Corriente cuts high values at Mirador

Vancouver — Junior Corriente Resources (CTQ-T) has intersected its highest copper and gold grades to date at the Mirador prospect in southeast Ecuador.

Seven vertical holes targeted the northern edge of the prospect. The best hole, M-51, hit 336 metres grading 0.87% copper and 0.41 gram gold per tonne. It was collared 150 metres northwest of previously reported hole M-08, which returned 76 metres of 0.84% copper and 0.1 gram gold. Another noteworthy hole, M-49, was collared 100 metres south of hole M-51 and cut 381 metres grading 0.78% copper and 0.25 gram gold.

“The results clearly indicate the presence, at the northern edge of Mirador, of a zone that has significantly higher copper and gold values than the rest of the deposit,” says renowned geologist David Lowell, who is leading the exploration program for Corriente. “The higher-grade area is open to the north and at depth, and we are encouraged by the potential to expand resources in this direction.”

The locations of the remaining drill holes are as follows:

– hole M-46 — collared 125 metres west of previously reported hole M-45, which returned 12 metres of 1.1% copper and 277 metres of 0.06% copper;

– hole M-47 — drilled 125 metres southwest of hole M-46;

– hole M-48 — collared 125 metres southeast of hole M-49;

– holes M-50 and M-52 — drilled 200 metres west and east of hole M-51, respectively.

Low-grade intersections in the holes are said to represent small zones of post-mineral dykes that crosscut the copper-gold mineralization. These latest results wrap up a 20-hole, 7,900-metre campaign that began at the start of the year. Corriente will use the results to assess Mirador’s grade and size. In total, 52 holes, or 13,600 metres, have been drilled on the prospect since the spring of 2000.

Meanwhile, preparations are under way for a program that will test the Warintza deposit. The drilling will target the high-grade secondary copper blanket discovered last spring during scout drilling. Hole W-01 cut 82 metres grading 1.37% copper, whereas hole W-07 hit 95 metres of 1.2% copper. Corriente will also target outlying copper-molybdenite anomalies in a reconnaissance program.

Situated near the Peruvian border, the Corriente region hosts porphyry copper bodies, most of which were discovered by Billiton in the mid-1990s. Corriente signed two separate, but similar, agreements with Billiton, in October 1999 and April 2000. Under each, Corriente is required to complete a feasibility study on any one of several projects in order to earn a 70% interest in the joint venture. The junior must also issue Billiton up to 2.3 million units (the final number depends on which prospects are included). Each unit consists of a share and a share purchase warrant. Upon completion of the feasibility study, Billiton will have three options: maintain its 30% interest; retain a 70% back-in right by providing production financing; or dilute to a 15% net profit interest.

Lowell, who is associated with the Pierina gold discovery in Peru and Escondida in Chile, holds 10% of Corriente’s interest through his own Chilean-based company, Lowell Mineral Exploration.

Results from the last seven holes drilled at Mirador are outlined in the accompanying table.

HoleFrom-toIntervalGoldCopper