Prophecy Platinum Reports 1.04 Million oz PGM+Gold Indicated and 10.97 Million oz PGM+Gold Inferred for the Wellgreen Project, Yukon Territory, Canada
14.07.2011 | Marketwire
VANCOUVER, 07/14/11 - Prophecy Platinum Corp. (TSX VENTURE: NKL) (PINK SHEETS: PNIKD) (FRANKFURT: P94P) ('Prophecy Platinum' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce the receipt of an independent National Instrument (NI) 43-101 compliant report and mineral resource estimate for its Wellgreen PGE-Ni-Cu property located in the Yukon Territory, Canada. The report is authored by Todd McCracken, P.Geo., of Wardrop Engineering Inc., a Tetra Tech Company, who is an independent Qualified Person under NI 43-101.The independent study incorporated drill data from 701 diamond drill holes (182 surface and 519 underground) totalling over 53,222 metres. Using a 0.4% NiEq (nickel equivalent) cut-off grade, the Wellgreen deposit now contains a total inferred resource of 289.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.53 g/t platinum, 0.42 g/t palladium, 0.23 g/t gold (1.18 g/t PGM+Gold), 0.38% nickel, and 0.35% copper. Separately, the deposit also contains an indicated resource of 14.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.99 g/t platinum, 0.74 g/t palladium, 0.52 g/t gold (2.25 g/t PGM+Gold), 0.69% nickel, and 0.69% copper. The resource includes both the East Zone and the West Zone of the Wellgreen project, which are tabulated in Table 1 showing respective metal grades which are also expressed as nickel equivalent (NiEq) values:
Table 1: Wellgreen Indicated and Inferred Resource Totals
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NiEq% Cate- NiEq Pt Pd Au PGM+Au Ni Cu Co
cutoff gory Zone Tonnes % (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (%)
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0.400 Indi- East 14,308,000 1.36 0.99 0.74 0.52 2.25 0.69 0.62 0.05
cated
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NiEq% Cate- NiEq Pt Pd Au PGM+Au Ni Cu Co
cutoff gory Zone Tonnes % (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (%)
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0.400 Inf- East 219,327,000 0.76 0.54 0.45 0.26 1.25 0.39 0.34 0.03
erred
0.400 Inf- West 69,919,000 0.67 0.50 0.34 0.12 0.96 0.34 0.38 0.02
erred
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Total
inferred 289,246,000 0.74 0.53 0.42 0.23 1.18 0.38 0.35 0.03
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Several parameters were used in calculating the reported resource:
-- NiEq=((Ni%x$Nix22.0462)+(Cu%x$Cux22.0462)+(Co%x$Cox22.0462)+
(Au gradex$Aux0.029167)+(Pt gradex$Ptx0.029167)+
(Pd gradex$Pdx0.029167))/($Nix22.0462);
-- Long term average metal prices in $USD of $9.52/lb nickel (NiEq prices
based on this amount), $2.96/lb copper, $15.78/lb cobalt, $1085/troy
ounce gold, $1776/troy ounce platinum, $689/troy ounce palladium;
-- Visual comparison of colour-coded block model grades with composite
grades on section and plan;
-- Comparison of the global mean block grades for ordinary kriging (OK),
inverse distance squared (ID2), nearest neighbour (NN) and
composites;
-- Swath Plots comparing NN estimates and OK estimates;
-- 701 drillhole database used compiling over 12,000 assays.
Contained Metals at Wellgreen(i)
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Metal Indicated Resource Inferred Resource
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Nickel (Ni) 0.22 Billion lbs. 2.42 Billion lbs.
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Copper (Cu) 0.20 Billion lbs. 2.23 Billion lbs.
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Cobalt (Co) 15.77 Million lbs. 191.30 Million lbs.
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Platinum (Pt) 0.46 Million oz. 4.93 Million oz.
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Palladium (Pd) 0.34 Million oz. 3.91 Million oz.
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Gold (Au) 0.24 Million oz. 2.14 Million oz.
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PGM+Gold 1.04 Million oz. 10.97 Million oz.
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(i) Based on resource estimated at 0.4% NiEq cut-off, and 100% metals
recoveries.
'This initial independent resource report confirms Wellgreen as one of the largest Platinum Group Metals projects in Canada, and one of few outside of South Africa's Bushveld complex. We intend to aggressively expand total resource at Wellgreen in Yukon, Canada,' stated John Lee, Chairman of Prophecy Platinum.
Prophecy Platinum has adopted a 0.4% nickel equivalent cut-off pending further work on the economics regarding the deposit. The Company believes that this represents a conservative cut-off value with a demonstrated NiEq value 0.74% for the inferred resource and 1.36% NiEq for the indicated resource. Additional payable metals such as rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium are not figured into the current resource estimate. Resource numbers at their various cut-off values are tabulated below on a zone-by-zone basis (i.e. East Zone and West Zone):
Table 2: East Zone Indicated Resource Tonnage at Various NiEq Cut-Offs
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NiEq Nieq Pt Pd Au PGM+Au Ni Cu Co
Cut-Off Tonnes % (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (%)
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0.200 14,423,900 1.349 0.988 0.732 0.514 2.234 0.683 0.615 0.051
0.250 14,423,900 1.349 0.988 0.732 0.514 2.234 0.683 0.615 0.051
0.300 14,423,900 1.349 0.988 0.732 0.514 2.234 0.683 0.615 0.051
0.350 14,398,100 1.351 0.990 0.733 0.514 2.237 0.684 0.616 0.051
0.400 14,308,000 1.357 0.995 0.736 0.517 2.248 0.686 0.619 0.051
0.450 14,085,100 1.372 1.007 0.743 0.523 2.273 0.694 0.626 0.051
0.500 13,662,800 1.400 1.029 0.755 0.532 2.316 0.708 0.639 0.052
0.550 13,235,700 1.428 1.051 0.767 0.543 2.361 0.722 0.654 0.053
0.600 12,711,700 1.463 1.075 0.780 0.556 2.411 0.740 0.671 0.054
0.650 12,198,800 1.498 1.100 0.794 0.568 2.462 0.760 0.689 0.055
0.700 11,693,600 1.534 1.123 0.808 0.581 2.512 0.779 0.705 0.056
0.750 11,281,200 1.563 1.141 0.821 0.593 2.555 0.796 0.718 0.057
0.800 10,838,078 1.595 1.157 0.831 0.601 2.589 0.816 0.731 0.058
0.850 10,384,400 1.629 1.177 0.843 0.612 2.632 0.836 0.747 0.059
0.900 9,776,000 1.676 1.201 0.859 0.624 2.684 0.866 0.764 0.060
0.950 9,472,900 1.700 1.214 0.865 0.630 2.709 0.880 0.777 0.061
1.000 8,850,700 1.751 1.241 0.884 0.644 2.769 0.912 0.796 0.062
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Table 3: East Zone Inferred Resource Tonnage at Various NiEq Cut-Offs
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NiEq Nieq Pt Pd Au PGM+Au Ni Cu Co
Cut-Off Tonnes % (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (%)
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0.200 392,934,000 0.554 0.363 0.320 0.166 0.849 0.301 0.228 0.022
0.250 336,506,000 0.609 0.411 0.356 0.188 0.955 0.326 0.258 0.024
0.300 300,049,000 0.650 0.446 0.382 0.206 1.034 0.343 0.280 0.025
0.350 259,831,000 0.700 0.491 0.414 0.231 1.136 0.364 0.309 0.027
0.400 219,327,000 0.760 0.543 0.448 0.261 1.252 0.388 0.344 0.029
0.450 176,065,000 0.842 0.610 0.493 0.303 1.406 0.423 0.392 0.032
0.500 139,224,000 0.940 0.682 0.545 0.351 1.578 0.468 0.445 0.036
0.550 109,865,000 1.051 0.762 0.604 0.401 1.767 0.520 0.504 0.041
0.600 92,700,000 1.140 0.823 0.649 0.437 1.909 0.564 0.547 0.045
0.650 81,026,000 1.214 0.870 0.685 0.465 2.020 0.603 0.583 0.048
0.700 71,595,000 1.285 0.911 0.715 0.489 2.115 0.642 0.617 0.051
0.750 64,098,000 1.350 0.943 0.738 0.509 2.190 0.680 0.649 0.053
0.800 57,420,000 1.417 0.974 0.755 0.526 2.255 0.721 0.681 0.056
0.850 52,190,000 1.477 1.002 0.770 0.537 2.309 0.759 0.709 0.058
0.900 48,055,000 1.529 1.021 0.782 0.544 2.347 0.795 0.732 0.059
0.950 44,213,000 1.581 1.039 0.792 0.549 2.380 0.831 0.756 0.061
1.000 40,494,000 1.637 1.056 0.804 0.554 2.414 0.870 0.782 0.062
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Table 4: West Zone Inferred Resource Tonnage at Various NiEq Cut-Offs
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NiEq Nieq Pt Pd Au PGM+Au Ni Cu Co
Cut-Off Tonnes % (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (%)
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0.200 99,481,000 0.569 0.433 0.311 0.103 0.847 0.291 0.305 0.019
0.250 97,203,000 0.577 0.437 0.313 0.104 0.854 0.296 0.310 0.019
0.300 93,447,000 0.589 0.444 0.317 0.105 0.866 0.303 0.318 0.019
0.350 85,117,000 0.615 0.460 0.324 0.108 0.892 0.316 0.337 0.020
0.400 69,919,000 0.667 0.497 0.338 0.118 0.953 0.340 0.381 0.021
0.450 52,081,000 0.749 0.557 0.356 0.138 1.051 0.376 0.460 0.023
0.500 39,114,000 0.841 0.624 0.374 0.158 1.156 0.415 0.547 0.026
0.550 32,943,000 0.901 0.657 0.385 0.162 1.204 0.447 0.595 0.027
0.600 28,791,000 0.948 0.677 0.391 0.162 1.230 0.475 0.631 0.029
0.650 25,386,000 0.991 0.694 0.396 0.158 1.248 0.503 0.662 0.030
0.700 22,224,000 1.036 0.711 0.402 0.160 1.273 0.530 0.696 0.031
0.750 19,931,000 1.072 0.722 0.403 0.159 1.284 0.554 0.721 0.032
0.800 17,814,000 1.107 0.735 0.408 0.159 1.302 0.577 0.745 0.032
0.850 15,891,000 1.141 0.745 0.409 0.160 1.314 0.601 0.768 0.033
0.900 13,731,000 1.183 0.758 0.409 0.161 1.328 0.628 0.798 0.034
0.950 11,890,000 1.223 0.764 0.405 0.163 1.332 0.656 0.829 0.035
1.000 10,081,000 1.268 0.767 0.406 0.170 1.343 0.687 0.862 0.036
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Historic production focused on the massive sulphide pods/embayments. Recent exploration by Prophecy Platinum has concentrated on the evaluation of the Wellgreen property to host larger, lower grade, tonnages of PGM-enriched Ni-Cu mineralization. The modeled resource in this press release demonstrates that the disseminated material extends from surface to at least 800 meters depth, making a large volume of this material amenable to a low cost-bulk tonnage open pit mining scenario.
Higher-grade pockets of semimassive sulphides (greater than 1% Cu and Ni and greater than 2 g/t Pt), as historically mined by Hudson Yukon, are expected to continue to be located through exploration efforts. These higher grade pockets, although not continuous, could be targeted in a potential open pit operation in order to accelerate the project's pay back.
The ongoing 2011 diamond drill program announced in the Company's June 2, 2011 press release has been designed to augment this reported resource in recognition of the significant tonnage that was overlooked by previous operators on the property. There are two diamond rigs operating on the property since May, with drill results expected in the summer.
Overview of Wellgreen:
-- Wellgreen is part of Kluane Ultramafic Nickel belt, which is the second
largest behind the Thompson Belt in Canada and remains vastly
unexplored.
-- The Wellgreen property is located approximately 35 kilometres northwest
of Burwash Landing, Yukon,15 km from the paved 2 lane Alaska Highway and
402 km from Alaska's Haines deep sea port. Prophecy Coal Corp. acquired
100% of Wellgreen by merger with Northern Platinum on September 23,
2010. Prophecy Platinum acquired 100% of Wellgreen from Prophecy Coal
Corp. on June 13, 2011.
-- Wellgreen was discovered in 1952 and optioned to Hudson Bay Mining and
Smelting Ltd. (now Hudbay Minerals Inc.). Over a 20 year period, Hudbay
sank 4 shafts and developed over 4 km of underground workings.
-- A total of 701 holes (182 surface, 519 underground) totalling 53,222
meters (28,303 meters surface, 24,919 meters underground) were drilled
by the following mining and exploration companies: Hudbay, Chevron, All
North, Galactic, Archer Cathro, Coronation, and Northern Platinum.
-- Prophecy Platinum holds 91 claims in two groups under renewable 21-year
mining leases totaling approximately 22.1 square km.
-- A shear zone was discovered in 2005 with rock samples yielding up to
70.1 g/t Palladium, and 77.3 g/t Platinum and 1.37 g/t Rhodium over a 3
km strike.
-- A Fugro helicopter-borne Mag and EM survey conducted in 2008
demonstrated that the magnetic signature of the peridotite extends
approximately 6 km on Prophecy Platinum's ground.
-- Past exploration and production focused on high-grade underground
massive sulphide.
-- Prophecy Platinum is re-examining the surveys, geology, past drill
cores, and economics of Wellgreen for a disseminated sulphide open pit
scenario.
-- The 2010 drill program has extended the 2008 resource to the east with
widths as evidenced by hole WS10-177 (with 525.90 m of 0.17% Cu, 0.26%
Ni and 0.550 g/t PGMs+Au) and WS10-178 (566.78m of 0.16% Cu, 0.23% Ni
and 0.517 g/t PGMs+Au) which were drilled on the eastern edge of the
resource envelope. The results from these two holes are highly
encouraging as they demonstrate a potentially new mineralization trend
starting and extending to the east across Arid Creek.
This news release has been reviewed and approved by Danniel Oosterman, P.Geo., and a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101.
About Prophecy Platinum
Prophecy Platinum Corp. is a Canadian based Nickel PGM exploration company with projects in Canada, Argentina and Uruguay. Prophecy Platinum's flagship Wellgreen PGM-Cu-Ni project is in Yukon Territory, Canada and the Lynn Lake project is located in Manitoba, Canada. Further information can be found at www.prophecyplat.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF PROPHECY PLATINUM CORP.
John Lee
Chairman
Forward Looking Statements: This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed 'forward-looking statements'. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the companies are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although Platinum 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 the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include general economic, regulatory, market or business conditions, and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the companies with securities regulators. Mineral exploration and development of mines is an inherently risky business. Accordingly the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on Platinum and the risks and challenges of its business, investors should review filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
'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.'
Contacts:
Prophecy Platinum Corp.
Joseph Li
1.800.362.7366
jli@prophecyplat.com
www.prophecyplat.com