Release: Southern Arc updates drilling results from Lombok copper-gold prospect

(4 October 2007)--Southern Arc Minerals Inc. (SA) is pleased to announce that drillhole SLD006, located approximately midway between the Blongas II and Blongas I porphyry Cu-Au targets at the Selodong Intrusive Complex in West Nusa Tenggara has returned a long mineralized intersection of:-

500.20 m @ 0.17% Cu and 0.30 g/t Au from 49.80 to 550.00 m

 

This interval included the following higher grade intersections:-

174.70 m @ 0.22% Cu and 0.45 g/t Au from 200.20 to 374.90 m (including 58.60 m @ 0.32% Cu and 0.74 g/t Au from 200.20 to 258.80 m) (and 39.10 m @ 0.30% Cu and 0.53 g/t Au from 335.80 to 374.90 m)

 

Lower grade mineralization continued to the end of the hole (38.05 m @ 0.10% Cu and 0.10 g/t Au from 568.95 to 607.00 m EOH).

 

SLD006 has confirmed the northward extension of Cu-Au mineralization intersected in SLD004 and SLD005 approximately 250 metres further to the north of these drillholes. It has also confirmed that the higher gold grade phases also extend into this area.

 

SA's two drillholes into Blongas II returned the following previously reported broad intersections:

SLD004: 407.25 m at 0.25% Cu and 0.45 g/t Au from 160.25 to 567.50 m (including 102.25 m at 0.50% Cu and 1.05 g/t Au from 176.55 to 278.80 m) and SLD005: 486.15 m at 0.22% Cu and 0.26 g/t Au from 2.00 to 488.15 m

 

Drill hole SLD006 was collared to the north of the outcrop of the Blongas II intrusive and drilled westward at an inclination of -65 degrees to a depth of 607.0 meters in an area previously untested by deep drilling.

 

For the length of drillhole SLD006 a number of generations of altered diorite intrusives hosting porphyry-style quartz stockwork veining were logged. These are observed to be cut by syn- and post-mineralization dykes of dacitic and dioritic compositions. The mineralized intrusives generally exhibit zones of potassic alteration with secondary magnetite, hosting higher copper-gold grades, and zones showing variable overprinting by phyllic alteration. Phyllic alteration marginal to higher-grade potassic mineralization is a zonation typical of many porphyry Cu-Au deposits.

 

It has been observed in SLD006 that the higher grade 'potassic zones' have been structurally faulted into an overlying phyllic halo, hence there is excellent potential for preservation of significant higher-grade 'potassic-zone' mineralization at depth and along strike of the area drilled to date.

 

Results from drill hole SLD006 further confirms the N to NW trending structural corridor of porphyry Cu-Au mineralization through Blongas II and Blongas I targets. This zone appears to be some 250 m to 300 m wide and approximately 1000 m in length.

 

On-going and future drill holes will test the depth extent and grade of mineralization along the strike length of this newly identified zone.

 

Drill hole SLD007 located 250 m north of the SLD006 drill collar was commenced on September 17, 2007 and is expected to be completed by mid October. (end of edited release)