HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - Oct 21, 2013) -
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX
VENTURE:UCU)(OTCQX:UURAF) ("Ucore" or "the Company") is
pleased to announce an upgraded resource estimate ("Resource" or
"Mineral Resource") for the Bokan Dotson-Ridge rare earth element
("REE") project in Southeast Alaska. The upgraded Resource has been
prepared by Aurora Geosciences (Alaska) Ltd. of Juneau, Alaska
("Aurora"). As a third-party consultant, Aurora was additionally
responsible for the data collection, quality control, modeling, and
reporting associated with the Resource estimate upgrade.
Mineral Resources were modeled via five alternative total rare
earth oxide (TREO) cut-off grades, with a baseline case ("Base
Case") employing a TREO cut-off of 0.4%. The Base Case renders an
Inferred Mineral Resource of 2.0 million tonnes grading 0.61% TREO,
an Indicated Mineral Resource of 2.9 million tonnes grading .61%
TREO, and a skew of approximately 40% HREO over TREO.
In keeping with the initial mine design set out by Stantec Inc.
of Tempe, AZ, ("Stantec"; released April 18, 2012), the upgraded
Mineral Resource excludes the I&L Zone (previously included in
the initial resource estimate released by the Company March 7,
2011). On the recommendation of Stantec, I&L mineralization,
located outside of the primary Dotson Zone of mineralization, will
be examined as part of a prospective Phase II mine expansion
program after the commencement of initial mine production.
"This Resource Upgrade is an important advancement for Ucore,
and the end product of an extensive field recon and drill program
at Bokan, combined with extensive post-drilling analysis," said Jim
McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. "The upgraded Resource is a
foundation component of our Feasibility Study, scheduled for
delivery in 2014, during the Company's final pre-construction NEPA
permitting exercise. Our great thanks to the US Forest Service for
facilitating the field program and to Aurora for delivering this
upgrade."
A summary of the upgraded Mineral Resource is as
follows:
Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate |
TREO
CUT-OFF |
TONNES |
LREO
(%) |
HREO
(%) |
TREO
(%) |
Contained TREO (lbs) |
0.20 |
3,609,000 |
0.332 |
0.229 |
0.561 |
44,623,264 |
0.30 |
3,350,000 |
0.347 |
0.238 |
0.584 |
43,119,056 |
0.40 |
2,936,000 |
0.365 |
0.249 |
0.614 |
39,731,596 |
0.50 |
2,104,000 |
0.407 |
0.273 |
0.679 |
31,486,697 |
0.60 |
1,273,000 |
0.462 |
0.305 |
0.766 |
21,491,601 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate |
TREO
CUT-OFF |
TONNES |
LREO
(%) |
HREO
(%) |
TREO
(%) |
Contained TREO (lbs) |
0.20 |
2,426,000 |
0.332 |
0.220 |
0.552 |
29,514,910 |
0.30 |
2,214,000 |
0.350 |
0.230 |
0.580 |
28,302,005 |
0.40 |
1,995,000 |
0.366 |
0.239 |
0.605 |
26,601,729 |
0.50 |
1,462,000 |
0.401 |
0.261 |
0.662 |
21,331,282 |
0.60 |
836,000 |
0.456 |
0.294 |
0.750 |
13,819,080 |
- Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) includes:
La2O3, Ce2O3,
Pr2O3, Nd2O3,
Sm2O3, Eu2O3,
Gd2O3, Tb2O3,
Dy2O3, Ho2O3,
Er2O3, Tm2O3,
Yb2O3, Lu2O3,
Y2O3
- Heavy Rare Earth Oxides (HREO) includes:
Eu2O3, Gd2O3,
Tb2O3, Dy2O3,
Ho2O3, Er2O3,
Tm2O3, Yb2O3,
Lu2O3, Y2O3
- The mineral resource estimate was completed by Mr. Jim
Robinson, a Senior Consulting Geologist at Aurora. Mr. Robinson is
an independent qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101
standards of disclosure for mineral projects of the Canadian
Securities Administrators and has verified the data disclosed in
this release. A Technical Report with the estimate will be filed on
SEDAR within 45 days.
- The resource estimate is based on:
- A database of 80 diamond drill holes totaling 16,000 m and 56
surface channels totaling 200 m. This diamond drilling and channel
sampling was completed by Ucore in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 on the
Dotson Ridge zone.
- All geochemical analyses were performed by ALS Chemex, Eco-tech
Laboratories Ltd., and Activation Laboratories.
- The specific gravity (SG) used is the overall mean of 2.77,
determined from 90 SG readings.
- Block model was estimated by the Ordinary Kriging interpolation
method on blocks of maximum 4 m x 4 m and minimum 1 m x 1 m
dimensions.
- All REE assays exceeding the 95% confidence level (CL) were cut
to the 95% CL for each element.
- All intercepts with a true width of less than 1.5 m were
diluted to a potential mining width of 1.5 m.
Rare earth grades by individual light rare earth oxides
at the 0.4% cut-off are as follows: |
|
|
La2O3 |
Ce2O3 |
Pr2O3 |
Nd2O3 |
Sm2O3 |
|
Indicated |
.070 |
.170 |
.020 |
.084 |
.022 |
|
Inferred |
.070 |
.170 |
.020 |
.085 |
.022 |
|
Rare earth grades by individual heavy rare earth oxide
at the 0.4% cut-off are as follows: |
|
|
Eu2O3 |
Gd2O3 |
Tb2O3 |
Dy2O3 |
Ho2O3 |
|
Indicated |
.002 |
.023 |
.004 |
.026 |
.006 |
|
Inferred |
.002 |
.023 |
.004 |
.026 |
.005 |
|
|
Er2O3 |
Tm2O3 |
Yb2O3 |
Lu2O3 |
Y2O3 |
|
Indicated |
.015 |
.002 |
.010 |
.001 |
.160 |
|
Inferred |
.013 |
.002 |
.009 |
.001 |
.154 |
The drill-defined Mineral Resource at Bokan Dotson-Ridge
commences at surface and is open both at depth and along strike.
Additional information regarding significant drill results from the
Company's 2009-2011 exploration programs and maps and sections
detailing the drill-hole locations and individual REE values are
available at: www.ucore.com.
The Company is working towards the completion of a Feasibility
Study, which will incorporate the results of this upgraded Mineral
Resource estimate, together with additional resource modeling. The
Company plans to release the results of this study in 2014.
NI 43-101 Compliance
James Robinson, P.Geo., an independent geologist with Aurora
Geosciences, has prepared the technical data provided in this news
release and is the qualified person responsible for its
accuracy.
Background
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is an early stage mine development
company focused on rare earth elements, strategic and technology
metals. With multiple projects across North America, Ucore's
primary focus is the Bokan - Dotson Ridge REE property in Alaska.
The Bokan - Dotson Ridge REE project is located 60 km southwest of
Ketchikan, Alaska and 140 km northwest of Prince Rupert, British
Columbia and has direct ocean access to the western seaboard and
the Pacific Rim, a significant advantage in expediting mine
production and limiting the capital costs associated with mine
construction. The Bokan properties are located in an area reserved
for sustainable resource development.
This press 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 exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or
developments that the Company expects, are forward-looking
statements. Although the Company believes 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 forward-looking statements. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration
successes, continued availability of financing, and general
economic, market or business conditions.