Greencastle options Niger gold concessions to Orezone
2006-01-23 10:33 ET - News Release
Also News Release (C-OZN) Orezone Resources Inc
Mr. Anthony Roodenburg of Greencastle reports
GREENCASTLE JOINT VENTURE WITH OREZONE RESOURCES INC.
Greencastle Resources Ltd. has entered into joint venture agreements with Orezone Resources Inc., whereby Orezone will earn an interest in Greencastle's Namaga and Koyria gold exploration concessions in the republic of Niger. The Namaga and Koyria concessions overlie Birimian greenstone-granite assemblages which extend southwest through Burkina Faso and Ghana, where these rocks host multimillion-ounce gold deposits.
Ron Little, president of Orezone, stated: "Optioning these properties will enable us to move our equipment and crews between the projects and keep them fully occupied while we are waiting for results. In addition, they give us control over approximately 30 per cent of the favourable ground that has been staked in western Niger. These are prospective areas that have not received a lot of exploration attention and can rapidly be advanced to the drill-ready stage using the same techniques that have proven effective for us in Burkina Faso."
Anthony Roodenburg, chief executive officer of Greencastle, commented: "Orezone has a great deal of experience in West Africa and we are pleased to have established a relationship with them in Niger. With Trigger Resources developing the Primate oil project in Saskatchewan and Orezone advancing the Niger properties, Greencastle management can remain focused on exploration at its gold properties south of the Cortez Hills and at South Eureka on the Battle Mountain trend in Nevada where we plan to be drilling this year."
Under the terms of the agreements, Orezone can earn a 50-per-cent interest by spending $1-million (U.S.) on each property over three years and can increase its interest in either to 75 per cent by completing a bankable feasibility study. If Greencastle elects not to participate should a production decision be made, Orezone will be required to buy the remaining 25-per-cent interest for $2.0-million.
The 1,148-square-kilometre Namaga property is located in the Tera greenstone belt and completely surrounds the Koma Bangou gold deposit, an area of extensive artisanal workings. During 1997 and 1998, initial trenching by Ashanti Gold on one of the large gold in soil anomalies returned values of 1.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 38 metres, and 1.17 g/t gold over 26 metres.
The 1,045-square-kilometre Koryia property is located in the Serba greenstone belt, which hosts the producing Samira Hill gold mine. The concession contains a number of significant gold prospects and extensive gold in soil anomalies, which require follow-up drill testing. In 1996, Imperial Metals/Sumitomo drilled 24 holes on the M'Banga prospect at Koyria, including one intersection which returned 1.64 g/t gold over 65 metres.
Separately, Orezone has agreed to subscribe for one million units of Greencastle at a subscription price of 30 cents per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half common share purchase warrant exercisable for 18 months at 45 cents. Proceeds from the proposed private placement will be used for general working capital and exploration in Nevada where Greencastle is advancing three exploration projects located on the Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral trend of Carlin-type gold deposits. This highly productive regional trend hosts multimillion ounce gold deposits such as Placer Dome's Pipeline deposit and recent discovery nearby at Cortez Hills.
In a separate initiative, Greencastle has submitted an application to acquire the Tin Negoran uranium concession in the republic of Niger. The Tin Negoran concession has a brief history of uranium production from a small open pit in the 1990s. No details regarding the operation are available in the official records. The Tin Negoran concession covers part of the same general sequence of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks where the two main producing uranium mines are located and which lie to the west of the Proterozoic basement rocks of the Air Massif.
In west-central Saskatchewan, Greencastle holds an overriding royalty of up to 15 per cent of production on a heavy oil property near Primate, Sask. The pool, discovered by Greencastle in 2003, was subsequently farmed out to Trigger Resources Ltd. of Calgary. Trigger has drilled four wells into the pool and has a continuing option to drill up to 16 wells on the property. Royalty revenue received by Greencastle in the month of December, 2005, was $78,108.
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