Maple Minerals files NI 43-101 report on Ben Maple Minerals Corp (TSX-V:MPM)
Shares Issued 15,270,269
Last Close 5/11/2005 $1.51
Thursday May 12 2005 - News Release
Mr. L.M. Falzone reports
MAPLE MINERALS ANNOUNCES FILING OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101 TECHNICAL REPORT ON BEN LOMOND URANIUM DEPOSIT
In connection with Maple Minerals Corp.'s previously announced agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the outstanding common shares of Uranium Minerals Ventures Inc., a National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report has now been completed and filed with respect to the Ben Lomond uranium deposit on SEDAR. UMVI's principal asset is an option to acquire from Afmeco Mining and Exploration Pty. Ltd. a 100-per-cent interest in the Ben Lomond uranium deposit which is located in North Queensland, Australia, for $1-million (Australian), subject to a royalty payment of 50 Australian cents per pound of uranium oxide recoverable prior to the date that is 30 days after the mill operates at 90-per-cent planned capacity, and a 1-per-cent net smelter return thereafter.
The technical report is entitled "Ben Lomond Uranium-Molybdenum Deposit, Queensland Australia" and was prepared for Maple by Andrew Vigar and David G. Jones, each of whom is a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
In the 1979 to 1982 period, four separate resource calculations of the Ben Lomond deposit produced estimates from a low of 4,000 tonnes contained uranium (10.4 million pounds uranium oxide) to a high of 5,400 tonnes contained uranium (11.9 million pounds uranium oxide). Of these four historical estimates, three were calculated by Minatome Australian Pty. Ltd. and the fourth consisted of an independent calculation in 1982 by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission which reported the following resources in the indicated and inferred resource categories at a cut-off of 500 parts per million uranium.
Cate- Tonnes Million
gory Tonnes % U3O8 U3O8 lbs U3O8
Ind-
icated 1,328,466 0.27 3,587 7.9
Inf-
erred 602,585 0.21 1,265 2.8
The authors of the technical report have examined the data on which the resource calculation was based and have concluded that the above resource estimate is currently valid, as it was conducted according to the Australian JORC guidelines of the day, which uses categories and terms which are still in use in the current version of the Australian JORC (2004). It is the authors' opinion that the resource estimate is compliant with the definitions under Section 1.3 and 1.4 of the current Canadian National Instrument 43-101. However, as the resource estimate predates the introduction of National Instrument 43-101 and no more recent data or estimates are currently available to Maple, Maple intends to complete additional work to verify the classification as a mineral resource under National Instrument 43-101. Accordingly, Maple is not treating the above estimate as a National Instrument 43-101 defined resource as verified by a qualified person, and as such the historical estimates set out above should not be relied upon for such purposes.
The closing of the UMVI acquisition is subject to final approval of the Queensland government of the transfer of the Ben Lomond property from Afmeco to UMVI. The Queensland government has given written indication that the transfer will be approved subject to the provision of certain documentation to the Queensland government which is currently being compiled. The transaction is also subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.
For further details of the proposed transaction, see Maple's news in Stockwatch dated Jan. 25, 2005.