and -- () -- -- (TSX: PTM)(NYSE MKT: PLG) ('Platinum Group' or the 'Company') reports that the current budget for the has been expanded from US to US for the annual period ending . The budget is fully funded by joint venture partner the Japan Oil, Gas and ('JOGMEC'). Expenditures to date in the annual period at Waterberg are approximately US . holds a direct and indirect interest of 58.62% in Waterberg and is the project operator.
The current budget has been expanded by moving funding forward from the next budget period. This provides for immediate new drilling targeted to expand recently identified shallow areas of F Zone mineralization of greater than 10 meters in thickness. The objective is to delineate indicated category resources with the best grade thickness that are accessible early in the project from decline ramps. Twelve drill rigs are being mobilized to the Waterberg site. The expanded drill program is to be completed by , followed shortly by an updated resource calculation, which will be incorporated into a pre-feasibility study already in progress for the project.
Additional drilling will also be focused on expanding upon an intercept of the T Zone grading 5.84 g/t platinum, palladium and gold ('3E') (1.80 g/t Pt, 2.86 g/t Pd, 1.18 g/t Au) over 19 meters (15 meters true width) at a depth of 812 meters to 831 meters. These thicker F and T Zones are in contrast to typical South African platinum deposits with a thickness of 1 meter that are mined manually.
The current deposit scale is more than 360 million tonnes as detailed below. The objective of the current drilling is to target the best grade thickness in the shallowest locations. The deposit has shallow regions where grid areas measuring 250 meters by 250 meters are estimated to host more than 0.5 million 3E resource ounces each. Targeting the best areas of shallow mineralization within these regions along the 13 kilometer open strike length of the is critical to optimizing the pre-feasibility design. Additional resources above 200 meters deep may play an important role in the initial years of the ramp-up profile of the pre-feasibility mine design.
, President, CEO and Co-founder of said 'We are very fortunate to have a sound technical partner in JOGMEC. Their commitment allows us to execute one of the most active drill programs in with the objective of growing indicated resources in a world-class project for an on-going pre-feasibility study. The ongoing work programs and large potential at Waterberg combined with the commissioning of our first platinum mine at the 1 demonstrate a level of business activity that is in contrast to current market conditions. Project 1 is in hot commissioning now and is scheduled for first production shortly.'
Pre-feasibility engineering on the Waterberg deposit, including optimization of the metallurgical flow sheet using South African and Japanese expertise, is continuing. Engagement with utilities for the delivery of bulk services also continues. Mine planning and optimization using fully mechanized methods is also ongoing.
Details of the Offset Target Areas Up-Dip
The following F Zone intercepts remain open up dip and have areas of more than 300 meters of open strike length at shallower depths. The T Zone intercepts remain open down dip and the area of interest has a strike length of 900m:
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AREA BHID FROM TO ZONE LENGTH PGE(i) PT(i) PD(i) AU(i)
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m g/t g/t g/t g/t
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F Zone WB154 375.87 389.33 BSFZ 13.46 4.67 1.38 3.02 0.27
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F Zone WB094 361.50 390.23 BSFZ 28.73 4.79 1.41 3.16 0.22
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F Zone WE067 466.75 494.15 BSFZ 27.40 3.97 1.16 2.59 0.22
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F Zone WE030 326.50 345.97 BSFZ 19.47 3.65 1.18 2.35 0.12
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F Zone WE061 406.00 455.35 BSFZ 49.35 4.1 1.21 2.68 0.21
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F Zone WE023 431.34 438.05 BFZ 6.71 5.7 1.62 3.77 0.31
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T Zone WB032 799.67 803.92 TZ 4.25 5.04 1.47 2.49 1.08
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T Zone WB186 812.00 831.00 TZ 19.00 5.84 1.8 2.86 1.18
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(i)The grade values above are the weighted averages platinum, palladium and
gold of all deflections for each hole. There are typically 3 deflections per
hole.
BFZ - Boundary F Zone
BSFZ - Boundary Super F Zone
TZ - T Zone
Waterberg Resources
The resource ounces estimated at Waterberg prior to the current drilling program are:
25.64 Million 3E Ounces Inferred plus 12.61 Million 3E Ounces Indicated
Inferred - 246 million tonnes grading 3.25 g/t 3E (0.98 g/t Pt, 2.11 g/t, Pd, 0.16 g/t Au, 2.50 g/t cut-off)
Indicated - 121 million tonnes grading 3.24 g/t 3E (0.97g/t Pt, 2.11 g/t, Pd, 0.16g/t Au, 2.50 g/t cut-off)
For resource details see News Release and Ni 43-101 technical report filed on entitled 'An Independent Technical Report on the located in the , ' dated effective and prepared by Charles J Muller (B. Sc. (Hons) Geology) Pri. Sci. Nat., of at www.sedar.com.
1. The Mineral Resources are classified in accordance with the SAMREC standards. There are certain differences with the 'CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves'; however, in this case the Company believes the differences are not material and the standards may be considered the same. Mineral Resources do not have demonstrated economic viability and Inferred resources have a high degree of uncertainty. Mineral Resources may never be upgraded or converted to reserves.
2. The Mineral Resources and are provided on a 100% project basis and Inferred and Indicated categories are separate and the estimates have an effective date of 2015.
3. A cut-off grade of 2.5 g/t 3E for both the T and the F zones is applied to the selected base case Mineral Resources. Previously a 2 g/t 4E cut-off was applied to the resources.
4. Kriging was used and Cut off for the T and the F zones considered costs, smelter discounts, concentrator recoveries from previous engineering work completed on the property by the Company.
About
, founded in 2002 is based in and . The Company is starting production in at its 1 platinum mine. Waterberg is the focus of the Company's exploration efforts targeting a globally significant, long term, competitive and fully mechanized PGE mine.
Qualified Person
, P.Eng., the Company's President, Chief Executive Officer and a significant shareholder of the Company, is a non-independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and is responsible for preparing the technical information contained in this news release.
On behalf of the Board of
, CEO and Co-Founder
Disclosure
and the have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this news release, which has been prepared by management.
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. securities laws (collectively 'forward-looking statements'). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding; the construction, development and ramp up of the Project 1 platinum mine; operational and economic projections with respect to the Project 1 platinum mine; future activities at Waterberg and the funding of such activities; trends in metal prices; the Company's overall capital requirements and future capital raising activities; plans and estimates regarding exploration, studies, development, construction and production on the Company's properties, other economic projections and the Company's outlook. Statements of resources also constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they represent estimates of mineralization that will be encountered on a property and/or estimates regarding future costs, revenues and other matters. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including; the Company's capital requirements may exceed its current expectations; the uncertainty of operational and economic projections; the ability of the Company to negotiate and complete future funding transactions; variations in market conditions; the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located; metal prices; other prices and costs; currency exchange rates; the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities; the Company's ability to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, or to be fully able to implement its business strategies; and other risk factors described in the Company's Form 40-F annual report, annual information form and other filings with the and Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov and www.sedar.com, respectively.
To view Figure 1 please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1039084.pdf
Contacts:
,
President
(604) 899-5450
Toll Free: (866) 899-5450
,
VP, Corporate Development
(604) 899-5450
Toll Free: (866) 899-5450
www.platinumgroupmetals.net
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