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EurOmax Resources added to "watch list" by Euro Pacific Canada

EurOmax Resources (CVE:EOX) was added to Euro Pacific Canada's "watch list" Thursday, after the junior mineral explorer announced Wednesday that it has gained 100 percent control of its Ilovitza copper-gold porphyry project in Macedonia.

The property was formerly a joint venture with Freeport-McMoRan Exploration, but the major international mining company did not exercise its back-in-right option to buy a 70 percent stake in the property.

EurOmax Resources has a portfolio of projects in the Republic of Bulgaria, Serbia and Macedonia, with several mineral targets having been identified for a potential significant expansion of current resources, Euro Pacific said.

Euro Pacific cited three main reasons to watch the mineral explorer, including its portfolio of projects, its resource calculation, and favourable geology.

EurOmax has a global NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource of 5.79 million ounces gold, 1.56 billion pounds of copper, 2.10 million ounces of silver and 34.6 million pounds of molybdenum.

The most advanced project is Ilovitza in Macedonia with a 2008 NI 43-101 inferred sulphide resource of 303 million tonnes grading 0.23% copper, 0.32 g/t gold, and 0.005% molybdenum, and significant potential for expansion.

The deposit also includes a near surface oxide gold deposit with an inferred resource of 41 million tonnes grading 0.26 g/t gold. Preliminary metallurgical testing of a representative sample of stockwork sulphide mineralization indicates good recoveries, Euro Pacific noted.

A 3,000 to 4,000 metre drill program is planned for the Ilovitza deposit to test the potential for expansion to the east and south, with an updated resource estimate expected this quarter.

"We believe that EurOmax has several highly prospective mineral targets on multiple projects. Trun and Ilovitza both remain attractive for exploration as they offer significant growth potential of current resources," the research report said.

"The Trun property has 10 targets. Only one of these 10 targets at Trun have a resource calculation totalling 2.1M oz gold.

"The KMC project has five styles of mineralization and has yet to encounter the porphyry intrusions believed to be the cause of the widespread mineralized zones on the project.

"We believe that EurOmax is positioned to expand their global resource potential with several high priority targets at the Trun, KMC and Ilovitza projects."

The 67 square kilometre Trun gold project, which is 100 percent owned by EurOmax, is located in western Bulgaria, approximately 60 kilometres west of Sofia and close to the border with Serbia. This deposit is associated with a granite intrusion and has similar characteristics to the deposits of the Tintina belt that runs through Alaska and the Yukon.

Trun is made up of a cluster of gold targets separated into two main areas called Big Hill Intrusion and Little Hill Intrusion and is comprised of 11 mineral targets, Euro Pacific said.

The Logo prospect at Big Hill is the most advanced target on the Trun project with over 8,800 metres of drilling and an NI 43-101 inferred resource calculation containing 2.1 million ounces of gold using a 0.3 g/t cut-off.

One drill rig is operating at the Logo target to complete the second phase of drilling, with the deposit remaining open along strike to the north and to the west. Highlights of the drill program at the Logo target include 54.0 metres of 1.15 g/t gold.

The KD (Krushov Dol) gold target located at the Little Hill Intrusion is another promising prospect, said Euro Pacific, with a geophysical program to be completed over Little Hill to further identify drill targets along the entire 5.6 kilometre mineralized corridor.

The company has planned a drill program of approximately 8,000 to 10,000 metres at the project, which will focus on expanding the size of the current resource.

The KMC project, meanwhile, is located roughly 285 kilometres from the capital city of Beograd near the large town of Novi Passar in Serbia. There are several lead-zinc and copper smelters all located within 400 kilometres of the project.

Euro Pacific said that the KMC project , which covers 42 square kilometres and is made up of four main targets, has several different types of mineralization, including proximal copper-gold skarn, distal gold skarn, lead-zinc-copper-gold skarn, volcanic hosted gold and silica breccia hosting gold mineralization.

To date, 17,389 metres of drilling has been completed with an additional drill program of at least 5,000 metres to commence in the second quarter of this year.

Euro Pacific's report is based on field visits to all three projects. The firm said: " Organization of the drill core [at Trun], storage boxes and samples were more than exceptional. Overall, the projects visited on this site tour were well managed with proficient organization. The EurOmax personnel are very thorough and follow all QA/QC procedures in preparation for the lab."

EurOmax also holds the Breznik gold-silver project in Bulgaria, which consists of a hydrothermal system covering an area of 3.5 by 1.5 kilometres.

The project includes eight zones of mineralization, which includes a high-grade gold and silver vein system which has been traced for 2.5 kilometres, and drilled to a depth of 150 metres.

To date, over 120 holes have been drilled on the project, with EurOmax actively looking for a joint venture partner or purchaser for the property. Breznik has an NI 43-101 inferred resource of 463,217 ounces of gold at 5.91 g/t using a cut-off of 2.0 g/t gold and 2.1 million ounces silver at an average grade of 26.78 g/t.

Euro Pacific Canada said upcoming catalysts for EurOmax in 2012 include ongoing drill results from Trun, an updated NI 43-101 resource report for Ilovitza, and a drill program to start at KMC in the second quarter.