Adelaide, Dec 24, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Tasman Resources NL (ASX: TAS)("Tasman") is pleased to announce the signing of a Heads of Agreement to create a joint venture with WCP Resources Limited ("WCP") on the Lake Torrens IOCGU Project. The JV will explore Tasman's tenements located adjacent to the north and west of BHP Billiton Limited's world-class Olympic Dam mine at Roxby Downs in the Stuart Shelf region of South Australia.
Highlights
' Heads of Agreement signed with WCP Resources Limited on the Lake Torrens Project located immediately to the north and west of BHP Billiton's World Class Olympic Dam Mine in central South Australia.
- WCP Resources Ltd to spend a minimum of $750,000 in first year and a minimum of $1million per year for the next four years, to earn up to 65% of the IOCGU deposits (excluding sediment-hosted targets such as Tasman's MVT base metal targets at Chudys and 50 Mile Bore) by spending $6.5 million over five years.
- Joint Venture tenure falls largely within "IOCG Potential Rank 1" region defined by Geoscience Australia to have the highest potential for IOCG mineralisation within South Australia's Gawler Craton.
- Numerous large mineralised iron oxide breccia systems of the Olympic Dam / Prominent Hill style have been discovered by both Western Mining and Tasman. These prospects have only been partly explored by seven drill holes at the Titan prospect and four holes at the Marathon South prospect.
- Numerous drill ready targets to be tested commencing during the first quarter of 2007.
WCP can earn up to a 65% interest in iron IOCGU deposits that occur within eight granted exploration licences covering 2870 km2 by spending $6.5 million within a five year period. WCP has agreed to a minimum commitment of $750,000 within 12 months and before it can exit and thereafter to expend a minimum of $1 million per annum for the next 4 years if it proceeds with the joint venture on a year on year basis. No interest will be earned unless and until at least $2,500,000 has been spent. At that stage WCP will have earned a 25% interest in the Project, and thereafter will earn a further 5% for each additional $500,000 of expenditure. If less than $6.5 million is expended, WCP will earn a proportionally smaller interest in these IOCGU prospects.
Within 14 days of completion of formal documentation, WCP will issue Tasman 1,000,000 ordinary shares in WCP, which would be subject to a voluntary escrow of 12 months. The transaction is subject to the completion of formal documentation which is expected to be concluded by January 18, 2006. The agreement excludes any sediment-hosted mineralization which is not an IOCGU deposit such as the sediment-hosted base metal targets that Tasman has identified at Chudys and 50 Mile bore and for which drilling programme, Tasman recently received a South Australian Government PACE (Plan for Accelerated Exploration) funding award of $75,000 towards the cost of drill testing these targets,
The Lake Torrens Project tenements, currently 100% held by Tasman Resources Limited, border BHP Billiton Limited's Olympic Dam Project tenure to the north and west and occur within IOCG Potential Rank 1 and 2 areas defined by Geoscience Australia. Rank 1 is seen as having the highest potential for IOCG mineralisation on the Gawler Craton, and includes Olympic Dam (Proven and Probable Reserves1 of 761 million tonnes grading 1.5% copper, 0.5 g/t gold, and 0.6 kg/t U3O8), Prominent Hill (Proven and Probable Reserves2 of 68.2 million tonnes grading 1.31% copper and 0.59 g/t gold) and Carapateena (discovery intercept3 of 178.2 metres grading 1.83% copper and 0.64 g/t gold).
There are a number of targets comprising Fe-altered volcanic breccia systems, mineralised haematite-magnetite breccias, and untested gravity anomalies that have been identified within the Lake Torrens IOCG Project area. Of these, the two most interesting are the Titan and Marathon South prospects.
Titan was first tested by WMC Ltd in 1976 when they drilled two holes targeted on coincident strong gravity/magnetic anomalies. BD1 intersected 334 metres of 0.1% copper from 607 metres depth in strong IOCG-style altered basement. Tasman has subsequently conducted detailed gravity and aeromagnetic programmes and limited electrical geophysics (AMT) and drilled eight holes since 2003, with best intercepts of 111 metres of 0.1% copper from 604 metres depth in TI2 and 47 metres of 0.3% copper from 608 metres depth (including 5 metres of 1.1% copper and 0.3 g/t gold from 620 metres) in TI6. All of these holes have focused on a limited part of the eastern flank of the Titan gravity feature and to the southeast of BD1.
An initial program of five diamond holes has been designed to test high priority drill targets located to the northeast, northwest and southwest of BD1 within the large (approximately 10 km2 surface area) IOCG system at Titan.
Tasman commenced exploration using AMT over an untested gravity anomaly at Marathon South in 2005 and received PACE support funding from the South Australian Government for drilling MS1. The initial hole intersected 270 metres of highly altered breccias having strong similarities with parts of the "core-zone" of the Olympic Dam breccia complex. Subsequent drilling of an additional three holes, two of which were partly funded under a PACE-grant, tested northeastern portions of the anomaly and returned altered and brecciated rocks with weak copper mineralisation.
An initial program of four diamond holes has been designed to test high priority drill targets located in the western and southeastern portions of the large anomaly (approximately 10 km2 surface area) at Marathon South.
In addition, prospects have been identified at Vulcan, Zeus, Billy Barnes, Atlas, Beamish, Lullars and Tolls Dam that are all considered prospective for IOCGU mineralisation of the Olympic Dam/Prominent Hill style.
Tasman welcomes the agreement which will fund a very large amount of exploration activity on these world class targets over the next five years, without diluting Tasman's share capital.
Contact
Kevin Skinner
Senior Consultant
FIELD PUBLIC RELATIONS
231 South Road
MILE END SA 5031
Tel: (08) 8234 9555
Fax: (08) 8234 9566
Mob: 0414 822 631
kevin@fieldpr.com.au
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