MBAC Reports Positive Results From First Diamond DVery nice results from Santana. Two nice resources. Why the stock trades at three and a quarter is beyond me.
MBAC Reports Positive Results From First Diamond Drilling Campaign at the Santana Project
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Mar 09, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX News Network) --
MBAC Fertilizer Corp. ("MBAC" or the "Company") (TSX: MBC) is pleased to report positive drilling results from its ongoing phosphate exploration work at the Santana exploration project ("Santana" or the "Project") in the southern Para State, Brazil.
The results from this drilling campaign produced an average grade of 20% P2O5 for mineralized intervals averaging 11 metres in thickness within a sub-outcropping alteration zone. Mineralization was intercepted in all of the first seven (7) diamond drill holes which were distributed over a 2 km(2) anomaly area. These results are consistent with the Company's expectations following the systematic surface sampling, ground geophysics, diamond and auger drilling results reported in MBAC's press releases dated November 16, 2010 and January 19, 2011.
Antenor Silva, President and CEO, stated "These high grade results are consistent with and indicative of a highly prospective large scale phosphate deposit that could be very significant for the Company. The Santana Project is in close proximity to extensive farm land in the northern Mato Grosso State, one of the major grain producing areas in Brazil and inside Para State the largest beef producer in country, giving rise to a competitive logistics advantage over imports to the area, similar to that with the Itafos- Arraias SSP Project."
Background:
The Santana Project consists of tenement areas covering approximately 90,000 hectares located in southern Para State, which were secured following positive indications from geological reconnaissance work.
Initial exploration consisting of rock chip sampling returned encouraging results including numerous occurrences of readings in excess of 30% P2O5. Follow up efforts including auger drilling and surface sampling resulted in the definition of an open ended NW-SE trending zone with grades in excess of 10% P2O5.
Results from the first diamond drilling campaign
MBAC began diamond drilling at Santana in December 2010 and has completed seven (7) diamond drill HQ (67 mm diameter) holes spaced approximately 400 metres apart and sampled within one (1) metre intervals.
Three (3) of the seven (7) holes (SAN-DD-001, SAN-DD-002 and SAN-DD-007) were drilled to depths of 150 to 165 metres in order to investigate the nature and composition of the rock beneath the saprolite ore identified at the surface. The other four (4) drill holes were drilled at depths of approximately 50 metres to observe the lateral distribution of the phosphate rich alteration zone.
Results obtained thus far indicate that the thickness of the alteration zone ranges from 6 to 47 metres, containing mineralized intervals of up to 27 metres thick and with grades ranging from 3.25% to 37% P2O5. If only the phosphate rich layer is taken into consideration then an average of 20% P2O5 applies and mineralized intervals average 11 metres. Beyond the alteration zone, though there were positive P2O5 readings extending to the bottom of the drill holes, the grades observed were typically below 3.25% P2O5.
The data available indicates that the deposit is a newly discovered carbonatite intruded in volcanic rocks of the upper Proterozoic Iriri formation. Other than phosphate, no significantly anomalous concentrations of other elements typically found in carbonatites have been reported, though first results indicate that the total Rare Earth Elements (REE) content averages 1800 ppm in the phosphate rich alteration zone (best intercept of 4040 ppm total REE from 4 to 5 metre interval of SAN-DD-001) and 250 ppm total REE in fresh rock.
Ongoing infill drilling work follows a 200 metre or closer-spaced grid and has been planned to allow for characterization and delineation of the exploration target, validating geological continuity as inferred from sampling and surface mapping and providing enough material for a first phase of technological characterization and metallurgical testing.
Dr. Luiz A. Bizzi, PhD, MBA, Vice-President, Exploration of MBAC, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release as applicable.
About MBAC
MBAC is focused on becoming a significant integrated producer of phosphate and potash fertilizers in the Brazilian and Latin American markets. MBAC has an experienced team with over 150 years of combined experience in the business of fertilizer operations, management, marketing and finance within Brazil. In October 2008, MBAC acquired Itafos Mineracao Ltda, which consisted of a phosphate mine, a mill and plant and related infrastructure, all located in central Brazil. MBAC's exploration portfolio includes a number of additional phosphate and potash projects, which are also located in Brazil. The Company continues to search for additional fertilizer opportunities in the Brazilian and other Latin-American markets, where strong agricultural fundamentals and unique opportunities are expected to provide attractive growth opportunities in the near future. All material information on MBAC can be found on the Company's website at www.mbacfert.com or at SEDAR at www.sedar.com.