Ni, Co, Cu, PGM, Au Properties in Ontario Canada
Producing Mines and "state-of-the-art" Mill
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| FSC / Press Release Liberty Provides Operational Update Edmonton, Alberta CANADA, January 12, 2010 /FSC/ - Liberty Mines Inc. (LBE - TSX), ("Liberty or the Company") is pleased to provide an operational update and further information based on the recent technical reports for the producing McWatters and Redstone nickel mines and the Hart nickel project which is in the final permitting stage. The combined resources from the Redstone, McWatters and Hart mines are: measured and indicated resource of 2,781,500 tonnes grading 1.30% nickel ("Ni"); inferred resource of 1,023,000 grading 1.51% Ni. The Redstone and Hart resources are reported at cut-off grades of 0.51% Ni and 0.60% Ni respectively. At the Redstone mine, longhole retreat mining was successfully used during the last quarter of 2009 to exploit the Redstone footwall massive ore and the disseminated ore within the hanging wall 4 m above the footwall. This increased the production rate by over 40% as compared to operations previously employing shrinkage stoping in the mine. Re-examination of drill data from 2007-2008 and earlier historical data revealed three mineralize zones roughly parallel to the footwall R-zone (massive pyrrhotite-pentlandite mineralization that has been the main target in the mine). The H-zone (hanging wall zone) occurs in a mineralized horizon that stratigraphically overlies the R-zone by approximately 20m. The H-zone has been drilled from the 213m and 244m levels and the following intersections and grades were obtained: UG7-12 at 11.15% Ni over 0.4m; UG8-18 at 2.52% Ni over 4.5 m; UG7-04 at 1.97% Ni over 2.95 m; UG8-29 at 4.19%Ni over 1.08 m; and R06-08 which showed 2.26% Ni over 1.85 m. The E-zone was intersected during 2007 surface drilling in hole R07-93, which assayed 3.05 m grading 3.77% Ni (including 0.5m grading 19.03% Ni). The E-zone appears to be a secondary shoot of mineralization occurring approximately 60m east from the R-zone. It lies on the main Redstone lithological contact between komatiite and footwall dacite and appears to be a parallel zone. The contact can be traced in outcrop and by mag and EM surveys.The target remains open to the east and corresponds well to a 1.5km long EM conductor identified in earlier geophysical surveys. The historically known S-zone is a parallel zone located stratigraphically about 60m above the R-zone. Drill hole R-41 intersected 4.0m of mineralization in the interval 113.4m to 117.4m grading 1.02 % Ni. There are 4 other historically known drill holes of similar grades which may have intersected the S-zone. These three target zones were not included in the resource estimation by SRK Consulting which stated a measured and indicated resource of 599,000 tonnes grading 1.47% Ni and 737,000 tonnes grading 1.57% Ni in the inferred resource category. There is significant potential to increase the resource in these categories through successful drilling and to convert the inferred resource to the measured and indicated category within the R-zone. These three target zones offer additional potential to expand the overall resources of the Redstone mine. The Redstone nickel concentrator ("Mill") processed 36,668 tonnes of ore grading 1.16% Ni from the Redstone mine consisting of 3,978 tonnes in the later part of September 2009 and 32,690 tonnes during the fourth quarter of 2009. The Mill processed 7,664 tonnes of development ore from the McWatters mine grading 0.41% Ni. The McWatters nickel mine is now declared to be in commercial production. The first lower zone areas to be mined near the 150m level are known as panels 4, 3 and 7. The Sothman nickel project optioned from Xstrata Nickel in mid 2008 has been terminated. Exploration of the project by Liberty during the summer of 2008 returned lower grade intercepts in the 0.25% Ni range close to the main historical zone, and up to 2 km from that zone. Asbestos was noted in some drill cores and the rock quality suggested that mining the deposit may present challenges that the mineralized grade may not economically support. There was an error in the table presented for the Redstone resource in the press release of Jan 11, which is corrected below for the sake of completeness: Redstone Mineral Resource Statement* - SRK Consulting, October 19, 2009 -***- ----------------------------------------------------------- Contained Classification Tonnage Grade Grade Nickel (000's t) Ni(%) Cu(%) Tonnes ----------------------------------------------------------- Measured Massive 148 2.43 0.03 3,600 Disseminated 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 Total 148 2.43 0.03 3,600 Indicated Massive 41 1.76 0.04 720 Disseminated 410 1.10 0.01 4,500 TOTAL 451 1.16 0.01 5,220 Total Measured & Indicated Massive 189 2.29 0.03 4,320 Disseminated 410 1.10 0.01 4,500 TOTAL 599 1.47 0.02 8,820 Inferred Massive 151 3.55 0.09 5,360 Disseminated 586 1.06 0.02 6,215 TOTAL 737 1.57 0.03 11,575 ----------------------------------------------------------- -****- * Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Reported at 0.51% nickel cut-off. Cut-off grades are based on a nickel price of US$7.00/lb and on a mill recovery of eighty-seven percent. All figures have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate. The projects are supervised by Liberty's Vice President of Exploration, Ulrich Kretschmar BSc MSc PhD (Geology) P.Geo, and by Richard Allard P. Geo., qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101. According to the company sampling protocol, half of the diamond drill core is sampled and sent to ALS CHEMEX in Timmins to be prepared for analysis. The prepared samples are then forwarded to the ALS CHEMEX Laboratory in Vancouver for analysis. Base metal values are analyzed by aqua regia digestion and ICP-AES finish. A rigorous QA/QC program is implemented consisting of regular insertion of standards and blanks to ensure laboratory integrity. About Liberty Mines Inc. Liberty Mines Inc. is a producer of nickel and is focused on the exploration, development and production of nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals from its properties in Ontario, Canada. It owns and operates the Redstone nickel concentrator near Timmins Ontario. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This News Release includes certain "forward looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of Liberty, are forward looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Liberty's expectations are: mining risks; commodity prices; currency exchanges; regulatory approvals; and assumed startup and operating costs detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Liberty with securities regulators. For further information please contact: Dr. Gary Nash, PhD (Physics), President & CEO Phone (416) 238-9736 Fax 780-437-7898 e-mail: gnash@libertymines.com Press Release 2-10 Source: Liberty Mines Inc. (TSX: LBE) http:// www.libertymines.com Maximum News Dissemination by Filing Services Canada Inc. * www.usetdas.com |
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