Access Agreement
Signed for Great Bear Lake
VANCOUVER, December 20, 2006 - Cooper Minerals Inc. (TSXv: CQ) (the
"Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a Master Access
Agreement and Benefits Agreement with the Deline Land Corporation of
Deline, Northwest Territories, to work on the Company's Great Bear Lake
iron oxide, copper, gold, silver and uranium project. These Agreements
include the support of the Deline First Nation which is required for
Cooper Minerals' Class A five-year drill permit which will be submitted to
the Sahtu Land and Water Board. As part of these Agreements, the Deline
Land Corporation will carry out a traditional knowledge study over the
Company's work area.
Mr. Leroy Andre, President of the Deline Land Corporation commented: "We
are pleased to see companies like Cooper Minerals approach us at the early
development stage to open up the lines of communication which lead to
joint economic opportunities."
Chief Charlie Neyelle of the Deline First Nation said: "Companies who
respect our land and who are willing to invest in our greatest asset, the
young people of our community, are welcome in the true northern spirit."
Mr. Don Morin, former Premier of the Northwest Territories and Cooper
Minerals' Vice President of Northern Operations, was instrumental in
bringing all parties to the table to conclude the Agreements which will
lead to the exploration and development of the Company's Great Bear Lake
Project.
The Contact Lake project area consists of approximately 75,000 acres in
the Great Bear Lake area of the Northwest Territories. The property is
located approximately 430 kilometres north of Yellowknife, NWT. Part of
the property adjoins the Alberta Star Development Corp. (TSXv: ASX)
project which is being explored for iron oxide, copper, gold, silver and
uranium (IOCG) targets. Alberta Star carried out a major exploration
program, including drilling in the past field season.
The Olympic Dam or IOCG model is proposed as the main exploration target
for the Contact Lake property in this part of the Great Bear magmatic
zone. The Olympic Dam deposit at Roxby Downs in the Gawler craton of
southwest Australia consists of dike-like, hematite-rich diatreme breccias
in granite and felsic volcanics and has a reported resource of 2.32
billion tonnes of 1.6 per cent copper, 0.5 gram per tonne gold, 3.5 grams
per tonne silver and 0.4 kilogram per ton U3O8. Features of the
mineralization and geology in the Great Bear magmatic zone indicate
similarities with Olympic Dam IOCG. Four constants postulated by Skirrow
(1999) exist in both areas: tectonothermal evolution, host sequence
composition, existence of two contrasting hydrothermal fluid types that
allow for coexistence of magnetite and hematite, and a setting within a
deep, crustal-scale fault system.
This and other similarities suggest that the Contact Lake property is
situated in a geological setting that has the potential to host
high-unit-value polymetallic mineralization associated with large-tonnage,
IOCG-type deposits, as well the potential to host Echo Bay-type,
high-grade, lower-tonnage U3O8-Ag (uranium-silver) mineralization.
For a map of the property location in the Great Bear Lake area, visit the
Company's website at www.cooperminerals.com. The Company's objective is to
bring the properties to the drill-ready stage as soon as possible.
Mike Magrum, PEng, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101,
has approved the technical content of this news release.
About COOPER MINERALS INC.
Cooper Minerals Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company that
identifies and acquires highly prospective exploration projects in Canada
and Finland. The Company is focused on the discovery of base and precious
metals. Cooper Minerals trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the
symbol CQ.
Investors are welcome to contact Simon Tam, President, Cooper Minerals
Inc., at 604-871-9930 or email to info@cooperminerals.com.On behalf of the Board of
Directors
Cooper Minerals Inc.
Simon Tam,
Director
ENGLISH