Shallow drill results extend Palokas prospect to 1.2 km strike length in Finland

VANCOUVER, Dec. 16, 2014 /CNW/ - Mawson Resources Limited ("Mawson") or (the "Company") (TSX:MAW) (Frankfurt:MXR) (PINKSHEETS: MWSNF) announces results from an additional 14 shallow drill holes completed with the low impact hand-portable drill rig south of the Palokas prospect at the Rompas-Rajapalot gold project in Arctic Finland.

Key Points:

• Highlighted intersections include:
  • 3.9m @ 3.2 g/t gold from 23.0 metres in hole PRAJ0076;
  • 3.4m @ 2.0 g/t gold from 14.0 metres in hole PRAJ0080;
  • 3.0m @ 1.4 g/t gold from 35.9 metres in hole PRAJ0080;
• New intercepts extend drilled gold mineralization over 1.2 kilometres from Palokas – a fourfold increase in strike of 300 metres previously reported in Mawson Press Release October 07, 2014.
• Across strike width of mineralization increased up to 120 metres, suggesting possible multiple horizons across strike (previous drilled thickness was 20 metres true width at Palokas).
• All discoveries are blind, covered by 2-5 metre thick glacial till deposits, and are open along strike and at depth.
• Drill results are coincident with and immediately up-dip of extensive VTEM geophysical conductors, strong and consistent IP chargeability anomalies and gold in glacial boulder trains that make up a 4 kilometre by 2.5 kilometre target area;
• The bulk weighted average of geochemical data show consistently low grade uranium within all intervals greater than 0.5 g/t gold with averages of 2.9 g/t gold and 26 ppm uranium for drillholes PRAJ0070-PRAJ0096.
• Due to permitting drilling is limited to near surface, with the average depth of drilling being 29.5 metres in this autumn/winter program;
• Drilling continues with a further 8 holes drilled delivered to the laboratory for assay.

Mr Michael Hudson, President & CEO states, "New near surface drill results using our own low-impact drill rig have significantly expanded the footprint of the Palokas mineralizing system in both strike (1.2 kilometres) and width (120 metres). A large and complex hydrothermal overprint of the metamorphosed rocks in the Rajapalot area is now recognized. At present, the Palokas Prospect (see Mawson Press Releases October 03, 2013, October 16, 2013 and January 20, 2014) remains the strongest near surface mineralization along the trend, and near-surface testing with the hand portable drill rig has revealed a considerable strike length of similar alteration, with lower but consistent gold grades over a much larger area."

Figure 1 shows a plan location map of all drill results.  Drill hole coordinates and best intersections are shown in Tables 1 and 2.  Sulphides, in particular pyrrhotite, are a key part of the mineralized rock package at Palokas and are hosted within a distinctive assemblage of skarnoid silicate minerals. Pyrrhotite produces a strong induced polarization ("IP") response. Gradient array IP surveys show approximate positions of near-surface sulphide enrichment, without depth information. A single pole-dipole IP line at the Palokas Prospect indicates likely continuation to more than 150 metre depth of the sulphide-bearing rocks, while a VTEM electromagnetic survey modelled conductors spatially associated with the mineralized zone to more than 400 metres depth. Hole PRAJ0080 finished in mineralization and visible gold was observed in a pyrrhotite-rich zone in PRAJ0076 at 24.2 metres depth.

Drill testing has been conducted in an area almost completely covered in glacial till and was performed with a Company-owned and operated, hand-portable, low impact rig, through 2-5 metres of glacial till overburden in the vicinity of gold bearing glacial boulders and subcrop that make up a 4 kilometre by 2.5 kilometre target area. A total of 33 holes have been drilled to date in the 2014 autumn/winter program.  Drilling continues.  Twenty-one holes with assays have now reported and 4 holes did not reach through the till cover to basement.  The true thickness of the mineralized interval is interpreted to be approximately 80% of the sampled thickness.

The Company awaits final permits to deep drill test below 30 metres vertical depth to allow proper rigorous and systematic delineation of the gold-bearing system (see Mawson Press Release July 02, 2014).  The administrative court hearing process against one appeal by an environmental NGO group started in late July 2014 and could take up to 14 months to hear given the back log through the Northern Finland Administrative Court.  This is a long time delay and a normal part of the Finnish administrative permitting system.

In other news, the Company anticipates a decision on or about December 19, 2014 from the Kemi-Tornio District Court case regarding the Company's hand dug trenches completed during 2010/2011.

About Mawson Resources Limited (TSX:MAW, FRANKFURT:MXR, PINKSHEETS:MWSNF)

Mawson Resources Ltd. is an exploration and development company. Mawson has distinguished itself as a leading Nordic Arctic exploration company with a focus on the flagship Rompas and Rajapalot gold projects in Finland.

Technical Background

The core sampling was undertaken by Mawson Staff who provided EW (25.2 mm) diameter core. Core recoveries were excellent and average close to 100% in fresh rock. After photographing and logging, core intervals averaging 1 metre in length were cut in half at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) core facilities in Rovaniemi, Finland. These half-core one metre samples weigh less than 0.7 kilograms. The remaining half core is retained on site for verification and reference purposes. Analytical samples were transported either commercial transport, or by Mawson personnel from site to ALS Chemex Ltd's laboratory in Piteå, Sweden. Samples were prepared at Piteå and sent to ALS Chemex Ltd's laboratory in Vancouver, Canada to be analyzed by Au-ICP21, GRA-21, ME-MS41u and ME-MS61u techniques. The QA/QC program of Mawson consists of the systematic insertion of certified standards of known gold content, with blanks at the beginning of each batch. In addition, ALS Chemex inserts a number of blanks and standards into the analytical process.

The qualified person for Mawson's Finnish projects, Mr Michael Hudson, President & CEO for Mawson and Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining Metallurgy has reviewed and verified the contents of this release.

On behalf of the Board,

"Michael Hudson"                  
Michael Hudson, President & CEO

Forward Looking Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements").  All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding anticipated exploration activities and the intended financing are forward-looking statements. Although Mawson believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.  Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Mawson cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, capital and other costs varying significantly from estimates, equipment failure, unexpected geological conditions, permitting, operational delays, environmental and safety risks, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Mawson's most recent Annual Information Form filed on www.sedar.com.  Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Mawson disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.

Table 1: Collar Information from the hand portable, low impact drill rig from the Palokas Prospect, Rajapalot, Finland.

Table 2: Assay data from the hand portable, low impact drill rig from the Palokas Prospect, Rajapalot, Finland.

A lower cut of 0.5 g/t over 1 metre was applied.  Average hole depth was 29.5 metres.

SOURCE Mawson Resources Ltd.