Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. press release
Paramount Gold Signs Deal with Minera ABX Exploraciones S.A.
TSX - Toronto Stock Exchange · Graphite · Canada
LIMA, Peru, Oct. 12 /CNW Telbec/ - Paramount Gold Mining Corp. (OTC: PGDP) and its newly formed Peruvian subsidiary, Compania Minera Paramount SAC, are pleased to announce that they have signed a Letter of Intent with Minera ABX Exploraciones S.A. ("Minera ABX"), a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) in order to acquire a minimum 51% interest in the Linda property, located in the Department of Ayacucho, South Peru. This acquisition represents Paramount Gold's first South American venture since their trading as a public company commenced only four weeks ago. Mr. Alain Vachon, newly appointed Manager of Exploration for Paramount Gold, South American division, comments: "The Linda property partnership represents a golden opportunity for Paramount to gain a very attractive property with substantial potential. I recognize the great potential this holds and look forward to the commencement of a work program that will start shortly, including the first 2000 meters of drilling." Paramount's President and CFO, Mr. Chris Crupi (former VP of Pricewaterhouse Cooper) also commented, "This is a major milestone for Paramount as we position the company to become a significant player in the mining industry. We are very pleased that Minera ABX has agreed on the terms of our proposal". The agreement calls for a two-year work commitment including a total of 6000 meters of drilling, of which 2000 meters is a firm commitment during the first year of the deal. Once Paramount has completed the above requirements, they will have acquired a 51% interest in the Property and will remain the operator of the project as long as they maintain a majority interest. Minera ABX has been granted a back-in right to reach a 65% interest, exercisable at any time after Paramount acquires its 51% interest in the Property, if exploration work uncovers a gold resource greater than 2 million ounces. To earn its 65% interest, Minera ABX will reimburse Paramount an amount equal to two times all exploration expenditures incurred by Paramount. At this point, Minera ABX will be deemed to have a 65% interest and Paramount a 35% interest, respectively, in the Property and Minera ABX will become the operator of the project. The Linda property is comprised of six mining concessions totaling 45,000 hectares. It is located within a mining district which is currently being explored by several junior and major companies including Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) and Southern Peru, some of the most important exploration companies and mining operators in Peru. Previous work carried out on the Property led to the discovery of a kilometric low grade gold system within Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. In Paramount's view, the system may be suitable for hosting a low grade large volume heap leached deposit. As of today, the genetic model of such mineralization has not been clearly identified but it presents several similarities with porphyry, skarn or Carlin type. Mineralization and alteration (silicification and decarbonitization) are spatially associated and controlled by NW and NE trending faults and hydrothermal breccias. Detailed sampling (chip and channel) have been completed over an area covering approximately 1.5 km x 1.0 km. Outside of this zone, the sediments are covered by young unaltered volcanic rocks. A total of 928 surface samples has been collected, of which 263 (28%) have returned gold values greater than 300 ppb (0.3 g/t) Au, including 169 with values greater than 500 (0.5 g/t) and, 59 with values greater than 1000 ppb (1 g/t) Au. Of note, the arithmetic average of these 263 samples stands at 0.93 g/t Au. Paramount believes that this value compares very well with head grades of several small and large gold mines in Peru. In 1996, a junior company drilled 8 holes on the property: 4 holes cut oxide gold mineralization with a high value of 1.5 g/t Au over 26 m in hole 4.
About Paramount Gold
Paramount Gold Mining Corp. is a precious metals exploration and development company. It is management's objective to grow Paramount into a significant gold and precious metals producer by developing the San Miguel and Yoquivo projects in Mexico, and by acquiring other advanced-stage projects and/or producing mines in the most prolific precious metal districts in the world. www.paramountgold.com
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained herein which are not historical are forward- looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain delays beyond the company's control with respect to market acceptance of new technologies or products, delays in testing and evaluation of products, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.