Antares Appoints Robert D. Wunder as COO
Former Vice President of Operations for BHP's Escondida Copper Mine, Chile
July 19th, 2007 (Waterdown, Ontario). Antares Minerals Inc. ("Antares"; ANM-TSX.V) announces the appointment of Robert D. Wunder as Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective August 1, 2007, subject to regulatory approval. Mr. Wunder has more than 30 years of operating, engineering, and project development experience in large-scale gold and copper projects and mines. Most recently he was Vice-President Operations for a world-class gold and copper development project based in South America. In the past, Mr. Wunder served as the Vice President of Operations for Minera Escondida Ltda., Chile, the world's largest copper operation, where he directed all company activities in Northern Chile including operations, finance, human resources, environment, safety, and external affairs.
Mr. Wunder's other industry positions also include General Director for Assarel-Medet JCS (a European copper mining company with over 1,200 employees), Senior Vice President Project Development for Echo Bay Mines Ltd., and Mine Operations Superintendent at the Bingham Canyon mine in Utah.
Mr Wunder will assume responsibility for coordinating exploration, feasibility, and development programs for Antares Minerals as well as assisting Mr. John Black, President/CEO, in communicating with Antares shareholders, investors, and clients. He holds a B.Sc. in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a M.B.A. from the University of Utah. He has lived for extended periods of time in several South American countries and is comfortable working in Spanish-speaking environments.
John Black, President and CEO, stated, "We are very pleased that Mr. Wunder is joining Antares Minerals. His considerable leadership and management skills in both project development and operations, for large- and small-mine environments, are a perfect complement to Antares' excellent geological exploration team. His unique combination of international development and operations experience in gold and copper is ideally suited to help maximize the value of our Haquira and Rio Grande projects ."
Antares has granted stock options to purchase 200,000 common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $2.62 per share for a period of five years, subject to certain vesting provisions. Any shares issued pursuant to these options will be subject to a four-month hold period.
About Antares Minerals Inc.
Antares is focused on the acquisition and exploration of precious and base-metal exploration properties in Latin America that can be quickly and cost-effectively advanced to the discovery and production stage. Antares most advanced project is the Haquira SX-EW copper project in south-central Peru, immediately adjacent to the Las Bambas Project of Xstrata Copper. The Haquira project hosts an inferred mineral resource, at a 0.3% total copper cut-off grade, of 156.3 million tonnes grading 0.49% copper amenable to SX-EW processing (leachable copper oxides and secondary sulphides only). See Antares press release dated February 14, 2006. An additional 97 drill holes were completed in late 2006 and an updated resource estimate is scheduled to be completed in July 2007. A drill program to delineate recently discovered high-grade primary porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold mineralization beneath the secondary copper blanket at the Haquira East zone is currently underway.
Antares has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Haquira project from Minera Phelps Dodge del Peru S.A.C. Antares is also exploring the Rio Grande copper-gold porphyry project in NW Argentina pursuant to an option/joint venture agreement with Mansfield Minerals Inc.
For more information, please visit our website at www.antaresminerals.com or contact:
Antares Minerals Inc.
John Black, President and CEO Mark Wayne, CFO
(720) 514-9036 office (403) 705-4968
(303) 618-7797 cellular
john.black@antaresminerals.com
www.antaresminerals.com
Broadgate Consultants, LLC
Alan Oshiki: aoshiki@broadgate.com
Tel: (212) 232-2354
Renmark Financial Communications Inc.
John Boidman: jboidman@renmarkfinancial.com
Jason Roy: jroy@renmarkfinancial.com
Media - Eva Jura: ejura@renmarkfinancial.com
Tel.: (514) 939-3989
Fax: (514) 939-3717
www.renmarkfinancial.com
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
All of Antares' exploration programs and pertinent disclosure of a technical or scientific nature are prepared by or prepared under the direct supervision of John Black, Antares' President, who serves as the qualified person (QP) under the definitions of National Instrument 43-101. A section of the Antares website is dedicated to sampling, assay, and quality control procedures.
Mineral resources do not have demonstrated economic viability and future in-fill drilling and scoping, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies will determine what percentage of the inferred resource can be placed into the mineable category. Antares is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other issue which may materially affect this estimate of mineral resources.
CERTAIN DISCLOSURE IN THIS RELEASE, INCLUDING MANAGEMENT'S ASSESSMENT OF ANTARES' PLANS AND PROJECTS, CONSTITUTES FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO NUMEROUS RISKS, UNCERTAINTIES AND OTHER FACTORS RELATING TO ANTARES' OPERATION AS A MINERAL EXPLORATION COMPANY THAT MAY CAUSE FUTURE RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. READERS ARE CAUTIONED NOT TO PLACE UNDUE RELIANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.
