Dni's Drilling Confirms Buckton South Zone and Probes Extension to the Buckton Resource on its Polymetallic Black Shale Projects, Athabasca Region, Alberta

(DNI : TSX-Ven)
(DG7 : Frankfurt)

TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2012 /CNW/ - DNI Metals Inc. (DNI:TSX-Ven, DG7:FSE) announces that its drilling program at its Alberta polymetallic black shale projects has been concluded and that crews and equipment have demobilized from the field. The drilling successfully confirmed the new Buckton South Zone and served to extend the Buckton Zone by approximately three kilometres.

The program completed an aggregate of 980m in nine short vertical diamond drill HQ holes all of which, except one, intersected the Second White Speckled Shale Formation which hosts mineralization at the Buckton and Buckton South Zones. One of the holes was located too far to the east of the erosional edge of this Formation to intersect it. Intercepts of the Formation in the drill holes range 11m to 22m, and are consistent with prior drilling in the area. Labiche Formation black shale which overlies the Speckled Shale was also intersected in all of the holes in intercepts ranging 16m to 84m.

All drill core has been sampled but not yet analyzed, although field testing of split core samples with a mobile field X-Ray Florescence analytical unit (XRF) shows that intercepts of the Second White Speckled Shale sampled during the drilling are metal enriched similarly to those from prior drill intersections across the mineralized Buckton Zone. The XRF results are, however, NOT assay results as they are semi-quantitative approximations of grade and are intended only as a field screening method to reinforce visual identification of Formational contacts. Analytical results will be announced once received.

Three of the drill holes were cored at the Buckton South Zone located 8 kilometres to the south of the Buckton inferred resource (announced Oct24/2011 and Jan16/2012), and successfully confirmed this Zone over approximately 3 square kilometres. The current holes are the first ever cored over the Buckton South Zone which had previously been identified relying on surface trenching and historic oil/gas well downhole subsurface information. Consideration will be given, once assay results are received, to assess whether drill data on hand, reinforced by trenched surface exposures, suffice to enable delineation of a new initial inferred resource from the Buckton South Zone.

Four holes drilled to the north of the Buckton inferred resource confirmed extensions to the Buckton Zone for an additional 3 kilometres to the north of the Buckton resource. Subject to revising the current Buckton resource by an updated resource study, expectations are that the current drilling results will enable expansion of the Buckton inferred resource northward over up to an additional 4 square kilometres. This expansion will be additional to a westward expansion of the resource made possible by the Labiche shale resource (announced Sept12/2012 and Sept13/2012) which concluded that much of the material above the Buckton resource hosted in the Second White Speckled Shale Formation is not waste and represents previously unrecognized recoverable value incremental to the Buckton resource. Plans are to launch an updated resource study for the Buckton Zone once all analytical results are in hand.

Two strategically located in-fill holes were completed within the northern portion of the current Buckton inferred resource to enhance the drilling database over that portion in preparation for the Preliminary Economic Assessment Study (Scoping Study) slated to start by the end of October.

An additional eleven holes planned to continue expanding the Buckton resource northward, and to further infill over the Buckton and Buckton South Zones, were deferred due to scheduling and budgetary constraints.

The drilling achieved its principal objectives of drill testing and confirming the Buckton South Zone with a view to delineating a new initial resource therefrom, and of exploring and expanding the Buckton Zone northward with a view to expanding the Buckton initial inferred resource beyond its current boundaries.

Work to follow will consist of preparation of an updated and consolidated resource for the Buckton Zone, to combine mineralization identified in the Second White Speckled Shale Formation and that in the overlying Labiche Formation, both of which to be re-stated as expanded by the current drilling. A portion of the existing Buckton inferred resource might also be upgraded from the Inferred to the Indicated resource class based on the current in-fill drill holes. Consideration will also be given to preparation of a study to estimate a new initial inferred resource from the Buckton South Zone.

In all likelihood, the resource studies to follow will be carried out concurrently with the planned Preliminary Economic Assessment Study (PEA Study or Scoping Study) for the Buckton Zone to incorporate preliminary engineering and pit design variables into resource classification criteria. This Study was previously slated to commence in late August but was deferred to late October to incorporate findings from the current drilling. Field orientation work for the Study will be completed shortly.

The Qualified Person in connection with this press release and in respect of the Alberta polymetallic black shale projects is S.F.Sabag PGeo, President and CEO of DNI, who is responsible for verification and quality assurance of the exploration information disclosed in connection with the projects and this release. The field X-Ray Florescence analytical unit employed as a field screening tool is an InnovexSystems X-50 Mobile XRF which was calibrated to certified analytical reference material and to samples of mineralized Second White Speckled Shale from DNI's prior drilling at the Property.

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.

DNI - TSX Venture
DG7 - Frankfurt
Issued: 71,590,356

SOURCE DNI Metals Inc.