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TORONTO,
ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 1, 2009) - Mustang Minerals Corp., (TSX
VENTURE:MUM)(FRANKFURT:NJF) today announced details of recent progress
on feasibility study work at the Maskwa Nickel Project which is located
near Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba. Maskwa is a planned, open pit, nickel
project with target production of 10 million pounds of nickel in
concentrate per annum. The Company has made significant progress
towards final metallurgical testwork, geotechnical studies, a
geological block model and a new mineral resource estimate. This
advance will lead into the new mine design and the completion of the
project feasibility study.
Minesite Exploration - Mineral Resource Development
Mustang recently completed a large program of drill core resampling. The
objective of this program was to sample and assay all potentially
mineralized sections of core previously not tested. These include
extensions to the main mineralized zone and expansion of the
lower-grade Hangingwall zone first discovered near the centre of the
deposit. Assay results from this recent program have been entered to
the deposit database and work by Micon International Limited to develop
a block model and resource estimate is now underway. The newly
completed database now contains almost 14,000 samples, compared with
the database used in the previous resource model in 2007 which
contained close to 10,000 samples.
The target date for completion of a revised mineral resource for Maskwa
is September 2009.
In addition to the resampling of core, almost 1000 assay pulp samples
retained from the 2008 drilling programs at TSL laboratories in Saskatoon were
reassayed to obtain nickel values by aqua regia digestion, where the
original assays were reported after total (4 acid) digestion. This
standardizes the database and hence the resource model. Metallurgical
testing results have been brought in line with the same nickel assay
technique.
Metallurgical Testwork Update
Extensive metallurgical testwork has been completed on both the Main
Zone material and the surrounding disseminated material. A detailed
grade-recovery curve based on open cycle testwork has been developed
and additional locked cycle testwork will be completed in the next
month.
Metallurgical testwork was conducted at the laboratory of PRA
Metallurgical Division of Inspectorate America Corp. (PRA) in Richmond, B.C.
continuing the program which has been ongoing since 2006 under the same
group.
Specific metallurgical testing on composite samples of low grade
Hangingwall Zone mineralization provided encouraging nickel, copper and
platinum group elements (PGE) recoveries. Testwork culminated in a
6-stage locked cycle flotation test to confirm the metal recoveries and
concentrate characteristics of this low grade material which occurs
proximal to the Main Zone of mineralization at Maskwa. Summary results
of the test were as follows:
Maskwa Hangingwall Zone Locked Cycle Test ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ni%(i) Cu% Co% Pt g/t Pd g/t ----------------------------------------------------------------- Composite grade 0.28 0.09 0.02 0.06 0.17 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate grade 14.5 5.8 0.7 2.4 11.9 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate metal recoveries (%) 61 79 51 47 66 ----------------------------------------------------------------- (i)- all nickel reported based on aqua regia/ICP assay
A
strong correlation was noted in recoverable nickel mineralization and
elevated palladium values in the Hangingwall Zone of the deposit which
lies within the conceptual pit shell used in calculating the current
(2008) Proven and Probable Reserve.
Geotechnical Studies
Other feasibility study work progressed with completion of site studies
to develop open pit slope design criteria and geotechnical evaluation
of the areas for the tailings and plant site. Golder Associates is the
consultant working on this part of the feasibility study.
Mayville Deposit Update
The Mayville deposit has also been the subject of ongoing evaluation in
recent months. Mayville hosts a NI-43-101 compliant mineral resource of
21.9 million tonnes (Mt) containing 0.20%Ni and 0.48% Cu in the
Indicated category, previously announced in the January 12, 2007
Technical Report by Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (RPA)
and posted on Sedar. Mustang re-evaluated the resource with more
stringent criteria and found the potential for a higher grade, smaller
area of mineralization near surface and applicable for open pit
extraction at a low to moderate strip ratio.
Based on this internal assessment, a new Mayville composite sample was
prepared and metallurgical testing conducted at PRA using a modified
flowsheet to recover separate nickel and copper concentrates. Although
the grade of this composite was a little higher than the proposed
higher grade zone, the test results are extremely encouraging. Separate
copper and nickel concentrates of marketable grade and with precious
metals credits (gold, silver, palladium) were produced. Results are
summarized below from the latest open cycle test. Work will continue to
a scoping study for the project which is seen as auxiliary to the
larger Maskwa project.
Mayville Metallurgical Test Results ------------------------------------------------------------------- Product Ni% Cu% Au g/t Ag g/t Pd g/t ------------------------------------------------------------------- Feed composite 0.36 0.96 0.09 3.50 0.23 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Copper concentrate 0.8 33.2 1.5 51.5 5.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Recovery to copper concentrate (%) 6 89 41 38 58 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nickel concentrate 9.9 3.8 0.8 22.9 3.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Recovery to nickel concentrate (%) 47 7 15 11 24 -------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Mayville deposit remains open at depth. A selection of the most
encouraging drill hole intervals, some of which are both within and/or
extend below the potential open pit shell, include the following
identified in the RPA Report.
Selected Mayville Drill Intervals --------------------------------------------------------------- Hole No. From (m) To (m) Interval (m) True Cu% Ni% thickness (m) --------------------------------------------------------------- MAY05-01 6.10 46.63 40.53 37.07 0.83 0.28 --------------------------------------------------------------- MAY05-02 13.11 91.44 78.33 41.98 0.72 0.29 --------------------------------------------------------------- MAY05-03 86.56 131.67 45.11 32.93 0.81 0.26 --------------------------------------------------------------- MAY05-08 191.11 222.50 31.39 26.96 0.63 0.31 --------------------------------------------------------------- MAY05-16 331.32 406.05 74.73 42.62 0.75 0.24 --------------------------------------------------------------- MAY06-38 45.48 93.57 48.09 40.55 0.73 0.22 --------------------------------------------------------------- MAY06-39 146.30 200.25 53.95 45.53 0.70 0.19 ---------------------------------------------------------------
East Bull Lake Drilling
Mustang is in a joint venture with Western Areas NL on the East Bull
Lake project located west of Sudbury Ontario.
Two drill holes were recently completed at East Bull - one at the Novick Lake area and one at the Sables
area both testing EM conductors identified in earlier work. No significant
mineralization was identified although blebby chalcopyrite was
identified in the drill core from Novick Lake.
Further assessment of the geological and geophysical potential is
underway. The East
Bull Lake
intrusion is a 20km long layered mafic to ultramafic intrusion with
significant Ni-Cu-PGM mineralized potential.
Ian Ward P. Eng., and John Smolen P. Geo. are
the Qualified Persons for Mustang Minerals Corp. for purposes of
National Instrument 43-101.
To find out more about Mustang Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: MUM) visit our
website at www.mustangminerals.com.
We seek safe harbour.
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of the
Securities Act (Ontario) (together, "forward-looking
statements"). Such forward-looking statements may include the
Company's plans for its mineral projects in Manitoba, the overall
economic potential of its properties, the availability of adequate
financing and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to be
materially different. Such factors include, among others, risks and
uncertainties relating to potential political risk, uncertainty of
production and capital costs estimates and the potential for unexpected
costs and expenses, physical risks inherent in mining operations,
currency fluctuations, fluctuations in the price of nickel and other
metals, completion of economic evaluations, changes in project
parameters as plans continue to be refined, the inability or failure to
obtain adequate financing on a timely basis, and other risks and
uncertainties, including those described in the Company's Management
Discussion and Analysis for the period ended December 31, 2007 and
thereafter and Material Change Reports filed with the Canadian
Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com.
Shares Outstanding: 81,228,239
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the contents of this press release.
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