Entr e Gold Announces Option Agreement with HoneyBadger Exploration
24 July 2009 - 4:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
VANCOUVER, July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Entr e Gold Inc.
(TSX:ETG; NYSE Amex:EGI; Frankfurt:EKA - "Entr e" or the "Company")
announces that the Company has entered into an agreement with
HoneyBadger Exploration Inc. (TSX.V:TUF - "HoneyBadger") to explore
for and develop porphyry copper targets in the Yerington porphyry
copper district of western Nevada. HoneyBadger has assembled a
substantial land package covering over 12,500 acres (5,080
hectares), known as the Yerington West Project. Under the terms of
the agreement, Entr e may acquire up to an 80% interest in a
portion of the Yerington West Project, known as the Blackjack
Property. The agreement is subject to completion of due diligence
and regulatory approval. Entr e may exercise its first option to
acquire 51% after incurring minimum expenditures of US$900,000 in
the first year of exploration and issuing 37,500 shares and
reimbursing HoneyBadger for up to $206,250 of expenditures
previously incurred on the property. If results from the initial
exploration program are encouraging, the Company may increase its
interest by a further 29% (to 80% in total) by making payments of
US$375,000 and issuing 375,000 shares within 3 years. Entr e has
committed to carry HoneyBadger through the completion of 10,000
metres of drilling, including any done within the first year. The
Blackjack Property consists of 484 claims covering almost 10,000
acres (4,000 hectares) of prospective ground centred about 8 miles
(13 kilometres) west of the town of Yerington, Nevada in an area
with excellent infrastructure and a long history of mining. The
Yerington district reached prominence after the discovery of copper
in 1865. Anaconda Copper produced almost 2 billion pounds of copper
from the Yerington Mine, located 4 miles (6 kilometres) to the
southeast of the Blackjack Property, between 1952 and 1978. Nevada
is a highly regarded mining jurisdiction, having been rated third
out of 71 mining and exploration jurisdictions worldwide in the
most recent Fraser Institute survey. The area around Yerington is
currently experiencing renewed exploration activity. Numerous
companies, such as Nevada Copper Corporation, Quaterra Resources
Inc., and PacMag Metals Limited, are active in the region and have
recently made or developed important discoveries. The Blackjack
Property is immediately adjacent to Quaterra's MacArthur deposit
and to PacMag's Ann Mason deposit, both of which have substantial
copper resources defined. Nevada Copper's Pumpkin Hollow copper
skarn deposit is about 8 miles (13 kilometres) to the southeast.
Entr e and HoneyBadger are planning an aggressive drill program
commencing in the fourth quarter 2009. This program is expected to
test numerous targets generated from a recently completed
high-definition airborne AirMt magnetotelluric survey along with
geological and geochemical targets. This agreement with HoneyBadger
is part of Entr e's strategy to explore for large porphyry copper
deposits, using the knowledge and experience gained from working on
our projects in Mongolia and North America. The Company's current
agreements with Empirical Discovery LLC have resulted in the
discovery of porphyry copper mineralization near Lordsburg, New
Mexico, in a mining district previously known only for vein-style
copper-gold mineralization. ABOUT ENTR E GOLD INC. Entr e Gold Inc.
is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the worldwide
exploration and development of gold and copper prospects. In North
America, the Company is exploring for porphyry-related copper
systems in Arizona and New Mexico under agreements with Empirical
Discovery LLC and now in Nevada through an option agreement with
HoneyBadger Exploration Inc. The Company is a large landholder in
Mongolia, where it holds three exploration licenses comprising the
179,590 hectare Lookout Hill property. Lookout Hill completely
surrounds the 8,500-hectare Oyu Tolgoi project of Ivanhoe Mines,
and hosts the Hugo North Extension of the Hugo Dummett copper-gold
deposit and the Heruga copper-gold-molybdenum deposit. The Company
continues to explore its large landholdings in Mongolia, including
the coal discovery Nomkhon Bohr. Entr e is also evaluating new
opportunities throughout the region and elsewhere in Asia. Entr e
is exploring the Huaixi copper project in Zhejiang Province in
China, under the terms of an agreement with the # 11 Geological
Brigade. The Company is also seeking additional opportunities to
utilize its expertise in exploring for deep and/or concealed ore
deposits. With a treasury in excess of C$50 million, the Company is
well funded for future activities. Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto are
major shareholders of Entr e, holding approximately 15% and 16% of
issued and outstanding shares respectively. This News Release
contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
statements which relate to future events. In some cases, you can
identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may",
"should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes",
"estimates", "predicts", "potential" or "continue" or the negative
of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements
are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our
industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. While these
forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are
based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment
regarding the direction of our business, actual results will almost
always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions,
projections, assumptions or other future performance suggested
herein. Except as required by applicable law, including the
securities laws of the United States, the Company does not intend
to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these
statements to actual results. Readers are referred to the sections
entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's periodic filings with the
British Columbia Securities Commission, which can be viewed at
http://www.sedar.com/, and with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission, which can be viewed at http://www.sec.gov/.
DATASOURCE: Entr�e Gold Inc. CONTACT: Monica Hamm, Manager,
Investor Relations, Entr e Gold Inc., Tel: (604) 687-4777, Toll
Free: 866-368-7330, E-mail: ; Peter Oates, Investor Relations, Entr
e Gold Inc., Tel: (604) 687-4777, Toll Free: 866-368-7330, E-mail:
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