Now trading - ILC warrants also up under ILC.WT

I noticed ILC also has a US ticker under ILHMF.us

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page66?oid=127615&sn=Detail&pid=102055

Rob McEwen calls competing claim to Los Azules copper project ‘blackmail'

Minera Andes drops plans to spin-out Los Azules in part because of a court case questioning its full ownership of the project.

Posted: Saturday , 21 May 2011

HALIFAX -

Reverberations of a significantly expanded legal claim to a much larger portion of Minera Andes' massive Los Azules copper deposit in Argentina - which Minera Andes's president and CEO Rob McEwen quickly and vociferously rejected - is having an immediate impact on Minera Andes' plans to spin out the deposit into a separate company. On Friday Minera Andes announced it was shelving those plans, made public last February, given financial and legal considerations.

The postponement followed news TNR Gold, which has for a number of years sought through the Supreme Court of British Columbia to regain partial property rights to Los Azules, had been given a green light by the court to advance an additional claim that, if successful, would see it get a substantially bigger chunk of Los Azules than previously sought.

TNR Gold has for years contested Minera Andes' 100-percent ownership of Los Azules. The thrust of TNR Gold's argument until recently had been that it should have been allowed to exercise a 25-percent back-in right on concessions that cover the northern portion of the Los Azules deposit, which in total holds indicated resources of some 2.2 billion pounds of copper.

That back-in right flowed from TNR Gold's original ownership of a significant, northern portion of Los Azules that in the early 2000s it farmed out to Xstrata, which then optioned the concessions to Minera Andes.

A court hearing to consider TNR Gold's claims to the northern area of Los Azules through its back-in right had previously been set for this June, the same month Minera Andes had intended to spin out Los Azules into a separate company. McEwen toldMineweb in an interview Friday he had hoped those legal proceedings would have been underway before Minera Andes shipped off Los Azules.

But in mid-May TNR Gold threw a wrench into those plans. It gave notice that the BC Supreme Court would allow it to add a new claim to the case alleging Xstrata and Minera Andes did not meet required exploration expenditures to exercise the option agreement governing the property in 2007. The implication: TNR Gold believes it still owns the entire northern portion of Los Azules, and not just a 25-percent back in right.

Rob McEwen said of TNR Gold's claims over part of Minera Andes' Los Azules project "To me it's a form of blackmail."

That is a charge TNR Gold President and CEO Gary Schellenberg was not available to respond to, as Chief Operating Officer Michael Sieb, deferring comment, noted Schellenberg would be out of the office until May 25, 2011. In lieu of comment, however, Sieb pointed to the arguments set out in TNR Gold's court application to advance its new claim of unmet exploration expenditures, which it provided to Mineweb.

Back in early September, 2007, TNR Gold had originally signed off on the option agreement, stating in a press release, "All cash payments due by May 15, 2008 have now been received. All exploration expenditures have also been incurred."

But, according to court documents, TNR Gold now alleges Minera Andes and Xstrata failed to meet those expenditures as they rushed to hit the $1 million mark so they could as quickly as possible "take-out" TNR Gold's 25-percent back-in right on the property.

TNR Gold has long maintained it was more or less duped into signing off on a back-in right with an expiration date. The final draft of an option agreement stipulated TNR Gold could acquire a 25 percent stake over a 120-day period if Xstrata (or as it would turn out, Minera Andes) completed a feasibility study within 36 months of exercising the TNR Gold-Los Azules option.

However, in a case of what boils down to not reading the fine print, TNR Gold said it never discussed the time-limit clause with Xstrata and that initial drafts of the option did not contemplate one. TNR Gold wrote in court documents that the 36-month stipulation was added after initial discussions on the option agreement and "in lengthy blacklined text along with various non-substantial changes." It, TNR Gold said, went unnoticed for some years.

Moreover, TNR Gold charged, Xstrata never intended to produce a feasibility study. To that alleged end, in its application to advance its new claim TNR Gold quoted an email apparently sent between two Xstrata employees at the time. According to TNR Gold it read, "Yes, taking Solitario (TNR Gold subsidiary) out of the game is a good idea. All we have to do now is not complete a feasibility study within the next three years!"

Though a feasibility study was not completed within the 36 months period, in early 2010 TNR Gold signalled to Minera Andes that it wanted to exercise its back-in right anyway by waiving the feasibility requirement. Minera Andes disagreed with TNR Gold's standpoint on the matter.

"It is Minera Andes' view that TNR's back in right is dependent upon the production of a feasibility study which has never been produced," Minera Andes responded to the back-in request in an April 1, 2010 press release. "Further, Minera Andes disputes the legal ability to waive this condition."

On that score Minera Andes wants the court to rule in its favour. "Minera Andes is seeking a declaration that any back-in notice delivered by TNR prior to or on April 23, 2010 will be null, void and of no force and effect on account that a feasibility study must be completed on the Project prior to TNR being entitled to exercise its back-in right," Minera Andes wrote in late April, 2010.

Now, with the new claim, TNR Gold has considerably upped the ante by challenging Xstrata and Minera Andes on exploration expenditures, claiming these were inflated. TNR Gold contended in court documents that 250 metres of 1,574.15 metres of drilling it said were claimed as part of satisfying $1 million in exploration expenditures came from holes that did not lie on its claims. The point, TNR Gold alleged: Xstrata "had not met the conditions for exercising the option" and was therefore in breach of their agreement.

As a result TNR Gold, in its new court claim, said it wants the northern - and highly valuable - Los Azules properties back, or damages.

For its part Minera Andes categorically rejected the new claim it had made insufficient exploration expenditures at Los Azules in a press release responding to the new allegation. And on Friday Minera Andes' McEwen called all of TNR Gold's court arguments "creative" and referred to the most recent concerning exploration spending as strange.

"They must think there's something there," McEwen said. "Or they're just looking for a delay."

McEwen summed up TNR Gold's claims as follows: First TNR Gold said it had been fooled in signing the option agreement. Then, McEwen said, came the assertion it could waive the feasibility clause. "Now it's, ‘You didn't spend the (exploration) money'," McEwen said. "But they signed off on it."

In the interim, between now and the new court hearing, McEwen ruled out settlement, saying the court proceedings would "take its course."

Based on what others have told him, McEwen suggested the new court hearing could be as much as eight to 12 months away. While McEwen denied the merit of TNR Gold's claims to Los Azules, he reasoned the postponent of the spin out was in part necessary as the court case, now set to take longer, raised "questions investors don't like to hear."

McEwen also explained Minera Andes delayed the spin out as it might jeopardize a listing on AMEX. Companies wanting to join AMEX need to hold onto prices above a $2 basement, McEwen said. But with the spin out of Los Azules, whether Minera Andes could stay on the plus side of $2 was no guarantee.

Drilling Continues to Hit Gold at the East Coldstream Deposit, Ontario

Key Point Summary:

· 38.25 metre-wide zone averaging 1.10 g/t gold including 5.14 g/t gold over 5.20 metres: Hole C-11-66 (East Zone)

· 31.0 metre-wide zone averaging 0.73 g/t gold including 1.05 g/t gold over 14.0 metres: Hole C-11-67 (Main Zone)

· 4.15 metre-wide zone averaging 1.12 g/t gold: Hole C-11-65 (East Zone)

Vancouver B.C. May 18, 2011: Foundation Resources Inc. (FDN: TSX-V) (“Foundation”) and Alto Ventures Ltd. (ATV: TSX-V) (“Alto”) or together “the Companies” are pleased to announce the results of four holes from the East and Main zones of the East Coldstream Deposit (“Deposit”) on their Coldstream Property (“Property”) in northwestern Ontario. More drill results from the Deposit will be reported as they become available. The Deposit is currently subject to a NI 43-101 compliant resource calculation by Wardrop, a Tetra Tech Company (News Release dated March 01, 2011). Foundation is the operator of this program and owns a 60% interest in the Property and Alto owns the remaining 40%.

Drill Hole

From

(metres)

To

(metres)

Width**

(metres)

Gold**

(grams /tonne)

EAST ZONE

C-11-61

140.60

142.60

2.00

0.57

C-11-65

90.55

96.55

6.00

0.72

103.10

107.25

4.15

1.12

143.00

145.00

2.00

1.01

C-11-66

265.00

303.25

38.25

1.10

includes

280.80

286.00

5.20

5.14

MAIN ZONE

C-11-67

98.00

129.00

31.00

0.73

includes

98.00

112.00

14.00

1.05

includes

102.00

105.20

3.20

2.86

**Mineralized zones generally start at 0.1 g/t gold and assay averages may include minimal

intervals of waste material. No top cuts of assays were used.

All intervals are represented as down-hole core lengths with true widths estimated at 70 to 75 percent.

Of the four drill holes, three (C-11-61, 65 and 66) were drilled into the East Zone and one hole (C-11-67) was drilled into the Main Zone. Hole C-11-65 was designed to pierce the least explored sections of the East Zone located between two major plunging mineralization zones at a vertical depth of 50 metres and between previous holes C-10-41 and 35 which were drilled by Foundation in 2010. Hole C-11-66 tested the down plunge extension of the East Zone at a vertical depth of 215 metres approximately 50 metres down plunge of good mineralization intersected in C-10-32 (1.84 g/t gold over 34.80 m). Drill hole C-11-67 was designed to twin Noranda’s historical hole C-89-18 within the Main Zone in order to fulfill a NI 43-101 requirement for resource estimation on the Deposit.

Drill hole C-11-66 testing the down plunge extension of the East Zone intersected a 38.25 metre-wide zone averaging 1.10 g/t gold including 5.14 g/t gold over 5.20 metres. Hole C-11-65 testing the under explored area between two mineralized shoots within the East Zone intersected 1.12 g/t gold over 4.15 metres and 0.72 g/t gold over 6.0 metres. The twin hole C-11-67 within the Main Zone intersected 14.0 metres grading 1.05 g/t gold within a 31.0 metre envelope grading 0.73 g/t gold confirming gold mineralization from Noranda’s historical holes.

About 2011 Winter Drilling

Of the 6,000 meters winter drilling program recently completed on the Property, approximately 3,000 metres were drilled with the objective of expanding the four zones (Main, North, East and Sanders) at the East Coldstream Deposit. The remaining 3,000 metres were utilized in exploring other areas of the Property such as the Iris Lake where the Companies have discovered new high-grade gold mineralization (e.g., 8.39 g/t gold over 11.0 m) in three holes (News Release – March 22, 2011). The Iris Lake high-grade gold area is located approximately 1500 metres north of the East Coldstream Deposit.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC)

Foundation has implemented a quality control (QA/QC) program which includes the use of commercially produced standards and blanks. Samples of split NQ core are transported by Company personnel to the sample preparation lab of ALS Chemex Laboratory in Thunder Bay where they were crushed and a 1000-gram pulp was prepared. The pulp was then shipped to ALS Chemex Laboratory in North Vancouver, B.C. for analyses. The gold assaying method uses a standard Fire Assay with ICP-AES technique on a 30-gram pulp material taken from a 1000g split from the submitted sample. For more details of QA/QC procedures, please refer to Foundations July 21, 2010 news release.

Ike Osmani, M.Sc., P.Geo., the President of Foundation and the Qualified Person for the Coldstream Project supervised the drill program, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

About the East Coldstream Deposit

The East Coldstream Deposit is hosted within mafic to intermediate metavolcanic rocks which have been intruded by dike/sill-like bodies of quartz-feldspar porphyries and gabbros. All these rock types have been variably altered (silica, hematite, carbonate, chlorite) and deformed by east- to east-northeast striking North Coldstream Shear/Deformation Zone. Gold is associated with 1 to 5 percent, fine-grained pyrite.

About the Coldstream Property

The 6234-hectare Coldstream Property is located along the Trans Canada Highway 115 km west of the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The area is road accessible and has excellent infrastructure with a major power line and CN rail line passing just north of the property. Skilled labour is readily available locally.

For more details regarding the Coldstream Property, please visit our website at www.foundationres.com

About Foundation Resources Inc.

Foundation is a mineral exploration company focused on exploration and development of high potential gold properties in Canada and Mexico. Its Coldstream Property is located in the Western Superior geological province of the Canadian Shield, which is noted for hosting prolific gold deposits in Ontario, Canada. The San Rafael property is located approximately 150 km northwest of Durango in the Durango State, Mexico.

On behalf of the board,

Paul Chung

CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.” News release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company’s business, including risks inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

http://www.tnrgoldcorp.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=457300

TNR GOLD GRANTED LEAVE TO ADD NEW CLAIM OVER LOS AZULES PROJECT

Vancouver B.C.: TNR Gold Corp. ("TNR" or the "Company) advises that following a two-day hearing before the British Columbia Supreme Court, TNR and its subsidiary, Solitario Argentina S.A., have been granted leave to amend their pleadings to add a new claim to the litigation (the "New Claim") over the Los Azules project in Argentina. The litigation involves TNR, Minera Andes Inc., MIM Argentina Exploraciones S.A. ("Xstrata") and related entities. The Los Azules project is an advanced exploration project currently reporting a National Instrument 43-101 compliant Inferred Resource.

In the original Notice of Claim, among other claims, TNR and Solitario seek rectification of a 2004 Exploration and Option Agreement with Xstrata (later assigned to Minera Andes) to restore a right on the part of Solitario to back-in to up to 25% of certain properties constituting the northern half of the Los Azules project (the "Properties") any time within 120 days of the production of a feasibility study. Minera Andes and Xstrata oppose rectification and the other relief sought by TNR and Solitario.

The New Claim alleges that Xstrata and Minera Andes did not complete the required exploration expenditures required for Xstrata's exercise of its option on April 23, 2007 to acquire the Properties. On that basis, TNR and Solitario advance a claim of breach of contract and intentional interference with economic relations, and seek the return of the Properties, or alternatively, damages as against the defendants or any of them.

As a result of the New Claim being added to the litigation, the trial scheduled to commence on June 20, 2011 in Vancouver, BC has been adjourned so that documents relating to the New Claim can be produced. A new date for the trial will be set in due course.

ABOUT TNR GOLD CORP.

The Company is a diversified international metals exploration company focusing on the continued advancement of existing properties and identifying and acquiring new prospective projects. TNR has a portfolio of 18 active projects, of which 9 rare metals projects, including the Mariana Lithium Brine project, will be held or optioned to TNR's wholly owned subsidiary International Lithium Corp. ("ILC") upon completion of a Plan of Arrangement.
The objective of the Plan of Arrangement is to spin-out TNR's rare metals property interests into a separate public company, ILC. The Plan of Arrangement has been approved by TNR's shareholders, the courts of British Columbia and the TSX Venture Exchange with the Record Date / Effective Date set for May 19, 2011. For further details of the spin-out, please visit International Lithium's website, TNR's information circular dated May 10, 2010 which is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com and the Company's press release dated May 12, 2011.
The recent acquisition of lithium, other rare metals and rare-earth elements projects in Argentina, Canada, USA and Ireland confirms TNR's commitment to generating projects, diversifying its markets, and building shareholder value.

On behalf of the board,

Gary Schellenberg
President

TNR Gold adds new claim to Los Azules litigation

2011-05-16 08:42 ET - News Release

http://www.tnrgoldcorp.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=457300

http://www.tnrgoldcorp.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=457300

Mr. Gary Schellenberg reports

TNR GOLD GRANTED LEAVE TO ADD NEW CLAIM OVER LOS AZULES PROJECT

TNR Gold Corp. and its subsidiary, Solitario Argentina SA, have been granted leave to amend their pleadings to add a new claim to the litigation over the Los Azules project in Argentina, following a two-day hearing before the British Columbia Supreme Court. The litigation involves TNR, Minera Andes Inc., MIM Argentina Exploraciones S.A. ("Xstrata") and related entities. The Los Azules project is an advanced exploration project currently reporting a National Instrument 43- 101 compliant Inferred Resource.

In the original Notice of Claim, among other claims, TNR and Solitario seek rectification of a 2004 Exploration and Option Agreement with Xstrata (later assigned to Minera Andes) to restore a right on the part of Solitario to back-in to up to 25% of certain properties constituting the northern half of the Los Azules project (the "Properties") any time within 120 days of the production of a feasibility study. Minera Andes and Xstrata oppose rectification and the other relief sought by TNR and Solitario.