19 Jan 2010 07:00
19-January-2010
VANE Minerals plc (AIM:VML)
('VANE' or the 'Company')
Acquisition of New Uranium Property, Colorado, USA
Property package acquired from Uranium One Americas Inc:
4900 acres comprising 213 lode claims and one State lease
Located on trend of high-grade uranium hosted in lignite intersected in widely-spaced historic exploration drilling
Hole 101 contains 5.0ft of 0.82% U3O8 at depth of 90 feet
VANE today announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary, VANE Minerals (US) LLC, has purchased the Coyote Basin project, located in Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties in northwest Colorado, USA, from Uranium One Americas, Inc. ("U1"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Uranium One Inc.
Under the terms of the purchase agreement, U1 retains a 2% gross royalty on the federal lode claims and a 1% gross royalty on the State Lease. In addition, U1 may elect to convert the royalties to working interest of from 10%-35% prior to feasibility.
The Agreement, which covers approximately 4900 acres and is subject to terms, comprises 213 federal lode claims and one Colorado State Lease. The area has undergone widely-spaced exploration drilling in the 1970s that discovered high-grade uranium hosted in lignite.
Available historical information includes historical drill intercepts, which show the mineralized zones in the region from which the following are listed:
Hole 101 - 5.0ft of 0.82% U3O8 at depth of 90 feet
Hole 113 - 14.5ft of 0.18 U3O8 at depth of 40 feet
Hole 150 - 10.0ft of 0.10% U3O8 at depth of 50 feet
Hole 104 - 10.0ft of 0.43% U3O8 at depth of 30 feet (off property 800ft from boundary)
Holes 101 and 104, the two highest grade holes, are located 1 mile apart. Hole 150 is located 1200 feet north of 101 and Hole 113 is located 1200 feet southeast of Hole 104. The potential of the area of the high-grade intercepts is estimated at 50mm pounds of contained U3O8. VANE plans to conduct confirmation drilling of the mineralized holes and obtain core for metallurgical testing to determine the recoverability of the uranium. Uranium has been recovered from coal historically. Assuming favorable metallurgical test results, VANE plans to follow up with delineation drilling to determine the size of the mineralization.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kristopher K. Hefton, Chief Operating Officer VANE Minerals (US) LLC, BSc Geology, who meets the criteria of a qualified person under the AIM Rules - Guidance for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Van Nort, VANE's CEO commented: "This new uranium property acquisition further strengthens our relationship with U1 and also our uranium portfolio in the US. VANE management believes this project has the potential to contain in excess of the 50mm pounds of uranium oxide estimated in the high grade drilled area. We look forward to commencing our drilling program to confirm the historic data, obtain core for metallurgical testing and to establish the extent and distribution of the mineralization in the area.
VANE has had significant success with its existing joint venture with U1 at the Wate breccia pipe in Northern Arizona during 2009. We expect to announce an NI 43-101 resource statement on the pipe within the next few weeks. While we initially expected to announce this news during December of last year, we needed to undertake additional drill hole survey work. We look forward to announcing this and other news in the coming months."
For further information, please contact:
| VANE Minerals Plc | +44 (0) 20 7667 6322 |
| Matthew Idiens | |
| Arbuthnot Securities | +44 (0) 20 7012 2000 |
| John Prior /Richard Johnson | |
| Threadneedle Communications | +44 (0) 20 7653 9850 |
Laurence Read/ Beth Harris