CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Manson Creek Resources Ltd. (MCK.V) (“Manson” or the “Company”) is very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Robert Lavinsky of the Arkenstone as an Advisor to the Company. Dr. Lavinsky’s long experience with the mineral and jade museums and markets in China should provide the Company with valuable insights with regards to branding and marketing of the Company’s products in China and worldwide.

“The recent astronomical rise in China of interest in Jade, both as a gemstone and as a potential deposit class worthy of a mining company’s interest, is part of an economic revival that has positively impacted a number of related market sectors such as gold, jewelry, rare gemstones and mineral specimens” stated J.P. Jutras, President of the Company.  “Over the last twenty years, Dr. Lavinsky has emerged as one of the world’s top researchers and mineral dealers focused on China, culminating in his named participation in the recent 100^th anniversary Jade and Mineral Treasures of the World Exhibit at the Beijing Museum of Natural History in 2017.   His China and worldwide expertise makes him a natural ally of the Company and we are pleased to have his involvement in our efforts to direct the Company into the world of Jade exploration and its associated markets.”

Dr. Peter K.M. Megaw, technical advisor to the Corporation and recipient of the prestigious Carnegie Mineralogical Award for 2009 noted “I have watched Rob’s rise to becoming a highly respected member of the International and Chinese mineralogical community through his efforts to promote appreciation, education and preservation of minerals and their geologic context. I have been especially impressed by his research into the deep historic cultural significance that Jade has in China and his eagerness to develop collaboration between Manson Creek and both academic and commercial Jade experts in China.”

About Dr. Lavinsky and the Arkenstone.

After an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Rice University, Dr. Lavinsky earned his doctoral degree from the University of California-San Diego in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics in 2000.

However, his passion for mineral specimens led him to focus on building his company, The Arkenstone, into one of the world’s premier sources for world-class, museum to collector-quality mineral specimens. Since 1984, he has purchased many significant private mineral collections, and has donated important mineral specimens to the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Arizona, as well as other significant institutions.  To honor his contributions to mineral research and museum curation, a recently discovered new mineral species was named Lavinskyite.

The Arkenstone currently maintains a main 20,000 square foot private sales office and gallery in Dallas, Texas as well as an office and private gallery in Shanghai, in addition to its large online reach through the website www.irocks.com.

Dr. Lavinsky serves as chief foreign editor and adviser to the Hunan Museum of Geology and also sits on the boards of the systematic mineralogy project at University of Arizona (RRUFF PROJECT) and the new Tucson Gem and Mineral Museum, as well as the advisory boards of the American Museum of Natural History Mineral Hall Project and the Rice Museum. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Mineralogical Record.

Rob has built a personal collection of Chinese mineral specimens used for outreach and teaching. In addition, he organized and planned the Chinese Crystalline Treasures exhibition at the University of Arizona in 2013 (www.chinacrystallinetreasures.com). The book on the exhibit was a short introduction and primer to collecting fine minerals that was translated and published in Chinese by the Hunan Provincial Government (the first officially authorized and translated U.S. mineral magazine of any kind in China). He takes his mineralogical educational mission in China very seriously.

Dr. Lavinsky has been and continues to be a major dealer in the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show™ (TGMS); he has promoted the TGMS and its educational opportunities on his website for over 20 years.

Amongst some of Dr. Lavinsky’s additional projects was to be a sponsor of The World’s Most Precious Treasures, a reality television show following gem tanzanite from the mine to the market in Tucson; which was made by French National Television in association with the gem company Cartier of Paris.