| | Published : June 15th, 2009 | Intersects 19,9 m of combined potash mineralization |
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Western Potash Corp. (the "Company") (TSX.V: WPX, FSE: AHE)
is pleased to announce that it has received results from its first
potash exploration well on the Milestone property in southern
Saskatchewan. The first well targeted potash prospective sequences within
the Prairie Evaporite formation, and was drilled to define the extent,
grade, thickness and type of potash mineralization present on the
property. The well was drilled vertically to a total depth of 1,776m.
Coring commenced at a depth of 1,640m, and intersected the Prairie
Evaporite Formation at a depth of 1,657m. The well intersected a
total of 19.9 m of potash mineralization with an average grade of 17.2
wt.% K2O across three potash bearing members. A summary of the results
from this drilling are summarized in Table 1. All drill
intercepts noted in this release are considered the true thickness of
the mineralization, as the salt beds are relatively flat lying and the
holes were drilled vertically.
Table 1: Potash thickness and weighted average grade from the Milestone
- 001 well.
Potash Member
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From (m)
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To
(m)
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Interval
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K2O
Wt %
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MgO Wt %
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Insoluble
Wt %
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Best Intercept
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Patience Lake
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1661.5
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1671.1
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9.6
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16.77
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0.08
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11..66
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20.0 wt K2O
over 6.6m
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Belle Plaine
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1673.6
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1677.9
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4.3
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14.42
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0.09
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5.45
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18.5 wt K2O
over2.7m
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Esterhazy
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1697
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1703
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6
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19.96
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1.2
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3.57
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23.46 wt K2O
over3.9m
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Note: The core
recovered from this hole was logged, photographed, split, and sampled
at the Company's secure core storage facility on the property.
All samples were handled in accordance with the Company's Chain of
Custody procedures. The half-split core samples from the wells
were analyzed at the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) Laboratory in
Saskatoon. The Laboratory has been certified by the Standards
Council of Canada (SCC) to conform to the requirements of ISO/IEC
17025:2005 (CAN-P-4E).
The 100% owned Milestone property, comprising approx. 500 square km, is
located approximately 30 km southeast of Regina, and southeast of
Mosaic's Belle Plaine Mine, one of the largest producing potash
solution mines in the world. The property is immediately adjacent to
the Regina Potash Property held by Vale, and potash permits held by
BHP-Billiton, and Potash One.
Geophysical logs from this well indicate favorable minimum formation
temperatures of 620C, confirming the strong heat anomaly underlying the
property. Temperature is important because higher formation
temperatures improve the potash dissolution process, and reduce heat
input required for the injected brines thereby significantly reducing
production costs.
Two of the potash members report very low carnallite content, a
critical factor in developing a solution mine, as increased amounts of
carnallite decrease the efficiency of cavern dissolution and potash
recovery. The carnallite content within the Esterhazy potash member is
considered high for effective economic extraction. Insoluble and
clay content are consistent with other potash deposits in Saskatchewan.
The Company is very encouraged by the results received to date, as the
geological setting and mineralization are consistent with
characteristics of other potash deposits in Saskatchewan. The high
formation temperatures recorded in this part of the potash belt are
considered ideal for the economic production of potash from a solution
mining operation.
Seismic data, confirming the presence of potash prospective salt beds
on the eastern portion of the Milestone property, highlighted a
sizeable and attractive new exploration target area amenable to
solution mining technologies within this property. The Milestone
project was selected for staking because of the presence of a strong
heat anomaly described by Holter (1969) underlying the property. The
exploration area already has water, power, natural gas and rail
infrastructure to serve the project, allowing the transportation of a
final product to Vancouver, the Asian markets and the US Midwest.
The Company continues to explore the property, and is please to report
that drilling on the second well at Milestone is now complete.
Milestone-002 is located approximately 5.25km to the southeast of the
first well drilled on the property. The well, drilled vertically, was
drilled to a total depth of 1,786m. Coring commenced at a depth of
1,660m, and intersected the Prairie Evaporite Formation at a depth of
1,676.4m. Visual observation and down hole logging indicate the
presence of the following potash members;
Member
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From (m)
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To (m)
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Thickness (m)
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Patience Lake
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1680.5
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1692.75
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12.25
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Belle Plaine
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1697.2
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1704
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6.8
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Esterhazy
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1717.45
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1728.5
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11.05
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Visual interpretation of the core and gamma ray logs suggests
strong potash grades within the Belle Plaine and Esterhazy members;
however the grade within the Patience Lake member appears to be
significantly reduced. While the textures and markers of the Patience
Lake member are present in the core, there has been a significant
increase in the amount of insolubles and clay present, resulting in
significant grade reduction. This is reflected in the gamma ray logs
within this member.. The Company interprets that the decrease in potash
tenor is due to a localized anomaly not apparent in the 2D seismic
data. All potash members, in particular the Esterhazy member,
visually display very low carnallite content, and very good minimum
formation temperatures of approx. 65.50C were recorded.
Samples from the three potash zones will now be submitted for analysis
at the SRC laboratory in Saskatoon. Results are expected to be obtained
within 4-6 weeks.
The Company plans to continue the exploration program on the property,
and will drill additional wells using a drill rig supplied by Red Dog
Drilling Inc. The Company has budgeted approximately $5.4 million
CAD for this drill program, and will be well positioned to prepare a NI
43-101 compliant resource calculation on the Milestone property during
2009 should drilling results continue to be positive.
Western Potash Corp. is a mineral exploration company engaged in the
evaluation, exploration and development of potash mineral properties in
Western Canada. The Company intends to define and develop a
world-class potash deposit in an ecologically sustainable, economically
efficient and socially responsible manner.
The in-house qualified persons for the purposes of NI 43-101 guidelines
are J. Patricio Varas, P. Geo and Dean Pekeski, P. Geo, both of
whom have reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"J. Patricio Varas"
J. Patricio Varas
President and CEO
This news release contains Forward Looking Statements regarding our
intentions and plans. Various factors may prevent or delay our plans,
including but not limited to, contractor availability and performance,
weather, access, mineral prices and success and failure of the exploration
and development carried out at various stages of the program.
Readers should review risk factors applicable to junior mining
exploration companies generally to understand the variety of risks that
can affect the Company.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Click Here To View The Compete News
Release or download it in .PDF
If you have any questions
following your review of this information, feel free to contact me at
604.689.9378
Sincerely,
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Brett
Allan
Western Potash Corp.
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Western Potash Corp |
Suite 1818 - 701 West Georgia St | Vancouver | B.C | V7Y 1C6 | Canada
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ProfileMarket IndicatorsVALUE : Projects & res.Press releasesAnnual reportRISK : Asset profileContact Cpy |
Western Potash Corp. is a exploration company based in Canada. Western Potash Corp. holds various exploration projects in Canada. Its main exploration properties are RUSSELL MINIOTA and MILESTONE, SASKATCHEWAN in Canada. |
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