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Newcoast recently re-entered Mexico and picked up the old Lachato ground Teck& Northair explored back in the mid-1990's before precious metal priced tanked.

Newcoast Silver Mines Ltd.  NWV   (TSXV)

San Pablo and San Pedro Au-Ag veins, Oaxaca. An epithermal gold and silver property in Southern Mexico in the state of Oaxaca, approximately 80 kilometers north of the capital city Oaxaca. The 6,295 hectare, moderate elevation San Pedro y San Pablo project is road accessible. Newcoast plans to focus on the San Pedro y San Pablo vein system which had been explored in 1995 and 1996 by Minera Teck. Five other vein systems and breccia zones also will be tested. The program will be directed by Roger Scammell, who headed, until recently, Minera Teck's Mexico exploration team. 

The Newcoast exploration program currently is in the planning stages and will include drill testing for potential high grade mineralization in the "boiling zone" which is projected to be between 200-500 metres below the surface. 

Previous Minera Teck work included a series of trenches, nine reverse circulation holes and 12 diamond drill holes that tested a number of the zones of mineralization. Gold and silver values, as recounted in the accompanying tables, were encountered in most trenches and drill holes. Highlights of an earlier six-hole program undertaken by local miners also are reported. 

A local collective known as the Pueblos Mancomunados has been mining a manto in the area for many years and operates a small mill. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, the local miners will continue to operate within defined areas and to a limited maximum depth of 30 metres. Provision is being made in formal agreements for Newcoast to participate in refurbishment and possible expansion of the milling facility on terms yet to be negotiated. 

The district is underlain by Paleozoic to Cretaceous metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Tertiary andesitic to rhyodacitic flows, coarse pyroclastics, agglomerates and tuffs unconformably overlie the older units. Most of the lithologies have been extensively fractured. Argillization, silicification and associated gold-silver mineralization are thought to represent the upper portion of a low sulphidation epithermal precious metal system. 

Newcoast also said today it has negotiated a non-brokered private placement of 2.5 million units at a price of $0.10 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share of the company and one non-transferable share purchase warrant. Two warrants can be exercised to purchase one additional common share for a period of one year at a price of $0.15 per share. Finders fees are payable on a portion of the placement.  

HIGHLIGHTS OF SIX-HOLE DD PROGRAM PRIOR TO 1996
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Diamond Drill Intercept Au Ag
Hole No. (m) (g/t) (g/t)
BDSPP-1 20.45 1.25 9.66
BDSPP-2 3.95 6.74 88.24
BDSPP-5 8.35 1.00 5.00
BDSPP-6 13.95 6.68 16.12

1996 TECK TRENCH HIGHLIGHTS
---------------------------
Trench No. Interval (m) Gold (g/t)
1     12      0.622
2     44      1.182
3     30      1.590
4     8        0.654
6     22      2.200
8     6        1.011
9     35       0.631
10     12     1.210
12     10     1.560
13     37     1.095
15     16     5.691



1996 TECK RC DRILLING HIGHLIGHTS
--------------------------------
Drill Hole No. From To Intercept (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t)
LAC-96-01     137.5 139.0      1.5     20.620     57.00
LAC-96-02     80.0 83.0          3.0       7.843       8.30
LAC-96-03     5.0 90.5          85.5       0.967       5.59
Including          29.0 44.0         15.0       2.138     12.11

LAC-96-04     65.0 161.0       96.0      0.616         3.40
LAC-96-09     78.0 111.0       33.0      0.918         2.83
Including         100.5 108.0        7.5       3.426         8.54



1997 TECK DIAMOND DRILL HIGHLIGHTS
----------------------------------
Drill Hole No. From To Intercept (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t)
LAC-97-10    46.5 49.5         3.0         2.667       7.90
Also                79.5 81.0         1.5         8.100     60.20

LAC-97-13     25.5 40.5         15.0     1.234      45.20
LAC-97-14     27.0 51.0         24.0     2.063      26.10
LAC-97-15     67.5 69.0         1.5       4.120      26.80
LAC-97-17     103.0 112.5     9.0       4.762     225.96
Including          108.0 111.0     3.0     11.725     628.50

LAC-97-18     181.5 189.0     7.5       1.001      47.04
Including          184.5 186.0     1.5       4.280     190.00

LAC-97-19     112.5 117.0     4.5       1.368     107.80
LAC-97-20     126.0 154.5     28.5     0.462       49.92

17Sep02

(From Northair Archive) Lachato Property 35 km NE of Oaxaca. Formed a JV with Teck Resources in May, 1996 to explore 64 sq km property (8 by 8 km) optioned surface and mineral rights from La Communidad de los Pueblos Mancomunados. Teck returned option on property mineral rights to International Northair Mines as of mid-1998.

Reported potential of 30 MT of 1.59 g/t Au from results of trenching in fall 1996. Immediate focus has been San Pedro-San Pablo vein system. A nine hole RC drill program totaling 1215m in Oct-Nov., 1996 produced encouraging results. Five holes encountered mineralization in the 0.5 to 2.5 gpt range over significant intervals. Six holes bottomed in mineralization. Drilling intersected massive vein, stockwork and disseminated gold in lithic tuffs and altered volcanics. Teck has committed to $450,000 at Lachatao in 1997. Phase II drilling at San Pedro-San Paulo was scheduled to begin prior to July, 1997. Trenching revealed a new zone the Veta Nueva which is adjacent to the San Pedro-San Paulo and around 250m NE of closest drill hole. Channel sampling returned 5.69 gpt over 16m. Phase II DDH drilling commenced in November and 2,500m in 12 holes is planned to test 6 targets identified in 1997: Veta Nueva, Benitez, La Colorada, Corazon de Oro and San Luis (Purisima) . These targets occur within a curvilinear alteration zone some 3 km wide and 8 km long that tracks the northern contact of a large dacite/andesitic porphyry. Additional targets to be tested in 1998 include Aguacate, Riflero, Tennesssee, Santa Maria Espinal and San Jose de Gracia. Teck considers the Veta Nueva, San Pedro-San Pablo and La Colorado as a single large target area with a surface expression of 500 by 1,500m.

GCN #18 27Jan98
GCN #9 14Jan98
GCN #216 10Nov97
GCN #193 7Oct97
PDAC Literature March, 1997
GCN #138 18Jul97
GCN #23 3Feb97
LAMR February, 1997
GCN #18 27Jan97
CSW 24Jan97
PointCast Network 23Jan97
CSW 29Nov96

(FROM Teck Archive) Lachatao Property, Oaxaca: (Dropped it) Located around 35 km NE of city of Oaxaca near Santa Catarina Lachatao. Dropped this back to Northair in 1998. Was a 51/49 JV with International Northair to explore 8km by 8km property in the Natividad District. Initial work focused on San Pedro-San Pablo system. Trenching gave positive results. RC drilling to began in November, 1996. Five of nine RC holes returned good results. Hole-1 returned 27m of 120 ppb, Hole-2 hit 49.5m of 510 ppb and 10.5m of 2.14 gpt. Hole 3 hit 85.5m of 0.97 gpt which included 7.5m of 1.3 gpt and 15m of 2.14 gpt. Other holes contained encouraging results. Teck plans to spend $450,000 in 1997. Teck holds 100% interest in nearby 16,879 ha of ground.

LAMR June, 1998
LAMR December, 1997
NMN v83#14 2/6/97
NMN v82#49 2/3/97
NMN 10/28/96
NMN v82#15 6/10/96
LAMR v3, #6 June 96

Rio Tinto Copper Oxide SX-EW Project, Chihuahua. (Note that as of early 2000 this became Summo (now renamed Constellation Copper)'s  Terrazas Project) Had optioned up to a 75% interest in Rio Tinto Copper Oxide property from Minera Namiquipa S.A. de C.V. (another Mario Ayub company). Rio Tinto was most recently evaluated by Swannel Minerals in 1994-1995 where Peter Leriche and Reliance Geological Services did the consulting work. Asarco evaluated this very same property between 1953 and 1957, Minera Frisco kicked the tires between 1975 and 1976. The most recent "feasibility" evaluation placed resource at 18,263,000 tonnes at 0.43% Cu and 1.5% acid soluable Zn. This determination was through 48 drill holes and sampling of underground workings to depths of 150m. Open-pittable geometry in garnet skarn. SX-EW recoveries for both Cu and Zn are reported as being in the 80% range.

Newcoast plans were to extend the resource through step-out drilling in 1998 and also focus on metallurgical aspects through column leach testing.  They drilled 7 holes in the summer of '98 and re-interpreted previous data based on this new information. Greg Meyers, Ph.D. (and a Newcoast Director) released a preliminary resource calculation of 55 M tonnes of potentially mineralized garnet skarn at 0.38% Cu and some Zn credits based on 37 holes and some outcropping mineralization. Second phase of drilling scheduled for early 1999.

MBD January, 1999
GCN #244 21Dec98
GCN #239 14Dec98
GCN #163 25Aug98
GCN #135 15Jul98
GCN #124 29Jun98
GCN #12 19Jan98