The following excerpt is from EXPLORATION NEWSLETTER - What's up in Sweden, No 11 June 2001

Current news on exploration in Sweden. Editor Birger Filén

EXPLORATION NEWS

Six drill holes have been completed in Tertiary Mineral plc’s Windfall project during the first quarter 2001. Three holes tested for a southern extension of mineralisation at the Sörtärnan prospect. Each of the three holes intersected the main skarn altered mineralised horizon and narrow intersections of zinc-lead-silver mineralisation. Although the thickness and grades of the mineralisation were lower than in the previous holes drilled at Sörtärnan the programme has demonstrated the continuation of the mineralised horizon at Sörtärnan for a further 150m where it remains open and well developed. At the Windfall prospect, three holes tested the two best MMI base metal geochemical anomalies at shallow depth but failed to intersect significant mineralisation.
At Tertiary’s Juniper Ridge project, assays have been received from a more detailed resampling of two cores. These results confirmed previous results with broad zones of uniformly anomalous gold values.
Tertiary’s Boliden East project is located adjacent ro the Boliden mine which, up to 1965, produced 4 million ounces of gold. Interpretation results from a till sampling programme indicate a multielement geochemical anomaly with an element association similar to that for the Boliden ore. Follow up geochemical sampling and drilling is warranted.

Among North Atlantic Natural Resources AB’s (NAN) more advanced rargets is the Bjurfors project. The Bjurfors mineralisation was discovered by the Geological Survey (SGU) c. 1960 by ground electro-magnetic surveying. Drilling by SGU resulted in a resource estimate of 600 000 tonnes grading 0.1 % copper, 3.5 % zinc, 40 g/t silver, and 1.0 g/t gold. NAN aquired the property through South Atlantic Resources and International Gold Exploration and drilled 20 additional holes totaling 3175 metres of drilling. Additional work is needed for the possible definition of economic deposit.
NAN’s Svattliden is a bulk tonnage copper mineralisation in felsic volcanics. Discovered by SGU it has been drilled by SGU and Boliden, the latter in late 1970’s. A total of 109 drill holes have defined three small, un-economic copper deposits named ”A”, “B” and “C”.
A — 65 000 tonnes with 2.76 % copper, 1.42 % zinc
B — 200 000 tonnes with 1.83 % copper, 22 g/t silver
C — 200 000 tonnes with 1.1 % copper
NAN has completed induced polarization surveying over the entire area and has proposed a ten hole drill program to test for additional tonnages.

Dragon Mining N.L. announces that initial pit optimations and project economics indicate that the known Svartliden measured and indicated resources should sustain a 50 000 ounces per annum operation at a head grade of 5.9 g/t gold to produce 170 000 ounces. The Svartliden gold ore is situated south of the Skellefte District. Depth and strike extensions to the known mineralisation remain untested and could considerably increase the scale and life of the project. Fifteen exploration targets have been delineated on the surrounding tenements from airborne geophysical data, and first pass ground exploration is planned for June to September. A bankable feasibility study for the project was commenced in February and is scheduled for completion in August of this year. Already process optimation test work has been completed with favourable results. Process details and general plant options were expected to be determined by late April. Sterilisation drilling of the waste dump areas, tailings storage facility and other infrastructure sites has been completed. Geotechnical studies for pit designs, plant foundations and the railings storage facility have commenced. Hydrological investigations have also commenced.

Lappland Goldminers AB is optimistic abour its Fäboliden gold project, which is said to contain 10 million tonnes at 1.5 g/t gold. The best drill result is 8 g/t gold over 10 metres. If everything goes according to plans open cast mining will start in 2003, CEO Torbjörn Grahn says. Fäboliden is situated south of the Skellefte District some 45 km west of the town of Lycksele. A rough ore resources estimation on the company’s Stortjärnhobben mineralisation, situated approximately in the same area as Fäboliden, gives, according to the company’s consulting geologist Leif Carlsson, 3.4 million tonnes at 3 g/t gold. The Company has bought two exploration permits in Ledinge in Västernorrland County from a privare prospector. The prospect which consists of gold bearing boulders with up ro 13 g/t Au was found during the public Mineral Hunt competition last year.

In the Kuosanen North, in the northern Norrbotten County, Equinox Resources Ltd has encountered wide zones of low grade copper mineralisation associated with intense Fe-oxide copper-gold type alteration, intersected on the northern end of a large geophysical anomaly. Significant encouragement at two of six rested targets validates the Company’s exploration strategy.
Also Equinox shows interest in PGE’s. The company has applied for an exploration permit covering most of the Kukkola intrusion, the westernmost part of an Early Proterozoic mafic layered complex extending from Sweden through Finland into Russia. The Company has also an application on the Präntijärvi structure, a possible, untested analogue to the Kukkola structure, the former lying 5-12 km to the SSW

MINING NEWS

North Atlantic Natural Resources AB's (NAN) Storliden Mine was officially opened with inauguration ceremonies held on May 9, 2001 at the mine site. The Storliden mine is a copper-zinc deposit discovered by NAN in 1998. It is located 8 km northeast of the town of Malå in Västerbotten County.
The Storliden deposit will be accessed by an 800 m declined ramp extending from the surface to the ore body. This ramp is expected to be completed by November of this year. The first phase of surface construction has been completed including access roads, industrial area for offices and workshops, earthworks, water ponds and power supply. The first production of ore is expected in the first quarter of 2002 at an annual rate of 300 000 tonnes of ore over a mine life of six years. The Storliden mine is being developed under contract with Boliden Mineral AB who is a principal shareholder of NAN.
Follow the development on the company's web-site:
www.nanr.se

Boliden is planning a 20 % increase in production at the Aitik mine in the Norrbotten County. Today 18 million tonnes of copper-gold ore is mined annually. The stripping ratio is approximately 1:1.
The company announces the close down of two of its mines this year: Åkerberget gold mine which has been mined intermittently since 1989 will close in August. In October Laisvall lead-zinc mine will be closed down. When the mine began operations in 1943, it was regarded as a temporary wartime measure. During the last years approximately 2 million tonnes of ore has been mined annually. Boliden has applied for mining consessions for Bjurvattnet and for Mångfallberget. The Bjurvattnet mineralisation is 400 metres long and contains mainly copper and gold but also zinc and lead. The mine is planned to be an open cast operation. The Mångfallberget mineralisation is situated 2 km north of the town of Boliden. The mineralisation contains mainly gold. Also Mångfallberget will, at least in the beginning, be mined in an open pit. The ore will be treated by cyanide leaching.
Boliden has been in economic trouble for quite a long time. A financial rescue action and reconstruction is on its way.

ScanMining's efforts to find financers for the Blaiken (Ersmarksberget-Svärtträsk) zinc-gold project is still ongoing. Recently released ore reserves are for Ersmarksberget proven 2.97 Mt at 1.1 g/t gold and 1.46 % zinc and probable 1.9 Mt at 0.17 g/t gold and 1.58 % zinc. For Svärtträsk 25 km further south, the figures given are proven 1.67 Mt at 2.68 % zinc and probable 0.7 Mt at 2.41 % zinc.
Tricorona Minerals AB is planning a temporary close down at its Kringel graphite mine.
In January the Environmental Court rejected Tricorona's application for environmental permission for china clay production in Scania in southern Sweden. The Company has appealed against the decision and has submitted complementary additions to the case.

DIAMOND EXPLORATION

Gennen Mc Dowall, President of Poplar Resources Ltd announces that six targets have been drilled in the latest phase of diamond drilling on the Sundsvall Diamond Project in Central Sweden. Five of the targets proved to be of no interest, however it was determined that core from the sixth drill hole warrants detailed analysis.

GEOCHEMICAL DATA RELEASE

The Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU) has released new soil geochemical data in two areas: one in the Norrbotten County and one in Västra Götaland County. The soil database contains information on several elements, some of which have been analysed by different methods.
For additional information on soil geochemistry, please contact Kaj Lax: kaj.lax@sgu.se.

GEORANGE

The interim board for the Georange program has been succeeded by an ordinary board with Rolf Andersson, Malå's Government Commissioner, as chairman. The board has decided to appoint Olof Forslund as provisional Program Executive Officer. Olof Forslund is the former Project Manager for the preliminary studies aiming to create a geoscientific venture, which now is Georange. He is employed by SGU at the Malå office and will be parttime engaged in the Georange program.
A signifcant part of the Georange project is committed to research, economic geology, and enviromental topics. The research will be organised in larger, multi-disciplinary projects with participants from different universities and with more than one sponsor from exploration and mining industry. Projects should have at least 25 % external sponsorship. Sponsorship will improve the budget for the projects but more important is that sponsoring attests that projects are of interest for the mining industry.
Projects will be assembled by a small group of "research brokers". Their task is to combine and blend research suggestions from different organisations (industry, universities, official organisations, etc.) into larger multidisciplinary projects that satisfy all participants. Projects have to be approved by a scientific committee.
In practise the research broker will act as a negotiator between researchers, industry and the scientific committee in order to set up scientifically sound projects that attract industry.
At present two larger international frames have hero defined: Global VMS and Fe-oxide Cu-Au.

NEWS FROM THE OFFICE

SGU’s Mineral Resources Information Office will set up a booth at Diggers and Dealers in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia 23rd —25th of July. Welcome!

MEETINGS

The 3rd annual GEODE-Fennoscandian shield field workshop on Palaeoproterozoic and Archaean greenstone belts and VMS districts in the Fennoscandian Shield will be held in Russian Karelia September 10-16, 2001

The 3rd Fennoscandian Exploration and Mining
Rovaniemi, Finland
December 3-4, 2001

REGIONAL SYNTHESIS PROJECTS IN MINERAL PROVINCES

The goal for three current projects at SGU, of which one is completed, is to compile thematic maps at the scale 1:250 000 (bedrock geology, mineral and bedrock resources and regional alteration zones, structure and metamorphism, and base information) and to update databases, primarily for the benefit of mineral exploration. Beside printed maps and descriptions, the information will also be available in Exploration packages (cd-rom) together with datasets.
The northern Nortbotten project was completed during the year 2000. An exploration package is available.
The results from the Bergslagen project will be released in May 2001.
The Skellefte District project is planned to be completed by the end of 2001.

For more details contact:
Benno Kathol (Skellefte District) tel ±46 18 179380 e-mail benno.kathol@sgu.se
Stefan Bergman (Northern Nortbotten) +46 18 179382 e-mail stefan.bergman@sgu.se
Michael Stephens (Bergslagen region) ±46 18 179311 e-mail michael.stephens@sgu,se

A list of new publications and maps can be found on SGU’s web-site:
www.sgu.se/aktuellt/nypub_index.htm

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. You are of course welcome to visit us and have a closer look at the information that we can offer you.

© 2001 Geological Survey of Sweden - Mineral Resources Information Office.

The content of this newsletter is entirely based Upon public information gathered from newspapers, press releases, and web sites on Internet.