Platina signs $1.3m JV agreement with Croesus, Barrick

Queensland-based Platina Resources Ltd has signed a joint venture agreement to search for platinum group metals at the Polar Bear Project, near Norseman, spending $1.3 million over 3 years to earn a 70 per cent interest in the project.

The Polar Bear Project is currently the subject of a gold and nickel exploration and development joint venture between Barrick Australia Pacific and Croesus Mining Ltd, with Platina to explore over the same ground.

By sole funding a pre-feasiblity or feasibility study Platina can earn further equity. however, shoudl the studies indicate a mineable resources greater than 5 million ounces, Barrick and Coresus have claw-back opportunities (involving significant penalty repayments to Platina) to re-purchase 70 per cent of the project.

Exploration activities are expected to commence in October and will include mapping and sampling of the entire project area, with new geophysical surveys and interpretation to be conducted where necessary.

The full text of a Platina announcement is pasted below

HIGHLIGHTS
- JV for Platina to earn 70% by expending $1.3 million over 3 years.
- Platinum group metal ("pgm") assays up to 18 g/t from recent Platina outcrop sampling.
- New geological environment in Yilgarn of W.A. with sparse previous pgm exploration and excellent prospectivity.
- Fieldwork and geophysical interpretation to commence immediately.

Platina Resources Limited is pleased to advise the Company has signed a Joint Venture to exclusively explore for pgm's over the Polar Bear Project near Norseman in Western Australia.

The Polar Bear Project comprises a number of exploration tenements covering an area of just over 100 square kilometres approximately 20 kms northeast of the township of Norseman in WesternAustralia (refer Figure 1). The ground is currently the subject of a gold and nickel exploration and development joint venture between Plutonic Operations Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Barrick Australia Pacific) and Croesus Mining, and Platina will now carry out contemporaneous exploration for pgm's over the same ground.

Platina's interest in the Polar Bear region was derived from a brief sampling program carried out earlier this year over one outcropping island containing gossanous rock situated in Lake Cowan.

Samples were assayed for pgm's and are tabulated below.

The Polar Bear Project is covered almost entirely by Lake Cowan, a large salt water lake with sporadic island outcrops and numerous shoreline exposures. Many of the island outcrops often appear to contain gossans, previously sampled for nickel and gold by earlier explorers. No evidence of any consistent pgm sampling has been identified apart from limited reconnaissance in the Hall's Knoll region in 1987 which returned platinum values up to 5.18g/t and palladium up to 3.4 g/t.

Executive Chairman of Platina Resources, Mr Rob Mosig said "the Polar Bear Project is the first of a new set of pgm targets identified by the Company which could put Australia back in vogue for world class pgm deposits. Polar Bear is a new geological setting for pgm's and these assays represent some of the best outcrop platinum assays identified in Australia by Platina, and its earlier associate Helix Resources, over the past 20 years."

Under the terms of the joint venture, Platina will become manager of the joint venture and must spend $1.3 million in exploration over the next 3years to earn a 70% interest in the project. By sole funding a pre-feasibility or feasibility study Platina can earn further
equity, however, should the studies indicate a mineable resource of pgm's greater than 5 million ounces, Barrick and Croesus have
claw-back opportunities (involving significant penalty repayments to Platina) to re-purchase 70% of the project.

Exploration activities are expected to commence in October and will include mapping and sampling of the entire project area for pgm's. New geophysical surveys and interpretation will also be conducted where necessary.