Gold Fields doubles Radius stake (July 30, 2003)

Vancouver South African-based Gold Fields (GFI-N) now holds a 12.9% stake in junior Radius Explorations (RDU-V).

The major, which currently lays claim to 3.6 million shares of the Simon Ridgway-led company, acquired the additional 1.9 million shares of Radius by exercising warrants. The deal put another $2.8 million into Radius’ coffers boosting the overall treasury to around $4.6 million.

Gold Fields picked up the warrants as part of a financing deal back in 2001, when the company purchased 1.9 million units of Radius at a price of $1.05 each. A full unit held one share and one warrant exercisable at $1.25. Later that same year, Gold Fields inked a deal with Radius paving the way for the major to earn a 55% interest in the Tambor property in the eastern portion of the country by spending US$5 million over three and a half years. So far, over $3 million has been spent.

The major is currently drilling the Guapinol South zone where drilling has tested a mineralized structure over a 350 metre strike length down to a vertical depth of 200 metres. Gold Fields recently tabled results from 10 reverse circulation drill holes punched into the adjoining Pozo del Coyote prospect. The best results came from hole 8, which returned 9.1metres grading 21.9 grams gold per tonne. Included in this section was a bonanza grade intercept of 81.9 grams gold over 2.3 metres.

Gold mineralization at Guapinol and Pozo de Coyote lies in and adjacent to quartz veins localized in an east-west trending, steeply dipping zone of mylonitized phylites.

Additional drill from the on going program are currently being compiled and will be released at the completion of the program.

Moving over to the Marimba project, Radius and partner Pillar Resources (PRI-V) have tabled favourable preliminary metallurgical test work from the mineralized silicified breccia horizon at the Cerro T prospect.

Bottle-roll tests on a 100 gram composite drill core samples from four mineralized intercepts indicate greater than 95% recovery of gold in 24 hours in 1% cyanide solution.

A second bout of drilling is expected to begin any day now. The program is designed to establish a near surface, heap-leachable gold resource in the area of the first phase drilling and to expand the known strike length of the mineralized blanket to the east.

Pillar can earn a 60% stake in the project by paying Radius US$30,000 and spending $2.5 million over a 3-year period. Once vested, Radius has the right to require Pillar to purchase the remaining 40% of the project in consideration for a 40% equity interest in Pillar.

Gold Fields retains the first right of refusal over the Marimba project, should Pillar vend the property to a third party.