NEWS RELEASE

ECUADORIAN MINERALS CORPORATION

February 8, 1999

Trading: TSE.EMC

ECUADORIAN ACQUIRES HIGH-GRADE PACCHA GOLD PROPERTY
IN SOUTHERN ECUADOR

Ecuadorian Minerals Corporation (“EMC”) is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Compagnie Generale de Matieres Nucleaires (“COGEMA”) for the acquisition of a 100% interest in the Paccha Gold Property located 15 kilometers north of the cities of Zaruma and Portovelo in southern Ecuador. These cities are located at the center of Ecuador’s principal gold producing region with current production of approximately 300,000 oz. of gold per year from high grade veins.

The key target of interest on the property is a 10-20m wide, steeply dipping, highly silicified, gold-bearing vein/breccia zone which has been traced over a strike length of approximately 1 km during COGEMA’s exploration program (see attached map). This program over the vein/breccia zone included surface rock sampling and the completion of 6 shallow core drill holes (totaling 170m) to a maximum depth of 39m covering only 60m of the strike length of the zone.

Surface sampling of available outcrop by COGEMA and EMC over the vein/breccia zone has given a wide range of values with a number of samples grading 2 to 8 g/t gold. Of particular interest is the fact that in the southern portion of the area known as Roca 3 (see attached map), surface rock sampling reported values up to 8 g/t gold while 4 of the drill holes, (completed by COGEMA with a lightweight drilling rig at the same site), gave intercepts with uncut values of 10.3m at 17.4 g/t gold (HUA-2B), including 2.6m at 25.1 g/t gold and which ended in 8.5m at 6.9 g/t gold. Additional intercepts reported 0.6m at 47.3 g/t gold (HUA-1) and 2.5m at 14.1 g/t gold (HUA-2). In this area, the drill hole intercepts do not represent the true thickness of the zone as they were drilled obliquely within the zone. Some 60m northwards, however, drill hole HUA-11 was drilled across the structure and intersected 15.6m of 5.1 g/t gold, including 5.0m at 11.0 g/t gold which contains an interval of 2.7m at 15.3 g/t gold. A complete table of significant drilling results (uncut values) for the Roca 3 area is shown below:

With the exception of drill hole HUA-10 (which contained no significant intercepts), visible gold was observed in all drill holes in the Roca 3 area. COGEMA reports that gold analyses were carried out by conventional fire assay at Bondar-Clegg Laboratories and that in order to reduce the “nugget” effect due to the presence of coarse gold, fine and coarse fractions of each sample (as generated by Bondar Clegg’s sample preparation system) were assayed separately and subsequently results were combined on a weighted basis. Review of fine fraction versus weighted total sample assays for the drill samples shows that typically weighted grades are 2 to 4 times higher than those obtained from their respective fine fractions for intervals in excess of 4 g/t gold. In the case of drill holes HUA-10 and HUA-11 only assays of the fine fraction sample are available and are therefore considered to be conservative.

The attitude and width of the Paccha vein/breccia, coupled with the topography of the property, indicate the potential for low cost, underground (adit) mining of the vein zone. Field reconnaissance work by EMC has shown that the vein/breccia zone is flanked by an extensive envelope of highly altered rocks accompanied by abundant silicified float which may indicate the presence of a strong hydrothermal system of broad extent. Approximately 100m east of the vein/breccia structure COGEMA outlined a distinctly anomalous gold zone measuring 500m by 250m in which a central area of quartz-tourmaline stockwork mineralization was identified (see attached map). Surface rock sampling and pitting carried out by COGEMA in the anomalous zone gave a range of gold values up to 9.6 g/t. A program of 9 shallow holes drilled in the stockwork area intersected anomalous gold values in 7 drill holes and encountered a high grade intercept of 3.0m at 26.0 g/t gold in drill hole HUA9.

Agreement Terms

Under the terms of the agreement with COGEMA, title to COGEMA’s Paccha concession has been transferred to EMC in return for a 3% Net Smelter Return (“NSR”) royalty payable following the commencement of commercial production.

The ground covered by the COGEMA concession occupies 2 sq km and an additional 4 sq km of adjacent open ground to the north has been acquired by EMC giving a total property holding of 6 sq km on a 100% ownership basis (see attached map). The NSR royalty is only payable on the COGEMA concession.

Future Program

EMC intends to carry out additional surface rock sampling on the property and is planning a drilling program to evaluate the Paccha vein/breccia zone and surrounding alteration envelope. EMC will carry out the drilling program on either a stand-alone basis, subject to the availability of financing, or through a strategic joint venture alliance.

The acquisition of the Paccha property together with the option agreements negotiated during 1997 for the Beroen property in Ecuador and the Vetaspata property in Peru are important steps in EMC’s strategy for the acquisition of targets with potential for unusually high precious metal grades and low production costs.

Stephen J. Kay, President and CEO

The Toronto Stock Exchange neither approves nor disapproves the information contained in this News Release.

For additional information, contact Linda North at Tel: (602) 483-9932 or Fax: (602) 483-9926.

Go Back to News Releases

Return to Homepage