Hay River (May 17/04) - A deal has been reached for more exploration and development studies in the area of the now-closed lead-zinc Pine Point mine.

There is even optimism the long-closed mine may re-open one day.

While insisting that more feasibility work needs to be done, Graham Eacott, a spokesperson for Tamerlane Ventures Inc., says: "We believe there will be excellent potential for it to become a mine."

Eacott says Tamerlane Ventures "definitely" has high hopes for the property.

Tamerlane Ventures Inc. -- a mineral exploration and development company in West Vancouver -- recently signed an agreement with the Kent Burns Group to acquire a 60 per cent interest in the Pine Point project.

Tamerlane will spend not less than $1.25 million on exploration and development before April 30, 2007.

It will also grant the Kent Burns Group 1.2 million common shares of Tamerlane and pay $150,000 in cash.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Eacott could offer no predictions on when a mine might open, or how many people might be employed.

From 1963 to 1987, Pine Point -- about 80 km east of Hay River -- was home to one of the largest and most profitable lead-zinc mines in Canadian history.

The project includes 45 mineral claims and consists of 220sq.km. of ground once held by Cominco's Pine Point Mines Ltd., and ground to the west once held by the Westmin-Duport joint venture.

In 2002, the Kent Burns Group completed a preliminary feasibility study that demonstrated favourable project economics using new technology. The mineral claims, as reported when the mine closed in 1987, contained approximately 70 million tonnes of material in 34 known lead-zinc deposits.

There are also a number of unmined high-grade deposits and a 15km prospective zone that has not been fully explored.

Recently, there has been a strong resurgence in base metal prices, including lead and zinc, largely due to strong economic growth in China.

Eacott notes one of the main reasons the Pine Point mine closed was low metal prices.

The spokesperson says the concept is that if a mine opens, there will not be a townsite like with the previous operation. Instead, workers would commute from Hay River and Fort Resolution.

Jerry DeMarco, a representative of Tamerlane Ventures, was in Hay River in late April to outline the company's plans to local political and business leaders.