and
the high density and magnitude of related gold anomalies (identified in river
sediments, surface soils and rocks), indicate the potential for multiple deposit
discoveries.
The silver-zinc-lead project is located in the historic mining district of Cerro
de Pasco in Central Peru. Sampling and limited historic drilling on this project
has demonstrated the high grade potential of this project. The Company has a
joint venture with Australian gold producer Troy Resources NL's 70% owned local
subsidiary Sertao Mineracao Ltda to advance its Goias Velho gold exploration
project in Brazil.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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