Copper Canyon amends option agreement for Abo

2008-12-18 10:45 ET - News Release

Mr. Tim Termuende reports

COPPER CANYON AND EGOLI GOLD AMEND ABO OPTION AGREEMENT

Copper Canyon Resources Ltd. and Egoli Resources Inc. (a private British Columbia corporation) have agreed to amend Egoli's option to earn a 75-per-cent interest in Copper Canyon's wholly owned Abo gold property located in the Harrison Lake area of southwestern British Columbia, approximately 130 kilometres east of Vancouver. Under the modified terms of the agreement, Egoli may earn a 75-per-cent interest in the property by completing $6.05-million in exploration expenditures, paying Copper Canyon $1,385,000 in cash and issuing 1.5 million common shares of Egoli over a five-year period.

The property is 100 per cent owned by Copper Canyon and consists of 2,427 hectares, which were staked by Eagle Plains Resources in 2000 and subsequently transferred to Copper Canyon in 2006 as part of a plan of arrangement. The claims overlie a number of gold occurrences associated with a series of intrusive stocks. Accessory minerals include copper, silver, lead, zinc, molybdenum, tungsten and bismuth. The property is road accessible year-round. Hydroelectric power, natural gas and rail service are located within three kilometres of property boundaries.

The property area has been held or optioned by various operators since the early 1970s, including Abo Resources, Kerr Addison Mines Ltd. and Bema International Resources Ltd. Exploration work has included mapping, soil sampling, ground-based geophysics and a total of 13,856 metres (45,448 feet) of diamond drilling. Some small-scale underground development has also been completed. Most of the work was focused on the northern part of the property in the area of the Jenner and Portal stocks. Drill results reported from the Portal zone include 30 metres averaging 3.17 grams per tonne gold (EMPR ASS RPT 19584). Drill results reported from the Jenner stock include 64 metres averaging 3.77 g/t (EMPR ASS RPT 20144). In 1987, Kerr Addison collected a 1,053-tonne bulk sample from the Jenner stock underground workings. Using the metallurgical results from this sample, combined with extensive underground sampling and results from diamond drilling, Kerr Addison reported and indicated a grade of 3.2 to 4.1 g/t Au with an inferred tonnage of 1.3 million tonnes from surface to 100 metres elevation, and an additional 2.2 million tonnes from surface to sea level (EMPR ASS RPT 20144, Minfile No. 92HSW092). Other gold-bearing stocks identified on the property include the Hill and Lake stocks. These areas have seen limited exploration in comparison to the Jenner-Portal stocks areas. Diamond drill intersections reported from the Hill stock area include DDH BX88-130, which averaged 3.54 g/t Au and 6.3 g/t Ag over 27 metres, and contained eight metres averaging 8.7 g/t Au and 14.2 g/t Ag (EMPR ASS RPT 20144).

In 2002, Barry Price was retained by Eagle Plains to provide an NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate for the Abo project based on historical results. Price estimated an indicated resource of 1,845,000 tonnes averaging 2.79 g/t or 165,200 ounces in situ, with a further inferred resource of 613,600 tonnes averaging 2.79 g/t or 55,100 ounces. These resources are contained within the Jenner and Portal stock zones.

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