Business License Received on Kang Dian Project, Sichuan China - Drill Program Commencing Next Week
Oct 6, 2004
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--October 6, 2004-Nu XMP Ventures Ltd ("NUX") is pleased to announce that the cooperative joint venture contract between SKN Nickel & Platinum Inc. ("SNP") and the Metallurgical and Geological Bureau of Sichuan ("MGBS") governing the Kang Dian nickel-copper-platinum group metals ("Ni-Cu-PGM") Project in Sichuan Province, China, has been approved by the Ministry of Commerce of China, the Sichuan Province People's Government, and the Department of Land & Resources of Sichuan Province, an agency authorized by the Ministry of Land & Resources of China to issue exploration and mining permits in Sichuan. A business license for the corporate joint venture company, Sichuan Huan-xi Exploration Co. Ltd. ("Huan-xi"), has also been issued.
NUX entered into an option letter agreement with SKN Resources Ltd. to acquire 100 per cent of SKN's wholly owned subsidiary, SNP, which has the right to acquire 75-per-cent and 90-per-cent interests in exploration permits that form the Kang Dian Ni-Cu-PGM project located in Sichuan province, China. With the issue of the business license for Huan-xi, NUX is now ready to complete the acquisition of SNP, and to start a full scale exploration program on the Kang Dian Project.
 Kang Dian Project Location Map |
The Kang Dian Project area is situated in the centre of the Panxi rift, which shows marked similarities to the Noril'sk rift in western Siberia, with respect to the age of the volcanic eruption event, composition of the continental flood basalts and the occurrence of significant Ni-PGM mineralization associated with mafic to ultramafic intrusive phases genetically linked to the flood basalts.
 Panix Rift - China, Geological Complication |
 Exploration Concessions and Mineral Showings in Panxi Rift |
The most notable prospects within the Kang Dian project area are the AZ prospect and the Jinhe- Nantianwan prospect, which are about 450 kilometres (km) apart. The AZ prospect contains a number of mafic-ultramafic sills and small stocks that intruded into Devonian limestones. A discovery was made in 2003 through field mapping and trenching. As reported June 10, 2004, an initial sampling program on the AZ prospect by Nu XMP's geologists has returned significant nickel results on the massive sulphide outcrops including a 3.08 metre (m) sample grading 2.22 grams per tonne (g/t) Pt, 5.8 g/t Palladium, 1.56% Cu 2.60% Ni and 0.141% Cobalt.
The exploration program on the AZ prospect will include 500m to 1,000m of underground tunnelling, and geological and magnetic mapping covering an approximately 10-square-km area. Tunnels are favoured over drilling for a number of reasons, including the very steep topography, drill rigs are not readily available and the fact that tunnelling costs per metre are one-half the costof drilling.
The Jinhe-Nantianwan prospect is within a gabbro-pyroxenite batholith approximately 20 km in length and about 10 km in width in late Precambrian limestone. Numerous ultramafic sills that intruded in the batholith and late Precambrian sediments contain Ni-PGM mineralization. The Nantianwan Prospect was drilled in 1966 to test the magnetic and geochemical anomalies near the contact between the ultra-mafic stock and the Cambrian dolomitic sequences. One drill hole, ZK2, intercepted two layers of Ni-Cu sulfide zone of 5.8 m and 6.9 m width, respectively, between 112 m to 134 m depth,. At the time, however, only 1.46 m core sample of the 5.8m layer was assayed, and only 1.2 m core sample was assayed from the 6.9 m layer to represent the whole two intervals. The 1.46 m sample assayed 1.2% Ni, 0.53% Cu, and 0.06% Co and the 1.2 m sample assayed 1.02% Ni, 0.56% Cu, and 0.041% Co. No PGM was assayed.
 DBS Property Geology |
 Nantianwan Permit Geology |
 Drill Holes Positions in the Nantianmen Permit |
 Nantianmen Prospect - Section Line 7-7' |
The first drill program of 4 drill holes totaling 1,000 metres will focus on the Nantianwan prospect with the first drill hole positioned beside drill hole ZK2 to re-test the two layers of Ni-Cu sulfide mineralization reported. A Drill team has been commissioned and has been mobilized to the site with drilling to start next week.
For Further Information:
Nu XMP Ventures Ltd.
Rui Feng, Ph.D.
President & Director
Phone: +1 (604) 633-1368
Fax: +1 (604) 669-9387
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.newpacificmetals.com
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this release.
Download News Release (PDF: 285KB)