Owners of the Union Bay platinum project near Ketchikan, Alaska, have approved a budget of $1.1 million for exploration this year, the companies said May 16.

Freegold Ventures Ltd., Pacific North West Capital Corp. and Lonmin PLC are backing the Union Bay enterprise. An extensive 2004 field program financed by Lonmin confirmed platinum concentrations of 1 to 14 grams per tonne.

The 2004 work included nearly 6,000 feet of diamond core drilling in 10 holes, along with airborne magnetic and multi-frequency electromagnetic surveying. It indicated conditions favorable for mineralization along a strike length of about 6 kilometers (3.6 miles).

The plans for this year call for further delineation and drilling of targets identified by airborne magnetic surveys and ground exploration, and will again be financed by Lonmin. That enterprise financed work in 2003 also, and can earn up to a 70 percent interest by bringing the project to the feasibility stage.

Union Bay deposit involves 711 unpatented federal lode mining claims covering nearly 16,000 acres, plus several Alaska claims for an additional 240 acres. The area is about 35 miles north of Ketchikan at tidewater. Pacific North West Capital is the current operator.