NEWS RELEASE      2008 -01

 

 

CONTINUED POSITIVE RESULTS CONFIRM

EL PILAR OXIDE COPPER PROPERTY POTENTIAL

 

 

January 9, 2008 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada Peter Mordaunt, CEO and Chairman of Stingray Copper Inc. (“Stingray”) states; “The 2007 year was a banner year that saw Stingray complete a $50M financing for the acquisition and development of the El Pilar oxide copper property from Xstrata Copper. This $23M acquisition has positioned Stingray in the enviable position of driving the technical assessment/feasibility study and development of one of Mexico’s newest, potential copper producers. Stingray is well financed, with approximately $24M in the treasury, to carry out the current technical assessment of the El Pilar copper resource. We believe this will become one of the region’s next, open pit SX-EW operations, subject to the successful completion of our work. Stingray has been able to add all the key, experienced professionals to the engineering team that is busy directing the technical studies and assessment of El Pilar. With 3 drill rigs turning for the past 6 months, we have made great progress in completing the fill-in drilling necessary for the upgrade of the resource/reserve model. Additionally, we have been able to extract required drill core material to be utilized in the metallurgical program that is underway at Metcon Research Inc. in Tucson.”

 

Stingray reports the results of six (6) additional drill holes completed at the Company’s El Pilar copper property located in Sonora, Mexico. Stingray has now reported 55 drill holes completed on 10 drill sections from 9200 North to 8300 North. The in-fill drilling campaign has completed almost 100 drill holes on 100 meter drill section spacing continuing to the south and also in the “Starter Pit Area” defined at the north end of the resource (See News Release 2007 -16). Three drill rigs are testing the oxidized copper mineralization that occurs as a flat lying to gently dipping horizon with vertical, HQ sized drill holes. The NI43-101 compliant inferred mineral resource of 180 million tonnes grading 0.37% total copper calculated at a cutoff of 0.25% total copper is being systematically drilled at minimum 100 meter drill centers along its current 1.2 kilometer length and approximate 400 meter width. At a lower cut-off of 0.20% total copper, the inferred mineral resource is 237 million tonnes grading 0.33% total copper. The resource is open ended to the south and earlier drilling has outlined adjacent horizons of oxidized copper mineralization (See News Release 2007 -13, Table 2).

 

The drill holes reported from this central area of the resource continue to intersect wide intervals of oxidized copper mineralization similar in character to the previous wide spaced (200 meter) drill results completed by former property owner, Noranda Exploracion Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Xstrata Copper). These holes are posted at the Company’s website and a map of the hole locations can be found at the link below or at the Company’s website;

 

 

http://www.stingraycopper.com/PressReleases/elpilar_drillingmap.pdf

 

 

Copper intervals reported in Table 1 reflect approximate true widths and the principal copper mineral intersected is chrysocolla occurring as intrusive fragments in the host conglomerate. All drill core samples reported have been split by the Company’s staff under the direction of the Company’s geologists and are delivered for assaying to ALS Chemex, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. 

 

 

 

Table 1:  Inferred Mineral Resource In-Fill Drill Results

 

Stingray is working to reclassify the inferred mineral resource and develop the El Pilar as an open pit, heap leach, solvent extraction–electrowinning (SX-EW) copper mine. The oxidized copper mineralization as reported may appear lower in percentage copper than reported by sulphide copper developers and miners, however the capital and operating costs of heap leach, SX-EW operations are significantly lower. Additionally, such SX-EW copper operations produce a cathode copper product and not an intermediate concentrate that must be treated by a smelter and refiner.

 

Advanced metallurgical testwork has started at the Starter Pit Area where core from 30 drill holes has been shipped to Metcon Research Inc. in Tucson, Arizona. Sample preparation is underway on drill core that will be utilized for ore characterization and column leach testing.

 

Exploration to the north of the known resource at the 10 square kilometer El Pilar property is yielding encouraging copper and molybdenum results from recent surface work (See News Release 2007-16). Geological mapping, approximately 2.5 kilometers from the northern limit of the El Pilar resource, at the Arriba Zone, displays a strong fracture system that is oriented in a Northwest-Southeast trend. This trend is parallel to the regional structure that hosts many of the large, known porphyry copper deposits in Southern Arizona and Northern Sonora. Surface mapping of an area 2200 meters by 400 meters has identified many old workings within three distinct areas where high grade copper and molybdenum were mined historically for direct shipment to local smelters. Veins and silicified disseminations of fractured, acid intrusive rocks reveal malachite, azurite, chrysocolla (copper minerals) and molybdenite (molybdenum mineral). Follow up work in this area will consist of trenching and then diamond drilling of prospective targets.

 

Peter Mordaunt, P.Geo is the Qualified Person responsible for the technical content of this release.

 

Website: www.stingraycopper.com

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Certain Statements presented herein may constitute “forward-looking statements”.  Such forward-looking statements may include potential mineralization, resources and reserves, conclusions of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, estimates of future production, capital and operating costs, prices of metals and other known and unknown risks.  These and other factors and uncertainties may cause material differences from future results as expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.  These risks, uncertainties and other factors include but are not limited to the risks involved in the exploration, development and mining business.