VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire -
July 12, 2010) - Imperial Metals Corporation (TSX:III) has agreed to
option a 50% working interest in its 100% owned Ruddock Creek zinc/lead
project to Itochu Corporation and Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. ("Itochu
and Mitsui"). Itochu and Mitsui may exercise the option by funding
the next $20 million of exploration expenditures on the project over a
maximum three year period. Execution of a definitive agreement is
subject to final due diligence and management approval. In the
meantime, the project is being readied for commencement of exploration.
The Ruddock Creek zinc/lead project, located 100 kilometres
north-northwest of Revelstoke, British Columbia was acquired by
Imperial as a result of the November 2009 merger with Selkirk Metals
Corp. Between 2004 and 2009 Selkirk conducted extensive exploration
including over one kilometre of underground development, and surface
and underground diamond drilling totaling 25,688 metres. Prior to 2004,
historical drilling carried out by Falconbridge and Cominco totaled
7,244 metres. The focus of exploration to date has been at the E zone
which has been defined from surface outcrop down plunge for a length of
approximately 1.2 kilometres and is the only zone that has been drilled
in sufficient detail to estimate a resource. The 43-101 compliant
resources for the E zone at various cut-offs are shown on the table
below.
------------------------------------------ -------------------------------- INDICATED (1) INFERRED (1) Cutoff -------------------------------- -------------------------------- Grade % Tonnes % comb Tonnes % comb Zn+Pb 000's % Zn % Pb Zn+Pb 000's % Zn % Pb Zn+Pb ------------------------------------------ -------------------------------- 1.0 3,062 6.46 1.33 7.79 1,654 6.13 1.20 7.33 2.0 2,847 6.85 1.41 8.26 1,648 6.14 1.20 7.34 3.0 2,613 7.28 1.50 8.78 1,614 6.23 1.21 7.44 4.0 2,338 7.79 1.61 9.40 1,492 6.50 1.26 7.76 5.0 2,012 8.43 1.75 10.18 1,336 6.82 1.31 8.13 6.0 1,731 9.06 1.89 10.95 1,038 7.44 1.45 8.89 7.0 1,490 9.64 2.02 11.66 794 8.05 1.57 9.62 8.0 1,257 10.29 2.15 12.44 589 8.68 1.69 10.37 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. 43-101 Technical Report filed July 20, 2009 on SEDAR www.sedar.com
Exploration
in 2010 is expected to include dewatering and extension of the
underground development to the west providing access for underground
diamond drilling designed to extend the E zone further down dip. In
addition, surface exploration including diamond drilling will test
other zones within the Ruddock Creek Sulphide Horizon
("Horizon") which has been defined in sufficient detail to
confirm continuity over a length of approximately five kilometres in an
east-west direction. Along the Horizon, other significant zones of
mineralization include the Creek, F, T, U, V and Q zones. Work on these
other zones has included surface mapping, sampling, airborne and ground
geophysical surveys, and limited diamond drilling on the Creek, U and Q
zones.
Imperial is a mine development and operating company based in
Vancouver, British Columbia. The Company's key properties are the Mount
Polley open pit copper/gold producing mine in central British Columbia,
the Huckleberry open pit copper/molybdenum producing mine in northern
British Columbia, and the development stage Red Chris copper/gold
property in northwest British Columbia and Sterling gold property in
southwest Nevada.
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