Austpac and Newcrest

This is probably why APG did not fall after the news of the placement;


Newcrest & Austpac Seek Copper/Gold at Horsham Vic

Document date: Tue 17 Sep 2002 Published: Tue 17 Sep 2002 10:49:34
Document No: 194932 Document part: A
Market Flag: Y
Classification: Progress Report
AUSTPAC RESOURCES NL 2002-09-17 ASX-SIGNAL-G

HOMEX - Melbourne

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Austpac Resources NL is pleased to announce that Newcrest Operations
Limited has agreed to explore for copper and gold within Exploration
Licence 4521 immediately south of Horsham in western Victoria, which
Austpac has been evaluating for heavy minerals. The exploration
program will be conducted under the Horsham Joint Venture. It targets
volcanic complexes in the basement rocks beneath the shallow
sedimentary cover which hosts the coarse grained strandline and the
fine grained WIM-type heavy mineral deposits discovered in the Murray
Basin.

Newcrest will sole fund the Horsham Joint Venture through to a
decision to mine. Austpac will then hold a 10% contributing interest
in any resulting mine, or may elect to revert to a 2% Net Smelter
Return royalty on production.

The initial exploration program will comprise approximately 100 holes
drilled through the thin veneer of sediments into the basement rocks
to delineate the intrusive and extrusive volcanic complexes. These
volcanics have the potential to host large porphyry-style
gold-copper deposits similar to those being mined by Newcrest at
Cadia-Ridgeway in NSW.

The volcanic complexes were outlined by Government regional
aeromagnetic and gravity surveys. They were further defined by the
detailed aeromagnetic surveys commissioned by Austpac in 2001 during
the search for coarse grained heavy mineral strandlines within EL
4521. Altered pyritised volcanics were encountered in several of the
holes that reached the basement during the strandline exploration
drilling program. The cover sediments appear to be 25-50m thick
within EL 4521.

Austpac and Ticor Limited were jointly granted EL 4521 in December
2000 to evaluate the fine grained WIM 150 deposit as well as the
potential for coarse grained strandlines in the western half of the
area. Ticor has withdrawn from the licence, which is now held 100% by
Austpac. Austpac will continue its research and development work at
the Company's Newcastle Pilot Plant on the beneficiation of the fine
grained minerals from WIM 150. Austpac's main focus remains the
establishment of a synthetic rutile plant using the ERMS and EARS
technologies based on coarse grained ilmenite deposits in the Murray
Basin or elsewhere in the world.


For further information please contact

M J Turbott
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Austpac Resources NL