-
ELN entered into an
Option Agreement with
MMG Limited to acquire
100% of ELN's 70%
interest in Infinity
Resources Sprl, the
joint venture company
that owns the Kasala
permits.
-
USD$6,000,000.00;
consisting of an initial
payment of $250,000 on
the Satisfaction Date;
Three annual payments of
$916,666.00 for a total
of USD$3,000,000 and
additional
USD$3,000,000.00 to exercise the option to
acquire a 100% of ELN's
70% interest.
-
MMG to pay a
non-refundable
US$350,000 for the
exclusive right to
acquire ELN's 70%
interest
-
Over the three year
period, MMG must incur a
total of USD$15,000,000
in exploration
expenditures
-
ELN will retain a 1.5%
NSR
-
MMG is one of the
world's largest
producers of zinc and
also produces
significant amounts of copper, lead, gold and
silver.
-
MMG Limited owns and
operates the Kinsevere
high-grade copper mine
located approximately 30 km from ELN's Kasala
project
-
Kasala is one of the
newest copper
discoveries, Central
African Copperbelt
Kasala's mineralized
zone is open to the
North, South and West
and to depth; ̴600m
long/400m wide/30m thick
|
May 20th,
2014. Vancouver, BC - El Niño Ventures
Inc. ("ELN") (TSX.V: ELN) (OTC Pink: ELNOF)
(Frankfurt: E7Q) is pleased to
announce that it has entered into an
Option Agreement (the ''Agreement'')
with MMG Limited ("MMG"), whereby MMG
can acquire ELN's 70% interest in the
Kasala copper project in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) for a total
consideration of USD$6,000,000.00.
Option Agreement
As consideration for the exclusive right
to acquire El Nino's 70% interest in
Infinity Resources Sprl, the joint
venture company that owns the Kasala
permits, MMG has agreed to pay a
non-refundable USD$350,000. Under the
terms of the Agreement, once certain
conditions have been satisfied (the
''Satisfaction Date''), in order to
maintain the option, MMG:
- Is
required to make staged payments of
up to a total USD$3,000,000
consisting of an initial payment of
$250,000 on the Satisfaction Date
and three annual payments of
$916,666; and
- Must
incur a total of USD$15,000,000 in
exploration expenditures over the
three option year period.
If MMG
exercises the option, the consideration
payable by MMG to ELN is;
-
USD$6,000,000 less the amounts set
out above to maintain the Option (up
to a total USD$3,000,000); plus
- 1.5%
NSR.
Harry Barr,
Chairman and CEO, stated "We are very
pleased to have concluded an agreement
with MMG Limited that will return
immediate and long term value to our
shareholders. Management has fought long
and hard to secure all of the assets of
its Joint Venture Company, Infinity
Resources Sprl, and in particular the
Kasala Permits. The recent overwhelming
success in winning our claims against
GCP Group in the International
Arbitration hearing has provided
management with the opportunity to
negotiate this Agreement with MMG. We
would like to thank all of our
shareholders for their patience and
support over this very difficult period.
With a commitment to an extensive
exploration program, your company will
finally have the opportunity to fully
realize the potential for the Kasala
project"
About MMG Limited:
MMG Limited, headquartered in Melbourne,
Australia, is a global resources company
which explores, develops and mines base
metal deposits around the world (for
more information please visit
MMG's website). MMG is one of the
world's largest producers of zinc,
copper, lead, gold and silver. MMG's
major shareholder is China Minmetals
Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. (CMN), a
subsidiary of China Minmetals
Corporation (CMC). CMC is one of China's
major multinational state-owned
enterprises. It is a diversified company
with businesses in metals trading,
ferrous and non-ferrous metals
production, finance, real estate and
logistics.
In Africa, MMG Limited owns and operates
the Kinsevere high-grade copper mine
located in the Katanga Province of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Kinsevere Mine is approximately 30
km from ELN's Kasala project with
both located in a region renowned for
copper and cobalt deposits of
exceptional quality. With the completion
of the Stage 2 project in 2011 - a $400
million solvent-extraction and
electro-winning (SX-EW) plant - the
Kinsevere Mine has a nameplate capacity
of 60,000 tonnes of copper cathode per
year. In the first quarter 2014
Kinsevere achieved a quarterly
production record, producing 16,848
tonnes of copper cathode. The Kinsevere
Mine also achieved quarterly records in
processing and sales in the first
quarter of 2014.
About the Kasala Project
One of the newest copper discoveries in
the Central African Copper Belt, El Niño
Ventures' Kasala prospect is located
approximately 70 kilometres northwest of
Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of
Congo's second largest city and the
center of the country's massive
copper/cobalt mining industry. The
Central African Copper Belt contains
over 10% of the world's copper and 34%
of the world's cobalt. The Kasala
project permits are located close to the
Kinsevere Mine, which is expected to
produce 60,000 tonnes of copper annually
for the next 13 years.
The Kasala Block A was the subject of
the Company's 2008 drill campaign. 35
Reverse Circulation (R.C.) drill holes
totaling 3,336 metres and 15 diamond
drill holes totaling 2,584 metres were
completed on the Kasala Block (A)
leading to the discovery of substantial
copper mineralization.
Significant Assay results for Kasala
Block (A) are:
-
Hole MDB023: 80m @ 1.42% Cu from 17m
downhole; includes 29m @ 2.82% Cu
and 5m @ 4.11% Cu
-
Hole MDB027: 91m @ 1.16% Cu from 9m
downhole; includes 22m @ 3.28% Cu
and 5m @ 4.39% Cu
-
Hole MDBDD0011b: 91m @ 1.19% Cu from
54m downhole; includes 10m @ 6.7% Cu
-
Hole MDBDD0019: 22m @ 3.28% Cu from
125m downhole; includes 7m @ 7.02%
Cu (sulphide)
The Kasala
project has an excellent infrastructure
and is ideally situated within 20 km of
the national highway (a hard-surfaced
all-weather road) and is also within 30
km of a rail line linking the mining
centers of the Copper Belt. A
high-tension electrical transmission
line is located 12 km west of the
projects' boundaries. The assay results
from the earlier drill programs confirm
the presence of significant
mineralization within the Kasala Main
Zone with the potential for significant
expansion of the mineralized zone, based
on the results from an IP Survey
completed in early 2009 which identified
copper oxide mineralization at and near
surface; sulphide mineralization at
depth.
Kasala Prospect mineralization zone is
open to expansion by drilling to the
north, south and west, and to depth. As
drilled, the Kasala Prospect oxide zone
measures about 600m long x 400m wide x
30m thick. It is very important to note
that many 2008 drill holes ended in
copper oxide mineralization and to note
that adjacent blocks are under-explored
(Figure 1).
A 4,071 soil geochemical sampling
program was undertaken to test numerous
targets south and east of the Kasala
Blocks A, B and C and expand upon the
area of soil geochemistry coverage on
the exploration permit. Sampling had
commenced in December 2009 and was
completed in late January 2010; chemical
analysis of the soil samples was
completed by late February 2010. The
sampling utilized Quality Alliance and
Quality Control protocols established
during previous soil geochemical
sampling programs on the project.

The
sampling program identified three new
copper-in-soil anomalies (Figure 3)
which warrant additional investigation.
The presence of a narrow (150 to 200
metres in width) anomalous zone
exceeding 1,200 metres in length was
identified approximately 2 kilometres
southeast of Kasala Block A. This
copper-in-soil anomaly corresponds to a
Total Count radiometric anomaly
(identified during the Company's 2007
airborne geophysical program), which is
believed to result from potassic
alteration of rocks of the Roan
Supergroup in contact with rocks of the
Kundelungu Supergroup.
A second anomaly in the northeast of the
survey area is of a lower order of
copper mineralization but, notably,
shows a high degree of correlation with
the western terminus of a strong Total
Count radiometric anomaly which exceeds
3 kilometres in length (Block B). The
third new copper-in-soil anomaly is
being referred to as the Kasala Western
Extension (Block C). It is immediately
west and south of Kasala Block A. Kasala
Western Extension is a high order copper
anomaly with a known length of
approximately 550 metres. It is felt
that these additional radiometric
anomalies may represent important
targets for additional exploration
programs.

About
other ELN's Research Permits in the DRC:
El Nino currently holds a 70 %
interest in four well located Research
Permits, accessible by road from the
town of Lubumbashi in southern Congo.
Each Permit is partially underlain by
the highly prospective Roan Formation
which hosts most of the important copper
deposits in this area. The accompanying
map shows the general location of the
licences, as well as the location of the
known principal targets delineated on
permit 5217 and the focus of the
drilling to date. Between 2007 and 2011,
EL Nino Venture Inc., as operators of
the project carried out several phases
of exploration on these permits. Details
of the exploration programs are
demonstrated in table below;

In 2007
ELN completed 6266 metres of RC drilling
across 80 holes. One of the highlights
of the 2007 drilling program was the
intersection of > %3 copper over 10
metres (see below).
Three RC holes drilled on Location
Anomaly 3 returned the following
intercepts:
- Hole
ANCU001: 10m @ 3.51% Cu from 12m
below surface (including 4m @ 7.24%
Cu from 15m)
- Hole
ANCU003: 10m @ 0.25% Cu from 20m
below surface
- Hole
ANCU004: 5m @ 1.88% Cu from 20m
below surface

Figure 5-
2007 and 2008 Drill hole Location Map
Kasala amd PR-5217 Projects
El
Nino would like to acknowledge our joint
venture partner, Mr. Hassan Sabra, who
has worked continually within the
framework of the Joint Venture to
advance the Kasala project and
tirelessly with El Nino to secure the
assets of Infinity Resources Sprl.
About El Niño Ventures Inc. Bathurst
Projects, New Brunswick, Canada
ELN has two active projects in the
Bathurst Mining Camp: Murray Brook and
the Bathurst Option Joint Venture. A
recent consolidation resulted in the
Company having 30.6 million shares
Issued & Outstanding with a current
market capitalization of approx. $2.0
million.
Murray Brook Project
The Murray Brook Project is located 60
km west of Bathurst, in the northwest
part of the Bathurst Mining Camp
(Figure 6). The Murray Brook deposit
is a zinc-lead-copper-silver massive
sulphide which is the subject of a
recently completed Preliminary Economic
Assessment. The project is supported by
excellent infrastructure including paved
roads, grid electricity and communities
to provide goods, services and skilled
labour. ELN and Votorantim Metals Canada
(VMC) currently own 100% of the Murray
Brook Project with VMC acting as the
operator. VMC controls 65% and ELN
controls 35%.

To date,
more than 28,000 metres of drilling has
been completed on the Murray Brook
Project. The first NI43-101 mineral
resource estimation and the first
metallurgical results were published in
press releases dated February 2012 and
January 2013, respectively. On June 5,
2013 a positive Preliminary Economic
Assessment was announced (see
news release). The results of the
PEA demonstrate the potential technical
and economic viability of establishing a
new mine and mill complex on the Murray
Brook property. The projected cash flows
indicate an after-tax NPV at a 5%
discount rate of $96.4 million, an IRR
of 11.4%, and a payback period of 5.4
years (see
news release). The NI43-101
Technical Report is filed on SEDAR and
also available on the ELN website (http://www.elninoventures.com).
Qualified Persons Statement
This news release has been reviewed and
approved for technical contents of the
BOJV and Murray Brook projects by
William Stone, Ph.D., P.Geo. and a
Qualified Person under the provisions of
National Instrument 43-101. The
information in this Press Release that
relates to Exploration Results for the
Kasala Project is based on information
compiled and reviewed by Ali
Hassanalizadeh Msc., P.Geo. and a
Qualified Person under the provisions of
National Instrument 43-101. Mr.
Hassanalizadeh has relied on Mr. Benoit
M. Violette, P. Geo., consulting
geologist and the Qualified Person under
NI-43-101.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
"Harry Barr"
Harry Barr Chairman & CEO El Nino Ventures Inc.
Further Information: Tel: +1 604 685
1870 Fax: +1 604 685 8045 Email: info@elninoventures.com or visit www.elninoventures.com 650-555 West 12th Avenue, City Square, West Tower, Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada, V5Z 3X7
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange
nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements. Note: This
release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual
future events or results and are based on current expectations or
beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition,
forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company
uses words such as "continue", "efforts", "expect", "believe",
"anticipate", "confident", "intend", "strategy", "plan", "will",
"estimate", "project", "goal", "target", "prospects", "optimistic"
or similar expressions. These statements by their nature involve
risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially
depending on a variety of important factors, including, among
others, the Company's ability and continuation of efforts to timely
and completely make available adequate current public information,
additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and
restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be
discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com),
including the most recent reports that identify important risk
factors that could cause actual results to differ from those
contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not
undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations
or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after
the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. |