Passport Potash Announces Mineral Resource Update, Adding Measured Resource With an Increase in Indicated Resource of 101.30%
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 09/27/12 -- Passport Potash Inc. (TSX VENTURE: PPI)(OTCQX: PPRTF) ("Passport" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the receipt of an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate, effective date September 7, 2012, for its Holbrook Basin property in Northern Arizona. The report was completed by ERCOSPLAN Ingenieurgesellschaft Geotechnik und Bergbau mbH ("ERCOSPLAN"), a consulting and engineering firm, specialized in the potash and salt industry, headquartered in Erfurt, Germany.
The updated resource estimate includes Measured and Indicated Resources and totals 278.3 million tonnes of mineralized material with an average grade of 14.89% (equivalent to a Resource of 41.48 million tonnes of KCl). For the Indicated category, 252.87 million tonnes of mineralized material with an average KCl grade of 14.93% (equivalent to an Indicated Resource of 37.79 million tonnes of KCl) have been estimated. For the Measured category, 25.43 million tonnes of mineralized material with an average KCl grade of 14.5% (equivalent to a Measured Resource of 3.69 million tonnes of KCl) have been estimated.
The inferred resource consists of 673.84 million tonnes with an average KCl grade of 12.96% (equivalent to an Inferred Resource of 87.29 million tonnes of KCl).
The updated resource report covers approximately 37% of Passport's land holdings.
Measured Resource occurs within a radius of 300m of an investigated drill hole, Indicated Resource occurs within a 1000m of an investigated drill hole minus any measured resource in this area, and Inferred Resource occurs within 2000m of an investigated drill hole minus any measured and indicated resource in this area.
A summary of the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource included in the updated report are presented in Table 1. A summary of the Inferred Mineral Resource included in the updated report is presented in Table 2:
Table 1
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Average
Horizon Grade Mass of KCl
Area Thickness KCl Mineralized Mass
Material
(km2) (metres) (%) (MMT) (MMT)
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Measured Resource 4.42 3.26 14.50 25.43 3.69
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Indicated Resource 45.16 3.18 14.93 252.97 37.79
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Totals 49.58 14.89 278.40 41.48
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Table 2
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Average
Horizon Grade Mass of KCl
Area Thickness KCl Mineralized Mass
Material
(km2) (metres) (%) (MMT) (MMT)
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Inferred Resource 132.97 3.02 12.96 673.84 87.29
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The updated resource estimates are based upon data received from 78 historical drill holes and 69 recent drill holes. The upper and lower boundaries of the potash-bearing horizon were defined by a 5% K2O limit.
The mineral resources reported here represent significant expansions in tonnage compared with the previous Mineral Resource report filed in March of 2012 ("March 2012 Report").
- Measured Resource: the March 2012 Report did not include Measured Resource.
- Indicated Resource: expanded by 101.30%
- Inferred Resource: expanded by 14.57%
ERCOSPLAN has opined that the Passport Property contains sufficient resources to justify further expenditures of funds to expand the resource and to continue work on the forthcoming preliminary economic assessment, as well as beginning work on feasibility studies.
Passport's President and CEO Joshua Bleak commented, "This is a great report and truly shows the potential of the potash resource in the Holbrook Basin. The updated resource estimate still covers only 37% of our properties. We are excited about moving this project forward. We have done a lot of exploration work to define this resource and will continue our exploration program based on the advice of our potash experts. We remain as committed to this project as we were when we began exploration in 2009."
About the Holbrook Potash Project
Passport Potash Inc. is a TSX-listed resource company engaged in the exploration and development of advanced potash properties. Passport has acquired a strategic position in the Holbrook Basin with land holdings encompassing over 122,000 acres. For more information regarding the Holbrook Basin, please visit our website at www.passportpotash.com.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
The standard operating and quality assurance procedures followed by Passport Potash employees have been instituted to make sure that all sampling techniques and results meet international reporting standards. Coring starts when the first significant gypsum interval (Upper Supai Formation) is intersected. Information about the drill holes and the on-site core descriptions are conducted according to international standards (depth intervals, recovery %, lithology, structure, alteration, rock type, weathered profile, sample intervals, remarks). Onsite field geologists collect the cuttings, bag and label them and place a small sub-sample into a chip tray for further treatment. Directly after being retrieved the cores are measured, cleaned, filed logged, packed in plastic poly sheeting and placed into sequentially numbered and labeled core boxes. Material is temporarily stored prior to transfer to the core facility in Apache Junction, Arizona, where significant intervals are dry cut in half. Half core samples are then bagged and carefully packed into boxes and shipped to the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon.
Passport is utilizing SRC's Potash ICP Analysis package designed for multi-element analysis of potash samples. SRC includes blanks, duplicates and their internal potash 003/004 standards in the analysis. SRC's analytical procedures have been more fully detailed in the NI 43-101 Technical Report, dated 30 March 2012, prepared for Passport Potash by ERCOSPLAN Ingenieurgesellschaft Geotechnik un Bergbau mbH. SRC is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 certified facility.
Tim Henneberry, P.Geo., Advisor, and a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.
Dr. Henry Rauche and Dr. Sebastiaan van der Klauw serve as the Principal Author and Co-Author of the Updated Technical Report and as the Qualified Persons for the updated estimate.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
PASSPORT POTASH INC.
Joshua Bleak, President
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, including the likelihood of commercial mining and possible future financings are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include unsuccessful exploration results, changes in metals prices, changes in the availability of funding for mineral exploration, unanticipated changes in key management personnel and general economic conditions. Mining is an inherently risky business. Accordingly the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company and the risks and challenges of its business, investors should review the Company's annual filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
Neither 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.
Contacts:
Passport Potash Inc.
Peter J. Kletas
Investor Relations
866-999-6251-Toll Free
peter@passportpotash.com
Passport Potash Inc.
Clive Mostert
Corporate Communications
780-920-5044
cmostert@passportpotash.com
www.passportpotash.com
