St. John’s – Newfoundland – Vulcan Minerals Inc. (“the Company” TSX-V: VUL) announces that it has received processed versions of its 2007 seismic in the onshore Bay St. George basin in western Newfoundland. The specific purpose of the seismic program was to provide delineation on the seismically mapped Hurricane Deeps structure. Preliminary interpretation of the new data indicates that the structural style of the Hurricane Deeps area is consistent with previous geologic interpretations and that several drill targets are present based on structural traps and possible direct hydrocarbon indicators in the form of seismic amplitude anomalies. These targets range in depths from 1,000 meters to in excess of 3,000 meters. Further seismic processing and interpretation are underway to prioritize the drill targets. It is the Company’s plan to drill a deep well on the Hurricane Deeps target in 2008 subject to financing and logistics.
The Company has maintained a 10% working interest in onshore exploration permit (EP) 03-103 and a 14.28% working interest in the onshore exploration permit (EP) 03-101 at Parsons Pond in western Newfoundland. Both of these permits have been extended by the interest owners into a two-year secondary term by virtue of previous drilling on EP 03-103 and by virtue of posting a drilling bond on EP 03-101. The Company has entered into an agreement with Deer Lake Oil and Gas Inc. to acquire an additional 4.28% working interest in EP 03-101 bringing its total working interest to 18.57% in EP 03-101. As well, the Company has entered into an agreement with the same company to acquire a 7.39% working interest in EP 03-102 which is “sandwiched” in between EP 03-101 to the north and EP 03-103 to the south. The Company has paid certain refundable work and drilling bond requirements to acquire the new interests subject to approval of the provincial Minister of Natural Resources. The Company’s net interest will be a 10% working interest in EP 03-103, a 7.39% interest in EP 03-102 and a 18.57% interest in EP 03-101. Combined these three permits cover an area of approximately 100,000 acres. The Parsons Pond area has long been an area of petroleum interest particularly in the late 1800s and early 1900s because of surface oil seeps. Seismic surveying in the late 1990s demonstrates that none of the historical wells drilled deep enough to test the in situ Paleozoic platform rocks. Rather, the shallow wells generally less than 500 meters tested only thrusted rock packages that may have contained no sealing mechanism to trap the oil which currently seeps at the surface. The in situ Paleozoic platform rocks have potential for trapped hydrocarbons at depths generally greater than 2,500 meters in the permit areas. The Company supports any initiative by its partners in the Parsons Pond permits to undertake a drilling program to test the targets currently identified on seismic. Any firm developments in this regard will be reported as they occur.
The Company reports that it has acquired ownership of an additional 3,553,058 common shares of Trilogy Metals Inc. (Trilogy) pursuant to a private transaction. The Company now owns 17,964,372 common shares of Trilogy which represents approximately 19.2 % of all the issued and outstanding shares as of February 13, 2008. The shares were acquired for investment purposes and the Company may acquire additional securities of Trilogy and subject to escrow requirements dispose of some or all of the existing securities that the Company may hold or will hold or may continue to hold its current positions. The shares were acquired by way of a private transaction (i.e., not from Trilogy’s treasury) for aggregate consideration of $211,457. The common shares are subject to a three-year escrow agreement; one-third of the shares being released from escrow on each of December 20, 2007, December 20, 2009, and December 20, 2010. Trilogy owns a 100% interest in approximately 1.5 million acres of offshore petroleum exploration licences along the west coast of Newfoundland and plans to conduct a 3D seismic program this year to further delineate drilling targets.
Vulcan is a diversified junior exploration company focussed on petroleum exploration in the under-explored onshore area of Western Newfoundland and also holds mineral interests in areas strategic to its operations in Newfoundland and Labrador.
For information please contact Mr. Patrick Laracy, President of Vulcan Minerals Inc. Phone: (709) 754-3186, Fax: (709) 754-3946, or Email:info@vulcanminerals.ca
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