Greenpeace eyeing Tournigan’s Slovakian project

Vancouver — Keeping local residents informed about its plans to develop a uranium mine in eastern Slovakia has become a priority for Tournigan Gold (TVC-V, TVCZF-O) now that the company says its activities are being closely watched by Greenpeace.

Tournigan officials are mindful of the fact that exploration drilling at the Jahodna project has attracted the attention of Greenpeace despite recent efforts by company officials to win the support of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

“Greenpeace has been active in Slovakia trying to put a damper on our project,” says Patrick Soares, a spokesman for Tournigan in Vancouver.

Greenpeace is a global organization that seeks to protect the environment using non-violent, confrontational methods.

As a result, Soares says, the company is planning to consult with residents of Kosice and other communities near the site before making any formal announcements about its exploration and development plans.

Local residents will be told that confidence levels in the viability of the project have only been boosted by the discovery of a new mineralized zone to the southeast of the main deposit at Jahodna.

“We have no doubt that it’s economic,” Soares says.

The new zone of relatively shallow uranium-molybdenum mineralization was intersected by two of the 14 holes that were part of the company’s most recent exploration campaign.

Highlights included hole KG-J-14, which returned 5 metres of 0.54% U308 (including 2 metres of 1.45% U308, 1 metre of 2.7% U308, and 0.5 metre of 5.34% U308).

Results from that batch of assay results drove Tournigan shares up 48 or 17% to $3.38 on the TSX Venture Exchange on the day they were released.

The new zone is located about 200 metres along strike and southeast of the main Jahodna deposit, which hosts an inferred resource of 18.2 million lbs. uranium oxide (U308) at a grade of 0.66% U308. That material is contained in 1.2 million tonnes with a cutoff grade of 0.035% U308.

An independent preliminary assessment prepared by ACA Howe International Ltd. and delivered to Tournigan in April, modelled an underground operation with an annual production rate of 100,000 tonnes.

At the time, production costs were estimated at US$9.15 per lb. for an estimated internal rate of return of 44% using a U308 price of US$35 per lb. However, a tight market for uranium has since sent spot prices soaring to US$75 a lb.

Soares says the next step is to secure permits for an 8,000-10,000 metre drill program aimed at advancing the project toward a full feasibility study, which could begin as early as next year.

“That’s the general plan,” he says.

However, the company plans to hold talks with local community leaders before making any detailed announcements about its 2007 exploration program.

“We want to keep the community apprised of what we are doing,” he says.