TIDMREM
RNS Number : 2013N
Rare Earth Minerals PLC
21 October 2016
Rare Earth Minerals Plc
("Rare Earth Minerals" or "REM")
Macarthur Minerals Locates Lithium in Nevada in the Basin
adjacent to Clayton Valley
Rare Earth Minerals Plc (AIM: REM; OTC: REMMY)) is pleased to
report that Macarthur Minerals ("Macarthur") in which REM owns a
15.5% shareholding, has located lithium in Nevada in the basin
adjacent to Clayton Valley with surface grades up to 145.5 ppm
lithium. The full Macarthur announcement can be found at:
http://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=5388035395240156&qm_symbol=MMS
.
Macarthur Minerals Limited (TSX-V: MMS) (the "Company" or
"Macarthur Minerals") is pleased to announce that it has located
lithium near surface in the Lida Valley, Nevada, the basin adjacent
to the Clayton Valley, which hosts North America's only producing
lithium mine, Albemarle's Silver Peak Lithium Mine.
Lithium has been located at the Company's new Stonewall Lithium
Project ("Stonewall Project") in Southern Nevada, from a shallow
auger drilling program conducted as part of due diligence, for
acquisition of the Stonewall Project, which is now complete. All
nine shallow auger drill holes reported lithium, with grades up to
145.5 parts per million ("ppm") lithium ("Li") from near surface
sediment, confirming that lithium is present in the Lida
Valley.
David Taplin, President, CEO and Director of Macarthur Minerals
commented:
"Finding lithium at surface at the Stonewall Project, in the
Lida Valley, the basin adjacent to North America's only producing
lithium mine, is potentially significant; not only for Macarthur
but it also emphasises the lithium potential of the Lida Valley.
Deeper drilling into the basin and the brines is a priority to
ascertain if the same lithium brine potential exists in the Lida
Valley as has been discovered and extracted in the adjacent Clayton
Valley. We have completed acquisition of the Stonewall Project and
are excited about moving this project forward."
Results of Due Diligence and Auger Drilling Program
A United States mineral exploration company performed initial
technical due diligence evaluation work on lithium for the
Stonewall Project. An initial shallow auger drilling program on the
Stonewall Project for the purposes of collecting soil and brine
samples for lithium was conducted. A total of nine auger holes were
drilled to depths of between 1.07 - 2.13 meters (3.5 to 7 feet) at
various locations across the Stonewall Project playa (dry lake
bed). All holes contained lithium with sediment assays ranging from
34.6 ppm Li and up to 145.5 ppm Li.
The highest value analytical results were from holes SW 7 -
145.5 ppm Li and SW 17 - 95.9 ppm Li. The sediment samples were
taken under chain of custody to the ALS Chemex lab in Reno, Nevada.
The samples were analysed for 51 individual elements by Method ME -
MS 41, which is an ultra trace level analysis using Inductively
Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP - MS) methods, with an Aqua
Regia digestion.
Stonewall Project
The Stonewall Project covers an area of approximately 5,460
acres (22.1 square kilometers) and the majority of a playa in
Nevada's Lida Valley Basin, the adjacent basin to the Clayton
Valley Basin, which hosts the United States' only producing lithium
mine.
The Stonewall Project is strategically located in the Nevada
lithium supply hub. The Stonewall Project is located in an
intermontane basin and is surrounded by tertiary volcanic rhyolitic
rock units, which are anomalously high in lithium. These rhyolitic
units are thought to act as a potential source rock for lithium in
the Clayton Valley brines. The potential lithium source rock
includes flows and tuffs that likely extend below the alluvial
cover.
The Stonewall Project is located in the mining friendly Nye and
Esmeralda Counties of Nevada and is serviced by excellent
infrastructure with access to power, water, labour and is bisected
by the Veterans Memorial Highway Number 95. The regional climate
also favours natural and inexpensive evaporation for brine
concentration and allows year-round work.
Assignment Agreement
Macarthur Minerals, through its wholly owned US subsidiary,
Macarthur Lithium Nevada Limited, has entered into an Assignment
Agreement with Voltaic Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: VLT, FSE: 2P61)
("Voltaic") to acquire the Stonewall Project on the following key
terms:
-- Macarthur Minerals will issue 2 million ordinary shares to
Voltaic at 10 cents per share; and
-- payment to Voltaic of US$50,000 within 6 months.
Next Steps for the Stonewall Project
The Company plans to conduct further extensive sampling of the
Stonewall Project to compliment the shallow auger drilling program
conducted as part of due diligence. This extensive sampling program
will allow the Company a property wide view of lithium distribution
contained in the basin fill sediments, which outcrop at the surface
of the playa. This sampling will also allow for a partial
indication of the lithium content of the deeper sediments. At
present, the exact depth and composition of the sediments in the
basin are unknown. Macarthur Mineral's geological team expects
sediments to be at least approximately 92 meters (300 feet) deep. A
stock watering well located approximately 400 meters (a quarter
mile) to the south of the claim block was drilled to a depth of
approximately 92 meters (300 feet).
It is also expected, that potential aquifers similar in
composition and thickness to the upper and lower ash aquifers in
the nearby Clayton Valley will be encountered at depth. The ash
aquifers in the Clayton Valley were deposited by continental scale
volcanic eruptions from calderas located 150 kilometers to the West
(90 miles) and 790 kilometers North West (475 miles) of the
Stonewall Project area. Ash fall from these volcanoes was deposited
in the nearby Clayton Valley 52 kilometers to the North West (31
miles) and most likely also in the basins of the Lida Valley, where
the Stonewall Project is located. The ash aquifers are both a host
for and a possible source for lithium brines in the Clayton
Valley.
Once an extensive soil sampling program is completed, additional
exploration will be carried out by geophysical methods. A detailed
gravity survey may be conducted. Once the results of the soil
sampling survey and potentially, a gravity survey are integrated
and analysed, drill sites will be selected for detailed subsurface
investigation of the project.
For further information, please contact:
Rare Earth Minerals plc +44 (0) 207 440 0647
Andrew Suckling
Kiran Morzaria
WH Ireland Limited (Nomad & Broker) +44 (0) 207 220 1666
James Joyce
James Bavister
Square1 Consulting +44 (0) 207 929 5599
David Bick
Brian Alexander
Qualified Person
Kiran Morzaria B.Eng. (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the
information contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor
of Engineering (Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of
Mines and an MBA (Finance) from CASS Business School.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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