BHP joins Odyssey in Turkey hunt

Vancouver — With a promising portfolio of gold and massive sulphide projects already tied up in eastern Turkey, Odyssey Resources (YOD-V) has teamed up with BHP Billiton (BHP-N) to look for copper-gold porphyry targets in the region.

Under the deal, the new partners will share the costs of a US$300,000 program aimed at identifying prospective ground. BHP will fund its share by taking a US$150,000 private placement in junior. The major will pick up 320,000 units priced at $0.70 each. A unit consists of one share and half a warrant. A full warrant allows BHP to purchase an additional share at $0.80 for the first year and $1 in the second year. Any properties that are acquired will be worked as a 50-50 joint venture with BHP funding 65% and Odyssey contributing 35% of a budgeted US$1 million follow-up program for each project.

The major can up its stake to 65% in any property acquired by funding a feasibility study and add another 10% by financing the project through to production.

Over the past year, Odyssey has been busy adding ground to its own portfolio in Turkey.

In May, Odyssey reached an agreement to acquire the Altintepe property from a Turkish subsidiary of Teck Cominco (TEK-T). Consisting of three licenses covering over 100 sq. km, the property is located to the immediate northwest of Odyssey’s Lucky Star massive sulphide property and is part of the same sequence of volcanic rocks. Previous work by the major in the mid 1990’s identified nine target areas.

So far, some 46 diamond drill holes have cut gold mineralization. Hosted in felsic volcanic rocks, the mineralization is hosted in or adjacent to three parallel striking structures, which cover a 4-by-2 km area. Some of the better intercepts include 79 metres grading 3.2 grams gold, 12 metres grading 5.9 grams gold and 3 metres averaging 15.2 grams gold.

Under this deal, Odyssey agreed to issue 150,000 shares and 250,000 warrants to Teck Cominco. The warrants have an exercise price of C$0.35 and a term of three years. To earn 100% of the claims, the junior must spend US$1.9 million over 5-years and issue 150,000 additional shares to the major. Teck Cominco retains a 51% back-in right that is exercisable 90 days after a feasibility study ahs been complete or US$2 million has been spent.

At the company’s Lucky Star property, recent drilling has failed to return any significant values. Covering 250 sq. km of shallow submarine volcanic rocks and derived sediments in the prolific Eastern Pontides of northeastern Turkey. Two holes were drilled into the main 400-by-500 metre geophysical anomaly intersecting a thick, variably altered sequence of intercalated mudstone, siltstone, and rhyolite-dominated epiclastics. Despite hitting replacement-disseminated pyrite, no economic grades of lead-zinc-silver mineralization were encountered.

Moving to the northeastern edge of the basin, one hole tested the Zavikoy target. This hole intersected an andesite porphyry intrusive hosting a pyritic stockwork within a halo of moderate to intense silicification. Only anomalous copper and gold values were encountered.