Southern Arc bags IUP License for its Taliwang property

Canadian mineral exploration firm Southern Arc Minerals Inc. announced Monday it has been granted a Mining Business License (IUP) for its Taliwang copper-gold prospect, located on the west coast of Sumbawa Island within the Province of West Nusa Tenggara.

Issued by the Regent of West Sumbawa, this IUP is comprised of two stages, with potential extensions. Over a period of 6 years, the exploration stage permits the Company to pursue exploration activities through to the conclusion of a feasibility study. Upon the conclusion of the exploration stage, the IUP automatically converts to a second stage, permitting the Company to conduct commercial production on this property for a minimum of 20 years, with the potential for two further 10 year extension periods.

With the issuance of the IUP, Southern Arc holds an 85% equity position in the Taliwang property with the remaining interest held by the West Sumbawa Regency (10%) and by the local company PT. Puri Permata Mega (5%). The West Sumbawa Regency interest is free-carried throughout the life of the project and is non-dilutable.

?The Company strongly feels that having the local Regency as an equity partner creates a synergistic and mutually beneficial environment for the advancement of this property. The Company's interest in this property is aligned with that of the Regency and vice versa. As the first of its kind in Indonesia (where the local Government is a direct beneficial owner), and several months in the making, this bold new relationship will ensure that the local community will receive benefits directly from Southern Arc's success in Taliwang,? it said.

Covering 31,204 hectares this property contains epithermal gold-silver-bearing quartz veins, high-level hydrothermal breccias, sedimentary-hosted Au and porphyry Cu-Au targets, all of which have been the subject of Company exploration since 2005. The property is located 15 km north of Newmont's Batu Hijau mine, along proven secondary NNE to NE and NW trending mineralized structures.

The Lemonga Prospect is a low-sulfidation epithermal quartz vein system over which surface mapping by the Company has confirmed argillic alteration dominant within an hydrothermal upflow area approximately 1 km East-West by 1.5 km North-South. Five auriferous quartz vein targets, named Amy, Betty, Cici, Dessy and Evi, have been identified within the alteration zone.

Exploration drilling by the Company, consisting of two phases of shallow diamond drilling (56 holes @ 7,154.25 metres), has confirmed both lateral and vertical persistence of the mineralized structures.

Upcoming exploration programs will focus primarily on diamond drilling campaigns where justified bringing prospect areas up to resource status, it said. (alex)