Chariot soars on Marcona drilling (April 12, 2006)

Shares in Latin America explorer Chariot Resources (CHD-T) jumped 19, or 43%, to a new 52-week high of 63 in early trading in Toronto on Apr. 12, after the company reported some wide swaths of high-grade copper mineralization from the Mina Justa deposit on its Marcona copper project in southwestern Peru.

Hole no. 104 is highlighted by 100 metres of copper sulphide mineralization running 5.35% copper, including 42 metres of 10.54% copper. These intervals are preceded by 102 metres of oxide material averaging 0.53% copper, including 34 metres at 0.7% copper.

Hole no. 107 cut 36 metres of mainly copper oxides grading 1.05% copper, and 98 metres of sulphides containing 4.07% copper, including 44 metres at 7.1% copper.

The holes followed up on hole no. 39, which previously yielded 138 metres of oxide and sulphide mineralization, including 24 metres of 0.65% oxide copper, and a 114-metre sulphide mineralized intercept grading 3.1% copper including a high-grade, 12-metre section averaging 10.7% copper.

The latest holes were collared around 50 metres to the north of no. 39, and help to define a core zone estimated at 100 metres wide, 150 metres long and 100 metres thick. It remains open in two directions.

Further drilling on the core is planned. The holes are part of some 34,000 metres of drilling aimed at providing data for an ongoing feasibility study.

Late last year, Mina Justa was estimated to contain indicated resources totalling 132.4 million tonnes grading 0.74% total copper, based on a copper cutoff of 0.2%. Another 279.7 million tonnes of inferred material grades 0.57% copper.

Chariot holds a 70% stake in Marcona, with the remainder held by joint-venture partners Korea Resources and LG Nikko Copper. The partners have long-term offtake agreements on planned production, which is scheduled for 2009.

A US$10-million payment is due the vendors Rio Tinto (RTP-N, RIO-L) and Shougang Hierro Peru upon a production decision and increase in inferred resources.