MetalCORP Discovers More
Platinum & Palladium on the NORTH ROCK Project; Deep hole
intersects 4.0 g/t Pd, 0.3 g/t Pt, 1.0% Cu and 0.4% Ni over 3.8
metres
THUNDER
BAY—27 March 2008 -- MetalCORP
Limited (TSX-V:MTC) is pleased to announce the
discovery of additional Platinum Group Metal (PGM) and base metal
mineralization on the North Rock Property, located 25km east of
Fort Frances,
Ontario. This Phase 3
drill program was designed to test several airborne EM conductors
over a 20km strike length on the entire North Rock property. Only one hole tested the
Beaver Pond Zone and intersected 4.0 g/t Pd, 0.3 g/t Pt, 1.0% Cu, 0.4% Ni
over 3.8 metres (m)
at a vertical depth of 430 metres. These results represent the
deepest intersection to date at this Platinum-Palladium
zone.
Platinum Group Metal (PGM) mineralization
was first discovered at the Beaver Pond Zone during the phase
1 drill program in 2005 (see
News Release 25 August 2005).
The newly discovered
PGM zone was traced by drilling for approximately 500m along strike and to a
vertical depth of 270m
where it remained open.
Every drill hole targeting the Beaver Pond Zone during
that program consistently intersected the PGM zone on the west side
of the copper-nickel sulphide mineralization with the following
significant values: Hole #2 - 6.6 g/t Pt and 0.7 g/t Pd over 0.4m; Hole #4 - 2.3 g/t Pt and trace Pd over 3.5m, within in a broad
interval of 0.3 g/t Pt
and 0.2 g/t Pd over 46.1m; Hole #5
- 3.7 g/t Pt and 7.1 g/t Pd over 0.8m; Hole #6 - 0.2 g/t Pt and 0.7 g/t Pd over 1.3m; Hole #7 - 1.2 g/t Pt and 1.2 g/t Pd over 4.0m.
“Drilling has shown remarkable consistency
of Platinum Group Metal mineralization over an extensive area on the
North Rock property” commented Aubrey Eveleigh, COO & VP
Exploration. “The Platinum-Palladium mineralization remains open in
all directions and given the strong market demand for these
commodities, the property is a key asset in MetalCORP’s portfolio of
properties.”
The
best Platinum mineralization intersected to date on the North Rock
property was located 1.5km along strike, northeast of the Beaver
Pond Zone (see
News Release 06 March 2006). This Platinum mineralization
is called the East Zone where drill hole 20 intersected
12.2 g/t Pt and
0.1 g/t Pd
over 3.7m.
No holes were drilled during this Phase 3 program to test the
East Zone, but are planned for a Phase 4 drill program in
2008. It is also worth
noting that no previous drilling has been carried out between the
Beaver Pond Zone and the East Zone.
Drilling in the Belacoma area,
approximately 4.0km northeast of the Beaver Pond Zone,
intersected Platinum and Palladium mineralization as well with the
following values: 3.5 g/t
Pd over 2.8m, 1.2 g/t Pt and 1.0 g/t Pd over 1.0m, 2.9 g/t Pd over 0.9m and 1.6 g/t Pd over 0.9m. In the last 2 years
MetalCORP has now discovered Platinum Group Metal mineralization
over a 4-5km strike length extending from the Beaver Pond Zone to the Belacoma area.
Also, drilling under this program at the
Belacoma area intersected a massive sulphide vein of
cobaltite which assayed a high grade of 0.5% Co, 0.1% Cu and 0.1% Ni over 1.1m. This was the first
discovery of cobalt mineralization on the North Rock property and
represents a new important target that will be explored in future
drill programs. Due to
very strong demand and a low supply, Cobalt prices have recently
reached ~US$50/lb.
A number of other drill holes were designed
to test airborne EM conductors in the Belacoma and Nickle
Lake areas. The
majority were explained by pyrrhotite veins and/or sulphide iron
formation. The sulphide
iron formation in the Nickle Lake area was found to be zinc rich
with the best assay from hole #57 of 0.5% Zn over 19.6m. Other intersections
include 1.3% Zn over 1.7m, 1.2% Zn over 1.6m, 1.2% Zn over 1.4m, 0.5% Zn over 12.6m and 0.5% Zn over 9.0m. MetalCORP will evaluate this
area in the summer for potential VMS copper-zinc style
mineralization.
The North Rock Property is underlain by the
20km long Grassy Portage layered mafic intrusion, which is known to
contain several magmatic copper-nickel sulphide deposits. The largest and economically
most significant of these deposits, the Beaver Pond Zone, has
a historical resource estimate, based on shallow diamond drilling
and limited amounts of underground development work of
1,020,458 tons grading 1.2% copper
over a strike length of 400m and to a vertical depth of just 90
metres (The historical tonnage estimates were
calculated in 1973 and are not current. A company qualified person
has not done the necessary work to classify the Zone as a
resource. They should
not be relied upon and do not comply with NI 43-101).
The North Rock
property displays some of the classic Archean type mafic intrusion
hosted Cu-Ni-PGM characteristics, but with a later hydrothermal
overprint. The Grassy
Portage Intrusion is a cumulate layered complex with the base metal
deposits situated in paleo-depressions at the basal portion of the
body with Platinum mineralization apparently concentrated at the
contact with mafic and ultramafic volcanics and a fine grained
gabbro. The Platinum
Group Metal mineralization at North Rock is unusual for Archean age
Cu-Ni-PGM systems in that in most cases it has a relatively high
ratio of platinum to palladium.
MetalCORP also
recently announced a new diamond discovery on the North Rock property (see News Release 05
February 2008). The Company is presently in
discussions with several potential joint venture partners to further
advance the exploration for diamonds on the
Property.
The North Rock drilling program is being
carried out under the supervision of Michel Dumoulin, P.Geo (QP –
NI43-101). Core is split and sent to ALS Chemex Labs for analysis by
ICP-AES. MetalCORP
routinely introduces standards and blanks into the sample
stream.
MetalCORP is a mineral exploration company
based in Thunder
Bay, Ontario
with base metal and gold projects in the Canadian Shield of Northern
Ontario, Canada, one of the most prolific mineral districts in the
world. The projects,
with an area of more than 65,000 acres, include the Big Lake
copper-zinc-silver-gold property, the North Rock
copper-nickel-platinum property, the new Python
nickel-copper-zinc property and the new Fearless gold property, all of which are under active exploration. MetalCORP’s four gold
projects, with a claim area of more than 20,000 acres, include the
Dorset, Pickle Lake, Black Bear and Keezhik
Lake properties. By
identifying early stage properties that may be enhanced by
exploration, MetalCORP’s experienced management team has assembled a
great portfolio of projects.
MetalCORP has 44,271,636 common shares
outstanding and approximately $5,500,000 in cash and no debt. For further information
contact: Mr. Aubrey Eveleigh, P.Geo, COO & VP Exploration, Tel (807)
346-2760. To find out more about MetalCORP Limited (TSX-V: MTC),
visit our website at www.metalcorp.ca. The
statements used in this Press Release may contain forward-looking
statements that may involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ
materially from the Company's forward-looking statements and expectations. The TSX
Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.