Elemental Minerals announces its best potash intersection yet; 4.47m grading 36.41% K2O (57.66% Kcl), from the first borehole at the Dougou Prospect, ~15 km southwest of the Kola Deposit

PERTH, Australia, Sept. 4, 2012 /CNW/ - Elemental Minerals Ltd. (ASX, TSX: ELM) ("Elemental" or "the Company") is pleased to announce results of the first Dougou Prospect borehole (ED_01).

HIGHLIGHTS

• Exceptional 36.41% K₂O (57.66% KCl) from first Dougou Prospect drill hole (ED_01), intersecting a thick sylvinitic Hangingwall Seam (HWS) of 4.47 metres, including an interval of 1.74 metres grading 39.91 K₂O (63.20% KCl).
  
  
• At 4.47 metres, the sylvinite intersection of ED_01 is thicker than the intersections of the HWS at Kola which range from 2.46 to 3.75 metres.
  
  
• The drilling at Dougou has also identified a new set of high-grade sylvinite seams which occur approximately 10 metres above the HWS.  An intersection of 3.93 metres grading 22.74% K₂O (36.01% KCl) was returned for this mineralisation and given its position it has been named the "Top Seam".
  
  
• The HWS and Top Seam can be correlated with the recent intersections at the Kola deposit, 15 kilometres to the northeast (see Fig 2).
  
  
• The prospective area at Dougou covers some 10 km by 20 km (see Fig 1) and is located only 21 km from the coast and the planned product port facilities at Tchiboula.
  
  
• Only one borehole drilled to date; an exploration programme is currently being designed, with the objective of defining the mineralisation within the HWS and the Top Seam at Dougou, and further testing of the area between Dougou and Kola.

Commenting on the results of the first Dougou drilling, Elemental's CEO, Iain Macpherson, stated: "The exceptional quality of this intersection exceeds expectations and highlights the quality of the Dougou Prospect. With planned further drilling at Dougou we would like to repeat the success of our resource drilling at Kola; this time exclusively targeting the mineralisation of the Hangingwall and Top Seam. The Kola deposit is a potash asset of global significance and with the addition of the Dougou Prospect, the full potential scale of both the Sintoukola Project and the Congo basin are becoming clear."

About the Dougou Prospect

The Dougou Prospect is located approximately 15 km southwest of the Kola Deposit (see Fig. 1) and 21 km from the planned Tchiboula port facility. This target, amongst others was generated based on reprocessed high-quality (historic) oil industry seismic data and drilling and is the second potash target drilled by Elemental on the Sintoukola property. Prior to drilling ED_01, all exploration undertaken by the Company has been at the Kola Deposit.

ED_01 was drilled about 15 metres from historical borehole K-52 to test reported sylvinite mineralisation recorded on the geological logs for K-52 (for which no assay data was available).

The Top Seam is a set of six closely-spaced, narrow sylvinite seams and is separated from the Hangingwall Seam by approximately 10 metres of halite. Individual seams within the Top Seam grade up to 42.02% K₂O (66.55% KCl). The interval reported here combines the four central seams to give an intersection of 3.93 metres grading 22.74% K₂O (36.01% KCl) the base of which is 12.5 metres above the top of the Hangingwall Seam (see Fig. 2).

Figure 2 illustrates the excellent stratigraphic correlation of the seams intersected in ED_01 with those in EK_43 over 15 km to the northeast. Figure 3 shows the Company's interpretation of a 2D seismic section through the Dougou Prospect. The interpretation is that the Hangingwall Seam and Top Seam are flat-lying and extend at least 10 km in this orientation. Like Kola, the Dougou area is interpreted to be located on a relative basement high (the Dougou Rise) and in a structurally favourable position for sylvinite mineralisation as demonstrated by the ED_01 results.

Commenting further on the Dougou result, Iain Macpherson added, "We will shortly commence further exploration at both Dougou and Kola, targeting similar sylvinite intersections in both the Hangingwall and Top Seams. These results further point to the potential scale of the Sintoukola licence and support our operational strategy in developing a centralised processing facility capable of scaling-up and servicing a number of mines across the licence. We are increasingly confident that Sintoukola and indeed the broader Congo Basin, has the potential to become a major potash producing province that will help meet the long-term market demand for potash."

Table 1: Significant intersections in ED_01

Table 2: ED_01 coordinates*

*By DGPS.

About Elemental Minerals

Elemental Minerals Limited is an advanced mining exploration and development company that aims to grow shareholder value through its 93%-owned Sintoukola Potash Project on the Republic of Congo coastline.  Elemental Minerals is dual listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ELM. For more information, visit www.elementalminerals.com

Mineral Resource Summary - Kola Deposit of Sintoukola Project¹

• The Sintoukola Project's Kola deposit lies approximately 10-15 km east of Dougou and currently contains 1.32 Billion Tonnes Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources with an average grade of 15.65% K₂O (24.78% KCl), and Inferred Mineral Resources of 948 Mt grading 16.20% K₂O (25.64% KCl), at a 10.0% K₂O cut-off grade.
  
  
• Within such Mineral Resources, the sylvinite portion contains 573Mt with an average grade of 20.92% K₂O (33.13% KCl) within the Measured and Indicated category and 475Mt of Inferred Mineral Resources grading 20.39% K₂O (32.27% KCl).
  
  
• Four main potash mineralised seams are present within the Kola deposit and are identified in stratigraphic and chronological order as: Hangingwall Seam (HWS), Upper Seam (US), Lower Seam (LS), and the Footwall Seam (FWS). The depth to the top of the Upper Seam is within 250 to 320 metres from surface.
  
  
• Exploration at Kola has focussed on the Upper Seam and Lower Seams which contain the bulk of the Mineral Resources defined to date. The Hangingwall Seam which was discovered relatively recently contributes 47Mt at an average grade of 34.75% K₂O (55.01% KCl) to the Inferred Mineral Resources, and the Footwall Seam 225Mt grading 17.63% K₂O (27.92% KCl) also in the Inferred category.
  
  
• The Mineral Resources are reported in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves 2004 Edition (The JORC Code), which is consistent with Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards 2005 and hence complies with NI 43-101.

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Competent Person / Qualified Person Statement:

Information in this report that relates to Exploration Results or Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Dr Simon Dorling, Mr Jeff Elliott and Dr Andrew Scogings of CSA Global Pty Ltd, the Company's geological consultants. Dr. Dorling, Mr. Elliott and Dr. Scogings are members of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG) and have sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity they are undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" (the JORC Code). Dr. Dorling, Mr. Elliott and Dr. Scogings are also Qualified Persons for the purposes of Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and they consent to the inclusion in this report of the Information, in the form and context in which it appears. Mr. Elliott or Dr. Scogings have verified the exploration data dislosed in this news release.

Further information respecting Elemental's Sintoukola Project is contained in a technical report entitled ''NI 43-101 Technical Report, Sintoukola Potash Project, Republic of Congo'' prepared by Neal Rigby of SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. and Messrs. Simon Dorling, Jeff Elliott, and Andrew Scogings and Peter Davies of CSA Global Pty Ltd. for the Company dated June 21, 2012 with an effective date of June 21, 2012 (the "Technical Report"). The Technical Report can be accessed on the Company's profile on SEDAR. The Mineral Resource estimates in the Technical Report are superseded by the estimate announced on the 21^st of August, 2012 and will be supported by a new technical report to be filed within 45 days of that announcement.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that are "forward-looking". Generally, the words "expect," "potential", "intend," "estimate," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any of our forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance. Statements in this news release regarding the Company's business or proposed business, which are not historical facts, are "forward looking" statements that involve risks and uncertainties, such as resource estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the development of a centralised processing facility, the development of the Sintoukola deposit and the Congo Basin into a major potash producing province, and the commencement of a drilling programme at Dougou to further test the area and define resources within the Hangingwall Seam and the Top Seam. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.

www.elementalminerals.com 

SOURCE Elemental Minerals Limited

Image with caption: "Figure 1: Location of the Dougou Prospect and ED_01. (CNW Group/Elemental Minerals Limited)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120903_C3337_PHOTO_EN_17438.jpg

Image with caption: "Figure 2: Strip-log of the Hangingwall Seam and Top Seam in ED_01 at Dougou correlated with the same seams in EK_43 at Kola (some 15 kilometres to the northeast). (CNW Group/Elemental Minerals Limited)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120903_C3337_PHOTO_EN_17439.jpg

Image with caption: "Figure 3: Cross section through the Dougou Prospect along (Oil Industry) 2D seismic line MP06-03, showing the main contacts and interpreted reflectors within the salt sequence. (CNW Group/Elemental Minerals Limited)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120903_C3337_PHOTO_EN_17440.jpg