Additional Results Announced From Linear Metals' S
Sep 02, 2009 10:08 ET
Additional Results Announced From Linear Metals' Seymour Lake Lithium-Tantalum-Beryllium Project
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 2, 2009) - Linear Metals Corporation (TSX:LRM) is pleased to announce the results of additional compilation of historical diamond drill results, and new Enzyme Leach soil sampling results on its road accessible, 100 % owned, Seymour Lake Lithium/Tantalum/Beryllium Property, located to the north of Lake Nipigon, near Armstrong, in north-western Ontario. The project is being reactivated in response to rising prices for elements such as lithium and tantalum.
As described in a press release dated August 25, 2009, the 2002 drill program at Seymour Lake was designed to test primarily for tantalum however, due to the highly zoned nature of rare metal pegmatites, metals such as lithium, tantalum and beryllium are often fractionated into discrete subzones within the pegmatite body. Consequently, the composite assay intervals previously reported had been optimized for their tantalum content, and not lithium. Re-examination of these intervals, subsequent to the August 25th release, has identified some higher grade intervals in established zones, as well as entirely new zones of lithium mineralization, as shown in the attached table (changes from the August 25th version are shown in bold text; intervals not in bold have been previously reported):
North Aubry Zone
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Drill Hole From To Width Li2O
# (metres) (metres) (metres) (%) Comment
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SL-02-01 Primitive Pegmatite Intersected
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SL-02-02 45.75 60.00 14.25 1.735
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SL-02-03 25.65 29.00 3.35 1.398
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and 32.50 40.70 8.20 1.370 Lower
Horizon
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SL-02-04 25.00 34.20 9.20 2.386
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SL-02-05 18.00 21.60 3.60 0.944
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SL-02-07 59.00 59.30 0.30 0.048
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SL-02-08 13.60 30.00 16.40 0.830 Hole Lost
@ 30 m
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incl. 15.60 25.70 10.10 1.316
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SL-02-09 1.45 22.10 20.65 0.955
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incl. 3.20 17.94 14.74 1.190
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SL-02-10 51.85 57.05 5.20 1.578 Deep
Horizon?
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SL-02-12 6.28 6.50 0.22 0.034
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SL-02-13 15.88 16.02 0.14 0.003
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and 19.1 19.25 0.15 0.087 Lower
Horizon
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SL-02-14 2.65 8.35 5.70 2.212
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SL-02-15 6.35 11.80 5.45 1.302
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incl. 6.35 9.75 3.40 1.486
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SL-02-16 1.70 9.55 7.85 1.148
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SL-02-25 1.40 1.65 0.25 0.829
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SL-02-26 1.65 5.05 3.40 2.484
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SL-02-27 3.00 26.85 23.85 1.325
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incl. 3.00 12.00 9.00 2.059
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and incl. 19.46 22.50 3.04 2.232 Lower
Horizon?
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SL-02-28 2.30 14.10 11.80 1.837
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incl. 2.30 12.00 9.70 2.165
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SL-02-29 1.80 13.75 11.95 1.696
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incl. 1.80 12.20 10.40 1.926
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SL-02-30 2.00 18.90 16.90 2.081
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and 23.30 27.00 3.70 1.837 Lower
Horizon
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SL-02-31 1.60 19.32 17.72 1.475
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incl. 6.35 19.32 12.97 1.937
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SL-02-32 No Pegmatite Intersected Hole Lost
@ 95 m
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South Aubry Zone
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Drill Hole From To Width Li2O
# (metres) (metres) (metres) (%) Comment
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SL-02-17 27.75 28.15 0.40 0.428
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and 30.70 35.05 4.35 1.460 Lower
Horizon
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incl. 30.70 32.50 1.80 2.389
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SL-02-18 25.00 31.25 6.25 0.339
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and 52.10 61.18 9.08 1.262 Lower
Horizon
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incl. 52.10 57.00 4.90 1.799
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SL-02-19 2.65 17.15 14.50 0.304
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incl. 4.65 7.65 3.00 0.357
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SL-02-20 3.00 16.30 13.30 0.757
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incl. 8.00 12.60 4.60 0.976
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and 58.20 60.00 1.80 0.454 Lower
Horizon
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SL-02-21 2.35 18.64 10.36 0.648
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incl. 2.35 4.50 2.15 1.368
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and 50.82 52.02 1.20 0.288 Lower
Horizon
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SL-02-22 8.13 15.20 7.07 0.390
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incl. 8.13 9.00 0.87 0.626
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and 39.18 42.10 2.92 1.401 Lower
Horizon
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SL-02-23 1.95 5.20 3.25 0.625
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incl. 4.00 5.20 1.20 1.292
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SL-02-24 13.90 17.95 4.05 0.307
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incl. 13.90 15.70 1.80 0.623
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The most significant new developments from the re-examination of the assay data are a significantly expanded zone of lithium mineralization in drill hole SL02-30, on the North Aubry zone, 16.9 metres of 2.081% Li2O, and the recognition of a new "Lower Horizon" of mineralization, especially developed in the South Aubry, where it carries excellent lithium intersections in several holes, e.g. SL02-18: 9.08 metres of 1.262% Li2O, SL02-17: 4.35 metres of 1.460% Li2O, and SL-02-22: 2.92 metres of 1.401% Li2O. This Lower Horizon carries higher grade and thicker mineralized intervals than the main pegmatite horizon at South Aubry, and occurs approximately 20 metres below it. At the North Aubry, a similar newly recognized "Lower Horizon" is located only two to five metres below the main horizon, and in at least one hole (SL02-27), is not separated from the main horizon, creating an overall thicker, continuous pegmatite body with two distinct zones of high-grade lithium mineralization. Another new zone, called the "Deep Horizon", was intersected in at least one hole, SL02-10, below the North Aubry; located approximately 60 metres below the Main and Lower horizons, the hole returned 5.2 m of 1.578% Li2O. It should be noted that most of the holes in the 2002 program were only drilled to a depth of 40 to 60 metres (all holes drilled vertically), so that over much of the drill-tested area, the pegmatite system has only been investigated very shallowly. Some of the existing drill holes will be deepened in the upcoming exploration program to search for extensions of the Lower and Deep horizons (see website for table of 2002 drill holes and location maps).
The potential along strike and dip as well as at depth, are further emphasized by a detailed Enzyme Leach soil survey conducted during a 2008 work program (but only recently compiled and interpreted), which covered a total area of approximately 3 kilometres x 2.5 kilometres over the North and South Aubry zones, The survey, consisting of 644 samples (correction from August 25th release which referred to 422 samples), partially delineated a large, multi-element, circular to ovoid "halo" or "doughnut" anomaly approximately 3 kilometres in diameter, indicating that the sub-horizontal pegmatite body(s) may extend over a very large area, of which only a small fraction (less than 3 %) has been drill tested (see website for lithium anomaly map), and is open to the north, east, and south. Several very strong, multi-element, "apical" sub-anomalies within the larger "halo" may indicate specific Lithium, Tantalum, or Beryllium mineralized zones within the pegmatite, and are direct, high-priority drill targets.
Excellent reproducibility of the Enzyme Leach results is indicated by very similar anomaly patterns obtained from a limited 2002 Enzyme Leach orientation survey (130 samples) conducted by Linear over an area of approximately 400 metres x 2500 metres. Enzyme Leach soil geochemistry has been successfully used by Tanco exploration staff to delineate the Bernic Lake and other mineralized pegmatites in central Manitoba (Galeschuk & Vanstone, 2005), and by Manitoba Geological Survey staff to delineate the Bil lithium pegmatite in northern Manitoba (Fedikow, 2001). Anomalous values of lithium in the Enzyme Leach soils at Seymour Lake are of the same order of magnitude above background as those reported from Bernic Lake and the Bil pegmatite, although caution must be used in directly comparing survey results from different areas.
The 2002 drill results indicate there are open, sizeable, high-grade lithium (and tantalum) zones at both the North Aubry and South Aubry occurrences. Furthermore, the 2008 soil results indicate there remains excellent untested potential for additional pegmatites, both stacked at depth, along strike and down dip. The Seymour Lake property remains highly prospective for further discoveries and a re-evaluation of data is continuing, leading to a fall 2009, detailed exploration program, including drilling.
Brian MacEachen, Linear Metals President & CEO, states, "The additional high grade lithium intervals identified from the 2002 drill program, as well as the large size potential indicated by the soil samples, is extremely encouraging for the discovery of additional mineralized zones at Seymour Lake. We are moving forward with the fall exploration program and look forward to reporting additional results from the first work program that will specifically target lithium mineralization."
Resignation of Director
Linear Metals also announces the resignation of Dr. Ken Cai from the Company's Board of Directors. Linear Metals wishes to thank Dr. Cai for his dedicated service to the Company since April 2006. Linear Metals' Board of Directors expects to announce the appointment of a new director over the coming weeks.
Analyses for lithium were carried out on split or sawed half core at the XRAL Laboratory, in Mississauga, Ontario, using the ICP90 technique which has a 10 ppm detection limit Enzyme Leach soil samples were collected by Linear personnel at standard depth and analyzed by Activation Laboratories in Ancaster, Ontario using proprietary leachates and an ICP-MS finish. Standard QA/QC techniques were utilized to confirm results at the time the programs took place.
This press release was prepared under the supervision of Peter M. Dimmell, P.Geo. who is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Dimmell has reviewed the scientific and technical information in this press release.
Forward-Looking Information:
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future production, reserve potential, continuity of mineralization, exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The likelihood of future mining at Seymour Lake is subject to a large number of risks and will require achievement of a number of technical, economic and legal objectives, including obtaining necessary mining and construction permits, completion of pre-feasibility and final feasibility studies, preparation of all necessary engineering for pits and processing facilities as well as receipt of significant additional financing to fund these objectives, as well as funding mine construction. Such funding may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms or on any terms at all. There is no known ore at Seymour Lake and there is no assurance that the mineralization at Seymour Lake will ever be classified as ore. For more information on the Company and the risk factors inherent in its business, investors should review the Company's Annual Information Form at
www.sedar.com.
The TSX Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.