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Wealth Minerals Ltd. (the "Company" or
"Wealth") (TSX VENTURE:WML - News; FRANKFURT:EJZ - News) is pleased to announce
that it has acquired an additional approx. 6,000 hectares of ground with good
to excellent rare earth exploration potential, surrounding and subjacent to,
the Company's Rodeo de los Molles
("Rodeo") rare earth deposit, the largest undeveloped Rare Earth
Element (REE) project in South America with an historical resource of 5.6Mt
at 2.1% total rare element oxide.
"Following China's recently announced REE
export quota cutback, the second cut in concurrent years, we are extremely
pleased to have secured a large, unexplored land package in a region that is
known to host very significant rare earth element concentrations,"
stated Henk van Alphen, Wealth's President and CEO.
"Our expert technical team believes the district has excellent potential
to host additional discoveries and we are very confident that the aggressive
exploration program currently underway on the Rodeo deposit will result in
the discovery of a rare earth element resource going forward."
RODEO DE LOS
MOLLES REE DEPOSIT
REE mineralization at the Rodeo deposit has only
been tested to very shallow depths of approximately 35 to 50 vertical metres. The mineralization discovered to date remains
open for expansion in all directions, including at depth. Previous
metallurgical testwork suggests a relatively
straight-forward metallurgical process for the deposit type similar to the
formerly producing (bastnasite-hosted) Mountain
Pass REE deposit in California, which contains total proven reserves of 88.0
million pounds of rare earth oxide and which produced most of the world's
REE's from 1965 to 1985 (source - Molycorp, Inc.).
The Rodeo property may be worked all year round and
infrastructure is excellent - a paved road is within 2 kilometres
of the deposit and power and water are within 8 kilometres
(Figure 1: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/wml14-map.pdf).
Initial results from an on-going campaign of
extensive surface sampling, mapping and preliminary metallurgical
investigations (Phase I), which began in late 2010, are anticipated
imminently. The Company will commence Phase II of its aggressive exploration
program upon completion of the detailed surface work, the aim of which is to
increase the known mineralization and define a NI 43-101 compliant resource.
The field portion of Phase II will begin with approximately 1,000 metres of diamond drilling and include additional
mapping, sampling, and prospecting and metallurgical work. The program is
expected to cost approximately $450,000 and take approximately two months to
complete beginning on or about March 1st, 2011. The Company has the funds to
complete the program.
The historical geologic resource estimate for Rodeo
was prepared in 1992 (including metallurgical testwork)
and is based on approximately 6,000 metres of RAB
drilling. This historical resource estimate is considered relevant by the
Company given the global concerns regarding secure future supplies of REEs
and for the purposes of the Company's decision to acquire the property and to
guide the Company in formulating an exploration program for the property.
However, the Company cautions that the resource estimate was prepared before
the introduction of NI 43-101, and is therefore historical in nature and the
Company is not treating such resource as a current resource under NI 43-101.
Investors are further cautioned that a qualified person has not yet completed
sufficient work to be able to verify the historical resource, and therefore
they should not be relied upon.
ACQUISITION AGREEMENT
Wealth has entered into a purchase agreement with Uranio del Sur S.A. (Uranio)
whereby Wealth will acquire a 100% interest in both the 3,928 hectare 'Sean
15' cateo (exploration concession), which
completely surrounds the Company's existing Rodeo properties, and the 2,000
hectare 'Rocio 15' cateo,
located approximately 10 kilometres to the
northwest of the Company's existing Rodeo deposit in San Luis Province,
Argentina. The Sean 15 and Rocio 15 cateos are predominantly underlain by the same strongly
altered igneous rocks of the Las Chacras Coloradas igneous complex that host the rare earth
element mineralization on the Company's existing Rodeo properties.
Under the terms of the purchase agreement dated
December 17, 2010, Wealth can acquire a 100% interest in the 'Sean 15' and 'Rocio 15' cateos, with no
underlying royalties, by paying Uranio USD 15,000,
as to USD 7,500 on the signature of the purchase agreement (paid) and the
balance upon the registration, in the name of Madero Minerals, S.A. (Wealth's
Argentinean subsidiary), of the minas to be applied for by Uranio in respect of the Sean 15 and Rocio
15 cateos.
RARE EARTH ELEMENTS
Sometimes called the "clean energy",
"tech" or "green" metals, the unique physical, chemical
and light-emitting properties of the rare earths make them indispensable in
modern technologies such as magnets, hybrid cars, wind turbines, computers,
cell phones and aircraft. The price of rare earth products has increased
significantly over the past three years due to increased demand and
tightening supplies.
The rare earth element (REE) group is considered to
include the 15 lanthanide elements: lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pm), promethium (Pr) (does not occur
naturally), neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium
(Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy),
holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium
(Yb), and lutetium (Lu). The element yttrium (Y) is
also included as it has similar chemical properties. Total rare earth oxides
(TREO) refers to the 15 rare earth elements lanthanum to lutetium plus
yttrium expressed as oxides. Heavy rare earth oxides (HREO)
refers to the total of yttrium plus europium to lutetium, as oxides,
as a percentage of TREO.
REE deposits tend to occur in two sub-groups:
1. Light rare earth element (LREE) enriched deposits which include La, Ce,
Pr, Nd and Sm.
2. Heavy rare earth element (HREE) enriched deposits which include Eu, Gd,
Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, and Y.
Qualified Person & QA/QC Controls
R. Scott Heffernan, M.Sc., P.Geol., Wealth's
Vice-President, Exploration, and a qualified person as defined by National
Instrument 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the scientific and
technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr.
Heffernan is not independent of Wealth by virtue of being an officer and
shareholder and a holder of incentive stock options.
Wealth's activities to date at Rodeo have been
supervised by R. Scott Heffernan, P.Geol., Wealth's Vice-President, Exploration, who is
responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality
control/quality assurance program. On-site personnel at the project
rigorously collect and track samples which are then sealed and shipped to the
Activation Laboratorios Ltda. laboratory facilities
in Coquimbo, Chile for preparation and then forwarded to Activation
Laboratories Ltd. ("Actlabs") of Ancaster, Ontario for geochemical analysis by '8-REE
Assay Package by Fusion ICP & ICP/MS'. Actlabs'
Quality System is accredited to international quality standards through the
International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Comission
(ISO/IEC) 17025. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the
analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples. Quality
control is further assured by the use of international and in-house
standards.
Laboratory results are received in parts per million uranium. The conversion factor used to convert
parts per million uranium to pounds per short ton U3O8 is 1.179, which was
verified with the Saskatchewan Research Council (ppm
uranium x 1.179 = ppm U308; 10,000 ppm uranium = 1% = 20 lbs/ton uranium).
About Wealth Minerals Ltd.
Wealth is an early stage mineral exploration company
with approximately 47.3 million shares issued and listings on the TSX Venture
and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges. The Company's focus is the acquisition and
exploration of prospective uranium and rare earth element properties,
primarily in Argentina and Peru. In addition to ongoing work programs on its
existing properties, it continues to actively evaluate new potential uranium
and rare earth projects in these and other countries.
For further details on the Company readers are
referred to the Company's web site (www.wealthminerals.com) and its Canadian
regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of WEALTH
MINERALS LTD.
Hendrik
Van Alphen, President & CEO
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking
statements and forward-looking information (collectively,
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable
Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements
of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements
regarding the anticipated content, commencement and cost of exploration
programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and
delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the potential to verify
and potentially expand upon the historical resource at RdlM,
the potential for the expansion of the known mineralized zones at RdlM; the potential for the amenability of RdlM mineralization to respond to proven technologies and
methods to recover both light and heavy rare earth oxides, the potential for
mineralization at RdlM to have relatively
straight-forward geometallurgy, business and
financing plans and business trends, are forward-looking statements. Although
the Company 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. The Company cautions
investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company 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, variations in the nature,
quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, dilution,
the volatility of the Company's common share price and volume; variations in
the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to
produce, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or
authorizations required for its activities, the Company's inability to
produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue
its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to
implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties
disclosed in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis filed with
certain securities commissions in Canada, and other information released by
the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the
Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com, and readers are urged to review these
materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the
Company's mineral properties.
Cautionary Note Concerning Similar or Adjacent
Mineral Properties
This press release contains information with respect
to adjacent or similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has
no interest or rights to explore or mine. The Company advises US investors
that the US Securities and Exchange Commission's mining guidelines strictly
prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. Readers
are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any
interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits on adjacent or
similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's
properties.
This press release is not, and is not to be
construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United
States.
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 press
release, which has been prepared by management.
Contact:
John Kocela
Wealth Minerals Ltd.
604-331-0096
604-408-7499 (FAX)
info@wealthminerals.com |
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