Wed Jun 1, 2011 8:52am EDT
LONGUEUIL, QUEBEC, Jun 01 (MARKET WIRE) -- Reunion Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE: RGD) ("Reunion" or the "Company")is pleased to announce further trenching results from its Matthews Ridgemanganese project in the North West District of Guyana, South America. Highlights include:-- Evidence of manganese mineralisation in over 7 kilometers of strike; -- Large widths of high grade mineralisation encountered in Hill 9West (western end of the strike zone); -- Manganese mineralisation identified in Hills 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 at Matthews Ridge; -- Drilling is underway to confirm vertical extent of manganese mineralisation encountered to date; -- Metallurgical testing is underway to identify process parameters Project Description The Matthews Ridge manganese project is located at the site of theabandoned Matthews Ridge Manganese Mine in the Northwest of Guyana, some260 km from the capital, Georgetown. The former Matthews Ridge mine area consists of a 12-kilometer longseries of hills (Hills 1 to 12 - see attached map) contained within theMatthews Ridge formation which hosts the manganese mineralisation, and isknown to extend for 40 kilometers of strike. Previous operations wereconfined to Hills 5 to 9 with little or no work on the other hills. Work completed to date Exploration Exploration activities conducted by Reunion Manganese Inc., an indirectwholly owned subsidiary of Reunion, since November 2010 consist of 59trenches totalling 4,700m, and 35 drill holes totalling 2,800m. Inaddition, a total of 42 auger holes have been completed to test thetailings from the previous operation. Trenching The first phase trenching program was designed to evaluate the previousmined areas with a view to establishing the existence of themineralisation along strike, while attempting to establish the controlson its localisation. Trenches are constructed at nominal right angles tothe controlling structures to an average depth of 2.5m. Careful attentionis paid to lithology and structure when sampling. A map is available at this address :https://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Reunion_gold_Map.jpg Trench results Assay results for trenches 1 to 19 were announced in a press releasedated March 1, 2011 and are included in the table of results in Appendix1 (https://media3.marketwire.com/docs/reunion_gold_appendix_1.pdf). As of May 25, 2011, assay results for trenches 18 and 20 to 35 have beenreceived. Highlights of these results are presented below: -------------------------------------------------- Trench_ID From To % Mn Interval -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- 18 63 78 12.87 15 -------------------------------------------------- 22 0 19 14.12 19 -------------------------------------------------- 26 41 65 12.48 24 -------------------------------------------------- 27 0 16 13.08 16 -------------------------------------------------- 29 21 36 11.28 15 -------------------------------------------------- 30 33 86 20.06 53 -------------------------------------------------- 31 35 89 20.44 53 -------------------------------------------------- 32 5 97 16.50 92 -------------------------------------------------- 33 0 12 17.49 12 -------------------------------------------------- 33 18 33 17.29 15 -------------------------------------------------- 33 50 68 19.69 18 -------------------------------------------------- 33 71 83 22.83 12 -------------------------------------------------- 35 0 9 13.06 9 -------------------------------------------------- Complete results are reported in Appendix 1(https://media3.marketwire.com/docs/reunion_gold_appendix_1.pdf). The assay results received from Hill 9 now give evidence of continuousmanganese mineralization over 7 kilometres of strike at Matthews Ridgestretching from Hill 5 to Hill 9. Massive manganese and banded manganesehave been encountered in Hills 7, 8, 9Centre and 9East but no assays havebeen received for these hills to date. Of particular note is the higher grade nature and extensive widths of thenear surface mineralization encountered in 9West (Hill 9), contained intrenches 30-33. Commenting on the results of the trenching program todate, Mr. James Crombie, President and CEO of Reunion Gold, said "we areextremely pleased with the trench results we have obtained so far, whichhave confirmed our belief that the Matthews Ridge mineralization extendsover a considerable strike length." Further trenching on Hills 1-4 and10-12 should add to this. The drill program that is now underway willhopefully give us the third dimension, and allow us to calculateresources later in the year." Drilling A drill program to evaluate the vertical extent of the manganesemineralization encountered to date began in April 2011. A total of 2,800min 35 drill holes has been completed in Hills 5West (15 holes) and 9 West(20 holes). No assays have been received from the drilling to date. Old Tailings A 1.1 km2 area of the tailings from the former operations were testedwith a 42-hole auger drilling program. An average grade of 21.1% Mn wasidentified over an average thickness of 2.8m. Metallurgical testing A program of metallurgical testing of the Matthews Ridge manganese oreshas been initiated at the laboratories of Bateman Engineering in SouthAfrica. The objective of this program is to test the amenability of theMatthews Ridge ores to upgrading by modern gravity separation methods(jigs, HMS/DMS techniques). This testing will provide data for processdesign, process optimisation and product identification. Quality Assurance and Quality Control Trench sampling is carried out as channels in the wall above the trenchfloor on 1m intervals. Samples are identified using pre-labeledtriplicate laboratory tags. The samples are weighed prior to finalbagging. Field duplicate samples are taken every 50th along with StandardReference materials inserted every 20th and blanks every 40th samples andgeological and structural mapping is completed for each trench. All datacollected in the field was routinely entered into geology and structuralgeology sheets for consolidation to the Reunion Manganese Database. All sample preparation and laboratory analysis for manganese has beenundertaken by Activation Laboratories Ltd. of Canada (Actlabs) by XRFfollowing borate fusion. Samples received by the laboratory are preparedin Actlabs sample preparation facility located in Georgetown, Guyana andrepresentative pulps sent to Canada for final analysis. The preparationinvolves: crush to passing 2mm, split and pulverize to pass 200 mesh foranalysis. Actlabs' Quality System has full ISO accreditation -- ISO 9001 and ISO9002. Following Reunion's quality assurance procedures, a full suite offield and laboratory duplicates and replicates along with internationallyaccredited standards and blanks have been run by the laboratory for eachbatch of samples submitted. Qualified Person Mr. Francois Viens, Eng, a Qualified Person as defined under the terms ofNI 43-101, has verified the data and reviewed the technical informationcontained in this press release. Mr. Viens is an independent consultantto the Company. About Manganese Manganese is the fourth largest metal consumed in the world, behind iron,aluminum and copper. It is a key component in steel and iron productionwith no viable substitute, and in short supply. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information. Although theCompany believes in light of the experience of its officers anddirectors, current conditions and expected future developments and otherfactors that have been considered appropriate that the expectationsreflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, unduereliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give noassurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward looking informationin this news release includes statements regarding the results of theexploration activities and interpretation of such results, the nature,potential size and continuity of the mineralization system, the timingand completion of a mineral resource estimate and future work programs,and the manganese potential of the project. Forward-looking informationinvolves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and otherfactors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially fromthose anticipated in such forward-looking information. Theforward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as ofthe date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to updatepublicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whetheras a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless sorequired by applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (asthat term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) acceptsresponsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.Contacts:James CrombiePresident and Chief Executive Officer450.677.2585450.677.2601 (FAX)info@reuniongold.comwww.reuniongold.comCopyright 2011, Market Wire, All rights reserved.