4 Nov 2014 07:00
Bacanora Minerals Ltd.
("Bacanora" or the "Company")
Commencement of Drilling Programmes
Bacanora is pleased to announce that the drilling programme at its Magdalena borate project (the "Magdalena Borate Project") commenced yesterday. On completion of the 1,000 metre drill programme at Magdalena, the drill rig will be mobilised to the Company's 100 per cent. owned La Ventana lithium deposit ("La Ventana") to conduct a programme of infill drilling in support of pre-feasibility work being conducted there. In addition a reverse circulation rig was mobilised yesterday to the Buenavista concession, which is owned by Megalit S.A. de C.V. (Bacanora: 70 per cent. ownership, Rare Earth Minerals PLC ("REM"): 30 per cent. ownership). Details of the drill programmes are summarised as follows:
· 1,000 metres of HQ-core drilling at the Magdalena Borate Project (100 per cent. owned by Bacanora) in order to define and outline the second borate bearing target (Unit B) at the most advanced target, the El Cajon borate deposit;
· 15 holes at La Ventana ranging between 80 metres and 120 metres. This infill programme is designed to upgrade certain sections of the resource to the higher measured resource category which will underpin the mine design, and in particular, the open pit mine plan and production scheduling; and
· 25 holes at Buenavista ranging between 30 metres and 50 metres with the aim of defining an NI 43-101 compliant lithium resource to add to the already defined indicated lithium mineral resource of 3.28 million tonnes ("mt") of lithium carbonate equivalent ("LCE") on La Ventana and the Mexilit concessions. Drilling will utilise a reverse circulation rig mobilised to site yesterday, with drilling due to begin this week. The programme will be the first drill test of clay zones exposed over an area of 6km by 1.25km, and within which previous surface sampling returned lithium values of up to 1,700 ppm. The drilling at Buenavista utilises the funds previously supplied by REM.
Colin Orr-Ewing, Chairman of Bacanora, commented:
"We are pleased to have taken the first steps of the 5,000 metre drilling programme that we announced at the beginning of October. The drilling programme at La Ventana is designed to further advance and upgrade our lithium resource, as well as to support the pre-feasibility study as we advance the project towards commercialisation. In addition, the drilling at Magdalena further supports the pre-feasibility work being undertaken on the project."
Carl G. Verley, P.Geo. is the Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and the AIM Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies that has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.
Enquiries please contact:
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Bacanora Minerals Colin Orr-Ewing, Non-Executive Chairman Shane Shircliff, CEO
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+44 (0) 20 3696 2410 +1 (403) 237 6122 |
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP, Nomad Sandy Jamieson / Liam Murray
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+44 (0) 20 7148 7900 |
HD Capital Partners LLP, Broker Philip Haydn-Slater / Paul Dudley
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+44 (0) 20 3551 4870 |
Buchanan, Financial PR Adviser Bobby Morse / Gordon Poole/ Louise Mason |
+44 (0) 20 7466 5000 |
ABOUT BACANORA:
Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed minerals explorer (TSX-V: BCN and AIM: BCN). The Company explores and develops industrial mineral projects, with a primary focus on lithium and borates. The Company's operations are based in Hermosillo in northern Mexico and it currently has two significant projects under development in the state of Sonora. The two main assets of Bacanora are:
· The Sonora lithium project (the "Sonora Lithium Project"), which consists of ten mining concession areas covering 104,064 hectares in the north east of Sonora state. The Company, through drilling work to date, has established an NI 43-101 compliant indicated resource of 3.28 mt of LCE at a 2,000 ppm cut-off grade. The Company's 100 per cent. owned La Ventana deposit, which lies within the Sonora Lithium Project, hosts and NI 43-101 compliant drill Indicated lithium resource of 1.27 mt of LCE; and
· The Magdalena Borate Project, covering 16,503 hectares in Sonora state, Mexico, where the Company's main borate zone, El Cajon, has an NI 43-101 compliant indicated resource of 1.17 mt of B2O3, at an eight per cent. cut-off grade. The Company has completed a number of measures to determine the geological and commercial potential of the project and is undertaking a pre-feasibility exercise to determine the economic benefit of developing the mine and constructing a processing plant on site in order to become a supplier of boric acid.