Tanzanian Royalty Reports that Laboratory Results Confirm Widespread Distribution of Diamond Indicator Minerals from Three Proj
April 03 2006 - 2:37PM
PR Newswire (US)
TSX: TNX AMEX: TRE VANCOUVER, April 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The
Company is pleased to report that a wide range of kimberlite
indicator minerals has been identified on three of its diamond
projects in Tanzania. Kimberlite is the host rock for most of the
world's major diamond deposits including the Williamson diamond
pipe at Mwadui, Tanzania, the largest ever mined. "Visual
identification of the indicator minerals from these three project
areas has also confirmed the presence of numerous chrome diopsides,
a mineral that is often associated with diamondiferous
kimberlites," noted the Company's Tanzania-based president, John
Deane. "A selection of kimberlite indicator minerals from these
areas will be subjected to electron micro-probing to determine
their mineral chemistry and results from this laboratory work
should be available in the next quarter," he added. All indicator
mineral analysis is being conducted by Mineral Services in Cape
Town, South Africa. Twenty five kilogram samples (55 lbs) were
submitted to Mineral Services for analysis from each hole in last
year's Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drill program. A recap of the drill
program and the analytical results reported by Mineral Services are
presented below on a property-specific basis. Please note that the
same nomenclature (i.e. K1, K2......) is used to identify the
various kimberlite bodies on each property even though they are
different pipes. Mwadui Project Area: Nyamigunga PL The Nyamigunga
PL is known to host five kimberlites within an area of
approximately two square kilometres. In actual fact, these
kimberlite bodies represent a "cluster" or assemblage of
carrot-shaped pipes which were likely intruded along some regional
structure that provided a pathway to surface for diamonds and their
associated kimberlite indicator minerals. The five kimberlites were
first tested more than 20 years ago by the Madini-Mwadui
partnership, a joint venture between the Tanzanian government and
DeBeers, the world's largest diamond mining and trading
organization. In the early 1980s, 450 tonnes of surface gravels and
two tonnes of kimberlite were processed through a small wash plant,
yielding several good quality diamonds. "With diamond prices at
historically high levels, these previously assessed situations are
certainly worth revisiting," said Deane, adding: "Of particular
interest to us is the potential to identify any local hard rock
source for these diamonds." Ground magnetic surveys were completed
on these licenses in September of 2005, identifying two new
untested targets that were subsequently tested by RAB drilling in
November. All five kimberlite bodies were intersected in the
program and two previously undiscovered pipes were found after
drilling two untested magnetic anomalies. Visual results from
Mineral Services were received in March 2006 and they are very
encouraging as indicated in the table below: K1 pipe: Chromite: 132
grains Chrome Diopside: 30 grains K2 pipe: Purple Garnet: 189
grains Orange Garnet: 55 grains Chromite: 106 grains Chrome
Diopside: 62 grains K3 pipe: Purple Garnet: 5 grains Chromite: 8
grains Chrome Diopside: 1 grain K4 pipe: Chromite: 2 grains Chrome
Diopside: 7 grains K6 pipe: Chromite: 4 grains K7 pipe: Chromite: 2
grains Poor ground conditions including heavy water inflows may
have produced contamination in the drill holes which could explain
some of the low grain counts in several pipes. Nevertheless,
kimberlite bodies within Tanzania often have variable indicator
mineral chemistry without diminishing their economic potential.
Igunga Project Area Two brand new kimberlite pipes were also
discovered in the Igunga Project Area in November 2005. One RAB
hole penetrated 67 metres of lake profile overburden before
intersecting kimberlite K1 from 67 to 82 metres. A second hole
penetrated 83 metres of similar material before intersecting
kimberlite K2 from 83 to 102 metres. Both holes were terminated in
kimberlite after the Company successfully recovered 25 kilogram
samples for laboratory analysis. Further exploration will be
required on these kimberlites to determine their geometric
configuration and depth potential. Visual results from Mineral
Services for these pipes are highly encouraging as shown below. K1
pipe: Purple Garnet: 1 grain Orange Garnet: 1 grain Ilmenite: 58
grains Chromite: 19 grains Chrome Diopside: 27 grains K2 pipe:
Purple Garnet: 75 grains Ilmenite: 52 grains Chromite: 54 grains
Chrome Diopside: 35 grains Nzega Project Area: Two new kimberlite
pipes were also discovered in this area, both of which were
internally generated geophysical targets. One pipe occurs close to
artisinal diamond activity for alluvials in a nearby river bed.
"This suggests that these kimberlite pipes - or others nearby - may
be the primary source of the diamonds in these alluvial workings,"
said Deane. Visual results from Mineral Services include the
following kimberlite indicator minerals. K1 pipe: Orange Garnet: 1
grain Ilmenite: 22 grains Chromite: 5 grains Chrome Diopside: 1
grain K2 pipe: Orange Garnet: 106 grains Ilmenite: 40 grains
Chromite: 63 grains Chrome Diopside: 45 grains Confidentiality
Agreements The Company also wishes to announce that several
companies have either expressed an interest in or in fact have
signed Confidentially Agreements (CA's) with respect to certain
properties owned by the Company in the Lake Victoria Greenstone
Belt of Tanzania. These agreements include gold and diamond
prospects that are at various stages of exploration. Under these
agreements, interested parties have the right to review technical
data on the properties but they are not allowed to share the
information with others who are not party to the agreement. "I take
great pride in the numerous accomplishments of our management team
and the competence, drive and successes of our exploration group
which is now being recognized by the growing number of
Confidentiality Agreements that are now in place or under
consideration," said the Company's Chairman and CEO, Jim Sinclair.
"With the largest exploration undertaking on the African Continent,
I look forward to more announcements of progress for our investors
and potential industry partners." Mineral Services Disclaimer:
Results from examination of concentrate are reported on the basis
of possible kimberlitic indicators recovered by visual inspection
of concentrate under a binocular microscope by experienced mineral
sorters. Mineral classifications are reported on the basis of
visual identification unless otherwise specified. Such visual
classifications may be inaccurate and are provisional until
confirmed by analysis. Qualified Person The Company's Qualified
Person is Mr. John Deane, the President of Tanzanian Royalty
Exploration, M.Sc. University of Cape Town (1993), a registered
scientist with SACNASP (Reg. No. 400005/05). Respectfully
submitted, "James Sinclair" James E. Sinclair Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer For further information, please contact Investor
Relations at 1-800-811-3855 Visit our website:
http://www.tanzanianroyaltyexploration.com/ The Toronto Stock
Exchange and American Stock Exchange have not reviewed and do not
accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors - The United States Securities
and Exchange Commission permits U.S. mining companies, in their
filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that
a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use
certain terms on this news release, such as "measured",
"indicated", and "inferred" "resources" that the SEC guidelines
strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their
filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely
the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No. 0-50634, which may be
secured from us, or from the SEC's website at
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. DATASOURCE: Tanzanian Royalty
Exploration Corporation CONTACT: Investor Relations at
1-800-811-3855; Visit our website:
http://www.tanzanianroyaltyexploration.com/; To request a free copy
of this organization's annual report, please go to
http://www.newswire.ca/ and click on Tools for Investors.
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