Intl Millennium IDs platinum source at Jason (January 21, 2008)

Vancouver — International Millennium Mining (IMI-V) says it has found the source of a platinum stream geochemistry anomaly on its Jason property, near Harrison Lake in southwestern B.C.

Outcrop sampling near Anomaly Creek identified pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite and sperrylite (a platinum arsenide) mineralization yielding up to 0.64% nickel, 0.63% copper, 0.78 gram platinum and 0.47 gram palladium per tonne.

The company notes the assays are similar to ore grades reported from the nearby Giant Mascot mine, which operated from 1958-1974. Magmatic sulphides and the host orthopyroxenite appear to have been emplaced along a well-defined fault zone — supporting an earlier-hypothesized deposit model.

The Jason project sits within a belt of ultramafic rocks emplaced along a suite of sulphide-rich metasedimentary rocks of the Chilliwack Formation.

Deposits at Giant Mascot generally occur as ultramafic pods or pipes (comprised of pyroxenite and hornblende pyroxenite along with some dunite and peridotite) intruding the metasedimentary rocks. Mineralization is mainly pyrrhotite, pentlandite and chalcopyrite. The mine produced about 4.2 million tonnes of ore averaging 1.19% nickel, 0.46% copper, 0.1% cobalt and 1% chromium, plus minor platinum group metals, gold and silver.

International Millennium has an option to acquire the project outright for payments totalling $76,000 plus the issuance of 200,000 shares. The property owner retains a 3% net smelter royalty, 2% of which can be purchased by the company for $1 million.

The company plans to drill its Anomaly Creek target. Drill targets have also been defined for two other zones on the project — Discovery Creek and Hut Creek.

In addition to its Harrison Lake area project, International Millennium holds the Simon silver property in western Nevada and silver-gold projects in northwestern Mexico.

Shares of the junior recently traded around 24, giving it a $7.3-million market capitalization based on its 30.6 million shares outstanding. The stock has a 52-week trading range of 15.5-37.