MEDIA RELEASE PR38905
First Star Announces Intent to Option the LMS and WP Gold Prospects From International Tower Hill
Mines Ltd.
VANCOUVER, Mar. 26 /CNW-AsiaNet/ --
Trading Symbol: TSX-V: FS
First Star Resources (FS - TSX:V) announced today it has signed Letters of Intent with International Tower
Hill Mines Ltd. (ITH - TSX, NYSE-A - THM) and its subsidiary Raven Gold Alaska Inc. for the exploration and
development of each of the LMS gold prospect and the WP gold prospect, both located in the Goodpaster
Mining District. The LOI's give First Star the right to earn a 100% interest in each of the projects.
LMS Gold Project
----------------
First Star President & CEO Bill Wishart noted, "Acquisition of this gold
project marks the return of First Star to its mining roots. Our intention is
to form a gold exploration and development company around these projects. In
the coming weeks we will be building our technical staff and preparing for an
active season of drilling."
The LMS claim block is located in the Goodpaster Mining District and
consists of 92 State of Alaska mining claims covering 61 square kilometres.
The prospect is believed to be an intrusion-related vein system, with
similarities to the Pogo deposit operated by Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo LLC
that was discovered in the mid 1990's. The gold mineralization in the LMS
claim block occurs with strongly silicified and brecciated zones that are
associated with a low-angle shear zone within, and marginal to schist units.
The outcrop exposure of this zone has produced samples up to 6.2 g/t Au and
the zone has been defined through drilling to a down-plunge depth of 500m.
Under the terms of the agreement, First Star has the ability to earn an
initial 55% interest, and a second option to earn a further 45% for a total
100% interest. To earn the 55% interest First Star will pay US$280,000 and
expend US$3.5 million on exploration. To acquire a 100% ownership, First Star
will fund the project through to an advanced exploration stage by spending a
further $3 million prior to December 31, 2015, or by producing, filing and
having accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange a NI43-101 compliant inferred
resource of two million ounces of gold using a 0.3 g/t cutoff grade, whichever
costs less. An NSR royalty of 3% or 4% on gold/silver and 1% on all other
products will be payable to Raven. The royalty can be reduced by 1% by paying
Raven US$3 million.
West Pogo Gold Project
----------------------
The West Pogo prospect is located in the Goodpaster mining district,
Alaska, and represents a high-grade intrusion-related vein system gold target.
The West Pogo claim block consists of 96 State of Alaska Mining Claims
covering 18.9 square kilometres. The claims are immediately to the west of the
Pogo Mine and can be accessed from the mine road. The gold mineralization
discovered to date is related to high-temperature quartz veins like those at
the Pogo mine with similar trace-element values (high rock sample 11 g/t Au
with high Bi and Te). Dominant structures on the property are east-west shear
zones related to northwest and northeast trending fault zones. New gold
discoveries along the west margin of the Pogo mine property are encouraging
for the WP project's potential.
Under the terms of the agreement, First Star has the ability to earn an
initial 55% interest, and a second option to earn a further 45% for a total
100% interest. To earn the 55% interest First Star will pay US$250,000 and
expend US$2.8 million on exploration. To acquire a 100% ownership, First Star
will fund the project through to an advanced exploration stage by spending a
further $2 million prior to December 31, 2015, or by producing, filing and
having accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange a NI43-101 compliant inferred
resource of one million ounces of gold using a 0.3 g/t cutoff grade, whichever
costs less. An NSR royalty of 3% or 4% on gold/silver and 1% on all other
products will be payable to Raven. The royalty can be reduced by 1% by paying
Raven Gold US$3 million.
Up to the maximum finder's fee allowable may be payable in any
combination of the cash or shares in connection with the foregoing
transactions. Completion of the transaction contemplated in this news release
is subject to certain conditions including, without limitation, the signing of
a definitive agreement and approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Completion of the transactions contemplated in this news release are
subject to certain conditions including, without limitation, satisfactory due
diligence by First Star, the signing of definitive agreements and acceptance
for filing by the TSX Venture Exchange on behalf of First Star.
The Company also wishes to announce that it has entered into private
placements for the sale of 7,000,000 units at $0.35 per unit for a total of
$2,450,000, where each unit consists of one common share of the Company and a
share purchase warrant having an 18 month exercise term, where one whole
warrant may be exercised for the purchase of one further common share of the
Company at the exercise price of $0.55 per common share, subject to the
following acceleration provision: if the closing trading price for the common
shares of the Issuer as traded on the TSX Venture Exchange is equal to or
greater than CDN$0.90 per common share for 10 consecutive trading days (the
"Threshold Period"), then the Company shall issue a press release announcing
the occurrence of the Threshold Period. The Subscriber shall have until 4:00
pm (Vancouver, BC Time) of the 30th calendar day after the date of
dissemination of the press release to exercise the share purchase warrants
(the "Accelerated Expiry Date"). The share purchase warrants shall expire on
the earlier of the last day of the 18 month exercise term or the Accelerated
Expiry Date. The proceeds of the private placement shall be used for working
capital. Up to the maximum finder's fee comprising of any combination of cash,
shares and/or warrants will be paid to eligible finders in relation to this
financing.
The Company intends to conduct a drilling program on each of the LMS gold
prospect and the WP gold prospect during 2010.
The technical information in this news release was reviewed by Dr.
Karsten Eden, a consulting geologist, and a Qualified Person as defined in NI
43-101.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Bill Wishart, President & CEO
"NEITHER 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
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 27E of the Exchange Act. All
statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein
including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content,
commencement and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program
results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves,
business and financing plans and business trends, are forward-looking
statements. Information concerning mineral resource estimates also may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements in that it reflects a prediction of
the mineralization that would be encountered if a mineral deposit were
developed and mined. Although the Company believes that such statements are
reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be
correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as:
believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar
expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The
Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company
are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results
may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of
various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature,
quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the
Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or
authorizations required for its activities, the Company's inability to produce
minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its
projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to
implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed
in the Company's management discussion and analysis and other information
released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies.
All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via
www.sedar.com, and readers are urged to review these materials, including the
technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties,
carefully.
Cautionary Note Concerning Reserve and Resource Estimates
This press release uses the terms "resources", and "inferred resources".
United States investors are advised that, while such terms are recognized and
required by Canadian securities laws, the SEC does not recognize them. Under
United States standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve"
unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be
economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve
determination is made. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not
have demonstrated economic viability. United States investors are cautioned
not to assume that all or any part of inferred resources will ever be
converted into reserves. Inferred resources have a great amount of uncertainty
as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or
economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred
resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Therefore, United States
investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of the
inferred resources exist, or that they can be mined legally or economically.
National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects
("NI 43-101") is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators
which established standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of
scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless
otherwise indicated, all reserve and resource estimates contained in this
press release or released by ITH in the future, have been or will be prepared
in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy
and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves,
adopted by the CIM Council on November 14, 2004 (the "CIM Standards") as they
may be amended from time to time by the CIM. United States shareholders are
cautioned that the requirements and terminology of NI 43-101 and the CIM
Standards differ significantly from the requirements and terminology of the
SEC set forth Industry Guide 7. Accordingly, the Company's disclosures
regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information
disclosed by companies subject to the SEC's Industry Guide 7.
Cautionary Note Concerning Reference to Adjacent or Similar Properties
This press release contains information with respect to adjacent or
similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has no interest or
rights to explore or mine. The Company advises US investors that the US
Securities and Exchange Commission's mining guidelines strictly prohibit
information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. Readers are
cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest
in any such properties, and that mineral deposits on adjacent or similar
properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties.
This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an
offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
SOURCE: First Star Resources Inc.
CONTACT:
Bill Wishart at
(604) 609-0555
or toll free at 1-877-609-0555
(FS.)
Translations:
NEWS 
