Consolidated Magna Ventures - Mexican Base Metal Acquisition.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 1996--CONSOLIDATED MAGNA(VSE: CMV) In keeping with the company's thrust into Mexico, Consolidated Magna Ventures Ltd. is pleased to announce the acquisition of a promising base metal prospect in central Chihuahua State. The 990 hectare Koala Property has never been explored by modern methods and is considered to be highly prospective for massive sulphide mineralization of the Santa Eulalia type.

Santa Eulalia, and also the Naica deposit, are type localities for chimney and manto style replacement massive sulphide mineralization and lie within 100km of the Koala property in similar geological settings. The Santa Eulalia Mine has produced over 20 million tonnes of 15 percent combined Pb-Zn, up to 1 percent Cu and 150g/t Ag. The Naica deposit has produced well in excess of 15 million tonnes at a grade of 5.5 percent Pb, 4.3 percent Zn, 0.34 percent Cu, 177g/t Ag and 0.34g/t Au. Considering the size of these world-class mines, it is both remarkable and significant that the Santa Eulalia deposit lies entirely below surface, and Naica has only one small outcropping of mineralization.

The Koala property is underlain by lower Cretaceous limestones within the Sierra de Chaconena, a regional anticlinal fold belt. The limestones comprise a window of older sedimentary rocks near the boundary between two regional metallogenic provinces, the Sierra Madre Occidental to the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental to the east. A northwest-striking fault, parallel to regional structural trends, bisects the property, while the anticlinal axis of the fold belt parallels this trend just off the northeast corner. Minor felsic porphyry dykes cut the limestone.

The fault is clearly visible on surface and separates highly altered limestones on the southwest from unaltered limestones on the northeast. The grey, unaltered limestones are fossiliferous and contain patches of hydrothermal breccia. Textures are harder to discern across the fault but the altered limestones contain several showings of lead-zinc and copper mineralization with anomalous gold and silver values. The showings follow the trace of the fault, emphasizing the structural control of this style of mineralization. -0-

Assays from grab samples returned:

Pb percent         Zn percent         Cu percent

   2.63               16.7               0.08
   6.45                2.5               0.07
   6.36                4.7               0.05
   1.44                2.62              0.08
   0.60                0.7               1.42
   0.06                0.05              2.48
   0.005               0.03              1.55

The apparent zonation of the Pb-Zn and Cu mineralization and the appearance of narrow porphyry dykes in some of the surface showings suggests that the sulphides are related to a buried intrusive and may be the only surface expression of a large deposit analogous to that of Santa Eulalia and Naica.

The Koala property is located 60 kilometres south-southwest of the city of Chihuahua and is accessible by paved highway and secondary roads. Magna can earn a 70 percent interest in the property after two years by paying a total of $75,000 in cash, issuing 75,000 shares and conducting $200,000 worth of exploration. Once Magna is vested, a 70:15:15 joint venture will be set up with the partners either participating proportionately or being diluted at a rate of 1 percent for every $40,000 they fail to contribute.

Elsewhere in Mexico, diamond drilling on the company's Martinica Property northeast of Chihuahua has returned mixed results. Diamond drilling has confirmed the presence of high grade copper mineralization over good widths in shallow dipping sandstones, however, the continuity of mineralization between holes has been erratic.

In two of the four areas tested, drill holes MA-96-05 and MA-96-19 returned assays of 0.98 percent Cu over 3.0 metres and 1.27 percent Cu over 6.2 metres, respectively. The latter intersection included the best assay of 2.58 percent Cu over 1.0m. Data from all 21 holes drilled to date are now being evaluated in order to determine our approach for further work at Martinica.

Consolidated Magna Ventures Ltd. is a growth-oriented mineral exploration company listed on the Vancouver Stock Exchange (Symbol - CMV.VSE).

NOTE: Location map available from the Company at the phone number listed above.

CONTACT: Consolidated Magna Ventures Ltd.

Clayten Vance, 604/685-9700