May 27, 2010 - Bridgewater, NS - Silver Spruce Resources Inc. (TSXV: SSE) is pleased to announce the results of recent compilation of data for Rare Earth Elements (REEs) on lake and stream sediment and rock samples from the 100% owned Straits (ST) property in southern Labrador. The samples were taken during the 2007/2008 uranium exploration program. As a result of this data compilation, the company has noted REE potential on the existing claims plus has acquired a number of additional claims with REE potential.
The Straits property is located along the Straits of Belle Isle between the communities of Red Bay and Mary's Harbour and within 20 km of the Trans Labrador Highway. The original property, explored for uranium from 2007 to 2009, was acquired in 2006 under an agreement with a Newfoundland prospector, Alex Turpin, who retains a 1% NSR. The property was reduced to those areas which showed the highest uranium potential in early 2009. Lake and stream sediment and rock samples were originally analyzed for uranium primarily using an ICP technique which also gives values for other elements including La (lanthanum) and Th (thorium). The La and Th results were compiled and plotted to indicate areas with REE potential. No other REE, Y or other indicator elements were analyzed in the original ICP data.
Lanthanum values in both lakes and streams indicate a high background in the Straits area.
In the
lake sediments, taken in 2007, thirty-three samples gave values > 200 ppm La including seven > 300 ppm against a background of 65 ppm with the highest value 903 ppm La. Th gave only background values (< 20 ppm).
Stream sediments , taken in 2008, gave nineteen (19) values > 100 ppm La including four > 200 at 208, 242, 342, and 392 ppm against a background of approximately 50 ppm. Values for Th are low with only one sample giving 50 ppm with a background of 20 ppm.
Rock samples gave three values > 1,000 ppm La with the highest 3,908 ppm against a background of < 30 ppm. Nine samples gave Th values > 1,000 ppm, including four > 2,000 ppm and a high value of 6,810 ppm. Strong correlation in the rock samples is noted between La and Th with the four samples that gave the highest La values also giving some of the highest Th values.
The property originally consisted of 1,668 claims (417 km2) covering government uranium in lake sediment anomalies associated with a north-northwest trending fault structure in Proterozoic, metamorphosed, felsic volcanics, now orthogneiss. Exploration from 2007 to 2009 included lake, stream sediment and soil geochemistry, ground scintillometer surveys, prospecting, and geological mapping. Significant uranium showings were located in the south central part of the property near the coast. The "BB shot" showing gives grab sample values up to 67,439 ppm (6.7 %) U3O8 in outcrop along the contact of a weakly gneissic, fine-grained granite, and a pegmatite with associated magnetite and biotite. The "Bingo" showing, approximately 3 km from the BB shot, and also associated with the contact of the granite and orthogneiss, gave 17 anomalous values (>10 ppm U3O8) with a high value of 5,887 ppm (0.59 %) U3O8, associated with uranophane staining. Uranium/thorium ratios averaged 5:1 in samples giving uranium values >250 ppm. Anomalous values in Th (to 6810 ppm), Cu (to 2,720 ppm) and Pb (>5,000 ppm) were also found with the higher thorium values giving low uranium values.
Since uranium was the target element at this time, the 2008 exploration allowed the company to define areas of higher uranium potential to allow consolidation and downsizing (reduction) of the property to the 423 claims (106 km2) now in the property.
As a result of the REE and Th data compilation, a total of 82 claims (20.5 km2) in seven licences were acquired by staking on May 24, 2010. These claims cover anomalous lake and stream sediment, and rock sample values in La and Th which lay outside of the downsized ST claim blocks. These properties are 100 % owned by SSE.
Twenty-six (26) 2007/2008 rock sample rejects that were returned from the laboratory after the first analyses were performed and which were anomalous in either La or Th will be re-analyzed for the full suite of REEs, yttrium (Y) and other indicator elements such as zirconium (Zr). Results will be released when received.
All stream sediment, soil and rock analyses were carried out at the Activation Laboratories (Actlabs) facility in Ancaster, Ontario after sample preparation at the Actlabs preparation facility in Goose Bay. Uranium and other elements, including the REE (La) and Th, were analyzed by an ICP technique (AR ICP) with values in excess of 250 ppm uranium reanalyzed by delayed neutron counting (DNC) for uranium.
A compilation map of the properties and the QA/QC criteria for the samples can be viewed on the company website at
www.silverspruceresources.com.