Vancouver , British Columbia – Minvita Enterprises Ltd. (“Minvita”) and Teuton Resources Corp. (“Teuton”) are pleased to announce that an additional 288 units have been staked south, east and northeast of their jointly-owned Tonga property, situated 24 km north of the Town of Alice Arm. The property now covers 448 units, or 28,000 acres.
Tonga Molybdenum Potential
A 300 metre long, highly anomalous molybdenum geochemical anomaly was discovered along the banks of Cross Creek in 2004, at the center of the Tonga property. Eleven talus fine samples taken every 30 metres ranged from 111 to 543 ppm moly with an average of 321 ppm. Associated copper, zinc, lead and silver values were also highly anomalous. This work confirmed and extended abundant soil and silt moly geochemical anomalies identified during small programs carried out in 1989 and 1991 (see Figure1 & Figure2). Quartz diorite float boulders containing moly rosettes, discovered a few hundred metres north (downstream) in 1982, are likely related to this anomalous zone.
The geochemical signature and the local geological setting indicate an unmapped “Alice Arm intrusion” may underlie the property. Regionally, these intrusions typically take the form of oval or elongate quartz monzonite to quartz diorite stocks, zoned portions of which host molybdenum mineralization. Marginal quartz veins containing lead, zinc and silver mineralization are also common.
The most famous regional example of an Alice Arm intrusion occurs at the formerly producing BC Molybdenum Mine, 30 km to the south of the Tonga property. It operated from 1967-72 producing 9.3 million tons grading 0.112% moly, before low metal prices forced closure. According to the BC Government Minfile, proven and probable reserves at that time were 104 million tonnes grading 0.11% moly.
During the past two years moly has dramatically broken out of a long stagnant period marked by low prices varying between $1 to $3/lb. The construction boom in China has resulted in increased demand for molybdenum, primarily as a vital additive used in steelmaking. Molybdenum recently reached a high of $35/lb and is currently quoted at $26 lb. The new price regime has transformed moly into an attractive exploration target.
Minvita and Teuton plan an aggressive 2005 surface exploration program to delineate the full extent of the Tonga molybdenum anomaly, to be followed by a diamond drilling program.
Tonga Silver-Gold Potential
BC Minister of Mines Annual Reports record that an old prospect called Carpenter’s Claims is situated within the Tonga property boundaries. This prospect was reported to contain free gold in quartz veins mineralized with pyrite and chalcopyrite. During the 1980’s several prospecting traverses were undertaken by various parties aimed both at locating this old prospect and the source of numerous highly anomalous silt geochem silver anomalies recorded during a 1978 regional B.C. Government survey. One of these traverses led to a discovery of a float boulder assaying 92 oz/ton silver and 1.3 oz/ton gold, however neither the exact location of the old prospect nor the source of the silver geochemical anomalies was ever determined.
During the 2004 work program over the property, a Minvita-Teuton geologist discovered a series of tunnels in a cliff face approximately one kilometre south of the molybdenum anomaly. Two of the tunnels were accessible but were found to penetrate only a few metres into the rock. Two other tunnels could not be accessed because of steepness. These tunnels are located just upstream from silver silt geochem sample sites ranging in value from 3.6 to 4.1 ppm.
Plans for 2005 include mountaineering traverses of the cliff face to probe the tunnels and determine whether these are part of the old Carpenter’s Claims prospect. Further prospecting and sampling is also planned to test several local streams where geochemical silt sampling has returned consistently anomalous values in silver. One of these streams contained 17 consecutive silt samples ranging from 1.2 to 5.2 ppm silver. A value of 1.2 ppm equates to the 99 th percentile level for silver on a regional basis-values above this are considered highly anomalous.
D. Cremonese, P.Eng. is the Qualified Person in charge of the 2004 program on the Tonga property. Pioneer Laboratories of Richmond, B.C., an accredited facility, performed all analyses from 2004 samples taken from the Tonga property.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“D. Cremonese”
Dino Cremonese, P.Eng.
President and Director
Teuton Resources Corp
Minvita Enterprises Ltd.
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