South Atlantic busy in Sweden (June 19, 2003)

Vancouver — South Atlantic Ventures’ (SAA-V) 38%-owned subsidiary, North Atlantic Natural Resources, (NAN), has picked up more prospective nickel ground near the city of Skelleftea, Sweden and continues to work at expanding resources at the operating Stroliden copper, zinc mine, further north.

NAN is currently completing an underground drilling program at the Storliden mine in northern Sweden. The program was designed to better define the East and West Zones of the ore body as well as test for possible extensions of ore. Results of the program will be used to refine the mine plan and determine if more drilling is required to expand resources.

So far the company has completed 69 drill holes, or 3,309 metres. The holes are spaced 10 metre apart on sections that are spaced 12.5 metres apart. Preliminary results in the East Zone suggest that there may be further ore grade material to the southeast beyond the known limits of mineralization. Copper and zinc grades encountered average between 3% and 4% copper and 10% to 12% zinc and are similar to those in the Central Zone which is now being mined.

Delineation drilling in the upper West Zone of the deposit intercepted record high grades of zinc assaying 43% zinc over 2.45 metres including 47.2% over a width of 0.8 metres.

Proven and probable reserves at the Storliden mine are pegged at 1.4 million tonnes grading 9.7% zinc, 3.6% copper, 0.3 gram gold and 30 grams silver per tonne. These reserves were calculated U.K-based Micon International to the standards of the Australasian code for reporting mineral resources and ore reserves.

The deposit also hosts an indicated resource of 234,000 tonnes grading 7.7% zinc, 3.5% copper, 0.4 gram gold and 35 grams silver per tonne. This resource is expected to be upgraded to a reserve as underground drilling continues.

Meanwhile, at NAN’s Lappvattnet nickel prospect, situated 25 km south of the city of Skelleftea in Vasterbotten province of Sweden, additional exploration permits have been requested. When granted the new ground will increase the total area of the project to 110 sq. km. The ground will include a dunite intrusive that the Swedish Geological Survey reports hosting up to 0.4% nickel and 0.018% copper.

Geophysical surveying is now underway at the Lappvattnet and Brannorna prospects with the goal of outlining the extension of nickel-copper sulfide mineralization at depth. Any new targets that are defined will be subsequently drill tested. The nearby Lappvattnet deposit currently hosts an indicated resource of 1.1 million tonnes grading 1.0% nickel.