ADEX MINING CONFIRMS DELIVERY
OF FIRST OF TWO DRILL RIGS AND UPDATES 2008 DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AT MOUNT
PLEASANT
TORONTO, ONTARIO – Feb. 25, 2008 – Adex Mining Inc.
(“Adex” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: ADE) is pleased to
provide an update on current and planned activities at its wholly owned Mount
Pleasant Tungsten-Molybdenum and Tin-Indium-Zinc-Copper project in southwestern
New Brunswick, Canada. Adex has recently taken significant steps in preparation
for the upcoming 2008 field season, including the delivery of the first of two
drill rigs. The first phase drill program is expected to commence shortly once
the drill rig is assembled and positioned for drilling.
“As our progress at Mount
Pleasant continues to demonstrate, the Company is
committed to moving the project to the feasibility stage at the earliest
possible time,” said Kabir Ahmed, President and CEO of Adex Mining.
“Given our firm belief in the development potential of this property, we
are confident that the 2008 drill program will lead to continued value creation
for the Company and its shareholders.”
Acceleration of Drilling Program
Adex confirmed delivery of the first of two drill rigs at Mount Pleasant on February
22, 2008, ahead of its originally scheduled delivery date of March 1. Drilling
is expected to commence shortly and is scheduled to include a minimum of 10,000
metres of NQ diamond drilling. The second drill rig is scheduled to arrive at
the property by May 1, 2008.
The first phase drill program will focus on independent deposits of
Tungsten-Molybdenum and Tin-Indium-Zinc-Copper on the property in order to
attempt to upgrade those deposits to National Instrument 43-101 (“NI
43-101”) compliant “indicated” category. This would allow
Adex to proceed with pre-feasibility work on both areas of mineralization. A
production strategy has been identified for each deposit and the feasibility
stage of development will focus on identifying the economic potential for
commercialization of each deposit.
A favourable feasibility study would allow Adex to apply for a mining
license from the Government of New Brunswick and move towards resuming active
mining at Mount Pleasant.
Currently, there is a NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource of
13,074,438 tonnes at 0.35% WO3 and 0.21% MoS2 at Mount Pleasant’s Fire
Tower Zone as outlined in the NI 43-101 compliant Technical Review of the Mount
Pleasant Property, Including a Mineral Resource Estimate for the Fire Tower
Zone Southwestern New Brunswick dated August 1, 2006 completed by Paul Dunbar,
M.Sc., P.Geo., Senior Associate Geologist, Andrew Hara, P.Eng., Senior
Associate Mining Engineer, Robert de l’Etoile, M.Sc., P.Eng., Senior
Associate Engineer, Dorota A. El-Rassi, M.Sc., P.Eng., Geological Engineer of
Watts, Griffis and McOuat Limited (“WGM”) and Dr. Trevor Boyd,
Ph.D., P.Geo., Independent Consultant, which is available at www.sedar.com.
There is a historical non-NI 43-101 compliant total
“resource” of 3,645,429 tonnes of 0.80% Sn, 107 parts per million
Indium, 0.87% Zn and 0.19 % Cu at the North and Deep Tin Zones, based upon a
1997 feasibility study completed by Kvaerner Metals Davy Ltd. These historic
estimates were prepared prior to the implementation of NI 43-101. A qualified
person has not done sufficient work to classify these historical estimates
according to NI 43-101 standards or the Canadian Institute of Mining,
Metallurgy and Petroleum Definition Standards and Adex is not treating these
historical estimates as current mineral resources as defined in NI 43-101. They
are presented because Adex considers them to be relevant and of historic
significance. These historical estimates should not be relied on.
Adex looks forward to completing its efforts to upgrade the resource
estimates for both its Tungsten-Molybdenum and Tin-Indium-Zinc-Copper deposits
as it works to uncover the full potential of the Mount Pleasant property.
A second phase drill program is expected to commence on May 1, 2008 on
the arrival of the second drill rig. The second phase drill program will
consist of exploratory drilling in order to expand the size of the
Tin-Indium-Zinc-Copper historical “resource” estimates at the North
and Deep Tin Zones and arrive at a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource
estimate for this part of the Mount
Pleasant property.
Metallurgical Concept Development
Concurrently with preparations for its 2008 drilling program, Adex is
proceeding with metallurgical testing of processing options for each deposit,
continuing the program originally announced in a press release dated September
26, 2007. The testing is designed to develop optimal production strategies for
the economic recovery of Tungsten and Molybdenum from the Fire Tower Zone
deposit, in addition to Tin and Indium from the North Zone deposit. The
metallurgical test program represents another important step towards
determining the economic feasibility of a return to active mining at Mount Pleasant.
Fresh drill cores from the upcoming spring drill program will be used to
confirm metallurgical tests that are currently being conducted on bulk samples
of each deposit from previous exploration programs.
Tailings Dam Upgrade
As reported in a press release dated January 9, 2008, upgrade
construction work on the tailings dam is scheduled to commence on June 2, 2008,
with a completion date on or before August 29, 2008.
The tailings dam repair and upgrade will improve Adex’s ability to
manage the existing tailings under the terms of the Approval to Operate from the
New Brunswick Government. The upgrade was also designed to meet the
requirements of future ore production options and to ensure compliance with
environmental guidelines.
Significant Team Additions
To support its program of ongoing and upcoming activities at Mount Pleasant, Adex has
made a number of strategic additions to its team.
The Company recently hired an Operations Manager, as detailed in a press
release dated January 31, 2008. Mr. Victor Hendricken comes to Adex with over
25 years of direct, hands-on experience in the operation of mines and milling
plants, most recently as technical consultant for the Beaver Brook Antimony
Mine in Newfoundland, where he advised on tailings pond upgrades, equipment
acquisitions, personnel searches and general preparedness for plant startup.
In addition, Adex has put in place a team of geologists and technicians
to assist in advancing the drill program, reporting to Dr. Trevor Boyd, the
Company’s Project Manager for Exploration and Drilling. A metallurgical
processing and environmental management design team, reporting to J. Dean
Thibault, Adex’s Project Manager for Metallurgy and Environmental
Planning, has also been assembled.
Market Trends
As Adex continues its program of advancement of the Mount Pleasant Mine property,
industry sources indicate positive long-term demand trends for all of the
metals hosted on the property, most notably for Tungsten and Indium.
The Economics of Tungsten, a 2007 report by Roskill Metals and Minerals
Reports, forecasts that demand for tungsten will grow by an average rate of 3%
per year to 2010.
The United States Geological Survey’s 2008 report on Indium states
that demand for the metal continued to outstrip supply throughout 2007. The
report notes the rapid growth of the market for LCD flat panel televisions and
monitors, which use indium as a coating, as a driving factor of this demand. It
also indicates that “photovoltaic applications could become another large
market opportunity for Indium.” Thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide
solar cells require approximately 50 tonnes of Indium to produce one gigawatt
of solar power.
In compliance with NI 43-101, Trevor Boyd Ph.D., P.Geo., an independent
geological consultant to the Company and its Project Manager for Exploration
and Drilling, is the qualified person who supervised the preparation of the
technical information contained in this press release.
ABOUT ADEX:
Adex Mining Inc. is a Canadian junior mining company with an experienced
management team. The Company is focused on developing its flagship Mount
Pleasant Mine Property, a multi-metal project that is host to promising
tungsten-molybdenum and tin-indium-zinc-copper mineralization. Located in
Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Mount Pleasant
is situated approximately 80 kilometres south of Fredericton,
the provincial capital, and is 65 kilometres from the United States border. The common
shares of Adex trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the stock symbol
“ADE”.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this press release may constitute
“forward-looking” statements which involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or
achievements of Adex, its subsidiary or the industry in which they operate to
be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. When used in this
press release, the words “estimate”, “believe”, “anticipate”,
“intend”, “expect”, “plan”,
“may”, “should”, “will”, the negative
thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current expectations
of the management of Adex with respect to future events based on currently
available information and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties are detailed from time to time, including, without limitation,
under the heading “Risk Factors”, in reports filed by Adex with the
Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario Securities Commissions which are
available at www.sedar.com and to which readers of this press release are
referred for additional information concerning Adex, its prospects and the
risks and uncertainties relating to Adex and its prospects. New risk factors
may arise from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict
all of those risk factors or the extent to which any factor or combination of
factors may cause actual results, performance and achievements of Adex to be
materially different from those contained in forward-looking statements.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, Adex cannot
assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these
forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction
of actual results.
The forward-looking information contained in this press release is
current only as of the date of the press release. Adex does not undertake or
assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
No securities commission or regulatory authority has approved or
disapproved the contents of this press release.
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of this press release.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Adex Mining Inc.
Kabir Ahmed
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
1-866-508-2339 (ADEX)
Email: investorrelations@adexmining.com
Website: www.adexmining.com