Great Western Minerals Group Files NI 43-101 Resource Estimate and Technical Report on Steenkampskraal Rare Earth Property
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwire) -- 06/01/12 -- Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. ("GWMG" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: GWG) (OCTQX: GWMGF) is pleased to announce that it has filed on SEDAR its initial National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate and technical report (the "NI 43-101 Report") for the Company's Steenkampskraal rare earth property in South Africa.
With the filing of the NI 43-101 Report, (http://www.gwmg.ca/ssk-tech-report-2012) GWMG has notified the escrow agent that it has satisfied the escrow release condition of the convertible bond financing (the "Offering") (See GWMG April 5, 2012 media release: GWMG Announces Closing of US$90 Million Convertible Bond Financing) and expects the remaining funds, net of US$10.8 million that will remain in escrow to satisfy interest payments, will be released to the Company in due course.
In order to satisfy the escrow release condition, GWMG was obligated to confirm that at least 20,000 metric tonnes of Total Rare Earth Oxides ("TREO") including Yttrium, in the sum of the Measured, Indicated, and Inferred resource categories are present at the Steenkampskraal property using a one per cent cutoff grade.
The NI 43-101 Report indicates the presence of 13,823.64 metric tonnes of TREO including Yttrium under the Indicated resource category and 14,147.76 metric tonnes under the Inferred resource category each using a one per cent cutoff grade. As contained in the NI 43-101 Report, the May 18, 2012 resource estimate is as follows:
Mineral Resource Estimates for Steenkampskraal
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TONNES
CLASS (000) TREO% Y2O3% LREO% HREO% CeO2% Dy2O3% Eu2O3% Gd2O3% Ho2O3%
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Indicated 45.5 22.3 0.94 21.46 0.86 10.6 0.23 0.01 0.44 0.03
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Inferred 86 15.7 0.65 15.14 0.61 7.4 0.16 0.01 0.31 0.02
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Mineral Resource Estimates for Steenkampskraal
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CLASS La2O3% Nd2O3% Pr6O11% Sm2O3% Tb4O7% Tm2O3% Yb2O3% Lu2O3% Er2O3%
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Indicated 4.88 4.11 1.2 0.65 0.05 0.01 0.03 0.003 0.07
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Inferred 3.47 2.94 0.84 0.46 0.04 0 0.02 0.002 0.05
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Mineral Resource Estimate of the Upper Tailings dam
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TONNES
SLIME CLASS (000) TREO% Y2O3% LREO% HREO% CeO2% Dy2O3% Eu2O3% Gd2O3%
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Upper Indicated 8.03 8.92 0.39 8.55 0.37 4.28 0.1 0.01 0.18
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Upper Inferred 1.16 7.15 0.33 6.84 0.31 3.44 0.09 0.005 0.15
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Mineral Resource Estimate of the Upper Tailings dam
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SLIME Ho2O3% La2O3% Nd2O3% Pr6O11% Sm2O3% Tb4O7% Tm2O3% Yb2O3% Lu2O3% Er2O3%
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Upper 0.01 1.93 1.64 0.45 0.25 0.022 0.003 0.012 0.001 0.03
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Upper 0.01 1.51 1.32 0.36 0.21 0.018 0.002 0.01 0.001 0.03
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Mineral Resource Estimate for the Lower Tailings dam
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TONNES
SLIME CLASS (000) TREO% Y2O3% LREO% HREO% CeO2% Dy2O3% Eu2O3% Gd2O3%
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Lower Indicated 28.56 8.37 0.39 8.01 0.36 3.95 0.1 0.01 0.18
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Mineral Resource Estimate for the Lower Tailings dam
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SLIME Ho2O3% La2O3% Nd2O3% Pr6O11% Sm2O3% Tb4O7% Tm2O3% Yb2O3% Lu2O3% Er2O3%
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Lower 0.01 1.81 1.56 0.45 0.25 0.02 0.003 0.003 0.001 0.03
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The database provided by Caracle Creek International Consulting (Pty) Limited ("CCIC") to Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Inc. ("Snowden") for the resource estimate of the in-situ mineralisation at Steenkampskraal consisted of 67 diamond drillhole samples, of which only 26 drillholes contains assay data, and 67 underground channel samples, of which only 35 contain assay data.
The database provided by CCIC for evaluation of the tailings dams comprised information from 151 drill samples.
The modelling and estimation method was:
-- The mineralised zone wireframe, representing the monazite zone, was
generated using the Leapfrog software package. The data was then
imported into Leapfrog from Datamine and the Vein modelling procedure
used to define contact surfaces at the Footwall/Lode and the Hanging
wall/Lode contacts.
-- Variograms were generated for each of the rare earth oxides ("REOs"),
Yttrium, Thorium and Uranium to assess the grade continuity and as
inputs for Ordinary Kriging.
-- Density values were estimated into the Steenkampskraal block model using
the Inverse Distance estimation method. A searches ellipse, set to the
range of the variograms was used.
-- The accumulations for the individual light REO and heavy REO, TREO,
Yttrium, Thorium and Uranium and sample length were estimated into the
block models using Ordinary Kriging.
GWMG President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Engdahl said, "We are extremely pleased to be able to deliver, as scheduled, a NI 43-101 resource estimate and technical report that achieves two vital goals for our Company. First, the report illustrates that the Steenkampskraal project is the high quality project that we believed it to be at the time we set out to acquire it. Steenkampskraal has been, and will continue to be, absolutely pivotal to the success of GWMG. Second, the report enables the release of funds from the Offering. With these funds in place, we are positioned to continue with the development of the Steenkampskraal operation including the exploratory drilling that we anticipate will further increase the resource base."
The NI 43-101 Report was prepared by Dr. John Hancox, Pr.Sci.Nat., of Caracle Creek International Consulting (Pty) Limited ("CCIC") of Johannesburg, South Africa. CCIC received assistance on the report from Snowden Mining Industry Consultants ("Snowden"), who undertook the mineral resource estimates for the main monazite deposit as well as the tailing dams within the Steenkampskraal project area. A Mineral Resource was estimated by Snowden under the supervision of Mr. Ivor Jones, Senior Principal Geologist and Group General Manager. The information in this release that relates to Mineral Resources as defined under NI 43-101 is based on information compiled by Mr. Ivor Jones and Dr. John Hancox.
Mr. Ivor Jones, (BSc. Hons), MSc, FAusIMM, CP Geo., is the Group General Manager of Geosciences with Snowden and contributed in producing the Mineral Resource estimate based upon the data provided by GWMG. Mr Jones has sufficient experience relevant to the type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 rules. Mr Jones consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears and confirms that this information is accurate and not false or misleading.
Dr. John Hancox, Pr.Sci.Nat., is a geological consultant and has provided geological interpretations and the drillhole and underground channel sampling database for the Mineral Resource estimation. Dr. Hancox has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 rules. Dr. Hancox consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears and confirms that this information is accurate and not false or misleading.
Gary Billingsley, C.A., P.Eng., P.Geo., Executive Chairman of GMWG, is the Qualified Person responsible for supervising the preparation of the contents of the exploration section of this news release.
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. is an integrated Rare Earths processor. Its specialty alloys are used in the battery, magnet and aerospace industries. Produced at the Company's wholly owned subsidiaries Less Common Metals Limited in Birkenhead, U.K. and Great Western Technologies Inc. in Troy, Michigan, these alloys contain aluminum, nickel, cobalt and Rare Earth Elements. As part of the Company's vertical integration strategy, GWMG also holds 100% equity ownership in Rare Earth Extraction Co. Limited, which owns a 74% equity interest in the Steenkampskraal Mine. In addition to an exploration program at Steenkampskraal, GWMG also holds interests in four active Rare Earth exploration and development properties in North America.
Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements (often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "expect", "may", "could", "anticipate" or "will" and similar expressions) may describe expectations, opinions or guidance that are not statements of fact and which may be based upon information provided by third parties. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions, expectations and estimates of management of GWMG as at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Those factors include, but are not limited to, the construction, commissioning and operation of the proposed monazite processing facility and separation facility, mine refurbishment activities, reliance on third parties to meet projected timelines, commencement of production at Steenkampskraal, risks related to the receipt of all required approvals including those relating to the commencement of production at the Steenkampskraal mine, delays in obtaining permits, licenses and operating authorities in South Africa and China, environmental matters, water and land use risks, risks associated with the industry in general, commodity prices and exchange rate changes, operational risks associated with exploration, development and production operations, delays or changes in plans, risks associated with the uncertainty of reserve or resource estimates, health and safety risks, uncertainty of operational estimates and projections of production, costs and expenses, risks that future Steenkampskraal and region exploration results may not meet exploration or corporate objectives, the adequacy of the Company's financial resources and the availability of additional cash from operations or from financing on reasonable terms or at all, political risks inherent in South Africa and China, risks associated with the relationship between GWMG and/or its subsidiaries and communities and governments in South Africa, radioactivity and related issues, dependence on one mineral project, loss of key personnel, the factors discussed in the Company's public disclosure record, and other factors that could cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated. In light of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking information. Although GWMG believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements set out in this press release or incorporated herein by reference are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Except as required by law, GWMG does not assume any obligation to update forward looking statements as set out in this news release. The forward-looking statements of GWMG contained in this News Release, or incorporated herein by reference, are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement and the risk factors contained in GWMG's current annual information form available at www.sedar.com
CUSIP: 39141Y 10 3
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Contacts:
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.
Dwight Percy
Manager of Investor Relations
(306) 659-4516
info@gwmg.ca
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.
219 Robin Crescent
Saskatoon, SK S7L 6M8
www.gwmg.ca
