PacMin drill-tests JBS property in China

Vancouver — Pacific Minerals (PMZ-V) has launched a 2,500-metre program of underground drilling on its JBS nickel-copper-platinum-palladium property in southwestern China.

Based on government resource calculations, JBS is the largest platinum group metals resource known to exist in southwestern China. The property hosts two mineralized zones with a combined strike length of 3.4 km and a width varying from 200 to 600 metres. Previous drilling by the Chinese government defined an indicated resource of 33 million tonnes grading 1.1 grams palladium and 0.42 gram platinum per tonne, plus 0.15% nickel and 0.14% copper. Included in this resource is a higher-grade portion of 9.4 million tonnes averaging 1.77 grams palladium, 0.9 gram platinum, 0.21% nickel and 0.21% copper. The zone was never sampled for gold or any other platinum group elements.

Pacific Minerals has collected 492 underground channel samples, which so far average 0.29 gram platinum group metals and 0.4 gram gold.

A drill program will test a 500-metre section of reportedly high-grade material discovered by locals.

Moving to the southeastern border with Mongolia, the company has concluded a deal to acquire 96.5% of the 217 gold project in return for paying US$750,000 over three years.

The property, 160 km south of Ivanhoe Mines‘ (IVN-T) Turquoise Hill copper-gold project, has been tested by 10 widely spaced drill holes. All the holes cut mineralization, with the best result yielding 1.28 grams gold over 273 metres.