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| |    Northern Lion Explores in the Republic of Cyprus Location
The Island of Cyprus is located in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, 64 kilometres west of Turkey and 97 kilometres west of Syria in the Mediterranean Ocean. With a population of approximately 0.8 million, the island covers an area of about 9000 km2 and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean. Formerly under British rule, Cyprus gained its independence from Britain in 1960. Civil unrest between the island's Greek and Turkish communities gradually led to Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots becoming violently divisive, eventually requiring United Nations intervention to curb the unrest between the communities. Although currently stable, the island is still split with the Turkish Affiliation to the north and Greek Affiliation to the south of the "Green Line", or the buffer zone monitored by the United Nations (UN). This buffer zone separates the two factions and cuts through the capital of Nicosia (formerly Lefkosia). In May 2004 the Greek Cypriot controlled Republic of Cyprus became a full member of the European Union (EU). Accession talks between Turkey and the EU began in October 2005. The EU and the UN are still endeavoring to resolve the thirty year-old conflict between members of both Cypriot communities. The future of Turkey's accession talks with the EU hinges on the successful resolution of the disputed border. Geological Setting The island's terrain features a central plateau with mountains to the north and south.
The Troodos Ophiolites are preserved sections of ancient oceanic crust along with its underlying rigid upper mantle which have been uplifted as a result of tectonic mountain-building forces around 65-100 million years ago (Late Cretaceous). Scraps of ancient ocean basins now consumed by the northward moving subduction of the African plate under the Eurasia plate.
Typically, ophiolites found elsewhere are often missing sections of the stratigraphy. Geological processes such as erosion and tectonic influences such as faulting have played their part in re-working the landscape time and time again.
The Troodos Ophiolites are valuable in that they are thought to be "complete" sequences through the ocean crust. Also, the Troodos Ophiolites are relatively well preserved - undeformed sections of Earth's upper layers, making it even more geologically significant. Economic Potential Faulting is widespread due to the area's tectonic setting. The resulting plumbing system has facilitated hydrothermal processes and allowed for the flow of mineral-rich fluids to emplace significant economic ore deposits. Cyprus boasts rich and abundant natural mineral resources such as copper, pyrites, asbestos, gypsum and chromite, and these economic minerals have given rise to many mines in the area, with many dating back to antiquity.
The history of mineral exploitation (copper, gold and other metals) on the island of Cyprus dates back to the Bronze Age, approximately 5,000 years ago, and has continued through the ages, first by the Phoenicians and then the Romans. The evidence of this long history of mining is seen by the extensive slag heaps and numerous ancient surface and underground workings as well as other manifestations of small-scale underground workings. The major deposits of Cyprus are the copper-bearing volcanogenic hosted massive sulphide "VHMS" deposits. These deposits are hosted within the pillow lava sequence of the Troodos ophiolite. The pillow lava sequence is divided into Upper and Lower Pillow Lavas according to their place in the stratigraphy, with the majority of massive sulphide bodies forming between the two pillow lava sequences. All seven of Northern Lion's applications overlie this important and highly prospective contact. The other major mineralization on Cyprus, apart from the massive sulphide deposits and associated stockwork mineralization are the interstitial and overlying sedimentary umber and ochre deposits. Ochres are manganese poor ferruginous sediments generally associated with sulphide ores located between the Upper and Lower Pillow Lavas, while umbers are manganese rich ferruginous mudstones overlying the Upper Pillow Lavas. Umbers and ochres have historically been mined for dyes and are known locally to contain significant gold values.
Northern Lion Gold is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement with Katla Exploration Ltd. to acquire a 90% interest in an exploration permit covering a 312 hectare area near the villages of Pana Panayia and Asproyia in the Paphos District (Greek-Cyprus) of the Republic of Cyprus. During our management's initial visit to the area, six grab samples were collected from within the new application areas. Highlights include one sample which returned 4.1% copper, and another sample which returned 7.3 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold and 17.6 g/t silver. Company President, John Lando, commented recently; "We are very impressed with the geological potential in Cyprus. An excellent opportunity for new discoveries is clearly present. Cyprus has been known throughout history to be rich with copper and has over 5,000 years of production history. Due to the geo-political instability, there has been very little activity since the early 1960's. Now that Greek-Cyprus is a member of the European Union, we believe there is a truly exceptional opportunity for new discoveries by applying modern exploration technologies in a copper-rich environment and stable political climate." Refs.:
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