SLAM Exploration Prospecting Rare Earth Minerals at Nash Creek
SLAM Exploration Ltd. announces it has mobilized a prospecting crew to explore for rare earth elements (“REE”) and follow up high levels of yttrium and phosphorus detected on its Nash Creek property in New Brunswick.
SLAM has researched Provincial records and found a REE occurrence located approximately 2 km west of the yttrium-phosphorus soil anomalies within its extensive Nash Creek claim group. These records indicate elevated REE values in a volcanic breccia zone and spatially associated with a magnetic anomaly that trend 2.5 km along strike. Assays are pending for 15 mineral samples collected from various sites including this breccia zone. This provides further evidence for volcanic-hosted rare earth mineral potential within the Jacquet River graben, a major Appalachian rift zone.
Yttrium-phosphorus soil anomalies indicate potential for rare earth minerals similar to mineralization found about 20 km westward at Benjamin River. Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (“GWG” on TSX-V) reported 1 June 2009 that it is exploring for REE at Benjamin River. GWG describes Benjamin River sampling results as follows: “mineralization is significantly enriched in the heavy rare earth elements (europium through lutetium) plus yttrium…, phosphate and iron oxide grades are also significant”.
The Nash Creek property comprises 469 claims covering 7,504 hectares and is host to the Nash creek zinc-lead-silver deposit. A power-line, railway and major highway transect the property and provide direct access from the deposit to the Belledune seaport and lead smelter within 25 km. Xstrata’s BMS No. 12 mine and mill is within 75 km.
After mill recoveries are factored in, the Nash Creek deposit contains indicated resource of 468M lbs zinc, 95M lbs lead and 4.6M oz silver, plus inferred resource of 71M lbs zinc, 14M lbs lead and 0.7M oz silver These occur within an indicated resource of 7,807,900 tonnes grading 2.72% zinc, 0.55% lead and 18.26 g/t silver plus an inferred resource of 1,211,700 tonnes grading 2.66% zinc, 0.52% lead and 18.00 g/t silver. SLAM reported the indicated and inferred resources by press release on 12 February, 2009. The near-surface deposit is amenable to open pit mining and remains open to the north and south.
