Laurion Terminates Amended Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Mining for the Bell Mountain Project
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 2, 2015) - Laurion Mineral Exploration Inc. (TSXV: LME) (OTCPINK: LMEFF) ("Laurion" or the "Company") announced today that it has terminated, for non-payment by Lincoln Mining Corp. ("Lincoln"), the purchase and sale agreement dated November 28, 2012, as amended (the "Purchase Agreement") and announced in a press release dated September 9, 2014. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, Lincoln was to pay Laurion a cash purchase price of $2,350,000 according to a prescribed payment schedule as consideration for the acquisition of certain mining claims, and an option to earn a 100% interest in the Bell Mountain property located in Churchill County, Nevada ("Bell Mountain Project"). As of December 31, 2014, the outstanding payments and obligations on the Bell Mountain Property total approximately $1.1 million.
Laurion will immediately enforce a quit claim deed and assignment and assumption agreement in its favour in order to re-convey to Laurion the Bell Mountain Project. Laurion had originally acquired the option to earn a 100% interest in the Bell Mountain Project from Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. ("Globex") on June 28, 2010. In that regard, Laurion and Lincoln have each completed NI 43-101 Technical Reports, numerous drill programs, metallurgical testwork and baseline studies for the Environmental Assessment permit.
Following its original strategy, Laurion is currently marketing to sell the Bell Mountain Project to a suitable purchaser to meet remaining obligations on the property and to continue its focus on the Ishkoday property in Ontario. To date, Lincoln has incurred approximately $1.6 million of the cash purchase price of $2.35 million and $1.4 million of the $1.75 million requirement in exploration expenditures.
Summary of the Bell Mountain Project
The Bell Mountain Project is an advanced-stage project with near term potential for open pit, heap leach gold and silver production. The Project is located southeast of Reno, Nevada in the Fairview mining district, approximately 54 miles (86 kilometers) from Fallon, Nevada. The property consists of 174 unpatented lode claims covering a land package of 1,408 hectares (3,480 acres). In addition, there are six mill site claims that cover an existing water well.
The Bell Mountain is located within the Walker Lane Mineral Trend, which is a major NW-SE trending complex fault system related to major precious metal deposits at Goldfield, Tonopah, Rawhide and Paradise Peak, among others. The Rawhide mine, which produced over 2 million ounces of gold in the 1980-1990's, lies 20 miles (32 km) to the southwest and the Paradise Peak mine, that produced over 2 million ounces of gold in the 1980's, lies 35 miles (56 km) to the southeast.
The Bell Mountain project is located in the Basin and Range physiographic province and within the Walker Lane Mineral Trend. The gold-silver mineralization at Bell Mountain consists of epithermal gold-silver mineralization which is hosted by quartz calcite-adularia veins and hydrothermal breccias associated with pervasive silicification. The principal host rocks for the gold-silver mineralization are a monotonous sequence of stratified rhyolitic ashflow tuffs that occur within the Tertiary age Bell Mountain Caldera. To date, three main bodies of gold-silver mineralization have been defined by drilling. These are the Spurr, Varga and the Sphinx deposits. The primary structural control on the gold-silver mineralization is an east-northeast trending zone of faulting, named the Varga-Spurr fault, which can be traced for more than 6,000 ft. (1.8 km). Additional vein potential exists on the eastern portion of the project at East Ridge, which is 5,250 ft. (1.6 km.) northeast of the Spurr, Varga and the Sphinx deposits.
The Bell Mountain database contains 227 drill holes for over 35,000 ft. of drilling with 8,727 assays. The table below is a resource estimate for the Bell Mountain property as disclosed in the Amended and Restated NI 43-101 Technical Report, prepared by Telesto Nevada, Inc., for Lincoln Mining and filed on December 2, 2014:
| *Resource Category | *Tonnage Tonnes (000s) | *Average Gold Grade (g/Tonne) | *Gold (grams) | *Gold (ozs) | *Average Silver Grade (g/Tonne) | *Silver (grams) | *Silver (ozs) | *Total Equiv. Gold (ozs) |
| Measured | 5,952 | 0.531 | 3,158,063 | 101,534 | 16.62 | 98,913,080 | 3,180,127 | 159,355 |
| Indicated | 3,810 | 0.518 | 1,974,575 | 63,484 | 19.22 | 73,210,796 | 2,353,780 | 106,280 |
| Total Measured & Indicated | 9,761 | 0.526 | 5,132,638 | 165,018 | 17.63 | 172,123,876 | 5,533,907 | 265,635 |
| Inferred | 2,046 | 0.449 | 919,108 | 29,550 | 13.26 | 27,135,036 | 872,411 | 45,412 |
| * Cutoff grade 0.192 g/t Au. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrative economic viability. | ||||||||
The plan is to mine the Bell Mountain Project utilizing open pit and heap leach methods. Significant exploration potential exists beyond current resources including East Ridge.
Environmental studies for the purposes of permitting have commenced and the base line studies in the Bell Mountain Property have been completed.
Metallurgical work to date indicates optimal recoveries of 80% for gold and 51% for silver.
The Bell Mountain Property is subject to two existing royalties which would take effect on the commencement of production. The first is held by N.A. Degerstrom Inc. which retains a 2% net smelter return royalty that can be acquired for US$167,000. In addition, pursuant to the Agreement, Globex Mining Enterprises ("Globex") will maintain a 2% to 3% sliding scale Gross Metal Royalty ("GMR") based upon the price of gold.
The technical information contained in this news release has been verified by Alan Sexton P.Geo., M.Sc. and consulting geologist with GeoVector Management Inc. Mr. Alan Sexton is a Qualified Person as defined in "National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties".
About Laurion
Laurion's Ishkoday Discovery Property is contained within a 100% owned 4,442ha property package, located 220 km northeast of Thunder Bay with easy access off the Trans-Canada Highway.
Laurion is focused on unlocking the value of the Ishkoday gold and base metal environment hosted within three base metal trends, 3,000m each in strike length, in a 1km wide corridor. Laurion is expanding on a legacy of gold production from the Ishkoday shaft which is hosted in a significant gold environment.
Laurion's balanced and diversified management team is results driven and has achieved a decade of growth through asset monetization. Laurion's management objective is to advance the Ishkoday Discovery Property from discovery to value creation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Laurion Mineral Exploration Inc.
Cynthia Le Sueur-Aquin - President
Tel: 1-705-788-9186
Fax: 1-705-788-9187
Website: www.laurion.ca
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements concerning the future performance of Laurion's business, operations and condition, as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, competitive risks and the availability of financing. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and Laurion cautions against placing undue reliance thereon. Laurion and its management assume no obligation to revise or update these forward looking statements except as required by law.
