PBX’s 100%-owned Copaquire Project is located on the West Fissure in northern Chile, site of some of the largest copper-molybdenum mines in the world. PBX’s property is Chile’s last well-exposed major porphyry bulk tonnage system yet to be fully explored.
       According to an NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate issued last October, Copaquire has 183.8 million pounds of contained molybdenum and 432.2 million pounds of copper (indicated). In addition, the inferred resource is estimated at 192.4 million pounds of molybdenum and 455.1 million pounds of copper (based on a .02%Mo cutoff grade). The February 19, 2008 price for Molybdenum was $33.00 USD/lb and $3.69 USD/lb for copper. The company’s massive Cerro Moly deposit at Copaquire has substantial high-grade tonnage (23% of the deposit) exposed above grade level that can be mined with minimal stripping, unlike most bulk tonnage deposits. PBX recently received positive initial metallurgical test results that indicate potential bulk recovery rates of up to 95% for molybdenum and up to 92% for copper.
       “These numbers will go a long way in contributing to the positive economics of the Copaquire moly-copper deposit,” says Sookochoff.
       A planned preliminary economic assessment (scoping study), which will establish an updated NI 43-101 resource, is expected to be completed by Q3 2008. The study will include an estimate of services, equipment and infrastructure needed to bring the deposit to production, as well as set a production schedule, estimate capital and operating costs, and perform a financial analysis of the project. Estimated production data will include the tonnage and grade profile, and preliminary operating costs.
       A conceptual mining operation suggested by PBX envisions 10 years to mine the Cerro Moly Mountain ore above the valley floor with virtually no waste to strip, and 30 years of open pit mining below the level of the valley floor.
       An meter infill drilling program has begun on the adjacent Sulfato Copper Zone, which is part of the same system as the Cerro Moly, but farther north and about 200 meters higher in elevation. Drilling to date suggests both the Sulfato and Cerro Moly zones are part of a much larger system, similar to the Rosario system at the neighboring Xstrata Collahuasi Mine (3.1 billion tonnes grading 0.8% copper and 0.015% molybdenum). The company will also drill the adjacent Marta Molybdenum area to determine the extent of blue sky mineralization. Preliminary work suggests the Marta system has a surface expression at least as large as Cerro Molly. The system includes high-grade copper-molybdenum vein workings at the historical Marta Mine.

       PBX is fast-tracking its Tabaco Copper Project through feasibility with the goal of commencing production within the next 12 to 18 months. Ore could be directly shipped to a nearby processing plant or PBX could construct a processing plant on site.
       A recent 3 dimensional Induced Polarization (3D IP) survey was undertaken to test whether a larger copper deposit might exist at depth as indicated by surface observations of several geologists. The survey did in fact reveal a large anomaly below the previous drill levels which may be characteristic of a large porphyry deposit. It now appears that earlier drilling intersected the upper part of the IP anomaly in one drill hole that returned 44.0 meters of 1.29% copper. PBX is now securing a drill capable of testing the anomaly at depth .
       “We are pleasantly surprised,” says Sookochoff. “This shows there is something deeper and much larger – perhaps the large porphyry deposit originally modeled.”
       A 43-101 resource estimate, based on 6,637 meters of drilling, shows there is at minimum a readily leachable copper oxide deposit underlain by high grade copper sulphides which may be accessible by open pit mining. If further exploration proves up the presence of a significant porphyry deposit, PBX expects it could be developed as an open pit mine.

       Meanwhile, a 7,000 meter reconnaissance reverse circulation drill program now underway on PBX’s Tierra de Oro gold-copper-cobalt-silver property is testing some 20 large quality gold targets identified in previous exploration. The presence of altered iron oxide-rich porphyritic intrusives hosting copper-gold veins at surface may indicate a large sulphide rich system at moderate depth. A 3D IP survey was also undertaken over a central part of the gold property discovering a large copper-gold porphyry system 1,400m by 800m in size and open at depth.
       The 63-square-kilometer Tierra de Oro property is located south of the Candelaria Mine (400 million tonnes, 1% copper, 0.25 g/t gold) and covers a historic gold camp. It lies within the same intrusive/volcanic sequence that hosts several large open pit gold and copper/gold mines. The area is reported to have produced several hundred thousand ounces of gold from surface workings prior to the 1930s. The property is accessed by well-maintained gravel roads and is about 20 kilometers from the Pan American highway, next to the main Chile power grid. The project, with a maximum 1500-foot elevation, can be explored year-round and has the potential to become a large bulk tonnage, open pit deposit.

       International PBX Ventures’ diverse mineral portfolio gives the company multiple opportunities to exploit and profit from rising metals prices, whether gold, copper or molybdenum. The outlook for the latter metal, found in profuse abundance at the flagship Copaquire property, appears solid.
       According to the CPM Group, noted international commodities researchers, molybdenum production and prices are expected to set a new trend this year that will continue well into the future. Reasons include a market expected to become less dependent on by-product producers, regional diversification of molybdenum mine production, declining market share of dominant players, and reduced supplies from China. At the same time, use of molybdenum is expected to increase as demand for cleaner energy grows. The CPM group says world demand for molybdenum will grow 5.8% this year.
       PBX is aggressively developing its impressive portfolio of advanced exploration properties in Chile, a stable, mining-friendly country. The company is well financed, with more than $6 million in the bank, sufficient to finance its extensive 2008 exploration program.
       “We have the properties, a strong management team and are well-funded,” says PBX CEO George Sookochoff. “With pending scoping studies at Copaquire and Tabaco, PBX soon will have real numbers that we expect will attract market attention.”