Tribute completes Confed earn-in (March 06, 2006)

Tribute Minerals (TBM-V, TBMIF-O) has completed an earn-in on its optioned properties in the Confederation Lake area of northwestern Ontario from Falconbridge (FAL.LV-T, FAL-N).

Tribute’s 4-year deal, made with Noranda in 2002, required it to spend $3.5 million over four years to earn a 100% interest in the land package, which covers a set of base metal prospects in the Confederation Lake greenstone belt. Falconbridge can back in for a 50% interest on a massive sulphide deposit larger than 8 million tonnes or a gold deposit larger than 1 million oz. by paying Tribute’s expenses on the project, plus 50%.

If Falconbridge turns down its back-in right, it keeps a 2% net smelter return and receives $2 million in cash in two payments.

Tribute has been drilling the Arrow Zone prospect, one of the Noranda projects covered by the agreement. A recent drill hole on the Arrow Zone tested the area 175 metres west and slightly down-plunge from the westernmost previous intersection on that zone.

The hole encountered an 87-metre length of chloritized and sulphidized volcanic and sedimentary rocks, including a 5.4-metre length of massive and stringer sulphides. The 5.4-metre interval averaged 18.3% zinc, 0.66% copper, 25.7 grams silver and 0.46 gram gold per tonne.

Two minor metals, indium and gallium, were also at elevated levels in the Arrow Zone core. Indium, which would normally be present at around 0.1 gram per tonne in volcanic rock, assayed at 81 grams per tonne, and gallium, normally about 15 grams per tonne, assayed at 77 grams. Both are frequently recovered as byproducts from massive-sulphide ores.