Jerry Aiken Joins Passport Potash Board of Directors
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 05/16/12 -- Passport Potash Inc. (TSX VENTURE: PPI)(OTCQX: PPRTF) is pleased to announce the appointment of professional geologist Jerry Aiken to the Company's Board of Directors.
Mr. Aiken has more than 41 years of experience in mineral exploration involving base metals, precious metals, and industrial minerals. He has been involved in project generation, geologic mapping, geochemical evaluation, drill program supervision, and regional program management throughout the western United States, Canada, Mexico, South America and parts of Europe.
Since 2005, Mr. Aiken has been working as a consulting geologist involved in the evaluation of mineral properties and the writing and reviewing of NI 43-101 technical reports and PFS/FS technical reports. Prior to beginning work as a consulting geologist, Mr. Aiken worked for 29 years for US Borax (Rio Tinto Exploration) ("Borax") in Tucson, Arizona and Valencia, California. Before focusing his career in borates, potash and lithium he worked for five years for ASARCO Exploration beginning in 1970. Mr. Aiken has conducted and implemented exploration programs for borates, potash, lithium and other industrial minerals.
A review of Mr. Aiken's potash experience, beginning in the mid-1970s, shows that he has evaluated several potash holdings and mines located in the Carlsbad district, New Mexico, and the Paradox Basin, Utah. His experience in that regard resulted in his evaluating the brine potential in the Paradox Basin.
Subsequent to his work in the Paradox Basin Mr. Aiken evaluated potash projects in the South American Alta Plano and a number of brine projects for potash and other industrial minerals. In addition to his potash evaluation, several 'hard rock' projects were evaluated by Mr. Aiken in both South America, (Argentina) and North America (both in the US and Canada).
Mr. Aiken graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Western Michigan University. He also completed coursework in the Masters Program in Exploration Geology from the University of Idaho. Mr. Aiken is a Registered Professional Geologist in the State of Washington.
Passport Potash President and CEO Joshua Bleak commented: "We are happy to welcome Jerry Aiken to our Board. We have been working with Jerry as a consultant since the beginning of this year and his input has been invaluable. His significant experience in the potash industry provides a huge benefit to the Company. We look forward to working together with Jerry on moving this project forward."
The Company further announces that it has received notice of resignation from Stephen Butrenchuk as a Director and Qualified Person of the Company. The Board of Directors would like to thank Mr. Butrenchuk for his services.
The Company also announces that Mr. Tim Henneberry, a member of Passport's advisory board, is now serving as its Qualified Person.
About the Holbrook Potash Project
Passport Potash Inc. is a TSX-listed resource company engaged in the exploration and development of advanced potash properties. Passport has acquired a strategic position in the Holbrook Basin with land holdings encompassing over 86,000 acres. In addition, Passport has a cooperative agreement with the Hopi Tribe, allowing the company to access and conduct certain exploration activities on an additional 12,853 acres of privately held Hopi land (not reservation) while allowing the tribe to share in the study results. For more information regarding the Holbrook Basin, see
http://www.azgs.az.gov/arizona_geology/Summer%2008.pdf or visit our website at www.passportpotash.com.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
The standard operating and quality assurance procedures followed by Passport Potash employees have been instituted to make sure that all sampling techniques and results meet international reporting standards. Coring starts when the first significant gypsum interval (Upper Supai Formation) is intersected. Information about the drill holes and the on-site core descriptions are conducted according to international standards (depth intervals, recovery %, lithology, structure, alteration, rock type, weathered profile, sample intervals, remarks). Onsite field geologists collect the cuttings, bag and label them and place a small sub-sample into a chip tray for further treatment. Directly after being retrieved the cores are measured, cleaned, filed logged, packed in plastic poly sheeting and placed into sequentially numbered and labeled core boxes. Material is temporarily stored prior to transfer to the core facility in Apache Junction, Arizona, where significant intervals are dry cut in half. Half core samples are then bagged and carefully packed into boxes and shipped to the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon.
Passport is utilizing SRC's Potash ICP Analysis package designed for multi-element analysis of potash samples. SRC includes blanks, duplicates and their internal potash 003/004 standards in the analysis. SRC's analytical procedures have been more fully detailed in the NI 43-101 Technical Report, dated 30 March 2012, prepared for Passport Potash by ERCOSPLAN Ingenieurgesellschaft Geotechnik un Bergbau mbH. SRC is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 certified facility.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
PASSPORT POTASH INC.
Joshua Bleak, President
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 the likelihood of commercial mining and possible future financings are forward-looking statements. Although the Company 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. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include unsuccessful exploration results, changes in metals prices, changes in the availability of funding for mineral exploration, unanticipated changes in key management personnel and general economic conditions. Mining is an inherently risky business. Accordingly the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company and the risks and challenges of its business, investors should review the Company's annual filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
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:
Passport Potash Inc.
Peter J. Kletas
Manager of Corporate Development
866-999-6251 Toll Free
peter@passportpotash.com
Passport Potash Inc.
Clive Mostert
Corporate Communications
780-920-5044
cmostert@passportpotash.com
www.passportpotash.com