Matamec's Zeus Property Shows REE Potential OutsidMONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 1, 2012) - Matamec Explorations Inc. ("Matamec") (TSX VENTURE:MAT) is pleased to announce the discovery of new rare-earth (REE) bearing mineral occurrences as well as Surprise-type REE-Niobium-Tantalum mineralization extending over a 1 kilometre strike length in numerous outcrops between the Surprise and Surprise Nord showings. In addition, a new showing was defined 1.5 kilometres to the west of Surprise and named the Certitude REE-Y-Nb-Ta showing. An average of 3.2% TREO @ 27% HREO+Y2O3 is shown for the 2011 Surprise area samples (16 samples) and 5.1% TREO @ 36% HREO+Y2O3 for the new Certitude showing (13 samples) (in samples with > 0.5% TREO). Up to 3.6% Nb2O5 and 360 ppm Ta2O5 is found in some of the samples (see Figure 1 and Table 1 for details).
The grab samples were collected during Matamec's 2011 exploration campaigns on its Zeus HREE-Y-Zr property, located in southern Temiscaming, Quebec. The program was aimed at expanding the Kipawa deposit (which remains open laterally and at depth), better define existing showings (Surprise, Falaises and PB/PS) and explore soil anomalies defined in the 2010 regional soil survey around Surprise.
Tony Mariano and Tony Mariano Jr, renowned REE exploration consultants, will carry out mineralogical characterisation tests on the Certitude Showing during Matamec's next field campaign and additional exploration will establish the extent and interconnection of the mineral occurrences. Follow-up ground exploration to define potential drill targets in the area will also be carried out in early spring 2012 and will include ground traverses, mechanical trenching, line cutting, ground geophysics and geochemical surveys.
André Gauthier, Matamec's President, comments that: "The summer 2011 campaign in the Surprise area is a great success story: we had some anomalies, we went, we saw, and we discovered! While our main focus will remain on fully developing the Kipawa deposit, the Surprise area, now including the Certitude showing, looks better and better every time we visit."
PDAC
Matamec invites everyone to its booth (#3242) at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference taking place in Toronto from March 4-7, 2012, to see samples and speak with Dr Tony Mariano and the field geologists, Frédéric Fleury and Emmanuelle Giguère, who made the Surprise and Certitude discoveries.
Table 1. Summary of significant samples for 2011, Surprise and Certitude Showings
Sample |
Nature |
LREO* |
MREO* |
HREO* |
Y2O3 |
TREO* |
HREO +
Y2O3
over
TREO
% |
ZrO2 |
Nb2O5 |
Ta2O5 |
%
Light
rare
earths |
%
Medium
rare
earths |
%
Heavy
rare
earths |
%
Yttrium |
%
Total
rare
earths |
%
Zirco-
nium |
%
Nio-
bium |
%
Tanta-
lum |
Surprise area |
212JR |
Outcrop |
4.747 |
0.751 |
>1.85 |
5.474 |
12.819 |
>57.1 |
0.067 |
|
|
110JR |
Outcrop |
11.664 |
0.225 |
0.170 |
0.428 |
12.487 |
4.8 |
0.170 |
|
|
115JR |
Boulder |
8.949 |
0.290 |
0.322 |
0.673 |
10.234 |
9.7 |
0.014 |
|
|
217JR |
Outcrop |
3.070 |
0.167 |
0.414 |
0.833 |
4.484 |
27.8 |
1.293 |
1.071 |
0.014 |
002JR |
Outcrop |
1.461 |
0.115 |
0.124 |
0.277 |
1.976 |
20.3 |
0.411 |
|
|
086SSD |
Outcrop |
0.964 |
0.073 |
0.077 |
0.181 |
1.295 |
19.9 |
2.229 |
|
|
207JR |
Outcrop |
0.521 |
0.059 |
0.185 |
0.512 |
1.278 |
54.5 |
0.028 |
|
|
210JR |
Outcrop |
1.070 |
0.042 |
0.034 |
0.115 |
1.261 |
11.8 |
0.111 |
|
|
112JR |
Outcrop |
0.911 |
0.049 |
0.055 |
0.116 |
1.131 |
15.1 |
1.132 |
|
|
215JR |
Outcrop |
0.305 |
0.056 |
0.179 |
0.382 |
0.922 |
60.8 |
1.267 |
0.293 |
0.012 |
094SSD |
Outcrop |
0.691 |
0.041 |
0.040 |
0.119 |
0.890 |
17.8 |
0.484 |
|
|
200JR |
Outcrop |
0.695 |
0.042 |
0.033 |
0.083 |
0.853 |
13.7 |
1.163 |
|
|
109JR |
Outcrop |
0.462 |
0.041 |
0.086 |
0.201 |
0.790 |
36.4 |
0.226 |
|
|
201JR |
Outcrop |
0.509 |
0.036 |
0.032 |
0.099 |
0.675 |
19.3 |
0.426 |
|
|
114JR |
Outcrop |
0.395 |
0.038 |
0.061 |
0.133 |
0.627 |
31.0 |
0.413 |
|
|
108JR |
Outcrop |
0.350 |
0.028 |
0.044 |
0.096 |
0.518 |
27.0 |
0.362 |
|
|
Certitude |
104JR |
Outcrop |
>13.84 |
1.076 |
1.556 |
3.264 |
19.734 |
<24.4 |
0.021 |
|
|
006SSD |
Boulder |
6.096 |
0.623 |
0.762 |
1.492 |
8.973 |
25.1 |
0.129 |
|
|
SSD006 |
Outcrop |
3.322 |
0.564 |
1.017 |
1.664 |
6.567 |
40.8 |
0.083 |
|
|
BM04 |
Outcrop |
4.355 |
0.409 |
0.446 |
1.163 |
6.373 |
25.2 |
3.485 |
|
|
JR020 |
Outcrop |
1.622 |
0.354 |
1.974 |
1.217 |
5.167 |
61.7 |
4.822 |
2.371 |
0.032 |
BM02 |
Outcrop |
0.698 |
0.407 |
1.555 |
1.943 |
4.603 |
76.0 |
8.672 |
3.571 |
0.036 |
BM01 |
Outcrop |
3.497 |
0.185 |
0.112 |
0.167 |
3.961 |
7.0 |
6.713 |
|
|
105JR |
Outcrop |
2.022 |
0.186 |
0.249 |
0.540 |
2.997 |
26.3 |
0.016 |
|
|
100JR |
Outcrop |
0.713 |
0.241 |
0.762 |
0.779 |
2.495 |
61.8 |
2.783 |
1.729 |
0.020 |
103JR |
Outcrop |
1.194 |
0.151 |
0.295 |
0.766 |
2.406 |
44.1 |
0.011 |
|
|
101JR |
Outcrop |
0.807 |
0.092 |
0.113 |
0.224 |
1.236 |
27.3 |
1.932 |
|
|
JR019 |
Outcrop |
0.717 |
0.045 |
0.038 |
0.068 |
0.868 |
12.2 |
0.866 |
|
|
002SSD |
Outcrop |
0.416 |
0.059 |
0.088 |
0.194 |
0.756 |
37.2 |
0.036 |
|
|
* LREO: Light rare earths in oxides = La2O3 to Nd2O3.
MREO: Medium rare earths in oxides = Sm2O3 to Gd2O3
HREO: Heavy rare earths in oxides = Tb2O3 to Lu2O3.
TREO: Total Rare Earth Oxides = LREO + MREO + HREO + Y2O3
">": Indicates the presence of over limits in the analysis method used. |
Analytical procedures
All samples have been delivered to the ALS Chemex ("ALS") preparation facility in Val d'Or where the samples are reduced to pulps and couriered to ALS in Vancouver (B.C.) for analysis. The samples are dissolved using a lithium metaborate fusion before being analysed by ICP-MS methods on a 2 gram sample size, with overlimits handled either by ICP-MS on a dilute solution, in the case of rare earths, or by XRF, in the case of zirconium and Niobium. ALS maintains ISO 17025 certification, the highest accreditation available for QA/QC.
Aline Leclerc, V-P Exploration (Geo.), is Matamec's Qualified Person for this press release.
About Matamec
Matamec Explorations Inc. is a junior mining exploration company whose main focus is in developing the heavy rare earths Kipawa deposit and exploring more than 35 km of strike length in the Kipawa Alkalic Complex for rare earths-yttrium-zirconium-niobium-tantalum mineralization on its Zeus property.
The Company is also exploring for gold, base metals and platinum group metals. Its gold portfolio includes the Matheson JV property located along strike and in close proximity to the Hoyle Pond Mine in the prolific mining camp of Timmins, Ontario.
In Quebec, the Company is exploring for lithium and tantalum on its Tansim property and for precious and base metals on its Sakami, Valmont and Vulcain properties. As well, it is exploring for gold together with Northern Superior Resources Inc. on the Lesperance/Wachigabau property.
Fig 1. Zeus Summer 2011 campaign, Surprise area: https://file.marketwire.com/release/fig1_en.pdf