Platinum Exploration (PGM)

[kraftdinner]

Franconia Minerals Corporation is an Alberta corporation trading on the TSX-V in Canada and the OFEX in London under the symbol FRA.

Franconia's property portfolio consists of the Birch Lake property in the Duluth Complex of Minnesota which contains an inferred platinum-group metal-copper-nickel resource of 51 million tones at a grade of 0.675% copper; 0.211% nickel; 0.01% cobalt; 0.216 grams per ton (g/t) gold; 0.972 g/t palladium and 0.46 g/t platinum (according to a NI 43-101 compliant audit of a resource estimate recently completed by Roscoe Postle Associates of Toronto);

San Francisco property, a high-grade zinc exploration target in the western US (up to 55ft of 19% Zn in limited previous drilling);

Mahoney property, a high-grade zinc target in New Mexico; and platinum-palladium targets in the Duluth Complex of Minnesota. Franconia currently has exploration agreements with Teck Cominco American Inc. and Impala Platinum Holdings.



Franconia acquires seven Mahoney mining claims

2005-03-07 08:48 MT - News Release


Mr. Brian Gavin reports

FRANCONIA MINERALS CORPORATION ACQUIRES KEY LANDS AT MAHONEY HIGH-GRADE ZINC PROPERTY, NEW MEXICO

Franconia Minerals Corp. has acquired a key group of seven privately held patented mining claims (totalling 134 acres) at the Mahoney high-grade zinc property in New Mexico. This exploration lease and option to purchase agreement calls for lease payments totalling $90,000 (U.S.) over five years with a final purchase price of $250,000 (U.S.) payable at any time during the option period.

The Mahoney zinc property, located in Luna county, New Mexico, comprises 54 unpatented lode mining claims (1,080 acres) surrounding the newly acquired patented claims. This land package contains several high-grade zinc showings and old mine workings referred to as the Mahoney mines area. This project is the subject of a proposed exploration and option agreement between Franconia Minerals and a major mining company.

Minor zinc and lead production at Mahoney from about 1915 to 1948 focused on high-grade zinc and lead oxide manto-style deposits accessed through a number of shallow workings to a maximum depth of 200 feet. Sampling in 2001 returned assay grading from background values up to 52.4 per cent zinc and 1.5 per cent lead with minor amounts of silver. Preliminary hydrometallurgical testing yielded zinc recoveries of 98 per cent. Assay results for selected grab samples from the newly acquired patented claims are shown in the following table. Brian Gavin, president of Franconia Minerals, an appropriately qualified person under NI 43-101, has reviewed all results.

 
 Location       (a) Zinc   Lead   Silver  
                      (%)    (%)    (ppm) 
  
 Mahoney --  
 comfort workings   52.4   0.15      1.6 
  
 Mahoney --  
 comfort workings   39.1   0.31      1.2 
  
 Mahoney --  
 comfort workings   36.4   0.33      1.1 
  
 Mahoney --  
 central workings   24.1   5.87     22.2 
  
 Mahoney --  
 central workings   15.9   4.00     13.7 
  
 Mahoney --  
 Lindy Ann          11.0   1.55     53.3 
  
 Mahoney --  
 Lindy Ann          10.6   9.99      329 
  
 Mahoney --  
 Lindy Ann           8.5   1.72     67.7 
  
  
  
 Location               Copper   Cadmium 
                          (ppm)     (ppm) 
  
 Mahoney --  
 comfort workings          181      1625 
  
 Mahoney --  
 comfort workings         1379      3432 
  
 Mahoney --  
 comfort workings          969      3026 
  
 Mahoney --  
 central workings         1364       183 
  
 Mahoney --  
 central workings          333       454 
  
 Mahoney -- Lindy Ann      244       450 
  
 Mahoney -- Lindy Ann      386       347 
  
 Mahoney -- Lindy Ann      202       370 
  
  
  
 (a) Analytical results for zinc greater than 1 per cent are only estimates due to limitations of analytical technique. 
 

Work program

No previous exploration activity has focused on tracing the known mineralization to depth or along strike. Franconia plans to do this with the goal of discovering a high-grade zinc manto-style mineralization in the range of 10 million tonnes or greater with possible grades in the 20 per cent zinc range. There are currently no mineral resource or mineral reserve estimates from the Mahoney property.

Phase I of Franconia's proposed exploration program will consist of eight holes (6,400 feet) of reverse circulation drilling. Phase II will be contingent on the results of the first phase of drilling and will require five 1,000-foot drill holes.


We seek Safe Harbor.