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INITIAL BRACEMAC-MCLEOD NI43-101 INDICATED RESOURCE:
3,648,000 TONNES AT 11.09 % ZINC, 1.55% COPPER, 31.34 G/T SILVER AND 0.48
G/T GOLD
Vancouver, B.C., January 22, 2009 -
Mr. Harvey Keats, Chief Executive Officer of Donner Metals Ltd.
(TSXV-DON), reports that a resource calculation conforming to NI43-101
standards has been received from Xstrata Canada Corporation - Xstrata
Zinc Canada Division (Xstrata Zinc), operator for the Bracemac-McLeod
discovery located 6 kilometres southeast of Xstrata's operating Matagami
Mill Complex. Indicated resources are currently calculated at 3,648,000
tonnes grading 11.09% zinc, 1.55% copper,
31.34 g/t silver and 0.48 g/t gold, with additional inferred
resources of 528,000 tonnes grading 1.25% Zinc, 1.79% copper, 11.51 g/t
silver and 0.18 g/t gold, calculated separately for the less well defined
McLeod West Zone and the Copper Zone.
Xstrata Zinc is presently conducting a scoping study focused on
metallurgical testing, preliminary engineering studies using a ramp access
and preliminary capital cost assessment. The objective of the study is to
provide an initial evaluation of the viability of mine development as the
first step towards assessing the feasibility of production at
Bracemac-McLeod.
Alteration and the trend of mineralization indicate further potential
exists to discover additional high-grade sulphides in the local vicinity
of both the McLeod and West McLeod zones. This potential will continue to
be assessed as the project is advanced.
Mineralization found at Bracemac-McLeod is typical of the Matagami Camp
which has operating infrastructure and has consistently been a low-cost
producer of zinc, copper, silver and gold since the first production
began in 1963.
Current Bracemac-McLeod Resource Calculation
Indicated Resources
MS = massive sulphide, SMS =
semi-massive sulphide, S = stringer sulphide
Parameters Used For Indicated and Inferred Resource Calculations:
- Cut-off for the Bracemac and McLeod sulphide
zones is based on the extent of massive sulphides. A cut-off grade
of 4% zinc equivalent (zinc + 2 times copper) is used for the Copper
Zone. Both are based on historical experience in resource estimation
at Matagami.
- Capping Values were applied to individual gold
and silver assays corresponding to the 97.5 percentile of each
individual zone in order to minimize the nugget effect.
- Drill spacing for indicated resources calculated for
the Bracemac Zones and the McLeod Zone is at approximately 50 metre
centres.
- Inferred resources are classified on the basis of
greater than 50 metre drill spacing and/or uncertain
continuity/geometry at 50 metre drill spacing.
- Type of resource calculation model: Polygonal
method on an inclined long section.
Zone Features:
The Bracemac and McLeod zones contain sulphides that are generally
typical of zinc-enriched Matagami-type VMS deposits. The zones differ on
the basis of significant sulphides stacked in two separate stratigraphic
horizons in the hanging wall to the Key Tuffite at Bracemac, locally
higher copper content for both the McLeod and Bracemac Key Tuffite zones,
the absence of well developed stringer zones directly under the core of
the zones, the tabular shape of mineralization and the extensive
chloritization of the footwall Watson Lake rhyolite observed from
Bracemac to McLeod (>2 km wide). Mineralization is characterized
geophysically by the weakness or total absence of electrical conductivity
in the outer part of the sulphide bodies making the delineation of their
edge difficult by standard electromagnetic geophysics. General
characteristics of each zone are as follows:
McLeod Zone:
- Massive and semi-massive sulphides at or near the
Key Tuffite stratigraphic horizon.
- Excellent potential for expansion of
mineralization at depth indicated on basis of DDH MC-08-34 (10.81%
zinc, 1.35% copper, 37.72g/t silver, 0.59g/t gold over 2.12 metres).
West McLeod Zone:
- Massive and semi-massive sulphides, generally
copper-rich. Geometry, extent of sulphides and connection with the
McLeod Zone is unclear at current drill spacing.
Copper Zone:
- This zone is characterized by the occurrence of
stringer copper mineralization within extensive "Pipe"
alteration in a laterally predictable and continuous sheet that
occurs between 10 to 30 metres below mineralization in the McLeod
Zone.
Bracemac Zone:
- Massive and semi-massive sulphides occur in three
stacked zones (Upper Bracemac Zone, Bracemac Zone and Bracemac Key
Tuffite Zone).
Advancement of the Matagami
Project
Xstrata Zinc's engineering and mine team will focus on the advancement of
Bracemac-McLeod through the scoping, prefeasibility, feasibility and
development stages, and the go/no-go decisions at the completion of each
stage, with the overall objective of supplementing and replacing
production from the Perseverance Mine. Continued exploration in the
immediate vicinity of Bracemac-McLeod will be conducted as part of the scoping/prefeasibility
stages.
In conjunction with Xstrata's efforts on Bracemac-McLeod, the Xstrata
Zinc-Donner exploration team will focus on drilling targets from the
pipeline of high priority drill/exploration targets elsewhere on the
extensive property covered under the Matagami Option and Joint Venture
Agreement. The exploration team is using a combination of 3D data
integration, innovative advanced technologies, new concepts and diamond
drilling with the objective of making additional discoveries that will
integrate into the future resource base at Matagami.
SUMMARY
A total of 90,185 metres of diamond drilling in 180 drill holes has been
completed on the Matagami Project since the activity under the Option and
Joint Venture Agreement began in late 2006. Approximately 80,000 metres
of diamond drilling have been focused on, and in the vicinity of, the
Bracemac-McLeod Discovery.
The full technical report for the resource estimate on Bracemac-McLeod
will be posted on SEDAR and the Donner website within forty-five days of
this press release. Additional geological information, including maps and
sections, is available at www.donnermetals.com.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Donner has the option to earn a 50% participating joint venture interest
in the Matagami Project by incurring a total of $25 million of
expenditures on exploration and related work on or before May 31,
2011. Upon earn-in by Donner, five separate joint ventures will be
formed, covering the property and the area of interest. In each of
the five joint venture areas, Xstrata Zinc has the option to earn back a
15% interest in each area by incurring up to $20 million on a feasibility
study.
The Matagami Project has an area of mutual interest of 4,750 square
kilometres and presently includes 3,340 mineral claims covering 801
square kilometres. The project covers the Matagami Mining Camp
which is a world-class mining district, with 18 known VMS deposits, including
10 past producers of varying sizes, including the giant Matagami Lake
Deposit (25.64 million tonnes of 8.2% Zn, 0.56% Cu, 20.91 g/t Ag and 0.41
g/t Au) discovered in 1957 and mined from 1963 to 1988. The area is
host to historical production of 8,600 million pounds of Zn and 853
million pounds of Cu. The Matagami area is well serviced by established
infrastructure including the town of Matagami, power, a permitted
tailings facility, railway, and airport and well developed road and
highway networks. Xstrata Zinc is currently producing from its low-cost
and wholly-owned Perseverance Deposit which feeds its refurbished 2,600
t/day Matagami mill complex. Any future development under the
Donner-Xstrata agreement will benefit from the established infrastructure
and facilities. Zinc concentrates produced at Matagami are refined at the
Noranda Income Fund zinc refinery in Valleyfield Quebec. Copper
concentrates are smelted at Xstrata's Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda and
refined at Xstrata's Canadian Copper Refinery in Montreal.
The Company's strategy is to explore for and discover zinc-copper
deposits in the Matagami Camp and to leverage the general infrastructure
and existing processing facilities within a known and well-established
cost structure for developing VMS deposits. Donner's exploration
objective is to investigate multiple stratigraphic horizons with
potential for VMS mineralization including the prolific Key Tuffite
horizon throughout the Matagami Camp. To date, Donner has
discovered new mineralization at Bracemac-McLeod and at Bell Channel.
Within the extensive project area there are numerous exploration targets
with excellent potential for additional discoveries.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Xstrata Zinc is the project operator for the Matagami Project and is
responsible for both fieldwork and resource evaluation including, but not
limited to, sampling, submittal of samples for assay, assay verification,
metallurgical evaluation and QA/QC. In accordance with Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects, National Instrument 43-101 Section
5.3(3), Donner is relying on the technical information supplied by
Xstrata Zinc, a "producing issuer" under the instrument.
Calculation of resources reported in this news release was conducted by
Gilles Roy and Michel Dessureault who are the Qualified Persons for
Xstrata Zinc responsible for the technical information. Donner will file
a technical report incorporating the Xstrata technical information on
SEDAR within forty-five days.
Assaying of samples that form the basis of the resource calculation were
carried out and certified by ALS Chemex-Chimitec, of Val D'Or, Quebec
(zinc, copper and silver by atomic absorption, and gold by standard fire
assay procedures). Sample preparation was done by ALS Chemex of Val D'Or,
Quebec.
Robin Adair, VP of Exploration for the Company, is the Qualified Person
for Donner Metals Ltd. and is responsible for the technical information
reported in this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF
DONNER METALS LTD.
"Harvey Keats"
Chief Executive Officer
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