March 19, 2009 - Toronto - Pele
Mountain Resources Inc. (TSX Venture: GEM) ("Pele"
or the "Company") today announced that it has
reactivated its Highland Gold Project in response to a robust gold
market. The Company initiated detailed data compilation,
supported by field work during the fall of 2008, and in the upcoming
field season, is planning follow up exploration with the objective of
outlining near-term mineable resources.
Pele Mountain President and
CEO Al Shefsky stated, "With three operating mill facilities
nearby and outstanding local infrastructure, we believe there is
excellent potential to rapidly develop revenue generating operations at
Highland. We intend to activate this 'second front' to realize
value from our gold assets without compromising our primary focus,
which is continuing to advance our Eco Ridge Mine uranium project at
Elliot Lake toward development and production."
The Highland Project,
covering more than 10,000 hectares, is located in the Michipicoten
Greenstone Belt, approximately 100 kilometres to the southeast of Hemlo
in Northern Ontario. The Michipicoten Belt, where Richmont Mines
Inc. is operating the Island Gold Mine and milling complex, is also
home to several past producing gold mines, including the one-million
ounce plus Renabie Mine. Over the past 12 years, Pele has consolidated
fragmented mining claims covering favorable geology through
acquisitions and staking and has now accumulated one of the largest
mining claim holdings in the area.
The property covers
shear-hosted gold occurrences, mainly quartz veins commonly containing
visible gold, along the Goudreau-Localsh Deformation Zone ("GLDZ")
within intensely deformed and altered Archean metavolcanic,
metasedimentary, and intrusive rocks. Eighteen (18) gold occurrences,
two of which have historic underground workings (Murphy, Kozak) and two
of which have seen surface bulk sampling (Markes, A zone), have been
found to date on the property.
At East Highland, a number
of gold occurrences occur along 4 to 5 kilometre wide parallel zones
along the GLDZ, representing the hanging wall (north) and footwall
(south). North Zone occurrences include the Markes North, McCall,
Laughlin, and 'A' zones on the Highland property and the Cline Shaft
No. 2, Pine, Morrison and Kremzar Mine occurrences on adjacent
properties to the west. South Zone occurrences include the Markes,
'B', and 'E' zones on the Highland property and the Cline, Edwards,
Island, and Magino mines on adjacent properties to the west.
In late-2008, a 40
metre-wide, rhyolite hosted, sheared, silicified, and sericitized, gold
mineralized zone, the Lone Ranger occurrence, was discovered in an
under-explored area of the property. A single composite chip sample
across the 40 metres gave a gold assay of 0.49 g/t
Au. The zone has been traced along strike for more
than 3 kilometres. This new discovery will be a focus
of exploration in the upcoming field season.
At West Highland, Pele
focused its exploration efforts from 2004 to 2006 primarily within and
along the contacts of the Gutcher Lake Stock ("GLS")
where several gold occurrences were discovered during the first gold
rush to the area in the early 1920s. The Farquhar, Bowmore,
Doublewood, Springbank, and Talisker zones along the southern contact
of the GLS, host high grade, narrow vein gold mineralization.
Drilling from west of the
Farquhar, to the east toward Bowmore, has defined a gold-bearing,
shear-hosted vein system in a structure extending for more than 1,200
metres. The Farquhar / Bowmore zones show strong alteration
and shearing, providing an environment capable of hosting a significant
gold deposit. Drilling at Farquhar in the 1980s by Rio Tinto and McAdam
Resources returned several high-grade gold intercepts with a best value
of 85.8 g g/t over 1.6 metres and visible gold
reported. Pele's drilling confirmed the presence of
high grade gold in the system with a best value of 23.3 g/t Au over 1.9
m.
Pele's Murphy Mine extension
property is located near the eastern contact of the GLS. Exploration by
Orequest Consultants Ltd. in 1989, which included 51 drill holes
totaling 12,000 metres, drilled to the west of the Murphy No.1 shaft,
indicate that the Main Vein on the Pele claims has a strike length of
approximately 200 metres, with a best intercept of 1.8 metres at 2 oz/t
uncut. They also reported a North Vein with a strike
length of approximately 100 metres. Both veins are open at depth
and along strike to the west, onto Pele's ground..
This news release has been
reviewed and approved by Peter Dimmell, BSc., P.Geo., a Pele Director
and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
About Pele Mountain
Resources
Pele Mountain Resources is
focused on the sustainable development of its Eco Ridge Mine Uranium
Project in the historic Elliot Lake mining region. The Company is
developing a safe, secure, and reliable long-term source of uranium in
order to deliver lasting benefitsto local communities and its
shareholders. Pele also holds a diverse portfolio of gold,
diamond, and base metal projects in Northern Ontario. Pele stock
is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "GEM".
For further information please contact Al
Shefsky, President, at (800) 315-7353, or visit the Pele website at www.pelemountain.com.
The TSX-V has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Some
of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking
statements, such as estimates and statements that describe Pele's
future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that
Pele or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Since
forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by
their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties.
Actual results in each case could differ materially from those
currently anticipated in such statements. The economic viability of the
NI 43-101 mineral resource at Pele's Eco Ridge Mine Project has not yet
been demonstrated by a pre feasibility study.