SOUTHEAST ASIA SPECIAL — International Pursuit spans three nations

Toronto-listed International Pursuit (TSE) has interests in three separate countries in Southeast Asia, both directly and through ownership positions in three other companies.

Pursuit is best known for its porphyry copper project on Negros Island in the southern Philippines, a joint venture with Tequila Copper, which is, in turn, 55%-owned by Adex Mining (TSE). The project’s Don Jose deposit has a reserve of 94 million tonnes grading 0.45% copper. The company has been drilling at the property for about a year, finding additional resources at the A-1 zone, south of Don Jose, where the company sees potential for a 90-million-tonne resource with grades comparable to those at Don Jose.

Pursuit expects to have a prefeasibility study in hand by the end of this year and predicts a drill-indicated resource of 200 million tonnes at the project.

The company directly owns three properties on Kalimantan — two in the northeast and one in the central region. Its initial exploration efforts have involved the use of radar satellite imagery — a remote-sensing technique particularly useful in the tropics because of its ability to “see through” jungle cover. Pursuit expects to have its evaluation ready in the next few weeks and will present its results to prospective joint-venture partners.

Other interests on Kalimantan flow from a 16% holding

in Dayak Goldfields, a company still being capitalized. Pursuit put up US$2 million to acquire contracts of work for the new company.

Similarly, Java Gold is being taken public, and Pursuit has taken up 16% of the company by providing an initial US$2 million. Java Gold has interests in two properties on Java, both of which are at the drilling stage.

Pursuit retains an option to earn a 60% interest in any of Dayak’s or Java Gold’s properties by providing financing to bring a project into production.

Pursuit has also picked up a stake in a project in Papua New Guinea by providing financing for Western America Resources (ASE). Western America has arranged to acquire Magma Mines, an Australian junior company that holds an option on a property in the southeastern part of the main island.

The Ofi Creek property, 50 km north of Port Moresby, was explored by Australian major BHP Minerals, which, in turn, dealt an option to Magma Mines, allowing the junior to earn a 51% interest by spending A$2 million ($2.1 million) by March 1998.

The preliminary resource at the project is calculated at 85 million tonnes grading 0.4% copper and 0.6 gram gold per tonne. Western America plans to mount a drilling program to test possible extensions on the deposit, which is open at depth and in three lateral directions.

All this takes money, which International Pursuit plans to raise through a private placement of 2.5-3 million special warrants at $4.50 each. The units will consist of one share plus half of a share purchase warrant. One full purchase warrant, which expires 18 months from the issue date, entitles the holder to buy another Pursuit share at $6.