April 1, 2008 - Vancouver, British Columbia -
Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: HPY) is pleased to provide an update on its various projects and on the Company's plans for 2008. Happy Creek owns 100% or has an option to earn 100% interest in five properties totaling 500 square kilometres in south-central British Columbia, Canada. The properties are all located in proximity to premier existing or past-producing mines and have excellent infrastructure. The Company was very active in 2007 and performed prospecting, geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys, trenching and drilling. Drilling was done on three properties and was successful on the Rateria copper property and Fox tungsten-molybdenum property. Basic surface
exploration techniques have identified new bulk tonnage copper and gold targets on the Hawk and Hen properties and a new large scale gold system in addition to significant molybdenum potential on the Silverboss property.
Happy Creek recently announced drill results from its 100% owned Fox tungsten-molybdenum property, located approximately 25 kilometres east of the former Boss Mountain molybdenum mine owned by Xstrata PLC and 65 kilometres northeast of 100 Mile House, BC. The 2007 drilling program identified a new large scale tungsten-molybdenum system. The widely spaced drill holes have outlined an area approximately 1.5 kilometres by 500 metres that returned significant tungsten and molybdenum values which remain open in extent. Drill results include 5.0 metres containing 0.33% W03 (tungsten trioxide), 2.0 metres of 0.74% W03, 5.1 metres of 0.10% W03 with 0.20% molybdenum and 7.78 metres of 0.12%
molybdenum. The Company is extremely pleased to have been able to advance the work on this project from early-stage prospecting of the discovery to a successful, first-pass drill program. In addition, there is strong geological evidence that supports the presence of an underlying, large scale bulk tonnage (porphyry) style molybdenum system, similar to the Boss Mountain mine. The project is comprised of approximately 225 square kilometres of relatively unexplored, favorable geology. Approximately four kilometres north of the drilling, preliminary exploration in 2007 returned up to 7.1% W03 over 0.30 metres in outcrop. Tungsten and molybdenum assays of several other zones from further north
are still pending. This significant new tungsten-molybdenum discovery is still at a relatively early stage; however, Happy Creek believes it has excellent characteristics to advance quickly and has already attracted attention of a potential joint venture partner who is currently reviewing the data. Plans for 2008 include drilling to generate a resource figure for the tungsten-molybdenum skarn zones and locate the underlying source of this mineralization, a potential large scale porphyry molybdenum deposit.
On its 100% owned Silverboss property, Happy Creek has continued to define on surface a new large scale porphyry molybdenum target adjacent to the Boss Mountain mine. To date, positive molybdenum, copper and tungsten values in the soil occur over an approximate area of three kilometres by 500 metres. Geology, soil and rock geochemical surveys, along with airborne magnetic information all suggest the 10 Mile Creek area is part of the same porphyry molybdenum system as the Boss Mountain mine. Additionally, the Company has determined the presence of a significant, large scale gold system that occurs peripherally to the molybdenum zone. Rock samples have returned values of trace to over
53.0 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, with 12 samples containing over one g/t gold that contain bismuth and tungsten trace elements. Twelve rock samples were collected in 2007 and returned trace to maximum geochemical results of more than 2,000 ppm (parts per million) molybdenum (0.20% molybdenum), 1,394.9 ppm copper (0.139% copper), over 100.0 ppm silver (100.0 g/t silver) and 10,000 ppb (parts per billion) gold (10.0 g/t gold). Happy Creek plans to continue expanding its successful soil geochemical and prospecting surveys and has prepared several drill pads in the 10 Mile Creek area that are approximately one kilometre from existing mine workings. The Company is considering a number of
strategies regarding the adjacent Boss Mountain mine prior to drilling the Silverboss property.
The Company recently announced results from its Rateria copper property, approximately 10 kilometres southeast of Teck Cominco's Highland Valley copper concentrator. There, drilling has continued to outline a new copper zone that was first discovered in 2006. Drill results from Zone 1 include 37.0 metres of 0.579% copper, including 10.35 metres grading 1.545% copper, 189.3 metres containing 0.222% copper, including 84.0 metres containing 0.302% copper, and 100.0 metres grading 0.285% copper. These results are significant in the context that the copper occurs from surface, as concentrate-desirable bornite and chalcocite copper sulphides, and is located only 10 kilometres from Teck
Cominco's copper concentrator. Happy Creek will continue to explore this zone with drilling and has completed a 3D induced polarization (IP) geophysical survey that has expanded existing coverage into new areas of the property. This survey has identified potential extensions to the existing zone and located several new drill targets that are up to 750 metres by 500 metres in dimension. The Company plans to expand the geophysical survey over the remainder of the property.
The Company has completed additional soil and silt geochemical surveys and prospecting on its 100% owned Hen property, located approximately 15 kilometres southeast of the former Boss Mountain mine. The soil sampling survey over the Anomaly Creek zone has closed off the previously identified anomaly (announced May 7th 2007). The largest geochemical anomaly occurs within an area approximately 1.2 kilometres by one kilometre and is comprised of largely overlapping, positive values of copper, lead, zinc, and gold in soil. Thirty-nine mostly outcrop or subcrop rock samples taken from within this soil anomaly have returned geochemical results from trace to maximum values of 62.4 ppm
molybdenum, 383.0 ppm copper, over 10,000 ppm lead, 725.0 ppm zinc, 38.7 ppm silver and 163.3 ppb gold. These rock samples are comprised of moderate to strongly propylitic altered Nicola Group volcanic breccia and tuff in contact to the west with monzodiorite intrusive, and contains trace to 7% pyrite. These results suggest that the large, multi-element soil geochemical anomaly is sourced in the bedrock underlying this area. Geological and geochemical characteristics of the area are consistent with a porphyry copper-molybdenum system. In addition, 51 stream sediment samples taken in 2007 returned encouraging gold results. Nine of these stream sediment samples returned greater than 25 ppb
gold, with the highest values including 1885.9 ppb gold, 171.9 ppb gold, 1038.8 ppb gold, 110.2 ppb gold and 528.4 ppb gold. The highest copper value in sediment return was 100.9 ppm copper along with 35.2 ppb gold. This is consistent with stream sediments from a porphyry copper system. Plans for the property in 2008 include an IP survey and reconnaissance
Diamond drilling.
During 2007, Happy Creek performed an IP geophysical survey, soil geochemistry, prospecting and rock sampling on its 100% owned Hawk copper-gold-silver property. The IP anomaly remains open to the east and southeast. In November, the Company performed three short drill holes totaling approximately 380 metres and averaged approximately 115.0 metres in depth. Due to the field conditions, drill site locations had to be relocated so access could be more readily achieved, to the southwest corner of the property and west of the stronger IP anomaly. Two of the three holes were lost prior to reaching the planned depth because of intense faulting and swelling clay. Trace chalcopyrite and bornite
were observed in minor amounts locally. Due to a limitation of field personnel, only hole 07H-03 was logged and sampled at the time and the other two holes were securely stored for the winter. The holes will be logged and sampled during the next few weeks. The Hawk property is an alkaline porphyry copper-gold-silver system, typical of the Quesnel Terrane in BC. The Quesnel Terrane includes mines such as Copper Mountain, Afton, Mount Polley and Kemess. On the Hawk property, historical drill results from the western side include 0.61 metres containing 2.0% copper, 6.13 g/t gold and 28.0 g/t silver. Surface rock samples have returned up to 4.5% copper, 18.0 g/t gold and 105.7 g/t silver in
boulders, and 5.0 metres containing 0.88% copper and 1.07 g/t gold in outcrop. Happy Creek believes these relatively high grade copper-gold--silver showings may come from an underlying porphyry copper-gold system located within or near to the IP anomaly. In 2008, the Company plans to expand the IP and soil geochemical surveys and perform geological mapping, sampling, trenching and
Diamond drilling.
Happy Creek has approximately $3.7 million in cash and interest bearing GIC accounts, approximately 27 million shares outstanding and has recently been traded around $0.22/share.
David Blann, P.Eng. is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the preparation and approval of the technical information disclosed in the news release.On behalf of the Board of Directors,