HIGHLIGHTS:
- Freewest signs agreement with Xstrata Copper on its Sungold property
- Xstrata Copper to spend $3,000,000 on exploration to earn a 51% interest and a cumulative 75% interest by spending up to $20,000,000 on, or completing a Feasibility Study on any or all parts of the property
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA--(Dec. 21, 2007) - Freewest Resources Canada Inc. (the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE:FWR) today announces the signing of an agreement with Xstrata Copper ("Xstrata") whereby Xstrata may earn up to a 75% interest in the Corporation's Sungold base-metal property (the "Property"). The 100%-owned Property comprises 94 square kilometers or 49 mineral claims and is located 120 kilometres west of Thunder Bay in the Shebandowan greenstone belt of northwestern Ontario.
Under the terms of the agreement, Xstrata is required to spend $3,000,000 on exploration and make cash payments of $125,000 to Freewest over a 4-year period, to earn a 51% interest on the Property (the "Option"). In addition, Xstrata retains a Bump-Up Right enabling it to earn an additional 24% interest (75% cumulative), by completing a Feasibility Study with respect to all or parts of the Property or by incurring no less than Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000) in Feasibility Study Expenditures. Upon Xstrata having exercised its Bump-Up Right and becoming vested with a 75% interest in the Property, a Joint-Venture shall be formed with Xstrata having a participating interest of 75% and Freewest 25%. Should Xstrata exercise its Option but not exercise its Bump-Up Right, a Joint-Venture will be formed between the parties with Xstrata having a participating interest of 51% and Freewest 49%.
During the first year of the agreement, Xstrata is required to spend a minimum of $400,000 on exploration and will act as operator on the project.
THE SUNGOLD PROPERTY:
In early 2005, Freewest announced the discovery of high-grade volcanic-hosted copper-zinc sulphides at the Wye Lake occurrence at Sungold. Massive sulphides from the discovery outcrops yielded spectacular assays of up to 12.40% copper and 32.80% zinc. Trenching and diamond drilling have traced stringer-type, semi-massive and massive sulphide styles of copper-zinc mineralization over an intermittent 800 metre strike length. Initial diamond drilling intersected the Wye Lake horizon over widths of 2 to 10 metres, confirming the existence of excellent quality massive sulphides locally, but failed to define a commercial deposit within the area drilled. Highlighting the drill results are intercepts of 6.21% zinc over 4.43 metres, 1.22% copper over 5.78 metres, 5.09% zinc over 2.15 metres and 1.74% copper across 3.00 metres. Despite the modest drill results, exploration remains at a very early stage with drilling only being completed to shallow depths (less than 200 vertical metres).
The Wye Lake occurrence is of exceptional quality and occurs in similar age rocks that host the Geco, Winston Lake, Mattabi and South Bay base-metal deposits in northwestern Ontario. All of these deposits were of excellent grade and were profitable mines for numerous years.
In addition to the volcanic-hosted copper-zinc mineralization, Freewest also discovered an epigenetic style of copper-gold mineralization hosted within highly altered granitic breccia zones. Such zones are structurally controlled and have been traced over a 4.5 kilometre strike length and over widths of up to 400 metres. The breccias contain appreciable chalcopyrite and heavy magnetite as breccia filling while the clasts within it, are characterized by moderate to intense, sodic, hematitic and calcic alteration. Grab samples obtained from the breccias assay up to 6.30% copper and 15.0 g/t gold. Preliminary work and observations are suggestive of an iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) style of mineralization.
It is anticipated that Xstrata will complete initial ground geophysical surveys on the Property in preparation for diamond drilling programs slated for the winter or early spring of 2008.
Freewest management stated: "We are very pleased to have Xstrata Copper as a partner in furthering our exploration efforts on the Sungold property. Clearly, we have much to gain benefiting from their technical and financial expertise in exploring for and developing these deposit types."
Freewest is a well-funded mineral exploration corporation exploring for gold, base-metals and uranium in Eastern Canada. Corporate information on the Corporation and on its properties can be accessed on the Internet at www.freewest.com. Freewest's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol FWR.
Donald Hoy, P. Geo. (Ontario), Vice President of Exploration and a Director of Freewest Resources Canada Inc. is the Corporation's Qualified Person on the Sungold Property (under National Instrument 43-101) and is responsible for the preparation of this news release.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
For more information, please contact
Freewest Resources Canada Inc.
Mackenzie I. Watson
President and CEO
514-878-3551 or 1-888-878-3551
514-878-4427 (FAX)
info@freewest.com
www.freewest.com