Odyssey grabs Turkish prospect (September 30, 2002)

Odyssey Resources (YOD-V) has mobilized a drill to the Trab 23 copper-gold-molybdenum prospect, 75 km south-southeast of Trabzon on the Black Sea coast of Turkey.

The company recently inked a deal to acquire a 70% stake in the prospect from BHP Billiton (BHP-N) by completing $1.5-million worth of exploration before May 30, 2006. BHP Billiton has a back-in right for an additional 21% interest, which it can acquire for $3 million, at which time a joint venture will be formed. The major can boost its position by another 9% by completing a bankable feasibility study.

The 30-sq.-km Trab 23 property hosts a 600-by-800-metre area of pervasive silicification and stockwork-style mineralization. Based on surface mapping and chip, stream and soil geochemical sampling, BHP Billiton believes the zone overlies a mineralized porphyry centre, as soil and rock geochemical anomalies are bounded by major structures, suggesting a possible focusing of hydrothermal alteration and epithermal overprint inside the main structural corridor.

Odyssey and BHP Billiton formed a joint venture in late June; together, the two will aim at identifying, assessing and acquiring potentially huge copper-gold porphyry targets in the prolific Tethyan orogenic belt in eastern Turkey.

With drill permits in hand, Odyssey plans to sink 1,500 metres of drilling.