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Candente Resource Corp (Toronto:Dnt)

April 14, 2004

ONE OF THE BEST EXPLORATION PLAYS IN PERU AND NEWFOUNDLAND

Business Summary

The Candente Resource Corp. and its Peruvian subsidiary, Compania Minera Oro Candente S.A., were started by two geologists, Joanne (Joey) Freeze and Fredy Huanqui in June of 1997. Candente Resource Corp. is a tightly held company with approximately 43.2 million shares issued to date, fully diluted.

Candente has an edge over other junior companies exploring in Peru, as the principals of the company have extensive experience in Peru and are familiar with most of the country's important metal districts.

Candente's strengths lie in project generation and direct staking, although some properties have been acquired through options. Their knowledge of Peru allows them to evaluate property submittals rapidly. Contacts and infrastructure in Peru permit the company to focus energy and funds on exploration activities optimum for discoveries.

Candente's More Advanced Projects in Peru

Alto Dorado

The Alto Dorado Property hosts both high sulphidation epithermal gold and gold-copper porphyry styles of mineralization. The property is situated halfway between the Yanacocha deposit (35 million ounces gold) to the north and the Pierina deposit (7.5 million ounces gold) to the south and is 36 km south-southeast of the Alto Chicama property, where Barrick Gold recently announced a new discovery in excess of 7 million ounces of gold. Alto Dorado covers 5,900 hectares within the same belt of Tertiary-age volcanic rocks as these world-class gold deposits.

The property hosts gold mineralization in both high sulphidation epithermal and gold-copper porphyry styles of mineralization in three distinct zones called the Toril, Ana and Olla Zones. In addition to the mineralized zones delineated to date, a recent satellite ASTER image interpretation has defined a series of exploration targets that include: district scale faults, circular features (intrusions and domes) and large areas of favorable hydrothermal alteration that occur on or proximal to major structural intersections.

The local property geology is comprised of Tertiary volcanic rocks (tuffs and flows) unconformably overlying Mesozoic sedimentary rocks. These units were intruded by diorite (granodiorite) stocks and andesitic plugs and domes. Alteration of the volcanic and intrusive rocks comprises K-silicate, sericitic, phyllic, argillic and advanced argillic alteration.

Northwesterly and northeasterly striking faults and easterly tension zones appear to control the alteration and mineralization on the property. In addition, the Toril Zone appears to be a breccia complex occurring within a collapsed caldera structure. Anomalous gold and mercury values associated with vuggy and massive silica with hydrothermal breccias are found in numerous mineralized centers on the property.

Cañariaco

In April 2001, Candente acquired 100% interest (no NSR) in the Cañariaco porphyry copper property in Northern Peru. Annual property payments of USD 17,500 commenced June 30, 2002. Cañariaco is an advanced exploration / scoping stage project with potential for a significant leachable copper resource suitable for low-cost SX-EW processing. Some of the key features of the Cañariaco project are as follows:

  • Leachable copper zone amenable to a low-cost SX-EW operation, with a strip ratio, likely to be <0.5 / 1 (waste/ore).
  • High grade drill intercepts by previous operators show grades of 0.80 to 2.16% copper often related to breccia zones.
  • Leachable zone is open both laterally and vertically.
  • Copper leach testing commissioned by Billiton using Geomet S.A. of Chile indicated recoveries of 85 to 90 % with a 0.78 % head grade.
  • The leachable zone is hypogene chalcocite, which may represent a late high sulfidation overprint superimposed on a much larger mineralized porphyry system.
  • A larger potential is comprised of a mixed enriched/primary assemblage. This larger target has potential for eventual low strip ratio production utilizing either flotation or a sulfide leach process employing recent advances in bio heap leaching.
  • There are two additional poorly explored mineralized porphyry targets (Canariaco Sur and Quebrada Verde) on the property
  • Located 110 km by air from port facilities and a major city. Current road access is 150 kilometers but a major (paved) highway lies 15 kilometers north of the property.

Lunahuaná Property

Lunahuaná is an iron-oxide-copper-gold target, with similarities to Olympic Dam (2000Mt of 1.6% Cu, 0.06% U3O8, 3.5g/t Ag and 0.6 g/t Au) in Australia and Candelaria in Chile. These deposits host many different ore zones with higher grades. The property is located two hours southeast of Lima and includes the following:

  • Raul/Condestable Mines, 15 kms northwest of Colombia, have produced 20 million tons grading 1.5% copper and 0.5 gpt gold.
  • Six small high-grade gold and copper (to 7% copper and 1.2 ounces of gold per ton) operations on the periphery of the property. One produced over 1,200 ounces of gold over 74 weeks.
  • USD 500,000 previously spent on stream sediment sampling, prospecting, geological mapping, rock chip and soil sampling, IP and magnetometer surveys, trenching and road construction.
  • Anomalous copper and gold in stream sediments over 7 km by 2 km.
  • Bulk tonnage drill targets delineated by IP chargeability anomalies occurring with gold and copper-gold geochemical anomalies in C horizon soils over a Western Zone, covering one square kilometer.
  • Gold-copper mineralization up to 3.5 gpt gold and 3.5% copper exposed in trenches over one km length, 10's to 300 meter widths and 400 meters vertically.
  • Secondary copper oxide minerals with oxidation to depths of 50 meters or more with potential for SX-EW production.
  • Structurally controlled sheeted quartz-magnetite veins, stockwork and local brecciation with intense chlorite-iron alteration. A number of bulk tonnage gold drill targets have been defined; however, several anomalous zones will be trenched prior to drilling.

El Tigre Property

El Tigre is an epithermal gold project where gold values from 0.5 to 9.5 grams per tonne occur over a two-kilometer-long target area.

  • Low sulfidation epithermal environment with similarities to Meridian's El Penon and Rosia Montana of Gabriel Resources o Gold occurs in structurally controlled quartz veins, stockworks and silicified wallrocks including volcaniclastic and sedimentary rocks and breccia zones comprising debris flows, vent breccias, hydrothermal breccias and possible diatremes. Rhyolitic dykes and domes are also part of the sequence.
  • Situated next to a road within an hour's drive from a major city and ports in Northern Peru. o In excess of 1000 surface samples show anomalous gold over two kms.
  • Previous drilling showed gold in every hole with values of 0.5 grams in wallrock and up to 9.5 grams in siliceous zones.
  • Visible gold is evident in petrographic studies. o Recent work includes structural interpretations by Dr. Peter Lewis, Carlos Angeles Z. and stratigraphic work by volcanologist Dr. Wolfgang Morche.
  • A 44 sample program to determine mineralization controls showed that 18 contain in excess of 500 ppb (0.5 gpt) gold, 12 assayed over 1.0 gpt and 5 samples carry between 3.5 and 9.5 gpt.
  • On-surface veins have been found to be at least 2.5 meters wide and stockwork zones at least 8 meters wide.
  • Magnetics geophysical survey is planned to better delineate drill targets on structures controlling the gold zones.

Candente's More Advanced Projects in Newfoundland

In 2002, Candente's exploration activities were expanded to Newfoundland, on the recommendation of director Larry Kornze (ex-Barrick) . World-class bulk tonnage gold targets are now being explored.

Recent News: Goldcorp - Candente Strategic Newfoundland Exploration Partnership Finalized

Candente Resource Corp. has been pleased to announce that the company has entered into a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Goldcorp Inc. to conduct exploration in Newfoundland. Goldcorp became a major shareholder (5%) in Candente in February of 2003 by purchasing 1.7 million shares in the company for a total of $ 1,020,000 through a non-brokered private placement.

This was the first step in the strategic partnership between Goldcorp and Candente, which allows Goldcorp access to Candente's expertise in gold exploration and Newfoundland.

This partnership with a premier gold producer validates Candente's belief that Newfoundland has excellent potential for hosting economic gold deposits. "We are excited about taking this next step and advancing several of our Newfoundland properties," summarizes Joanne Freeze, President and CEO of Candente.

The agreement allows Goldcorp to earn up to a 70% interest in either or both of the Staghorn and Linear gold properties by assuming all of Candente's expenditure obligations and completing bankable feasibility studies by January 2010. The option may be extended beyond the six-year period, providing expenditures have reached a minimum of $ 1,000,000 per year by 2009. The agreement also grants Goldcorp a Right of First Offer on other properties currently held or acquired in the future by Candente in Newfoundland, subject to termination on certain events and time periods.

Candente entered Newfoundland on the recommendation of Larry Kornze, (ex-Barrick), Director of Candente, who stated "Newfoundland could host another Carlin Belt (100 million ounces gold hosted by sedimentary rocks) and we don't want to miss it; besides, there is too much gold to ignore."

Candente's exploration to date has identified not only sediment-hosted potential but also other world-class gold potential such as orogenic and epithermal styles.

On the Staghorn Property, mineralization styles, host rocks, structural setting and geochemical signatures found to date are all typical of intrusion hosted-orogenic deposits such as the 175 and 19 million oz gold deposits at Muruntau and Kumtor in Central Asia.

Crews have commenced line-cutting in preparation for an IP (Induced Polarization) survey, which will be carried out over a three kilometer (km) length (30 km) grid covering three gold zones on the Staghorn property. Gold values range from 0.5 to 25.7 grams per tonne (gpt) in rock chip samples.

Fundamental Considerations

If Goldcorp invests in another gold exploration company, it is no guarantee that they will actually find what they have been looking for. Nevertheless, if Goldcorp invests, you know that knowledge is on your side.

In Peru, Candente has been working on exciting properties lying between the world-class deposits between the Yanacocha and Pierina epithermal gold deposits, which make up 60% of Peruvian gold production.

In Newfoundland, Candente explores exciting areas which have geological similarities with the important gold deposits of Muruntau (Uzbekistan) and Kumtor (Kyrgyzstan), where 4 million ounces of gold have been produced since operations began in 1997.

But still, exploration is exploration: if it weren't, exploration would not be necessary. This means that any such investment is risky. Nevertheless, within one year, some exciting exploration news can be expected.

Technical Considerations

Luckily, there are still many around who ignore the fact the gold is in a bull market.

The share price of Candente, after consolidating the sharp price surge of last November/December, could well be at the door step of the next important move, pending positive exploration news.


Nearly 40 percent of all gold ever mined was recovered from South African rocks.
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