TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 7, 2009) - Lynda Bloom, President and CEO of Halo Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:HLO)(FRANKFURT:HRL) ("Halo" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Limited and Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Company Limited, both subsidiaries of HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM) ("HudBay"), have agreed to amend their 2006 option agreements with Halo so as to provide greater flexibility in advancing exploration on these projects.
Halo will pay property payments of $40,000 under option agreements regarding each of the two deposits, Jungle and Park, in common shares of Halo rather than cash to the two HudBay subsidiaries. A total of 1,970,440 Halo common shares will be issued to the two HudBay subsidiaries, subject to regulatory approval. In addition, HudBay has agreed to a one-year extension regarding a third agreement covering 15 claims for 2,788 hectares (the "FUD claims"), originally staked by HudBay in 1996-1997, considered to have exploration potential. Halo has spent 75% of the $800,000 total work commitment on the FUD claims, and made the required cash payments. The Company plans to complete the expenditures prior to the extended anniversary date of March 19, 2010.
"We appreciate HudBay's interest in our exploration activities and its support during these difficult market conditions. The ability to conserve cash with the help of our partners enables Halo to advance exploration and development further on the Sherridon property" said Ms. Bloom. "We are pleased to have a major mining company, HudBay, as a shareholder and partner, with its 80-year old record of discovery and bringing new deposits into production."
Halo's Sherridon's VMS Property consists of 20,876 hectares in total, of which 16,861 hectares are directly controlled by the Company. There are five existing deposits (Park, Jungle, Bob, Lost and Cold), all of which lie within a 4 km by 4 km area. The Cold, Lost, Bob and Jungle deposits contain 3,115,000 tonnes in the Indicated Resource category with an overall grade of 1.00% copper, 0.97% zinc and precious metal credits based on a 2008 NI 43-101 resource estimate. In addition, there are 9,937,000 tonnes in the Inferred Resource category with an overall grade of 0.9% copper, 1.2% zinc and precious metal credits (see press release October 3, 2008).
Some 70% of the Inferred and Indicated Resources lie within approximately 100 m of the surface and may be amenable to low cost open pit mining methods adding positively to the economic potential of the Sherridon project. The close proximity of the four deposits, in the vicinity of the town of Sherridon, a power line, road and railroad, provides a realistic framework for further economic evaluation and development of the deposits.
Of immediate interest are the newly discovered Cold and Lost Lake copper-zinc deposits and, in recognition of their near term production potential, Halo has completed metallurgical testing with positive results (see press release February 10, 2009). The Cold Lake master composite sample assayed 1.27% copper and 3.42% zinc and the Lost Lake master composite sample assayed 1.22% copper and 4.48% zinc and the grades are considered typical of future mill feed.
"We are very encouraged by the results of the initial metallurgical test program and the expectation that potential production from both Cold Lake and Lost Lake deposits could be processed in a conventional flotation concentrator to produce saleable concentrates." said Lynda Bloom.
About Halo Resources Ltd.
Halo is a Canadian-based resource company focused on the acquisition of near production base and precious base metal deposits. The Company's focus is the 200 sq. km. Sherridon VMS Property, a combination of mature and grassroots volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) copper, zinc and gold exploration opportunities. A 2008 NI 43-101 compliant copper-zinc resource, for four of the known deposits in the district, was completed in less than 18 months, with exploration activity ongoing. The Company has a joint venture interest in the Duport Property, an advanced gold property near Kenora, Ontario and is the operator for several contiguous joint venture properties in West Red Lake covering 45 sq. km. The Company is operated by an experienced management team with a growth strategy to develop a diversified portfolio of advanced mining projects. |
