Search Minerals Inc. (TSXV: SMY)
(“
Search” or the “
Company”) is
pleased to report assay results from
SILVER FOX,
its fourth major mineralized zone in its Port Hope Simpson – St.
Lewis Critical Rare Earth Element (“CREE”) District.
Trenching/channelling (4 new channels in 2019), and
mapping/prospecting indicate that the surface expression of this
mineralized zone is up to 8.8m wide and 650m long. This surface
expression is significantly longer, but thinner, than the surface
expressions of the nearby and related
FOXTROT and
DEEP FOX Resources. The mineralization is
similarly hosted by peralkaline volcanic rocks and contains
slightly lower grades of the REE magnet materials (Nd, Pr, Tb and
Dy) but significantly higher grades of Zr and Hf.
HIGHLIGHTS - SILVER FOX MINERALIZED
ZONE
- SILVER FOX (all
true widths) exhibits high grade Zr (Hf, Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb)
mineralization ranging from 3.63 to 8.83m wide over 650m strike
length;
- Channel assay highlights (all true
widths):• FSC-19-04: 26,389 ppm Zr, 110 ppm Dy, 1494 ppm Nd, 409
ppm Pr, over 7.14m;• FSC-18-01: 28,965 ppm Zr, 96.7 ppm Dy,
1249 ppm Nd, 348 ppm Pr over 6.49m;• FSC-12-02: 25,466 ppm Zr,
89.1 ppm Dy, 1281 ppm Nd, 348 ppm Pr over 8.83m;
- SILVER FOX
contains Zr (Hf) values much higher than any other CREE resource
(FOXTROT and DEEP FOX) or
mineralized zone (FOX MEADOW) in SE Labrador.
Greg Andrews, President/CEO states; “These
results are very encouraging and support the vision of multiple
deposits of High Grade CREEs in our CREE district. Silver Fox is
uniquely positioned with significant grades of Zirconium and
Hafnium, but somewhat lower values of the rare earth
elements. We will evaluate methods to recover a
Zirconium/Hafnium product from the SILVER FOX
prospect and to our current flowsheet processing of the
FOXTROT and DEEP FOX
material.”
Dr. David Dreisinger comments: “The objective of
metallurgical testing of the SILVER FOX (and other
deposits) will be to recover a high grade zirconium by-product for
sale with minimal processing cost and complexity. Search is
engaged with our technology advisor, SGS Canada, to identify
process flowsheet options.”
The 2019 channelling program at SILVER
FOX (totalling 26.89m) consisted of four channels.
One new channel through the mineralized zone and adding an
extension to a previously cut channel; two other channels did not
sample high Zr mineralization. Two of the new channels occur in
areas with significant overburden; a mini-excavator with a
backhoe-like bucket was used to expose bedrock in these
channels.
Table 1 outlines assay highlights from the 2019
channelling program and channels from the 2012 and 2018 channelling
programs at SILVER FOX. These channels outline a
mineralized zone with a surface expression of at least 650m strike
length and up to 8.83m wide.
SILVER FOX contains very high
values of zirconium and hafnium (Table 1), being amongst the
highest found in the Port Hope Simpson – St. Lewis Critical CREE
District (see Search Minerals new releases: May 26, 2011, April 27,
2012, October 30, 2013, October 15, 2015). The recent results from
FOX MEADOW (see Search Minerals new release: April
6, 2020) reflect the range of Zr values, 9,733 – 17,807 ppm Zr,
observed throughout most of the CREE district, with the exception
of SILVER FOX (25,466 – 29,058 ppm Zr; Table 1).
Preliminary mineral identifications indicate that most of the Zr
occurs in the mineral zircon in these rocks. The company is
currently exploring the potential/possibility of producing and
marketing a zircon concentrate, in addition to a mixed REE
concentrate, from the mineralized peralkaline rocks in the Port
Hope Simpson – St. Lewis CREE District.
The SILVER FOX mineralized zone
is thinner than both the DEEP FOX and
FOXTROT mineralized resources, which are up to 40m
thick; however, it is much longer (at least 650m long) than these
zones (about 350-450m long). The surface expression of the
FOX MEADOW mineralized zone is greater than that
of DEEP FOX and FOXTROT
combined.
Exploration plans for 2020 at SILVER
FOX include additional channels to infill between current
channels and to test the limits of the mineralized zone to the east
and west.
The SILVER FOX prospect occurs
about 12 km west of St. Lewis and about 2 km west of
FOXTROT; access is from an all-season gravelled
highway.
TABLE 1. WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF MINERALIZED INTERVALS AT
SILVER FOX Zr-REE PROSPECT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FSC12-03 |
FSC12-02 |
FSC19-04 |
FSC-19-01 |
FSC18-01 |
FSC12-04 |
From (m) |
5.14 |
1.72 |
2.20 |
0.00 |
0.14 |
0.00 |
To (m) |
11.35 |
10.55 |
9.34 |
3.63 |
6.63 |
4.60 |
Length (m) |
6.21 |
8.83 |
7.14 |
3.63 |
6.49 |
4.60 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y (ppm) |
488 |
446 |
556 |
533 |
489 |
566 |
Zr (ppm) |
27,268 |
25,466 |
26,389 |
29,058 |
28,966 |
28,534 |
Nb (ppm) |
244 |
216 |
291 |
285 |
271 |
271 |
Hf (ppm) |
646 |
599 |
663 |
826 |
702 |
676 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
La (ppm) |
1,949 |
1,807 |
2,081 |
1,951 |
1,758 |
1,975 |
Ce (ppm) |
3,350 |
3,105 |
3,542 |
3,511 |
3,091 |
3,471 |
Pr (ppm) |
375 |
348 |
409 |
382 |
348 |
384 |
Nd (ppm) |
1,397 |
1,281 |
1,494 |
1,412 |
1,249 |
1,434 |
Sm (ppm) |
229 |
211 |
250 |
232 |
206 |
234 |
Eu (ppm) |
6.4 |
5.9 |
7.3 |
6.8 |
6.2 |
7.2 |
Gd (ppm) |
161 |
151 |
182 |
179 |
150 |
167 |
Tb (ppm) |
18.6 |
17.6 |
21.9 |
22.4 |
18.3 |
21.0 |
Dy (ppm) |
95.9 |
89.1 |
110 |
110 |
96.7 |
110 |
Ho (ppm) |
16.5 |
15.2 |
19.1 |
19.4 |
17.0 |
19.2 |
Er (ppm) |
45.3 |
41.9 |
52.9 |
52.4 |
47.0 |
53.1 |
Tm (ppm) |
6.2 |
5.7 |
7.3 |
7.1 |
6.5 |
7.3 |
Yb (ppm) |
38.3 |
35.8 |
46.1 |
47.7 |
42.3 |
47.2 |
Lu (ppm) |
6.0 |
5.6 |
7.0 |
7.4 |
6.5 |
7.4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LREE |
7,300 |
6,751 |
7,776 |
7,488 |
6,652 |
7,497 |
HREE |
394 |
368 |
454 |
452 |
390 |
439 |
HREE + Y |
882 |
814 |
1,010 |
985 |
879 |
1,005 |
TREE |
7,694 |
7,119 |
8,230 |
7,940 |
7,042 |
7,936 |
TREE + Y |
8,182 |
7,565 |
8,785 |
8,472 |
7,531 |
8,503 |
% TREE |
0.77% |
0.71% |
0.82% |
0.79% |
0.70% |
0.79% |
% TREE + Y |
0.82% |
0.76% |
0.88% |
0.85% |
0.75% |
0.85% |
% HREE |
5.12% |
5.17% |
5.51% |
5.69% |
5.54% |
5.53% |
% HREE + Y |
10.8% |
10.8% |
11.5% |
11.6% |
11.7% |
11.8% |
Mag REE |
1,887 |
1,736 |
2,035 |
1,926 |
1,711 |
1,949 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: |
All amounts parts per million (ppm). 10,000
ppm = 1% = 10 kg/tonne |
|
REE |
Rare Earth Elements: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy,
Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu (Lanthanide Series). |
TREE |
Total Rare Earth Elements: Add La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd,
Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu. |
LREE |
Light Rare Earth Elements: Add La, Ce, Pr, Nd,
Sm. |
HREE |
Heavy Rare Earth Elements: Add Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm,
Yb, Lu. |
Y |
Y
not included in HREE due to relatively low value compared to most
Lanthanide series HREE. |
%HREE+Y |
%(HREE+Y)/( TREE+Y) |
%HREE |
%(
HREE/ TREE) |
Mag REE |
Sum of Pr, Nd, Tb and Dy (used in REE
magnets) |
|
|
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
(QA/QC):
Channel samples, 10cm deep and 8cm wide, are cut
by gas-powered diamond saw from cleaned outcrops to provide samples
for assay and logging/reference. Each channel is cut into two
vertical sections, similar to drill core, with a 6 cm thick section
(weathering removed) being sent out for assay to Activation
Laboratories Ltd. A 2 cm thick section is stored in channel boxes
for reference and to provide due diligence/verification samples.
The channels are cut perpendicular to strike, pieced together,
logged and photographed to produce geological and geochemical
sections. These channel samples, or horizontal drill holes, produce
the same data as vertical diamond drill holes, except the data is
from horizontal geological sections and the collected sample is 6
to 8 times bigger than NQ drill core. Additional 8 cm wide cuts
from a channel interval make excellent preliminary metallurgical
samples (1m of channel yields about 30kg of sample).
Lithogeochemistry samples, all from bedrock, are
collected by Company personnel, bagged and described. Reference
samples are also collected for each grab, lithogeochemistry and
channel sample. The samples are shipped to Activation Laboratories
Ltd. (ActLabs) sample prep facility in Ancaster, Ontario, where
they are crushed to 80% -10 mesh and riffled to produce a
representative sample. This sample is then pulverized to 95% -200
mesh with the pulverizing mills being cleaned between each sample
with cleaning sand. A representative sample is treated by a lithium
metaborate/tetraborate fusion and then analyzed by ICP and ICP/MS
techniques. Mass balance is required as an additional quality
control technique and elemental totals of the oxides should be
between 98% and 101%. For QA/QC purposes Search requires pulp and
coarse reject duplicates every 20 samples and two Search
reproducibility standards every 40 samples. ActLabs analyzes
duplicates and splits approximately every 15 samples and also
analyses 29 measured standards for QA/QC. To further enhance our
QA/QC procedures Search has a program of checking analytical
results with other labs to confirm the ActLabs results. ActLabs is
a ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory.
Qualified Person:
Dr. Randy Miller, Ph.D., P.Geo, is the Company's
Vice President, Exploration, and Qualified Person (as defined by
National Instrument 43-101) who has supervised the preparation of
and approved the technical information reported herein. The company
will endeavour to meet high standards of integrity, transparency,
and consistency in reporting technical content, including
geological and assay (e.g., REE) data.
About Search Minerals Inc.
Led by a proven management team and board of
directors, Search is focused on finding and developing resources
within the emerging Critical Rare Earth Element (“CREE”) District
of South East Labrador. The Company controls a belt 63 km long and
2 km wide including its 100% interest in the
FOXTROT and DEEP FOX Projects,
which are road accessible and at tidewater. Exploration efforts
have advanced FOX MEADOW and SILVER
FOX as new CREE prospects very similar to and in close
proximity to FOXTROT and DEEP
FOX. The FOXTROT Project has a capital
cost to bring the initial project into production ($152 M), a short
payback period and is scalable due to Search’s proprietary
processing technology.
For further information, please
contact:
Greg AndrewsPresident and CEOTel:
604-998-3432E-mail: info@searchminerals.ca
Neither the 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.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
“Forward-Looking” Statements:
This news release includes certain
“forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements”
(collectively “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of
applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation
including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical
fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating the
future operating or financial performance of the Company, are
forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are frequently, but
not always, identified by words such as “expects”, “anticipates”,
“believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “potential”, “possible”, and
similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or
results “will”, “may”, “could”, or “should” occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to, among
other things, technical results from the Company’s drilling program
and closing of the Offering. Actual future results may differ
materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and
projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon
a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered
reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to
significant business, economic, competitive, political and social
uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and
unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to
be materially different from the results, performance or
achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions
and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such
factors include, without limitation, the risk that the Company is
not able to find suitable investors for the Offering or does not
receive the approval of TSX Venture Exchange. Readers should not
place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and
information contained in this news release concerning these times.
Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any
obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs,
opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change.
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