Copper Resources said Tuesday that Assay results of cores from the recently completed geotechnical drilling programme at the Hinoba-an Copper Project confirm gold-bearing mineralisation. These results indicate the potential for a significant gold system to the northeast of the main porphyry copper mineralisation at Hinoba-an.

Geotechnical drilling for the copper project at the northeast wall of the proposed Don Jose ("DJ") open pit, intersected several intrusive dacites (silica-rich igneous rocks) and associated hydrothermal breccias (rocks broken by hot fluids).

These rocks represent the feeder zone for dacitic and rhyolitic (more silica-rich) volcanic rocks that represent the last phase of volcanism in the belt (circa 13 million years).

These late-stage volcanic events are often associated with metal-rich fluids, which represent the last phase of volatile release from the underlying magmas. It is these fluids that often cause the brecciation, or else percolate through a pre-existing breccia and deposit metals, including base metals, gold and silver.

Mark Gordon, CRC's Chief Geologist, interpreted that these units are sub-vertical, and trend NW-SE, that is, parallel to the trend of the porphyry copper deposit. The mineralisation is adjacent to the intersection of a NW-trending structural zone and a SW-trending structural zone.

The SW structure extends to the Bulawan Gold Project, which is located at the intersection of this and another NW trending zone 5km to the southwest of DJ. The Bulawan project, which is also hosted in a similar age dacitic complex, produced some 300,000 ounces of gold before being put onto care and maintenance in 2002, due to low gold prices.

The geotechnical drilling programme included 17 holes for 1976.5 metres, of which seven intersected rocks associated with the dacitic intrusive complex and three returned significant gold assays.

As the geotechnical drill holes were drilled at a spacing of 200 metres, as required for the bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the copper project, and have not covered the full extent of the area considered prospective for gold mineralization, there is significant potential for the area to host a major gold system.

CRC will embark on a 50x50 metre drilling programme to ascertain the extent of the mineralization and contained gold. The latter grid will bring the new gold drilling up to a BFS standard as well. CRC will use the drill rig still at site to complete this programme.