ATW Venture Corp (ATW: TSX-V) (Frankfurt: A3N), ("ATW" or
"the Company"), is pleased to provide the following update on
affairs of the Company.
Working Capital Exceeds $17.5 Million
As previously announced by ATW, the Company recently closed a brokered
financing that raised approximately $10,978,000 in gross proceeds. In
addition, warrant holders exercised 2,450,000 share purchase warrants of a
possible 2,500,000 warrants exercisable at $0.80 prior to expiry on March
28th, 2008. As a result of these recent financings and cash on hand,
ATW currently has working capital of over $17.5 million.
Burnakura Gold Mine, Western Australia
Since purchasing the Burnakura Gold Mine on December 24, 2007, ATW has
steadily increased its scope of activities on the project in anticipation of
resuming production during the third quarter of 2008.
The first phase RC drill program aimed at increasing
current resources is now completed. Crews successfully drilled 24
holes totaling 4,110 meters along the 1500 meter (m) strike length from the
underground workings at NOA 2, north to the NOA 7-8 pit. To date, assay
results of only four holes have been released although additional results are
anticipated in the coming weeks.
In respect of refurbishing the Burnakura plant and
mill, ATW's consultants identified several improvements and regular repair
issues aimed at bringing the plant to operating status and improving its
efficiency. Burnakura's primary crusher has been refurbished and is
ready for production. The secondary crusher and tank agitators were shipped
to Harmony Gold's Mt. Magnet Mine facility for refurbishment. All other plant
components are presently being refurbished on site. Management
estimates that the Company is on track to commission the mill in August,
2008.
The Company's metallurgist has completed his review
of the site laboratory and has planned to set up the lab with a fulltime
technician to process all drill samples from Burnakura and Gullewa.
Negotiations are underway with various drill
contractors to determine availability and price in respect of 30,000 meters
combined RC and core drilling at Burnakura and Gullewa.
Gullewa Project Acquisition, Western
Australia
Further to ATW's announcement on March 13, 2008, wherein the Company
announced it entered into a Letter of Intent ("LOI") to purchase
the Gullewa Gold Copper Project in Western Australia for AUD $13 million and
2,000,000 common shares, ATW continues to make progress towards completing
this acquisition and has set April 12, 2008 for execution of the definitive
purchase agreement.
ATW's Australian tenement manager and legal counsel
have completed their due diligence and provided ATW with a positive title
opinion on the various tenements comprising the Gullewa Project.
As part of the LOI on the purchase of Gullewa, ATW
has agreed to advance $300,000 to complete a geophysical gravity survey over
the entire tenement package, thus maintaining the tenements in good standing.
Mineral deposits at Gullewa are identifiable by geophysics, as was the case
with Gullewa's Deflector Deposit, and several other prospects (identified in
ATW's news release on March 13, 2008).
Mr. Steve Godden, C. Eng., FIMM has been retained to
complete a National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report on the
Gullewa Project. It is anticipated that completion of the technical report
will take approximately six weeks and will allow ATW to state certain
geologic information and resource calculations for Gullewa that the vendor
has disclosed, on its website, www.bataviamining.com.au, and in disclosure
documents prepared for the ASX.
Personnel Changes
A key requirement in ATW's plan to bring Burnakura and Gullewa back into
production is the hiring of operations personnel. The recent closing of
Harmony Gold's Mt. Magnet gold mine in Western Australia, has given ATW an
opportunity to retain key mining personnel already situated in the
region.
ATW has retained Graeme Thompson, M.Sc. Geology, as
its resource geologist to work with Company engineers in mine planning and
resource development. Mr. Thompson spent the previous 22 years working for
Consolidated Minerals, BHP, Western Mining as a specialist in 3D modeling,
geologic interpretation and resource geology. In addition to using his
modeling skills at Burnakura, ATW's exploration of Gullewa, will benefit from
Mr. Thompson's experience in geophysical interpretation.
ATW is also
pleased to report that it has retained one of Harmony Gold's safety and human
resources officers. Ms. Julie Budrey, with 12 years experience with
Harmony Gold and Western Mining, is skilled in safety, first aid, mine
rescue, and fire fighting practices and procedures. In addition, the Company
will rely on Ms. Budrey for managing human resources and setting up Company
procedures and training programs.
Amarillo
Project, Argentina
ATW is presently completing a 1400 meter diamond drill program to test deep
copper/gold porphyry mineralization within an area where previous drilling
encountered strong quartz/pyrite stockworks and anomalous copper. At
present, Major Drilling has completed one 400 meter drill hole and is
currently drilling hole two. Company geologists expect that a further 800
meters of drilling in two drill holes can likely be completed before the
onset of winter. ATW's geology consultant has just arrived at Amarillo and
will be providing an update on the exploration program shortly.
Carp
Property, British Columbia
Due to ATW's increasing activity in Australia, its interest in the Carp
property in Northern British Columbia has become insignificant. As a result,
ATW has assigned its interest in the Carp Lake Property to Bryant Resources
Inc. in exchange for retaining a 2% NSR should the property be put into
commercial production.
TSX
Listing Application
The Company is in the process of applying for a listing on the TSX Exchange
in an effort to increase its exposure in financial markets. The Company's
acceptance for listing on the TSX is subject to numerous conditions and
therefore ATW can not confirm if or when the Company will trade on the
exchange.
For more
information, please visit the Company website at www.atwventure.com or contact
Luke Norman at 604 662-8184.
ATW VENTURE CORP.
"Brent
Butler"
Brent Butler
President & CEO
"The
TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release."
"This
news release may contain forward -looking statements. Forward-looking
statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve
inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially
from those currently anticipated in such statements."