HZM.L Regulatory News (HZM)

8 Aug 2007 08:00

Horizonte Minerals PLC08 August 2007 Horizonte Minerals plc / Index: AIM / Epic: HMZ / Sector: Mining 8 August 2007 Horizonte Minerals plc ('Horizonte' or 'the Company') Operations Update Horizonte Minerals plc, the AIM listed exploration and development company withmineral projects in Brazil and Peru, is pleased to announce an operationalupdate of its portfolio of gold, silver and nickel projects in Brazil and Peru. Highlights •Tangara gold project - 14 hole diamond drilling ('DD') programme completed to test scale of gold system •Lontra nickel project - 1,000m auger drilling programme in progress •El Aguila silver zinc project in Peru - 2,000m drilling programme scheduled for September 2007 to expand previously identified mineralised zone •Falcao copper-gold project - field work defines new gold targets Horizonte CEO Jeremy Martin said, "We have made good progress in generating anddeveloping a solid portfolio of mineral assets providing exposure to gold,silver, zinc and nickel. To date, we have received highly encouraging resultsacross four of our core projects and have identified a series of new early stageprojects that warrant increased investment to quantify their economic potential.Our aim is to rapidly develop our core projects in Brazil and Peru and formstrategic alliances with the major mining companies. To this end, furtherexploration work is scheduled for the third quarter this year and I believe thenext six months will see exciting advancements for the Company. "Additionally we successfully raised two million via an institutional placingand were delighted by the response from investors - I believe this is a strongendorsement of our team's ability to deliver value. Horizonte is ideallypositioned to generate further exploration projects which demonstrate thepotential to host large scale mineral systems, with the objective of becoming apreferred exploration partner for the major mining companies in Brazil andPeru." Tangara Gold Project - Brazil A 1,600m 14 hole DD programme has now concluded on the Company's 100% ownedTangara gold project. The project comprises of circa 330 sq km covering thewestern extension of the Archaean, Identidade Greenstone belt located in thesouthern part of the world class Carajas Mineral Province. The programme focussed on the surface gold anomaly associated at the contactbetween the main intrusion at the Malvinas zone and the surrounding mafic rocksalong the Gerson Trend. This zone was tested with one drill hole as part of the2006 programme (TGA DDH-4) which returned 2.54 g/t Au over 36.25m. Workcompleted over the last six months has determined the main controls on the goldmineralisation. 14 holes were drilled over the 1km Gerson Trend and surroundingtargets. The initial five holes have been prepared and despatched for analysisat ALS in Vancouver, with the remaining holes due for despatch shortly. Resultsare expected in early September 2007. Lontra Ni Project - Brazil The 25,570 hectare Lontra nickel ("Ni") project is located 80 km south of thenew Xstrata high grade nickel laterite deposit at Serra da Tapa in the AraguaiaMobile Belt. Field work to date, including steam and soil grid sampling, hasdefined seven nickel targets. At the Raimundo anomaly in the north of the area,ultra mafic-rocks with garnierite mineralisation sampled in a laterite gravelpit returned > 1% Ni. A shallow 1,000m auger drilling programme with holes on a 400m by 80m grid isnow underway to test the Ni grades and continuity of mineralisation over theanomalous target areas. El Aguila silver lead zinc Project - Peru At the 100% owned El Aguila silver-lead-zinc-gold project, located in the Cerrode Pasco mining district, central Peru, work has focussed on the Zona Sur targetarea. First pass geophysics were completed in May 2007 combined with mapping andsurface rock geochemical sampling. The Zone Sur target area is approximately 1kmlong by 600m wide. The untested broad anomaly represents a new target that, ifassociated with economic mineralisation, would add significant tonnage potentialto the project. The average grade from seven channel samples taken along 230mextent of the Veta Marlene in the Zona Sur area returned 10.24 oz/t Ag, 4% Pband 5.6% Zn and 0.24g/t Au. A detailed follow up ground geophysical survey will commence in mid August 2007with a 2,000m diamond drill programme scheduled for early September 2007.Drilling will test the Zona Sur target and expand the zone of drilledmineralisation at Pacos Hill defined in the 2006 programme. Falcao Copper Gold Project - Brazil The Falcao project is located 175km south of the Tangara gold project, coveringan area of circa 300 sq km of the Inaja Greenstone Belt. The results of arecently completed stream sediment sampling programme over the western extensionof the Falcao soil anomaly have defined two new high order gold targets.Reconnaissance rock samples taken in these areas returned up to 2.1 g/t Au. A detailed soil grid followed by an auger drilling programme is underway withinthe broad anomalous zone to define follow up drill targets. Sampling, assaying, and QA/QC Procedures adopted by Horizonte in the collection, preparation and storage ofsamples from the auger drilling programme, conform to industry-wide bestpractice and with chain of custody being observed for all samples. Analysis isundertaken by ALS Labs at its laboratories in Vancouver, Canada, and the Companymaintains QA/QC on all analytical work via the inclusion of certified referencematerials and field duplicates and blanks, in addition to monitoring of thelaboratory's own internal check-analyses. The above information has been reviewed and verified by Mr. Jeremy Martin, aDirector and Chief Executive of Horizonte, for the purposes of the Guidance Notefor Mining, Oil and Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in March2006. Mr. Martin, with seven years of mining and management experience,graduated with a degree in geology from the Camborne School of Mines, and an MScin mineral exploration from the University of Leicester and is a member in goodstanding with the Society of Economic Geologists and the Institute of MiningAnalysts. * * ENDS * * For further information visit www.horizonteminerals.com or contact: Jeremy Martin/David Hall Horizonte Minerals plc Tel: 020 7495 5446David Paxton Hichens Harrison Tel: 020 7382 7785Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477John Frain/Fergal Meegan Davy Tel: +353 1 679 6363 Notes to Editors: Horizonte Minerals Plc is an AIM listed mineral resources exploration groupfocused on the discovery, appraisal and development of gold and base metaldeposits in Brazil and Peru. The Company has two gold exploration projects inBrazil, and one silver-zinc-lead project in Peru. The two Brazilian goldprojects, Tangara and Falcao, are located to the south of the highly prospectiveCarajas Mineral Province. Both projects cover an area of approximately 300 sq kmand are centred over greenstone belts, with known gold mineralisation. The scaleof these project areas, the overall aerial extent of the mineralised system andthe high density and magnitude of related gold anomalies (identified in riversediments, surface soils and rocks), indicate the potential for multiple depositdiscoveries. The silver-zinc-lead project is located in the historic mining district of Cerrode Pasco in Central Peru. Sampling and limited historic drilling on this projecthas demonstrated the high grade potential of this project. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange