Equinox keeps exploring during Lumwana mine construction

Vancouver – Equinox Minerals (EQN-T, EQN-A) latest drill results from one of its copper exploration project in Zambia spurred a busy day for the company, which saw almost 15 million shares traded on June 26^th trading.

With the commissioning of Africas largest new copper mine at Equinoxs Lumwana project in northwestern Zambia in sight, the company is nonetheless continuing work on its exploration projects in other parts of Zambia, as well as in Peru, Sweden, and western Australia.

After close on June 25^th Equinox released a new batch of reverse-circulation drill results from the Ndola West prospect, one target within the large Zambezi project that covers 19,300 sq. km mostly in the Zambian copperbelt. Though many holes came back blank, results from holes that intersected mineralization confirmed the existence of a high-grade, complex structure and extended the known strike length. Shares closed down 6 on the news, at $3.22.

Hole 10 returned 0.89% copper over a true width of 30 metres starting 70 metres below surface. Hole 25 intercepted 14 metres (10 metres true thickness) grading 6.29% copper, and hole 26 cut 4 metres (2.5 metres true width) of 1.3% copper. The three RC holes were part of a recent 15-hole program. The other 12 holes did not return significant mineralization (less than 0.2% copper).

A summer-2006 drill program returned similar results from Ndola West, including 64 metres grading 2.33% copper in hole 3.

Situated about 5 km west of the mining town of Ndola, the project is hosted within Lower Roan sequence Copperbelt rocks that stretch 90 km along the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Roughly 60 km northwest along the sequence sits the Mufulira deposit, held by Mopani Copper Mines (an operating company held 73% by privately-owned Glencore International AG, 17% by First Quantum Minerals (FM-T), and 10% by state owned Zambian Consolidated Copper Mines). Mufulira holds historic resources of 325 million tonnes of 2.65% copper in massive arkosic sandstones.

While the orebodies at Mufulira are considered facies equivalents of the principle sulphide host at Ndola West, the latter target appears to be more complicated. The currently identified mineralization lies within one deformed limb of a tightly folded syncline, and the primary mineralization is overprinted by copper oxides.

Equinoxs primary focus is on the Lumwana project, a 1,355-sq-km site hosting measured and indicated reserves of 321 million tonnes averaging 0.73% copper, plus 417 million tonnes of 0.6% copper inferred. Construction is underway at the fully permitted site, where Equinox plans to sequentially open-pit mine the Malundwe and Chimiwungo deposits, which are 7 km apart.

When completed Lumwana will be Africas largest new copper mine, slated to produce and average of 169,000 tonnes copper in concentrates for the first six of its 37-year mine life. The mill, which will process 20 million tonnes per year, will also rank as the largest in Africa.