Matamec Finishes 16,000 metres Definition Drilling Campaign on its Heavy Rare Earths Kipawa Deposit
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – September 10, 2012 - Matamec Explorations Inc. ("Matamec" or the "Company") and Toyotsu Rare Earth Canada, Inc. (“Trecan”) are pleased to announce the completion of their 16,158-metre drilling campaign on the heavy rare earths-yttrium-zirconium Kipawa deposit, located on the Zeus property. In total, 195holes were drilled to better define resources contained within the pit design established by the preliminary economic study (“PEA”) filed on SEDAR on March 15, 2012 (Figure 1).Spring-Summer 2012 drilling campaign
The spring-summer 2012 drilling campaign aimed to:
1. Upgrade all resources within the proposed final pit design to at least indicated status so that they can be converted into 43-101 compliant reserves;
2. Define all resources within the pit outline to the measured category, the strictest resource category under 43-101 guidelines, to insure a rock-solid foundation for the economics of the 2013 feasibility study;
3. Furnish material to be used to establish the effects of variability in grade and mineralogical content on Matamec's simple, 2-step extraction process for rare earths. To that end, 22 of the 195 holes of the campaign were drilled in large diameter (HQ Size).
Finally, 5 geotechnical holes (not counted in the 195 definition holes) were drilled to establish the quality of the rock around the deposit for use in the design of the future open pit.
Logging is presently still underway, with 37 of the 195 drill holes yet to be logged. Logging should conclude in the next 2 weeks. To date, more than 9,500 core samples have been submitted to ALS Chemex Laboratory in Val d'Or(Québec), of which 7,000 have been completed and received by Matamec.
André Gauthier, Matamec’s' president, comments: « this is an exciting time as far as drilling is concerned. We're aiming to cross some T's and dot some i's on the main deposit, fully defining what we have for the feasibility. Drilling, pilot plants, cooperation with TRECan and the communities surrounding the Zeus property: I'm pleased to say that everything is going ahead and so far on schedule».
Complete analytical results, including overlimits, will be released when available.
Fall 2012 Mineral Resource Estimation
The last resources calculated on the Kipawa deposit date back to June 30, 2011, during the PEA study. With a hole-spacing of 50 meters or less, defined resources were both considerable at 63,850 tonnes of indicated and 17,780 tonnes of inferred TREO (at a 0.3% TREO cut-off) and well defined with 76% in the indicated category. Rare earth resources at Kipawa occur over a strike length of 1,600 meters, from surface to a depth of 110 meters, which allow for a low cost open-pit production. In addition, this depositis conveniently located 60 kilometres east of the town of Temiscaming, between the cities of Rouyn-Noranda and Ottawa, with infrastructure nearby: roads, railroad, air transport, energy, water, specialized labour, etc.
For the new mineral resource update, scheduled for fall 2012, SGS Geostat will use the data from Unocal Canada’s historic drill holes (34 drilled in 1988-1990), Matamec’s drill holes from 2009 to 2011 totalling 10,278 meters drilled and the new 16,158 meters of this spring-summer's campaign, as well as 631 meters of channel samples. A total of morethan 18,000 analyzed intervals will be used for this update and the new drill spacing of 25 meters centers in the West zone and 50 meters centers in the East Zone is expected to dramatically increase the quality of the resources.
Frédéric Fleury (geo) and Aline Leclerc (geo.), Vice-President Exploration of Matamec, qualified person under NI 43-101 standards for the Kipawa deposit, oversaw the preparation of this press release.
About Matamec
Matamec Explorations Inc is a junior mining exploration company whose main focus is in developing the Kipawa HREE deposit with Toyotsu Rare Earth Canada, Inc. (“TRECan”).
In parallel, the Company is exploring more than 35km 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.
"Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."
