Marathon options Gossan’s Bird River (April 18, 2007)

Marathon PGM (MAR-T) has struck a option agreement to acquire up to a 70% interest in Gossan Resources‘ (GSS-V) Bird River platinum group metals project in southeastern Manitoba’s Bird River sill complex.

Gossan’s Bird River property is situated 150 km northeast of Winnipeg, and covers 73 sq. km over a 21-km strike length of the sill complex.

Mustang Minerals‘ (MUM-V) Maskwa low-grade nickel deposit and the historic Dumbarton mine are situated 6 km to the southeast.

Toronto-based Marathon can earn a half interest in the Bird River property by spending $3 million on exploration and making cash payments of $500,000 to Winnipeg-based Gossan by April 2011.

Marathon can earn a further 15% by completing a definitive feasibility study and an additional 5% interest by arranging project financing.

Upon formation of a joint venture, Marathon must pay advance royalties of $100,000 annually until commercial production is achieved — payments that are recoverable by Marathon once in a mine is in production.

Marathon is already commiting to spending $500,000 before May 2008, with an initial cash payment of $50,000. Upcoming summer work will include prospecting and surface geochemical sampling, which will be followed up with drilling.

Marathon says that platinum and palladium mineralization have recently been identified in several environments on the property, including nickel and copper mineralization in ultramafic rocks, reef style mineralization near and in the chromite layers and mineralization in the surrounding volcanic rocks.

The company adds that much of the earlier sampling and drilling on the property did not test for PGMs.

Marathon PGM is best known for its advanced, wholly owned Marathon PGM-copper project located 10 km north of Marathon, Ont., where an intensive, 35,000-metre drilling campaign and definitive feasibility study are ongoing.

The project has a measured resource of 39.2 million tonnes containing 1.6 million oz of PGMs plus gold, and 285 million lbs. copper, and an indicated resource of 28.9 million tonnes containing 1.1 million oz of PGM plus gold, and 178 million lbs. copper.