New resource tally at Getty South (July 30, 2007)

Vancouver — Recently emerging from a prolonged round of litigation, Getty Copper (GTC-V, GTCDF-O) has tabled an updated resource estimate for its Getty South project located near Logan Lake, in southwestern B.C.

The National Instrument 43-101-compliant report put the inferred resource at Getty South at 28.2 million tonnes grading 0.47% copper using a 0.2% copper cutoff grade, for about 290 million lbs. (131,500 tonnes) of contained copper.

Within the estimate, 3.1 million tonnes of oxide material grading 0.51% copper was identified. The remaining 25.1 million inferred tonnes are sulphide mineralized and average 0.46% copper.

Getty’s latest study is based on 118 past drill holes totalling over 19,000 metres, and updates a historic estimate of 36 million tonnes of 0.47% copper. Additionally, the report reviewed data from 15 trenches totalling over 1,500 metres and included observations from the more than 1,700 metres of underground workings completed by past operators.

Occurring within the Guichon Batholith, the Getty South deposit is an elliptical-shaped composite breccia and shatter zone about 300 metres wide by 600 metres long. Chalcopyrite is the main copper mineral and occurs primarily as disseminations in the breccia matrix, but also occurs as stringers and fracture fillings. The project is just north of and adjacent to Teck Cominco’s (TCK.B-T, TCK-N) Highland Valley copper mine complex.

Getty Copper purchased a 50% interest in the Getty South project from private company Robak Industries in 2003 for 6 million shares; as part of the same deal, it also acquired 100% of the Getty Central and Southwest properties. The agreement also has the company carrying Robak’s 50% interest in the South project through to production.

Robak, owned by company director John Lepinski, retains a 1.5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on the projects.

In mid-2004, an RCMP investigation into discrepant valuations of properties sold by Robak to Getty led to legal disputes between the company and certain directors and consultants. In May 2007, the police closed its investigation with no charges laid.

Getty subsequently settled its legal dispute with former directors Robert Gardner and Vittorio Preto, as well as with consultant Ross Glanville.

The company’s land package in the Highland Valley area also includes the wholly owned Getty North deposit, which was the subject of a 1998 engineering study.

More than 160 drill holes totalling over 36,000 metres were completed on Getty North leading to a historic resource estimate of 72.1 million indicated and inferred tonnes of oxide and sulphide material grading 0.31% copper. The review included 44.5 million tonnes of sulphide material at 0.37% copper and 10 million tonnes of oxide averaging 0.4% copper.

A 1999 project assessment report by Bateman Engineering recommended proceeding to feasibility stage to examine mining of the oxide material at the North deposit. The study looked at encouraging economics for an 11-million-lb.-per-year (5,000 annually) cathode copper operation.

Shares of Getty Copper have recently rallied to around 30 from around a dime in April. Based on its 67 million shares outstanding, the company posts a $22-million market capitalization.