Matamec's Zeus Property Shows REE Potential Outside the Kipawa Deposit
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwire) -- 03/01/12 -- Matamec Explorations Inc. ('Matamec') (TSX VENTURE: MAT) is pleased to announce the discovery of new rare-earth (REE) bearing mineral occurrences as well as Surprise-type REE-Niobium-Tantalum mineralization extending over a 1 kilometre strike length in numerous outcrops between the Surprise and Surprise Nord showings. In addition, a new showing was defined 1.5 kilometres to the west of Surprise and named the Certitude REE-Y-Nb-Ta showing. An average of 3.2% TREO @ 27% HREO+Y2O3 is shown for the 2011 Surprise area samples (16 samples) and 5.1% TREO @ 36% HREO+Y2O3 for the new Certitude showing (13 samples) (in samples with greater than 0.5% TREO). Up to 3.6% Nb2O5 and 360 ppm Ta2O5 is found in some of the samples (see Figure 1 and Table 1 for details).
The grab samples were collected during Matamec's 2011 exploration campaigns on its Zeus HREE-Y-Zr property, located in southern Temiscaming, Quebec. The program was aimed at expanding the Kipawa deposit (which remains open laterally and at depth), better define existing showings (Surprise, Falaises and PB/PS) and explore soil anomalies defined in the 2010 regional soil survey around Surprise.
Tony Mariano and Tony Mariano Jr, renowned REE exploration consultants, will carry out mineralogical characterisation tests on the Certitude Showing during Matamec's next field campaign and additional exploration will establish the extent and interconnection of the mineral occurrences. Follow-up ground exploration to define potential drill targets in the area will also be carried out in early spring 2012 and will include ground traverses, mechanical trenching, line cutting, ground geophysics and geochemical surveys.
Andre Gauthier, Matamec's President, comments that: 'The summer 2011 campaign in the Surprise area is a great success story: we had some anomalies, we went, we saw, and we discovered! While our main focus will remain on fully developing the Kipawa deposit, the Surprise area, now including the Certitude showing, looks better and better every time we visit.'
PDAC
Matamec invites everyone to its booth (#3242) at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference taking place in Toronto from March 4-7, 2012, to see samples and speak with Dr Tony Mariano and the field geologists, Frederic Fleury and Emmanuelle Giguere, who made the Surprise and Certitude discoveries.
Table 1. Summary of significant samples for 2011, Surprise and Certitude Showings
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Sample Nature LREO(i) MREO(i) HREO(i) Y2O3
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% % %
Light Medium Heavy
rare rare rare %
earths earths earths Yttrium
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Surprise area
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greater than
212JR Outcrop 4.747 0.751 1.85 5.474
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110JR Outcrop 11.664 0.225 0.170 0.428
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115JR Boulder 8.949 0.290 0.322 0.673
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217JR Outcrop 3.070 0.167 0.414 0.833
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002JR Outcrop 1.461 0.115 0.124 0.277
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086SSD Outcrop 0.964 0.073 0.077 0.181
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207JR Outcrop 0.521 0.059 0.185 0.512
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210JR Outcrop 1.070 0.042 0.034 0.115
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112JR Outcrop 0.911 0.049 0.055 0.116
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215JR Outcrop 0.305 0.056 0.179 0.382
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094SSD Outcrop 0.691 0.041 0.040 0.119
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200JR Outcrop 0.695 0.042 0.033 0.083
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109JR Outcrop 0.462 0.041 0.086 0.201
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201JR Outcrop 0.509 0.036 0.032 0.099
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114JR Outcrop 0.395 0.038 0.061 0.133
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108JR Outcrop 0.350 0.028 0.044 0.096
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Certitude
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greater than
104JR Outcrop 13.84 1.076 1.556 3.264
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006SSD Boulder 6.096 0.623 0.762 1.492
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SSD006 Outcrop 3.322 0.564 1.017 1.664
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BM04 Outcrop 4.355 0.409 0.446 1.163
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JR020 Outcrop 1.622 0.354 1.974 1.217
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BM02 Outcrop 0.698 0.407 1.555 1.943
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BM01 Outcrop 3.497 0.185 0.112 0.167
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105JR Outcrop 2.022 0.186 0.249 0.540
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100JR Outcrop 0.713 0.241 0.762 0.779
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103JR Outcrop 1.194 0.151 0.295 0.766
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101JR Outcrop 0.807 0.092 0.113 0.224
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JR019 Outcrop 0.717 0.045 0.038 0.068
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002SSD Outcrop 0.416 0.059 0.088 0.194
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(i) LREO: Light rare earths in oxides = La2O3 to Nd2O3.
MREO: Medium rare earths in oxides = Sm2O3 to Gd2O3HREO: Heavy
rare earths in oxides = Tb2O3 to Lu2O3.
TREO: Total Rare Earth Oxides = LREO + MREO + HREO + Y2O3'greater
than ': Indicates the presence of over limits in the analysis
method used.
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HREO +
Y2O3over
TREO
Sample Nature TREO(i) % ZrO2 Nb2O5 Ta2O5
---------- ------------------------------------
%
Total % % %
rare Zirco- Nio- Tanta-
earths nium bium lum
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Surprise area
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greater than
212JR Outcrop 12.819 57.1 0.067
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110JR Outcrop 12.487 4.8 0.170
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115JR Boulder 10.234 9.7 0.014
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217JR Outcrop 4.484 27.8 1.293 1.071 0.014
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002JR Outcrop 1.976 20.3 0.411
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086SSD Outcrop 1.295 19.9 2.229
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207JR Outcrop 1.278 54.5 0.028
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210JR Outcrop 1.261 11.8 0.111
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112JR Outcrop 1.131 15.1 1.132
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215JR Outcrop 0.922 60.8 1.267 0.293 0.012
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094SSD Outcrop 0.890 17.8 0.484
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200JR Outcrop 0.853 13.7 1.163
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109JR Outcrop 0.790 36.4 0.226
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201JR Outcrop 0.675 19.3 0.426
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114JR Outcrop 0.627 31.0 0.413
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108JR Outcrop 0.518 27.0 0.362
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Certitude
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less than
104JR Outcrop 19.734 24.4 0.021
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006SSD Boulder 8.973 25.1 0.129
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SSD006 Outcrop 6.567 40.8 0.083
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BM04 Outcrop 6.373 25.2 3.485
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JR020 Outcrop 5.167 61.7 4.822 2.371 0.032
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BM02 Outcrop 4.603 76.0 8.672 3.571 0.036
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BM01 Outcrop 3.961 7.0 6.713
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105JR Outcrop 2.997 26.3 0.016
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100JR Outcrop 2.495 61.8 2.783 1.729 0.020
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103JR Outcrop 2.406 44.1 0.011
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101JR Outcrop 1.236 27.3 1.932
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JR019 Outcrop 0.868 12.2 0.866
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002SSD Outcrop 0.756 37.2 0.036
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(i) LREO: Light rare earths in oxides = La2O3 to Nd2O3.
MREO: Medium rare earths in oxides = Sm2O3 to Gd2O3HREO: Heavy rare earths
in oxides = Tb2O3 to Lu2O3.
TREO: Total Rare Earth Oxides = LREO + MREO + HREO + Y2O3'greater than ':
Indicates the presence of over limits in the analysis method used.
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Analytical procedures
All samples have been delivered to the ALS Chemex ('ALS') preparation facility in Val d'Or where the samples are reduced to pulps and couriered to ALS in Vancouver (B.C.) for analysis. The samples are dissolved using a lithium metaborate fusion before being analysed by ICP-MS methods on a 2 gram sample size, with overlimits handled either by ICP-MS on a dilute solution, in the case of rare earths, or by XRF, in the case of zirconium and Niobium. ALS maintains ISO 17025 certification, the highest accreditation available for QA/QC.
Aline Leclerc, V-P Exploration (Geo.), is Matamec's Qualified Person for this press release.
About Matamec
Matamec Explorations Inc. is a junior mining exploration company whose main focus is in developing the heavy rare earths Kipawa deposit and exploring more than 35 km 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.
Fig 1. Zeus Summer 2011 campaign, Surprise area: http://file.marketwire.com/release/fig1_en.pdf
'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.'
Contacts:
Andre Gauthier
President
(514) 844-5252
Caroline Wilson (P.Geo.)
Director of Investor Relations
(647) 938-4080
info@matamec.com
www.matamec.com