Artha Reports Progress on Rare Earth and Precious Metals Projects

Artha Reports Progress on Rare Earth and Precious Metals Projects

Artha Resources Corporation announce that the company continues to make significant progress on its Argentinean exploration projects. Surface programs have recently been completed at the Vallecito and Pirquitas properties in Jujuy Province and reconnaissance work has commenced on the recently staked Cachi property, in western Salta Province, that is highly prospective for rare earth minerals as well as base and precious metals.

Based on the excellent results from the 2009 and early-2010 work programs, detailed follow up exploration is continuing at the Vallecito and Pirquitas properties. At Vallecito, recent detailed mapping and sampling have defined targets with potential for silver-tin-zinc stockwork systems and a separate vein copper system based on geochemistry and surface geology. Final assays are pending from the May-June work. At the Pirquitas property, an IP geophysical survey is underway that will cover targets identified as possible repetitions or extensions of the same structure that hosts the Pirquitas mine, one of the largest primary silver mines in the world located less than 2.5 km away. This exploration will further define priority targets for the upcoming drill programs.

In concert with the progressive work at Pirquitas, Phase 1 reconnaissance work has begun on the newly staked Cachi property, south of Pirquitas. The Cachi property was staked based on the high potential for rare earth metals including lithium.

Cachi Rare Earth Property.

The Cachi property covers an area in excess of 55,000 hectares or 212 square miles and is located 160 km west of Salta city, the capital of Salta Province. The geology of the property is prospective for pegmatite related rare earth mineralization, based on extensive granitoid intrusions, extending for over 40 km in strike, with large (up to 300 m wide) pegmatite dykes intruding neo-proterozoic gneiss. Many pegmatites have been found to be economically valuable as sources of clays and feldspars, as well as bismuth, lithium, molybdenum, rare-earths, tantalum-niobium, thorium, tin, tungsten, and uranium minerals.

Initial reconnaissance exploration, including stream sediment sampling and mapping, was completed in mid-June. This work identified three targets based on surface alteration halos. Assays are now pending from the 129 stream sediment samples collected which will be analysed for rare earth, precious and base metals. Detailed mineralogical studies will be completed on the granitoids and pegmatite samples collected, providing information on their rare earth prospectivity. Artha is the first company to explore this area for minerals.

Further news will follow once final assays have been received for all work programs recently completed. Work programs are continuing on the Pirquitas and Cachi projects and drilling is being planned.

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