APRIL 18, 2007 - 09:00 ET
Explorator Resources Commences Exploration Program at El Espino
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - April 18, 2007) - Explorator Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EXO) is pleased to announce that it has commenced Phase One of its extensive exploration program at the El Espino copper-gold project in the Illapel district of Chile. The advanced stage project has had in excess of 13,000 meters of drilling completed by major companies including Anaconda Mining Company, Goldfields, North Ltd., Rayrock Resources Inc., Rio-Tinto and Teck-Cominco Limited. The Company has had a 43-101 report completed on the El Espino property and a copy is available on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com (January 16, 2007).
"We are pleased to commence drilling at El Espino and anticipate further confirmation of the extent of mineralization as outlined in the previous drilling results," said David O\'Connor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Explorator Resources. "El Espino is centrally located in an important copper-gold cluster in the prolific Cordillera de la Costa belt, so we expect the results to substantiate our belief of meaningful copper-gold mineralization."
Explorator\'s program will include confirmation and infill diamond drilling of the main zone of manto style copper mineralization which extends for over 1.5 kilometers long (north-south) and variably several hundred meters wide. Thickness of the zone, as indicated by previous drilling, ranges from several tens to 100 meters. Significant results of previous drilling in this zone are tabulated below (note: Explorator has not independently verified the drilling results):
SIGNIFICANT RESULTS OF PREVIOUS DRILLING
EL ESPINO MAIN COPPER ZONE
DRILL RESULTS
HOLE DDE8 103m at 0.98%Cu, 0.10g/tAu (North)
HOLE ERD7 36m at 1.10%Cu, 0.15g/tAu (Teck-Cominco)
HOLE ERD5 46m at 1.00%Cu, 0.11g/tAu (Teck-Cominco)
HOLE DDE3 24m at 1.27%Cu, 0.30g/tAu (North)
HOLE F15 12m at 1.05%Cu, 2.03g/tAu (Rayrock)
HOLE DDE1 20m at 1.03%Cu, 0.09g/tAu (North)
HOLE ERD6 39m at 1.00%Cu, 0.15g/tAu (Teck-Cominco)
HOLE ERD8 31m at 1.04%Cu, 0.11g/tAu (Teck-Cominco)
HOLE ERD9 28m at 1.02%Cu, 0.11g/tAu (Teck-Cominco)
Confirmation drilling is designed to give confidence in the 1.5 kilometer strike extent of the main zone by drilling one hole in each of the northern, southern and central parts of the zone. Infill drilling will commence in the shallower/outcropping northern part of this zone (see Figure 1).
A map of the El Espino Schematic Long Section, Teck-Cominco (Figure 1) has been uploaded to the CCNMatthews website. To view, please visit the following link:
http://www.ccnmatthews.com/docs/EXPLOR0418.jpgThere are numerous small, active mines and old underground stopes in the northern zone and the holes attempted previously in the area failed to penetrate to adequate depths due to intercepting the old workings. As a consequence, this highly prospective and potentially open pitable area has not been included in previous resource calculations completed by other companies (Norths and Teck-Cominco). Explorator plans to drill this zone using triple tube diamond drilling, which will allow it to test the mineralized zones adjacent to the old workings. Also, as the results of this program will be used for resource calculations, the drill holes will be accurately surveyed by using a Flexi survey tool.
Simultaneously with more detailed drilling of the main copper zone, the company has commenced a program of geological mapping, trenching and channel sampling of the areas adjacent to the main copper zone, including the southern extension (Pichanilla Zone) and the La Viuda-Chon Chon gold zone which trends northeast and is outlined by a series of old gold workings (La Viuda, Chon Chon and Ravanales mines). Limited previous drilling in this zone intersected significant gold values including hole F15 with 12m at 1.05%Cu and 2.03g/tAu and hole DDE-5, 2m at 77.3g/tAu and 0.11%Cu.
A map of the El Espino Geology and Drilling - Teck Cominco (Figure 2) has been uploaded to the CCNMatthews website. To view, please visit the following link:
http://www.ccnmatthews.com/docs/EXPLOR0418b.jpgREGULATORY FOOTNOTE
Mr. Michael Schuler, Explorator Resources\' Vice President, Exploration is the "Qualified Person" as defined under the National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the scientific and technical work on Explorator\'s exploration program and is responsible for reviewing the technical disclosure in this news release.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Certain statements contained in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking information are identified by words such as "estimates", "intends", "expects", "believes", "may", "will" and included, without limitation, statements regarding the company\'s plan of business operations, production levels and costs, potential contractual arrangements and the delivery of equipment, receipt of working capital, anticipated revenues, mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, and projected expenditures. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and Future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, metal prices, risks inherent in the mining industry, financing risks, labour risks, uncertainty of mineral reserve and resource estimates, equipment and supply risks, regulatory risks and environmental concerns. Most of these factors are outside the control of the company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
ABOUT EXPLORATOR RESOURCES INC.
Explorator Resources is a Canadian-based mining exploration company focused on building a strong position of copper-gold projects in South America. Explorator is initially concentrating its efforts in the mineral rich Corderilla de la Costa province in Chile. The Company\'s El Espino Project lies within this prolific copper-gold mineral area and is central to an important cluster of copper-gold deposits. El Espino is located in the Illapel district, approximately 3.5 hours drive north of Santiago.