MB Fluorspar Project Drilling Results

RNS Number : 4342X

Tertiary Minerals PLC

13 January 2014

 

www.tertiaryminerals.com

("the Company")

13 January 2014

Further Positive Results

 MB Project Phase 2 Drilling

Tertiary Minerals plc, the AIM traded company building a strategic position in the fluorspar sector, is pleased to release positive analytical results from a further four of the 22 holes drilled in Phase 2 of its first resource definition drill programme at the MB fluorspar project in Nevada USA.

Highlights:

v Southern Area:

Results from the three holes in this area show thick shallow mineralisation:

·     13TMBRC017:  56.39m grading 11.83% CaF₂ from 12.19m depth

·     13TMBRC020:  27.43m grading 12.91% CaF₂ from 1.52m depth

Mineralisation remains open in all directions and at depth.

v Central Area:

 Excellent result from first hole analysed in Phase 2.

13TMBRC026 - Multiple thick intersections increasing in grade down hole:

·     16.76m grading   8.78% CaF₂ from 56.39m depth

·     16.76m grading 10.29% CaF₂ from 82.30m depth

·     21.34m grading 11.97% CaF₂ from 129.54m depth

Hole ended in 4.57m Grading 13.95% from 146.30m - mineralisation open at depth.

Commenting on the results being released today Managing Director Richard Clemmey said: "The drill programme continues to generate exciting results with mineralisation still open in all directions and at depth. The first drill hole and new geological information from the Central Area are particularly encouraging. These results support the potential for a substantial Mineral Resource at the MB Project."

A map showing the location of the Company drill holes is available on the Company's website at http://www.tertiaryminerals.com/projects/fluorspar-projects/mb-fluorspar-nevada-usa and more detailed information and a complete tabulation of significant drilling results are given below.

ENQUIRIES:

For further information please contact:

Tertiary Minerals plc	Tel: [phone]
Patrick Cheetham, Executive Chairman
Richard Clemmey, Managing Director
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe	Tel: [phone]
Stewart Dickson/Julian Erleigh (Corporate Finance)
Jeremy Stephenson (Corporate Broking)
Beaufort Securities Limited	Tel: [phone]
Christopher Rourke (Corporate Finance)
Guy Wheatley (Corporate Broking)
Yellow Jersey PR Limited	Tel: [phone]
Dominic Barretto/Kelsey Traynor

Detailed Information

The analytical results being released today are for a further four holes drilled in Phase 2 of the Company's first resource definition drill programme completed in November 2013. Results from the first 13 holes were contained in a release made on 18 December 2013 which, together with the release dated 11 September 2013 provide background information on the drill programme and its objectives.

All holes were drilled vertically and reported drill-intersected thicknesses are believed to approximate true thicknesses of mineralisation. Drill samples were prepared by American Assay Laboratories in Nevada (ISO-17025 accredited) and fluorine analysis has been carried out by PANalytical  Ltd in the UK (UKAS accredited). ¹Significant drill results are shown in the accompanying table. For the purposes of this reporting "significant" is taken to be a minimum three metre drill intersected thickness above a 6% CaF₂ (fluorspar) cut-off. Values above a 10% cut off within these significant results are also shown in bold. Historical and the Company's previous drill results were reported on the same basis. All holes were systematically sampled at 5 foot intervals and results are reported in converted metric intervals.

Since the release of 18 December results have been received for three drill holes in the Southern Area and one hole in the Central Area.

Southern Area

The results being reported today are from drill holes 13TMBRC017, 19 & 20. Partial results from the first 29m of hole 17 were included in 18 December release and the full results now available are reported in this release.

The new results show more thick intervals of fluorspar mineralisation from surface or near surface and to the maximum depth tested at 125m from surface and confirm that mineralisation has not been closed off in any direction or at depth in this area.

Central Area

The result from the first Phase 2 Central Area drill hole to be analysed, 13TMBRC026, is very positive.  Fluorspar mineralisation is continuous throughout the hole with multiple thick intersections from 37m to the base of the hole at 151m depth. The fluorspar mineralisation is trending to a higher grade at depth in this hole and the hole ends in strong fluorspar mineralisation.

Hole 13TMBRC026 is located 500m from the fluorspar mineralised twin RC/Diamond hole drilled in Phase 1 in the Central Area and 350m north of the nearest hole on the northern end of the Southern Area grid which also intersected significant mineralisation.

Results are currently awaited for 4 holes in the Central Area (13TMBRC021-25) and 2 holes in the Southern Area (13TMBRC18 and 21).

Whilst the Company has moved quickly to focus its drilling in certain parts of the MB mineralised system where shallow historical drilling suggests the potential to define areas where initial open-pit production might be possible, the MB mineralised system is a very large one with an unknown depth extent. Systematic, but still relatively wide spaced (80-100m) drilling has now been carried out in the Southern Area and the Company's limited drilling in the Central Area is on a wide 200-300m spacing. Most historical drilling in the system was very shallow and the Company's drilling is still relatively shallow at not more than 150m deep.

Consequently there is an exciting potential for the large MB system to host mineralisation outside of the areas drilled or deeper below the drilled areas where the majority of holes reported so far end in mineralisation.  

In this context the Company is able to report further information of geological and exploration significance. The higher grade mineralisation 13TMBRC026 in the Central Area, from 113m to the end of the hole, occurs in a type of skarn which has not been found in any of the holes so far analysed by the Company. It is a quartz-veined garnet-rich skarn which, if applying conventional geological models, might be expected to result from higher temperature alteration of the host limestone closer to the source of mineralisation. Consequently this hole may provide a vector to potentially high grade mineralisation proximal to an expected but buried granite source. This is an exciting target for future drilling.

Foot Notes

¹Significant, as applied to a cut-off grade for reporting drill result, does not imply an economic cut off. An economic cut-off will depend on many factors and will not be determined until feasibility studies, if warranted, are carried out.

The information in this release has been compiled and reviewed by Mr. Patrick Cheetham (MIMMM, MAusIMM) who is a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009. Mr Cheetham is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and also a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy.

Cautionary Note: Traditional analytical methods measure fluorine content and fluorite (CaF_{2 -} fluorspar) contents are calculated on the assumption that all fluorine is present as fluorite. Metallurgical testwork reviewed by the Company suggest this is likely although small amounts of fluorine can occur in mica and other minerals commonly present in skarn mineralised systems.

Notes to Editors

Tertiary Minerals plc (ticker symbol 'TYM') is an AIM-quoted mineral exploration and development company building a significant strategic position in the fluorspar sector. Fluorspar is an essential raw material in the chemical, steel and aluminium industries. Tertiary controls two significant Scandinavian projects (Storuman in Sweden and Lassedalen in Norway) and, now, a large deposit of strategic significance in Nevada USA (MB Project).

Table of further significant drill result from Phase 2 drilling at MB Fluorspar Project

18 Dec. 2013 to 13 Jan. 2014

Drill Hole Number		Down Hole Thickness (m)	Grade Fluorspar CaF2 (%)	From (m)	To  (m)	Hole Depth (m)	Comment
13TMBRC017		56.39	11.83%	12.19	68.58	124.97	Hole ended in mineralisation
	inc.	32.00	13.52%	15.24	47.24
	inc.	13.72	11.03%	50.29	64.01
	and	3.05	6.51%	118.87	121.92
13TMBRC019		3.05	7.80%	7.62	10.67	124.97
	and	15.24	9.56%	18.29	33.53
	inc.	9.14	10.69%	22.86	32.00
13TMBRC020		27.43	12.91%	1.52	28.96	124.97	Hole ended in mineralisation
	and	44.20	9.51%	76.20	120.40
	inc.	3.05	10.59%	88.39	91.44
	Inc.	12.19	11.18%	96.01	108.20
13TMBRC026		9.14	8.26%	36.58	45.72	150.88	Significant mineralisation at EOH
	inc.	3.05	10.53%	41.15	44.20
	and	16.76	8.78%	56.39	73.15
	inc.	6.10	10.46%	60.96	67.06
	and	16.76	10.29%	82.30	99.06
	inc.	3.05	16.47%	82.30	85.34
	inc.	3.05	13.93%	91.44	94.49
	and	3.05	10.02%	105.15	108.20
	and	12.19	9.58%	112.78	124.97
	inc.	3.05	12.41%	118.87	121.92
	and	21.34	11.97%	129.54	150.88
	inc.	4.57	12.17%	129.54	134.11
	inc.	3.05	17.00%	137.16	140.21
	inc.	4.57	13.95%	146.30	150.88
All holes drilled vertically.
*Significant Mineralisation to EOH:  means reported interval extends to end of hole or hole ended in mineralisation grading in excess of cut-off.
Hole ended in mineralisation: means lower grade mineralisation extends to end of hole.

 

END

 

 

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