Wellgreen Platinum Announces West Zone PGM-Ni-Cu Results
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Mar 18, 2014) -
Wellgreen Platinum Ltd. (TSX-VENTURE:WG)(OTCQX:WGPLF) is pleased to
announce further results from the most recent field program at its
100%-owned Wellgreen PGM-Ni-Cu project, located in Canada's Yukon
Territory. These latest results from the West Zone within the main
Wellgreen deposit extend mineralization more than 1.4 kilometres
west of the easternmost drilling in the Far East Zone.
Mineralization in the West Zone is continuous from surface to over
350 metres and is open at depth and along strike. Like other zones
to the east at Wellgreen, the West Zone includes areas of
significant higher grade material both near surface and in close
proximity to the existing underground workings.
This updated interpretation of the West Zone is based on new
drilling and new assay results from historic drill core that was
previously only selectively sampled for high grade massive sulphide
intervals. Continuous assays from these drill holes confirm that,
like elsewhere in the Wellgreen deposit, significant PGM-Ni-Cu
mineralization occurs throughout the ultramafic package associated
with areas within 50-100 metres of the sedimentary contact, as well
as within much broader bands of higher grade mineralization within
the layered ultramafic intrusions. Highlights include Hole 139
which intercepted 371.3 metres of PGM-Ni-Cu mineralization grading
2.76 g/t Platinum Equivalent (Pt Eq.) or 0.66% Nickel Equivalent
(Ni Eq.), for a grade thickness value of over 1000 gram-metres. The
lower interval in this hole intercepted 140.6 metres at 3.99 g/t Pt
Eq. or 0.95% Ni Eq. and ended in high grade mineralization of over
5 g/t Pt. Eq. (see Table 1 for additional details and Figure 1 for
a cross section). This 140.6 metre intercept of higher grade
material is located less than 50 metres from the existing main adit
level in the underground workings, making it an attractive
potential target for bulk underground extraction. Mineralization
remains open below this intercept and this area represents a high
potential target for resource expansion from future programs (see
area of "Priority Target" on the section below).
As discussed in previous news releases on the Far East, East and
Central Zones, the extent of mineralization at Wellgreen continues
to expand with new drill results and systematic incorporation of
those results into the updated geologic model. Thick bands of
higher grade mineralization have been interpreted to be up to 500
metres in width in the core of the ultramafic body in the Far East
Zone and in the Central zone. There has been no deep drilling in
the West Zone to test the system at depth or to fully test the
potential continuity of the higher grade material identified in the
Central Zone nearly 300 metres to the east. These areas represent
priority targets for future drilling campaigns and this material
which is located near existing underground workings could make this
area amenable to low cost development.
Reinterpretation and continuous assaying of historic drill core
from the West Zone that was previously only selectively sampled has
also confirmed the presence of zones near surface that have
substantially higher grade mineralization than average in the
deposit, which make them potential starter pit targets. Hole 065
intercepted 101.7 metres grading 3.43 g/t Pt Eq. or 0.82% Ni Eq.
starting from 2.4 metres downhole, and included 29.1 metres grading
5.53 g/t Pt Eq. or 1.31% Ni Eq. This hole is downdip from hole 211,
which intercepted 63.9 metres grading 3.55 g/t Pt Eq. or 0.85% Ni
Eq. starting from 1.5 metres downhole, and included 11.4 metres
grading 7.59 g/t Pt Eq. or 1.82% Ni Eq. Future drilling and
metallurgical testing will evaluate the potential extraction of
these mineralized areas as near surface starter pits designed to
provide higher grade mill feed early in the life of the mine.
Greg Johnson, Wellgreen Platinum's President and CEO, stated,
"We are excited to continue to report broad higher grade zones at
Wellgreen that are either near surface along the trend or close to
existing underground workings particularly in the West, Central and
East zones. The results are demonstrating the impressive scale of
mineralization at Wellgreen with it shaping up to be a "porphyry
scale" PGM-Ni-Cu system. The Company is not aware of any other
ultramafic PGM-containing deposits anywhere in the world with
continuous mineralization over comparable grades and widths. The
upcoming PEA update, targeted to be finished in Q2 2014, will
evaluate these higher grade zones as potential mill feed from
starter pits and selective areas of bulk underground mining in the
early years of the mine life. Pursuing these higher grades in the
early years of the operations at Wellgreen may enable us to achieve
significant PGM production with a much reduced initial capital
investment."
Investors should note that Wellgreen is a polymetallic deposit
with mineralization that includes the platinum group metals (PGMs)
platinum, palladium, rhodium and other rare PGM metals along with
gold, nickel, copper and cobalt. At current metal prices using
anticipated metallurgical recoveries and proportionally allocated
costs for each of the metals, the net economic contribution is
anticipated to be largest for platinum, palladium and gold (3E
elements), followed by nickel and then by copper and cobalt.
Platinum equivalent values referred to in this release are intended
to reflect total metal equivalent content in platinum for all of
the metals using relative prices for each of the metals. Refer to
Table 1 for individual assays and the metal prices used to
calculate Pt Eq. and Ni Eq.
To view Figure 1 - West Zone Cross Section 577,370 E, visit the
following link:
http://www.wellgreenplatinum.com/images/2014-march-west-577370e-web.jpg
These areas of higher grade mineralization are open to expansion
to depth and along trend toward the Far West zone. The Company
continues to receive and interpret final assay results from
additional holes drilled in the last drill program, as well as
results from the re-logged and re-sampled historical drill holes.
Results from the Far West Zones in the Wellgreen deposit are
currently being integrated into the model and additional results
are anticipated to follow in future updates. Future drilling will
be designed to confirm the connectivity between broader spaced
zones and to test the potential expansion into priority target
areas that have been identified as having excellent potential to
discover new mineralization adjacent to the currently defined zones
within the deposit.
To view image, visit the following link:
http://www.wellgreenplatinum.com/images/2014-march-resource-outline-web.jpg
| Table 1 - Drill Hole Intercept Highlights West Zone
Cross Section 577,370 E1 |
| Drill Hole |
Downhole |
Base Metals |
Precious Metals |
Total Metals |
Pt Eq.- length |
3E length |
|
From |
To |
Width |
Ni |
Cu |
Co |
Ni Eq. |
Pt |
Pd |
Au |
3E |
Pt Eq. |
Ni Eq. |
|
m |
m |
m |
% |
% |
% |
% |
g/t |
g/t |
g/t |
g/t |
g/t |
% |
g/t-m |
g/t-m |
|
WS-064 |
2.1 |
56.0 |
53.9 |
0.34 |
0.46 |
0.021 |
0.54 |
0.65 |
0.43 |
0.15 |
1.23 |
3.16 |
0.75 |
170 |
66 |
|
WS-065 |
2.4 |
104.1 |
101.7 |
0.35 |
0.55 |
0.023 |
0.60 |
0.73 |
0.48 |
0.11 |
1.31 |
3.43 |
0.82 |
349 |
133 |
|
incl |
75.0 |
104.1 |
29.1 |
0.52 |
0.98 |
0.040 |
0.96 |
1.18 |
0.76 |
0.19 |
2.12 |
5.53 |
1.31 |
161 |
62 |
|
WS-066 |
2.4 |
76.2 |
73.8 |
0.32 |
0.13 |
0.015 |
0.40 |
0.24 |
0.33 |
0.03 |
0.60 |
2.02 |
0.48 |
149 |
44 |
|
|
89.8 |
103.2 |
13.4 |
0.53 |
0.68 |
0.034 |
0.85 |
0.62 |
0.41 |
0.08 |
1.11 |
4.31 |
1.03 |
58 |
15 |
|
WS-067 |
7.6 |
151.5 |
143.9 |
0.30 |
0.15 |
0.014 |
0.38 |
0.24 |
0.29 |
0.04 |
0.56 |
1.92 |
0.46 |
276 |
81 |
|
WS-074 |
18.1 |
47.6 |
29.4 |
0.18 |
0.31 |
0.014 |
0.32 |
0.32 |
0.17 |
0.09 |
0.58 |
1.76 |
0.42 |
52 |
17 |
|
|
61.9 |
83.8 |
21.9 |
0.17 |
0.49 |
0.015 |
0.38 |
0.63 |
0.25 |
0.16 |
1.04 |
2.40 |
0.57 |
53 |
23 |
|
WS-077 |
3.1 |
115.2 |
112.1 |
0.19 |
0.28 |
0.016 |
0.32 |
0.36 |
0.21 |
0.09 |
0.67 |
1.85 |
0.44 |
207 |
75 |
|
WS-103 |
3.7 |
110.2 |
106.5 |
0.27 |
0.12 |
0.015 |
0.34 |
0.26 |
0.27 |
0.05 |
0.58 |
1.77 |
0.42 |
189 |
61 |
|
WS-139 |
4.3 |
375.6 |
371.3 |
0.33 |
0.34 |
0.019 |
0.49 |
0.53 |
0.38 |
0.11 |
1.03 |
2.76 |
0.66 |
1024 |
381 |
|
incl |
235.0 |
375.6 |
140.6 |
0.42 |
0.59 |
0.024 |
0.69 |
0.82 |
0.51 |
0.20 |
1.53 |
3.99 |
0.95 |
561 |
216 |
|
WS-211 |
1.5 |
65.4 |
63.9 |
0.39 |
0.57 |
0.024 |
0.65 |
0.66 |
0.46 |
0.09 |
1.21 |
3.55 |
0.85 |
227 |
77 |
|
incl |
54.0 |
65.4 |
11.4 |
0.92 |
1.30 |
0.052 |
1.50 |
1.09 |
0.84 |
0.08 |
2.01 |
7.59 |
1.82 |
86 |
23 |
|
WS-213 |
0.0 |
259.3 |
259.3 |
0.25 |
0.18 |
0.015 |
0.34 |
0.33 |
0.28 |
0.05 |
0.66 |
1.88 |
0.45 |
487 |
171 |
|
WS-221 |
0.0 |
142.0 |
142.0 |
0.24 |
0.19 |
0.015 |
0.34 |
0.30 |
0.25 |
0.09 |
0.64 |
1.86 |
0.44 |
265 |
92 |
| 1 Footnotes to Drill Interval Tables and Figures: (1) Nickel
equivalent (Ni Eq.%) and platinum equivalent (Pt Eq. g/t)
calculations reflect total gross metal content using US$of $7.58/lb
nickel (Ni), $2.85/lb copper (Cu), $12.98/lb cobalt (Co),
$1270.38/oz platinum (Pt), $465.02/oz palladium (Pd) and
$1102.30/oz gold (Au) and have not been adjusted to reflect
metallurgical recoveries. The above metal prices are a 20%
reduction of the LME 3-year trailing average metal prices as
presented in the Company's technical report entitled "Wellgreen
Project, Preliminary Economic Assessment, Yukon Canada" dated
August 1, 2012 (the "2012 Wellgreen PEA") and prepared by Andrew
Carter, C.Eng., Pacifico Corpuz, P. Eng., Philip Bridson, P.Eng.,
and Todd McCracken, P.Geo., of Tetra Tech Wardrop Inc. The 2012
Wellgreen PEA is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at
http://www.sedar.com/. (2) Ni Eq.% and Pt Eq. g/t in "Base Metals"
and "Precious Metals" columns only refers to equivalents of base
and precious metals respectively, not total metals. In the "Total
Metals" column the Pt Eq. includes both base and precious metals,
as does the NiEq. (3) 3E represents the sum of platinum, palladium
and gold, measured in g/t. (4) Significant interval defined as a
minimum 15 g-m Pt Eq. interval. (5) Cutoff grade of 0.2% Ni Eq. (6)
Internal dilution up to six continuous metres of <0.2% Ni Eq.
(7) Some rounding errors may occur. (8) True thicknesses have not
been measured. |
Metallurgical and
Engineering Update
Metallurgical optimization test work continues on representative
samples from disseminated mineralization at Wellgreen. Testing has
focused on optimizing the process flow sheet, grind size and
reagent selection for the mineralized samples. Current work has
been advanced using a conventional copper flotation process
followed by magnetic separation to increase recoveries of PGMs
prior to nickel flotation. Batch sample test work continues and
includes optimization of the magnetic separation process, grinding
requirements and evaluation of the extraction of the rare PGMs
(rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium) in addition to platinum,
palladium and gold. Upon completion of the batch sample test work,
the metallurgy team will commence locked cycle tests on composite
samples that reflect the grades in the Life of Mine Plan. The
results from this metallurgical test work will be used to generate
recovery and concentrate grade assumptions for the Preliminary
Economic Assessment (PEA) update in Q2-2014.
Engineering studies are also under way to look at optimizing the
project using a staged production approach that will review a
series of lower capex throughput with higher grade extraction
concepts as compared with the 2012 PEA. In addition scenarios will
also be evaluated to assess the optimal larger-scale production
level that fully attains the economic potential of the resource to
which the project may ultimately expand. Studies are also being
completed to select optimal locations for mine infrastructure,
which includes the camp, mill, water treatment plant and the
tailings storage facility. The Life of Mine Plan will focus on
higher sulphur material that will enhance metallurgical
performance.
About Wellgreen
Platinum
Based in Vancouver, Canada, Wellgreen Platinum Ltd. is a
platinum group metals focused exploration and development company
with advanced projects in the Yukon Territory and Ontario, Canada.
Our 100% owned Wellgreen PGM-Ni-Cu project, located in the Yukon,
is one of the world's largest undeveloped PGM deposits and one of
the few significant PGM deposits outside of southern Africa or
Russia. Our Shakespeare PGM-Ni-Cu project is a fully-permitted,
production-ready brownfield mine located in the well-established
Sudbury mining district of Ontario, Canada.
Our management team has an extensive track record of successful,
large-scale project discovery, development, permitting, operations
and financing combined with an entrepreneurial approach to
sustainability and collaboration with First Nations and
communities.
Quality Assurance, Quality Control: The technical information in
this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian
regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the
Canadian Securities Administrators ("NI 43-101"). The Wellgreen
project geological technical information disclosed herein was
prepared under the supervision of Neil Froc, P. Eng., Wellgreen
Platinum's Wellgreen Project Manager, who is a "Qualified Person"
as defined in NI 43-101 and the person who oversees exploration
activities on the project. All other technical information
disclosed herein was prepared under the supervision of John Sagman,
P.Eng., Wellgreen Platinum's Senior Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer and a "Qualified Person" as defined in NI 43-101.
In addition, Mr. Sagman has reviewed and approved the technical
information contained in this news release.
Wellgreen Platinum executes a quality control program to ensure
data verification using best practices in sampling and analysis.
Samples are cut for assay with the remaining sample retained for
reference. Blanks, Standard Reference Material ("SRM"), and
duplicates were inserted into the sample stream every 20th or 25th
sample. A duplicate sample was either created by quartering core or
splitting the sample at the lab. The quartered core is then placed
into two different sample bags with different sample numbers and
sealed. The SRM material comes from Natural Resources Canada and
Analytical Solutions Limited. These were inserted into the sample
stream immediately after the second duplicate. The SRMs used were
OREAS 13P, WMS-1a, WPR-1, WGB-1, and WMG-1. Sample Blanks are
obtained from garden marble from hardware stores in Whitehorse,
Yukon. Assayed samples are transported in sealed and secured bags
for preparation at Acme Analytical Laboratories (Vanc) Ltd. or ALS
Global Prep Lab located in Whitehorse, Yukon. Pulverized (pulp)
samples are shipped for analysis to Acme Analytical Laboratories
(Vanc) Ltd. or ALS Global l in Vancouver, B.C. Platinum, palladium
and gold were determined by lead fusion fire assay with an ICP
atomic emission spectrometry finish. Copper, nickel and cobalt were
determined by four-acid digestion followed by an ICP atomic
emission spectrometry finish. Acme Analytical Laboratories (Vanc)
Ltd. and ALS Global are ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited laboratories
and registered under ISO 9001: 2000. Acme Analytical Laboratories
(Vanc) Ltd. and ALS Global independent from the Company. Quality
assurance and quality control are monitored using scatterplots,
Thompson-Howarth plots and statistical analysis to ensure
duplicates, blanks and standard data are reliable, and indicate
robustness of overall results. ALS Global and Acme
quality-assurance procedures are also included in this process.
Forward Looking Information: This news release includes certain
information that may be deemed "forward-looking information".
Forward-looking information can generally be identified by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect",
"intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans"
or similar terminology. All information in this release, other than
information of historical facts, including, without limitation, the
potential of the Wellgreen project, information regarding the 2013
field program with respect to resampling, drilling, metallurgical
optimization, engineering and mine planning, potential mining
methods, anticipated metal recoveries, potential economic
contributions of certain metals, potential update to the 2012
Wellgreen PEA, the timing and success of exploration activities
generally, the timing of future technical reports and general
future plans and objectives for the Wellgreen and Shakespeare
projects are forward-looking information that involve various risks
and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the
expectations expressed in such forward-looking information are
based on reasonable assumptions, such expectations are not
guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments
may differ materially from those in the forward-looking
information. Forward-looking information is based on a number of
material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from the forward-looking information
include unsuccessful exploration results, changes in project
parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future
resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital
and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or
business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects
in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a
timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in
receiving government approvals, the Company's ability to maintain
the support of stakeholders necessary to develop the Wellgreen
project, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and
costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed
herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company
with securities regulatory authorities in Canada. Readers are
cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do
not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral exploration and
development of mines is an inherently risky business. Accordingly,
actual events may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking information. For more information on the Company
and the risks and challenges of our business, investors should
review our annual filings which are available at www.sedar.com. The
Company does not undertake to update any forward looking
information, except in accordance with applicable securities
laws.
"Neither the 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."
Wellgreen Platinum Ltd.Chris AckermanManager, Corporate
Communications604-569-3634cackerman@wellgreenplatinum.com
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