Probe Mines enters 50-50 joint venture with Noront

2009-05-20 08:13 ET - News Release

Mr. David Palmer reports

PROBE MINES ENTERS INTO JOINT VENTURE AGREEMENT WITH NORONT RESOURCES IN MCFAULD'S LAKE AREA

Probe Mines Ltd. has entered a joint venture agreement between the company and Noront Resources Ltd., comprising 87 claim units located in the "Ring of Fire" area of McFauld's Lake, Northern Ontario. The claim units, comprising four individual blocks of Probe's claims, fall along the interpreted ultramafic horizon in the area of the Eagle One nickel-copper discovery. The joint venture does not include claims belonging to the company's Tamarack or Victory properties, and excludes recently staked claims immediately north of the discovery area. The terms of the agreement will see the immediate formation of a 50-50 joint venture between Probe and Noront, under which Probe will act as operator for the first two years, and alternate operatorship every two years thereafter, as long as equal ownership is maintained. If one company acquires more than 50 per cent of the joint venture, full operatorship will be transferred to the larger property interest. A technical committee will be formed comprising members from both companies to approve exploration programs.

Probe had an option on certain claims held by Noront in this area in 2006 (see news in Stockwatch of Dec. 22, 2005) and the option was terminated by Probe in 2007 before the discovery of the Eagle One deposit by Noront. Both Probe and Noront expressed concerns about each of their respective propertyholdings in this area and their rights pursuant to the historical option agreement. The joint venture is viewed as the most practical arrangement to address and resolve all of these historical concerns. In addition, Probe believes the joint venture will benefit the company, and therefore shareholders, by providing for mutual data exchange and access to Noront's significant experience and resources in the McFauld's Lake area, as well as reducing costs associated with evaluating the economic potential of these claims. To date, only 10 of the 87 claims have been subjected to drilling, and as first operator, Probe will consider commencing exploration at the earliest opportunity.

David Palmer, president and chief executive officer of Probe, says: "We are looking forward to working with Noront to advance these properties and bring added value to our shareholders. The potential for world-class deposits of nickel-copper and chromite have reaffirmed our belief that the area is one of Canada's most important exploration plays and has the potential to become Canada's newest mining camp. Noront has continually led the field in discoveries, and with their commitment to the area, we are pleased to have Noront as a partner."

Further updates regarding the joint venture property and Probe's other claims in the McFauld's area will be made available in the upcoming weeks as the company begins preparation for fieldwork. Probe has completed helicopter-borne geophysical surveys on all of its properties in the area and has a drill available to begin operations following spring break-up.

McFauld's Lake

The McFauld's area continues to receive considerable attention with recent reports of high-grade chromite and PGE mineralization from Noront and Freewest Resources, in addition to continuing intersections of high-grade nickel and copper at Noront's Eagle One, Eagle Two and AT-12 discoveries. A preliminary economic assessment of the Eagle One Ni-Cu deposit reported an estimated resource (indicated) of 1,834,000 tonnes averaging 1.96 per cent Ni, 1.18 per cent Cu and 5.1 grams per tonne (g/t) combined platinum, palladium and gold.

The discovery of chromite at McFauld's has added significantly to the area's value. The first massive chromite horizon was identified by Spider Resources in January, 2006, while exploring for VMS mineralization. Noront Resources identified further chromite mineralization on its Black Bird 1 and 2 showings, while Freewest Resources returned significant intersections of massive chromite in its Black Thor and Black Label deposits. Highlights from the Freewest drilling include a 124-metre intersection grading 30 per cent Cr2O3. The chromite occurrences are all located along a laterally extensive magnetic high that can be traced for approximately 20 kilometres in a northeast direction, along which many of the Probe-Noront joint venture claims occur.

David Palmer, PhD, PGeo, is the qualified person for all technical information in this release. To find out more about Probe Mines, visit the company's website.

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