Poplar confirms grades at Central zone (December 24, 2001)

Vancouver — Poplar Resources (PPX-V) has hit multiple intervals of low-grade copper-platinum-palladium-gold mineralization at the Bottenbacken project in central Sweden.

Encouraged by 1980 drill results tabled by the Swedish Geological Survey, Poplar drilled four new holes in the Central zone.

The first, hole 10, was collared southwest of the earlier drilling and failed to cut any significant mineralization.

Hole 11 cut three zones of mineralization grading: 0.86% copper and 1.02 grams combined platinum-palladium-gold per tonne over 5.4 metres; 0.36% copper and 0.45 gram combined platinum-palladium-gold over 11.4 metres; and 2.9 metres grading 1.04% copper and 0.7 gram combined platinum-palladium-gold. Combining all three zones, the hole returned 0.42% copper and 0.44 gram combined platinum-palladium-gold over 36.5 metres from 22 metres down-hole.

Hole 12 returned slightly lower grades. The first zone yielded 3.7 metres grading 0.21% copper and 0.24 gram combined platinum-palladium-gold; the second zone returned 5.7 metres grading 0.29% copper and 0.26 gram combined platinum-palladium-gold; and drilling of the third resulted in 3.8 metres averaging 0.46% copper and 0.46 gram combined platinum-palladum-gold.

Hole 13 hit two zones grading 0.36% copper, 0.41 gram combined platinum-palladium-gold over 5.8 metres and 4.8 metres grading 0.29% copper and 0.36 gram combined platinum-palladium-gold.

Palladium accounts for 65% of the precious metals content, with a gold-platinum-palladium ratio of 25:2:50. Collared 100-200 metres apart, the drill holes tested only a small portion of the 1.5-km-by-400-metre Central zone. Two additional holes are slated to be drilled into the zone.

So far, Poplar has sunk 18 holes on the Bottenbacken property: one at the Finuggen target; three at the Eastern target; and one at the Scala target. However, these failed to return any signifcant values. As well, two holes which tested the Ostlund geophysical target cut pyritic mineralization with no significant metal values.