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| | Mon Aug 3, 2009
Initial Resource Exceeds 1 Billion Tonnes Of Iron Ore With Further Potential At Putu
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| | Mano River Resources Inc. ("Mano" or the "Company") the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") and AIM listed exploration to production company focused on gold, iron ore and diamonds in West Africa is pleased to announce an initial Independent Mineral Resource estimate of 1.08 billion tonnes of iron ore at the Company's 38.5% owned Putu Range iron ore project ("Putu") in Liberia.
Highlights:
- Independent Mineral Resource of 1.08 billion tonnes of iron ore at 37.6% total iron (Fe) at Putu in Liberia
- Mineral Resource covers only a 2.6km section of 12km ridge
- Potential for the Putu resource to grow as exploration programme advances
- Best drill results to date of 91m at 61.3% Fe oxidised BIF haematite and 232m at 40.8% Fe magnetite
- 61.5% project partner Severstal Resources investing US$30m and working with the Company towards a Pre-Feasibility Study during 2010
Luis da Silva, President & CEO of Mano commented:
"We are delighted to announce this initial 1 billion tonne Mineral Resource estimate, especially as the resource covers less than one quarter of the 12km strike length of the Putu iron ore project in Liberia. Although early in the exploration programme this is encouraging in order to reach the sort of scale that will enable such a large infrastructure project to become economically viable. The discussions with the Government of Liberia for the 25 year mining licence are progressing."
Mineral Resource Estimate
In July 2009 SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd ("SRK") was engaged, as part of the AAR transaction, to produce an Independent Mineral Resource Estimate for the Putu Iron Ore Project. The Mineral Resource estimate has been prepared under the guidelines of National Instrument 43-101 and accompanying documents 43-101.F1 and 43-101.CP ("NI43-101") and is based on previously announced exploration and more recent drilling results.
The Mineral Resource estimate for the 2.6km section of the 12km ridge drill tested to date provided an initial Inferred Mineral Resource of 1,077 million tonnes at a grade of [37.6%] total of Banded Iron Formation (BIF) mineralisation. This is based on the 11 recent diamond drill holes, including the latest assays for holes PDD009-PDD011. The Joint Venture company of Severstal Liberia Iron Ore, is continuing its exploration and is shortly to restart a CRIRSCO-compliant resource definition diamond drilling programme, as previously announced.
The assay data was composited to 5 metres and used in statistical and geostatistical (Variography) studies that enabled Ordinary Kriging (OK) to be applied as the main grade interpolation method.
The site visit and inspection of sample preparation facilities has been undertaken by Howard Baker, Principal Mining Geologist with SRK, (Qualified Person as designated under NI43-101) during July 2009.
SRK has reported the Mineral Resource split into the following material types:
- Oxidised BIF (CAP) material,
- Haematite BIF (HBIF),
- and Magnetite BIF (MBIF).
This Mineral Resource Statement is presented in Table 1. The statement has been classified in accordance with the Guidelines of National Instrument 43-101 and accompanying documents 43-101.F1 and 43-101.CP. It has an effective date of 20 July 2009 and the full report will be available on Sedar (www.sedar.com) and the Company's website (www.manoriver.com) the week commencing 10 August 2009.
Table 1: Putu Deposit, Initial Mineral Resource Statement
| Category |
Material |
Tonnes (Mt) |
Fe (%) |
Al2O3 (%) |
SiO2 (%) |
P2O5 (%) |
LOI(%) |
| Inferred |
CAP |
126 |
43.9 |
7.7 |
21.4 |
0.32 |
6.4 |
| Inferred |
HBIF |
283 |
34.3 |
1.8 |
42.3 |
0.17 |
1.7 |
| Inferred |
MBIF |
668 |
37.8 |
0.5 |
40.8 |
0.18 |
0.0 |
*Reported above 300 Relative Level (RL), as of 20 July 2009, at zero cut-off grade, with no optimised pit shell, which is considered to represent reasonable prospect for economic extraction.
In addition to the Inferred Mineral Resource as quoted above in Table 1, beneath the 300RL, and within the geological model, there is some 364 Mt of magnetite BIF.
Drilling Results
Geochemical analyses have now been received from OMAC for the last of the core samples from the 2008 Putu drilling campaign. Summary results for all 11 holes drilled last year are presented in Table 2. PIOM is in the process of engaging an analytical services contractor to complete Davis Tube Recovery (DTR) testing on all of the 2008 drilling samples, which will provide invaluable metallurgical information in the early stages of the PFS.
ENDS
Qualified Persons
The information in this press release relating to Mineral Resources is based on information compiled under the direction of Mr Howard Baker (BSc, MSc, MAusIMM) who is a Member of the Australasian institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Baker has worked on the major iron ore deposits of West Africa, namely Rio Tinto's Simandou in Guinea, African Minerals' Tonkolili in Sierra Leone and first visited Putu in 2007.
Mr Baker is a full time employee of SRK and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person (QP) as defined in the "Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, CIM standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves 2000 Edition' and NI43-101. Mr Howard Baker has reviewed this press release and consents to the inclusion in the press release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which this appears.
For exploration work, Charles Savage (BSc, CEng, ARSM, MIME), a consultant to the Company, is the appointed Qualified Person responsible for reviewing and approving the content of this release. He is a Mining Engineer with over 40 years experience in exploration, development and operations in the iron ore, base metals and industrial minerals areas, throughout the world.
For further information on Mano River Resources and its exploration programme, you are invited to visit the Company's website at www.manoriver.com or contact one of the following:
Mano River Resources Inc
Luis da Silva, CEO
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7299 4212
Evolution Securities Limited
Simon Edwards / Chris Sim / Neil Elliot
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7071 4300
Pelham Public Relations
Charles Vivian / James MacFarlane
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7337 1500
Neither 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.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Table-2: Full Composite of assays by grade
| Drill Hole |
Drilled
Metres |
Average grade
(Fe %) |
Length Downhole
(m) |
From
(m) |
To
(m) |
Geology |
Comment |
| PDD001 |
133 |
54.21 |
54.6 |
0.0 |
54.6 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Ended in Mineralisation |
| PDD001 |
44.70 |
47.7 |
62.8 |
110.5 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD001 |
39.05 |
14.6 |
118.5 |
133.0 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD002 |
187.4 |
63.54 |
63.0 |
8.6 |
71.6 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Ended in Mineralisation |
| PDD002 |
47.78 |
63.4 |
71.6 |
135.0 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD002 |
37.16 |
14.6 |
172.9 |
187.4 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD003 |
401.2 |
43.96 |
18.5 |
0.0 |
18.5 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Ended in Mineralisation |
| PDD003 |
30.15 |
13.7 |
27.0 |
40.7 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD003 |
33.62 |
41.1 |
53.0 |
94.0 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD003 |
37.17 |
12.5 |
120.5 |
133.0 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD003 |
39.45 |
9.4 |
155.1 |
164.5 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD003 |
39.44 |
222.0 |
179.2 |
401.2 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD004 |
401.4 |
62.37 |
9.5 |
0.0 |
9.5 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Ended in Mineralisation |
| PDD004 |
39.94 |
17.1 |
9.5 |
26.6 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD004 |
39.04 |
367.4 |
34.0 |
401.4 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD005 |
400.5 |
33.62 |
51.8 |
96.5 |
148.3 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
Sequence Completed |
| PDD005 |
37.94 |
208.7 |
165.0 |
373.7 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD006 |
394.5 |
55.56 |
8.0 |
0.0 |
8.0 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Sequence Completed |
| PDD006 |
42.78 |
22.0 |
31.5 |
53.5 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
| PDD006 |
41.50 |
8.0 |
57.5 |
65.5 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
| PDD006 |
37.43 |
99.3 |
90.2 |
189.5 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD006 |
38.93 |
109.1 |
206.2 |
315.3 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD007 |
596.6 |
43.37 |
18.0 |
36.5 |
54.5 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Sequence Completed |
| PDD007 |
43.21 |
8.3 |
148.1 |
156.4 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
| PDD007 |
33.12 |
89.3 |
204.7 |
294.0 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD007 |
33.10 |
67.2 |
300.0 |
367.2 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD008 |
367.5 |
63.60 |
49.5 |
0.0 |
49.5 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Sequence Completed |
| PDD008 |
50.66 |
33.0 |
52.5 |
85.5 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
| PDD008 |
50.72 |
34.5 |
97.5 |
132.0 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
| PDD008 |
37.57 |
60.4 |
174.7 |
235.1 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD009 |
350.1 |
60.65 |
19.5 |
0.0 |
19.5 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Sequence Completed |
| PDD009 |
41.65 |
15.4 |
19.5 |
34.9 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD009 |
40.79 |
231.9 |
49.5 |
281.4 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD010 |
364.5 |
43.99 |
57.5 |
0.0 |
57.5 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Sequence Completed |
| PDD010 |
30.28 |
19.2 |
97.7 |
116.9 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
| PDD010 |
34.21 |
11.2 |
143.5 |
154.7 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
| PDD010 |
33.15 |
66.7 |
206.0 |
272.7 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD010 |
39.94 |
26.0 |
275.0 |
301.0 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| PDD011 |
360 |
61.27 |
91.1 |
0.0 |
91.1 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
Sequence Completed |
| PDD011 |
47.26 |
17.1 |
103.6 |
120.7 |
Oxidized (Haematite) |
| PDD011 |
40.77 |
136.1 |
120.7 |
256.8 |
Fresh (Magnetite) |
| Total |
3,956.7 |
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| [Composite cut-off 25% for fresh ore & 35% for oxidized ore] |
Quality Control and Sample Preparation
Mano has a rigorous Quality Control Program (QCP) inserting a minimum 5% standards, blanks and duplicates into the sample stream. The Company employs independently owned and managed OMAC Laboratories for all its assay requirements, including the preparation of pulps to 90% -100 micron at their in-country preparation facilities in Liberia, followed by XRF at their main laboratory in Loughrea, Ireland.
OMAC is accredited to ISO 17025 by INAB (Irish National Accreditation Board) which is a member of ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation), and is a signatory to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement. OMAC operates an internal QA/QC check assay programme using in-house standards, reagent blanks and duplicates.
Overview of the Putu Iron Ore Project
The Putu Iron Ore project is located in the centre of a 425 sq km exploration licence in Grand Gedeh County of eastern Liberia, approximately 100km north east from a potential deep water port of Greenville and 200km south east of the Mt. Nimba iron ore deposit.
The Putu project consists of two prominent ridges that strike northeast southwest, namely, Mt Jideh (with its extension Mt Montroh) and Mt. Ghi. Exploration to date has focussed on Mt Jideh, which comprises a high-grade outcropping magnetite/hematite mineralised zone that has undergone various stages of weathering. Mt Jideh has a strike length of approximately 12km based on mapping, surface sampling and airborne magnetic data.
The lower priority target called Mt Ghi runs parallel to Mt Jideh and though massive does not have a magnetic anomaly or significant outcrop. A programme of 30 reconnaissance grab samples at Mt Ghi had returned an average grade of 39.3% Fe. The grade is believed to be associated with a deep tropical weathering profile. Mt Ghi has been excluded from any Mineral Resource estimation.
Severstal Joint Venture
Severstal Resources is a 6.29% shareholder in Mano River Resources Inc through its wholly owned subsidiary, Lybica Holdings B.V. The Company signed an agreement on 22 May 2008 and subsequently completed the transaction with Severstal on the 10 December 2008. The deal provides for US$15m cash being injected into the joint venture company, now renamed Severstal Liberia Iron Ore Ltd, as well as an additional US$15m debt facility. This US$30m will provide for the specific advancement towards a definitive feasibility study.
Severstal Resources is the mining division of OAO Severstal (www.severstal.com) and one of the biggest mining companies in Russia. Severstal Resources manages all Severstal's mining assets: two iron ore mining complexes and a coking coal complex in northwest Russia, one coking coal complex in USA (PBS Coal), a ferroniobium extraction complex in West Russia and an exploration project, Severstal Liberia Iron Ore in West Africa. Severstal Resources also manages a number of gold mining assets in Russia, Kazakhstan and Burkina Faso as well as several gold exploration fields in these regions. In 2008 EBITDA was $859 million. OAO Severstal is an international metals and mining company with a listing on the Russian Trading System, Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Its enterprises are located in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, France, Italy, United States and Africa. In 2008, Severstal produced 19.2 million tonnes of steel. Revenues were $22.4 billion and EBITDA was $5.4 billion. EPS was $2.2. |
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