Holy Croesus!!! How much went home in the miners tobacco tins?
Constantine buys Croesus Gold property in Ontario
2007-05-09 10:34 MT - News Release
Mr. J. Garfield MacVeigh reports
CONSTANTINE ACQUIRES HIGH GRADE FORMER CROESUS GOLD MINE PROPERTY IN THE PROLIFIC ABITIBI GREENSTONE BELT-NORTHERN ONTARIO
Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. has signed a letter agreement with vendor Munro-Croesus Gold Mines Limited to acquire an outright 100-per-cent interest in the high-grade Croesus Gold property, including the former Croesus Gold mine, consisting of 22 patented mining claims and leases (416 hectares), located 90 kilometres east of Timmins, Ont., and within the influence of the prolific Porcupine-Destor deformation zone (PDDZ) that stretches from west of Timmins, into the province of Quebec.
The former Croesus Gold mine is known for having produced some of the highest grade gold mined in Ontario. The Ontario Bureau of Mines (1919) reported that 765 pounds of ore taken from a portion of the shaft yielded $47,000 worth of gold. This represented a grade of 6,682 ounces gold per metric ton at a gold price of $20.67 per troy ounce. Five gold samples purchased by the Ontario Bureau of Mines for exhibition purposes and now in possession of the Royal Ontario Museum weigh 85 pounds collectively and contain 480.7 ounces of gold or 12,464 ounces gold per metric ton. The total historical Croesus mine gold production from milled ore as reported by the Ontario Department of Mines in 1951 was 14,854 ounces gold from 5,333 short tons milled for an average grade of 2.78 ounces gold per short ton or 3.07 ounces gold per metric ton. Research by the previous owner suggests that the above-stated milled ore production did not include the very-high-grade direct shipping gold ore which was shipped directly to the Canadian Mint for processing. The high-grade Croesus ore shoot is truncated by the Croesus fault and several efforts have been made to locate the high-grade extension to the vein, with the last serious effort in the mid-late 1970s.
The Croesus Gold property consists of three-claim blocks and one isolated claim that lie along and between two major fault zones that are probably splays of the main Porcupine-Destor fault that forms part of the PDDZ. The Timmins-Porcupine gold camp situated on the north side of the PDDZ in the Abitibi greenstone belt is the world's largest lode gold camp (greater than 63 million ounces of gold) in Archean age greenstone belts. The PDDZ extends for more than 200 kilometres to the east and is an important structural control for many other gold deposits. The Croesus Gold property covers a sequence of tholeiitic and variolitic basalts, sediments and ultramafic rocks on the north side of the PDDZ that represent very similar stratigraphy to the slightly younger host rocks of the Timmins gold camp.
In order to acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the project, Constantine must make payments totalling $40,000 ($10,000 on signing the letter agreement and $30,000 on signing a definitive agreement) and issue 750,000 Constantine shares. The vendor will retain a 2-per-cent net smelter production royalty of which 0.5 per cent can be purchased by Constantine for $1.0-million with a right of first refusal on the remaining 1.5-per-cent NSR production royalty. The acquisition is subject to a number of conditions including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, approval of the vendor's shareholders, completion of Constantine's due diligence, execution of a definitive agreement and completion of the transaction by June 30, 2007. Upon completion of the transaction, should the vendor wish to sell more than 50,000 of the Constantine shares in any 30-day period, the excess shares over 50,000 must first be made available for purchase by Constantine or by purchasers arranged by Constantine.
Constantine has started a digital compilation of the historical Croesus project information, most of which predates the general availability of personal computer technology. The information will be used to develop a 3-D interpretation of the immediate former mine area and will guide Constantine's future exploration on the project, including a proposed drill program later in 2007.
Palmer project update -- on the Alaskan Palmer project the company is gearing up to start its exploration drilling program in June. The plans are to start drilling on some of the lower elevation sites. Follow-up drilling is planned to step out on the massive sulphide drill intersections from 2006 (see news in Stockwatch Oct. 23, 2006).
Garfield MacVeigh, president and chief executive officer, states: "The Munro-Croesus acquisition combined with the Palmer project offers Constantine shareholders exposure to year-round exploration activity on two excellent projects. The Palmer project is a world-class base metal exploration opportunity in a very accessible part of southeast Alaska. The Croesus property acquisition now provides shareholders with exploration exposure to a gold project in a renowned and prolific gold production environment. Both these projects fulfill Constantine's mandate to focus on 100-per-cent controlled projects in areas where management has strong familiarity and expertise.
The company's website is under construction and is expected to be on-line within the next few days. Please visit the site for more detailed company and project information.
Mr. MacVeigh, president of the company and a qualified person, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release.
