Nuinsco to Produce Additional Prairie Lake Phosphorus Concentrate
Aim to improve processing and recoveries and to evaluate agricultural and industrial applications
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 03/13/13 -- Nuinsco Resources Limited ("Nuinsco")(TSX: NWI) (www.nuinsco.ca) today reported that additional phosphorus concentrate will be produced from apatite-bearing rock obtained from its 100%- owned Prairie Lake phosphorus - rare metals project in northwestern Ontario. Excellent metallurgical results obtained to date provide support for the additional testing whereby apatite concentrate will be produced for evaluation of agricultural and industrial applications.
The additional test work and concentrate production is being conducted by COREM in Quebec City and will aim to optimize mineral liberation, improve apatite flotation technology and upgrade the apatite flotation concentrate. This work is part of on-going evaluation of the project that also includes studies to develop a resource from the existing 515-630 million tonne NI 43-101-compliant Exploration Target Mineralization Inventory ("ETMI") produced in 2011, development of the opportunity for niobium concentrate production and identification of commercial markets for Prairie Lake phosphorus mineralization including fertilizers and detergents which are the number one and two end-use markets for phosphates worldwide according to Global Industry Analysts, Inc. in its recently published report titled "Phosphates: A Global Strategic Business Report."
"Prairie Lake is a unique and very attractive property," said Paul Jones, President. "Not only does it have tremendous scale, but its proximity to existing infrastructure and transportation networks, the relative ease with which it could be exploited from surface using quarry methods, the continuing potential for expansion of the known mineralization and favourable phosphorus metallurgy all point to Prairie Lake being a very valuable asset within Nuinsco's property portfolio, particularly given that more than 80% of the world's known phosphate reserves are located in the politically-troubled Middle East North Africa region countries."
Tests to date have produced a concentrate grade up to 34.4% phosphorus (P2O5) with acceptable levels of other elements demonstrating potential to produce a saleable concentrate using industry-standard processing methods. Results of previous metallurgical testing (by COREM) continue to indicate the ability to improve both recovery and concentrate grade.
The most recent results were produced from a series of tests conducted on a 1,000kg sample grading 3.18% P2O5 (and 0.13% niobium ("Nb2O5") with a specific gravity of 2.99 g/cc and a bulk density of 1.59 g/cc (after crushing to -1.7mm). Apatite is the phosphorus-bearing mineral in a rock that also contains calcite, dolomite, biotite, magnetite and rutile. The apatite contains on average 43.1% P2O5 and occurs in the form of clear, well- formed crystals up to 250 um in size. The primary use of apatite is in the manufacture of fertilizer but it also has important industrial applications. The fact that this mineral can be liberated by conventional methods is a further indication that a viable phosphorus concentrate can be produced that would be marketable to the fertilizer industry as well as other potential uses.
About Prairie Lake
Located about 45 kilometres northwest of Marathon, Ontario, Nuinsco's Prairie Lake property covers the entire 2.8 km2 (at surface) Prairie Lake Carbonatite Complex and is easily accessible from the TransCanada Highway. In January, 2012, Nuinsco bought back a 2% production royalty making the property royalty-free.
The NI-43-101-compliant ETMI (see news release issued October 26, 2011) is 515 - 630 million tonnes grading between 0.09-0.11% Nb2O5 (0.9 to 1.1 kg/tonne) and 3.0-4.0% P2O5 - making Prairie Lake one of the world's ten largest carbonatite hosted niobium deposits (and in North America second only to the Iron Hill Project in Colorado, USA, in contained tonnes - the grade at Prairie Lake is however greater). The current metallurgical work establishes the project as a substantial, recoverable, phosphorus inventory. The suite of minerals of potentially economic significance also includes tantalum (Ta), uranium (U) and rare earth elements (REE) (including lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), samarium (Sm), neodymium (Nd) and yttrium (Y)). The ETMI was undertaken by Eugene Puritch, P.Eng. and Antoine Yassa, P.Geo of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. of Brampton, Ontario.
All exploration work at Prairie Lake is supervised by Laura Giroux, P.Geo, Senior Geologist, who acts as Nuinsco's Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Ms. Giroux has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release. The potential quantity and grade of the ETMI is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in the discovery of a mineral resource.
About Nuinsco Resources Limited
Nuinsco is a growth-oriented, multi-commodity mineral exploration company that is focused on world-class mineralized belts in Canada and internationally. In addition to its property holdings in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Turkey, Nuinsco owns common shares in Coventry Resources Limited (TSX VENTURE: CYY) and Victory Nickel Inc. (TSX: NI), and a 50% interest in CBay Minerals Inc. (50% Nuinsco, 50% Ocean Partners Investments Limited), a private company that is a dominant player in Quebec's Chibougamau mining camp with assets including a permitted mill and tailings facility, eight past- producing copper/gold mines and a 96,000 acre land position. Shares of Nuinsco trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NWI.
Please visit the Company's website at www.nuinsco.ca. Should you wish to receive Company news via email, please email juliet@chfir.com and specify "Nuinsco Resources" in the subject line.
Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains forward-looking information. All statements, other than statements of historic fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, production estimates and estimated economic return; the possibility that actual circumstances will differ from estimates and assumptions; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; failure to establish estimated mineral resources; fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; inflation; recoveries being less than those indicated by the testwork carried out to date (there can be no assurance that recoveries in small scale laboratory tests will be duplicated in large tests under on-site conditions or during production); changes in equity markets; operating performance of facilities; environmental and safety risks; delays in obtaining or failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government authorities; unavailability of plant, equipment or labour; inability to retain key management and personnel; changes to regulations or policies affecting the Company's activities; the uncertainties involved in interpreting geological data; and the other risks disclosed under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" and elsewhere in the Company's annual information form dated March 30, 2012 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
Contacts:
Nuinsco Resources Limited
Paul Jones or Sean Stokes
416.626.0470
416.626.0890 (FAX)
admin@nuinsco.ca
www.nuinsco.ca
CHF Investor Relations
Juliet Heading
416.868.1079 X239
416.868.6198 (FAX)
juliet@chfir.com