Montero Announces the Presence of Strontium in the Mineralized Rare Earth Bearing Dikes at the Wigu Hill Rare Earth Project, ...
February 14 2012 - 7:07AM
Marketwired Canada
Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:MON) ("Montero") announces that
the presence of measurable amounts of strontium ("Sr") have been identified in
bastnaesite bearing carbonatite dikes as highlighted in the Twiga Zone at Wigu
Hill. The strontium occurs as strontianite (SrCO3) which is associated with the
rare earth and gangue minerals. The presence of strontianite was established
during the initial mineralogical work that identified bastnaesite and synchisite
as the main rare earth bearing minerals.
The significance of the strontium was identified as being potentially
economically important once it was established that the mineral could be leached
into solution during the acid leach testwork undertaken at Mintek. (See News
Release dated 05/12/2011). A review of the distribution of strontium in the
trench and drill hole samples from Wigu Hill was undertaken and proved the
presence of significant amounts in the carbonatite dikes of between 1% to 2%
SrO. The average SrO content of the composites used for the Twiga and Tembo
resource estimates is 1.4%. Around 10% of the composites appear to belong to a
higher grade population with grades in the range of 2.5% to 6% SrO, with
localized concentrations up to 10.80% SrO.
Dr. Tony Harwood, President and CEO of Montero
commented, "In addition to the rare earth concentrations
in the Wigu Hill carbonatite dikes, the added presence
of strontium is a positive new development.
Metallurgical testwork has indicated the strontianite
can be leached into solution, suggesting a potential by-
product to the extraction of the rare earths. Ferrite
magnets, glass applications and pyrotechnics remain the
top end-use industries in strontium consumption. This is
an exciting development as we continue to create value
at Wigu Hill".
The presence of strontium is being investigated in more detail to establish the
potential of realizing value from this element as a by-product to the production
of rare earth elements at Wigu Hill. There is a consistent association of
strontianite with the bastnaesite and although this association is not directly
proportional, it has the potential to be economically valuable.
An assessment of the strontium content in association with bastnaesite in the
rare earth mineralised carbonatites at the Twiga Zone shows that there are
carbonatite dikes that are well mineralized with strontium as can be seen in
Tables 1 to 3 below;
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twiga From To Interval True Width TREO SrO
Trench (metres) (metres) (metres) (metres) % %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CT7a 7.95 19.30 11.35 7.25 9.68 1.72
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CT8b 16.70 25.60 8.90 5.70 12.43 2.52
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC1 4.10 18.80 14.70 10.69 11.37 4.19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 4.10 9.10 5.00 3.65 18.65 7.40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC2 3.15 16.15 13.00 9.50 14.02 3.25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 3.15 8.15 5.00 3.65 18.12 3.19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 4.15 5.15 1.00 0.73 27.26 8.51
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC3 3.00 13.00 10.00 7.30 9.16 2.19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC4 0.00 11.40 11.40 6.48 6.95 2.70
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC5 18.30 36.00 17.70 10.15 12.45 0.90
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 28.40 36.00 7.60 4.35 17.34 0.92
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC6 5.40 9.10 3.70 2.10 15.93 0.74
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC7 7.50 13.00 5.50 3.15 9.23 0.83
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC7 20 27 7 4.01 8.56 0.70
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 1. Twiga Zone -The EW Dike reflects variable amounts of SrO at
different intersection points
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twiga From To Interval True Width TREO SrO
Trench (metres) (metres) (metres) (metres) % %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CT7a 45.75 51.80 6.05 5.84 13.32 0.41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CT8a 3.60 29.80 26.20 25.8 4.82 1.44
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 3.60 13.10 9.50 9.35 7.03 2.48
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CT9b 101.60 120.55 18.95 18.5 8.07 2.04
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CT9c 2.60 6.90 4.30 4.23 11.72 0.54
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CT10a 4.00 8.50 4.50 4.43 8.86 1.28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CT13a 49.20 54.90 5.70 5.61 8.62 4.28
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CT14-15 5.80 10.00 4.20 4.10 6.92 5.67
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2. Twiga Zone - The NS dykes demonstrate anomalous concentrations of
SrO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twiga From To Interval True Width TREO SrO
Drill hole (metres) (metres) (metres) (metres) % %
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW003R 18.54 39.40 20.86 20.76 6.23 2.84
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 18.54 22.73 4.19 4.12 9.24 1.97
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
& 25.9 29.95 4.05 4.03 11.93 5.63
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
& 33.2 34.60 1.40 1.39 16.69 10.80
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW014 24.40 29.40 5.00 3.00 6.52 0.51
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW014 67.00 69.20 2.20 2.20 5.95 2.72
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW014 85.70 87.20 1.50 1.50 6.57 1.91
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW014 92.06 93.86 1.80 1.80 11.51 0.84
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW014 139.20 148.25 9.05 7.25 5.37 2.72
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 141.38 144.38 3.00 2.40 7.62 0.89
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW006 123.85 128.25 4.40 3.11 4.32 4.43
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW005 70.68 79.2 8.52 8.48 5.74 0.58
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 71.56 76.83 5.27 5.24 8.67 0.75
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW002 21.95 29.54 7.59 7.13 5.58 1.80
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 26.80 29.54 2.74 2.57 10.69 2.45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW001 9.85 18.93 9.08 8.94 6.10 5.32
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 14.20 17.4 3.20 3.13 9.79 9.39
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW004 73.60 76.51 2.91 2.60 4.30 0.21
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TW011 69.90 77.35 7.45 5.26 4.17 0.48
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Including 76.00 77.35 1.35 0.95 11.18 1.19
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 3. Twiga Zone - Drill hole intersections within both the NS and EW
dikes also reflects variable
SrO concentrations, but with significantly high grades and values in places.
Note: The TREO values listed in the tables above are the graded average of 14
rare earth oxides, namely, La2O3, Ce2O3, Pr2O3, Nd2O3, Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3,
Tb2O3, Dy2O3, ErO3, Ho2O3, Lu2O3, Tm2O3 and Yb2O3. The 5 light rare earths (bold
above) have been graded together as LREO x5. They constitute the majority of the
Wigu Hill rare earth oxides. These values plus the individual light rare earth
values can be accessed in the detailed tables at:
http://www.monteromining.com/projects/pdf/twiga-Sr-values.pdf
Future Work Programs
A systematic assessment of the distribution of strontium in the mineralized
carbonatite dikes at Wigu Hill is planned and this will assist in determining
the potential value add. The Leaching test work carried out on material from
Wigu Hill has been successful in isolating the Sr in the first stage of the acid
leach and additional testwork is proposed to establish a recovery procedure to
extract the Sr from this leachate.
QA/QC: Montero has used blanks, pulp duplicates and one analytical standard to
monitor the sampling and analytical quality. Results to date for the blank and
pulp duplicates show acceptable quality for the main REEs of interest. The
standard used was prepared on behalf of Montero using material from Wigu Hill
and has certified analytical values for Ce, La, Pr and Sm based on analyses from
16 different laboratories. A review of the REE results reported by ALS Chemex,
indicates that these meet the required level of analytical quality.
A review of the available SrO results for the QC materials used to monitor the
quality of the REE analyses has recently been completed. This indicates
acceptable analytical precision and no contamination issues with respect to the
SrO results. However, available QA/QC results for the standards used to monitor
the quality of the REE analyses are not appropriate to confirm the accuracy of
SrO analyses in the database. SrO results for the REE standard used by Montero
(AMIS0185) are about 12% higher relative to the results reported by Genalysis in
early 2011. SrO results for the same standard reported by ALS Chemex were about
6% higher at the end of the 2011 relative to values reported at the start of the
year. This issue is currently being investigated in order to determine whether
any adjustments need to be made to the SrO analyses in the existing database
prior to their use in Mineral Resource estimation. Additional standards
certified for REEs and SrO (at appropriate grades) will be acquired in order to
monitor SrO and REE contents in future analytical programmes.
Qualified Person's Statement
The technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed by
Mr. Mike Evans, M.Sc. Pr.Sci.Nat., who is a qualified person for the purpose of
National Instrument 43-101 and a consulting geologist to Montero.
About Montero Mining and Exploration
Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd. Is a mineral exploration and development
company engaged in the identification, acquisition, evaluation and exploration
of mineral properties primarily focused on rare earth elements (REE), phosphates
and uranium in Tanzania, South Africa and Quebec, Canada respectively. Montero
is focused on adding value for all shareholders through the acquisition and
exploration on properties, which have the highest potential for future
discoveries or development of existing mineral resources into mineable reserves.
We remain engaged in the development of our flagship Wigu Hill Rare Earth
Element Project in Tanzania, which is a high-grade, undeveloped Light Rare Earth
Element deposit. The Company's current focus is on updating the initial NI
43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate and advancing the hydro-metallurgical testwork
with Mintek. With the rising prices of REEs and China's control over export
quotas, it is becoming imperative that the rest of the world develops new rare
earth resources to meet the increasing demand from "green" technology and
high-tech applications.
Montero's growth strategy is to develop the Wigu Hill Rare Earth Element project
and to bring this to account through eventual rare earth production and cash
flow, while operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. We
will continue to add value through the development of our portfolio of
properties. Montero trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol MON.
Dr. Tony Harwood - President and CEO
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: This News Release includes certain "forward-looking
statements". These statements are based on information currently available to
the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet
management's expectations. Forward-looking statements include estimates and
statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals,
including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated
condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by
such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could",
"would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on
assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they
involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among
other things, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and
capital costs of the Company's mineral properties, and the Company's financial
condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently
anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: changes in general
economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand
and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other
judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and
operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the
Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not
exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking
statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers
should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The
Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be
made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance
with applicable securities laws.
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