Macusani Yellowcake Reports Favourable Results from Bottle Roll Leaching of Higher Grade Mineralization
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/13 -- Macusani Yellowcake Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: YEL)(FRANKFURT: QG1) is pleased to announce the first recovery results from tests conducted on higher grade uranium mineralization from the Kihitian property on the Macusani plateau. The samples were collected from the Pinocho and Chilcuno Chico targets within the Kihitian property. Very high levels of uranium extraction of over 99% were achieved, see Table I. These are the first recovery results from the Kihitian property and are consistent with the excellent amenability to leaching reported for samples from nearby Colibri 2/3 property.
Table I: Leach Test Results - Kihitian Higher Grade Mineralization
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Assayed
Sample Acid Head Calculated Residue Solution
Area ID Consumption Grade Head Grade Grade Tenor Recovery
(kg/tonne) (%U) (%U) (ppm U) (ppm U) (%)
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Pinocho PIN-1 302 2.94 3.57 51 35 680 99.86
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Chilcuno 1 CHIL-1 249 4.14 9.00 699 89 340 99.22
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Chilcuno 2 CHIL-2 380 13.39 15.85 480 158 100 99.70
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In addition to the high recoveries, the test results also showed fast leaching kinetics. Figure I illustrates the fast kinetics of a higher grade bottle roll test and shows that the leach reaction is almost complete in less than two hours.
Acid consumption ranged from 302 to 380 kg/t. Although this level of acid consumption appears high, these samples contain more uranium to dissolve than lower grade samples. Acid consumption on a "per gram of uranium" basis is actually lower.
A very important trend was observed when comparing the assayed head grades and the calculated head grades. The assayed head grades of samples were 2.94, 4.14 and 13.39 %U, as assayed by Certimin Laboratories in the initial exploration assays. In contrast, the calculated head grades (3.57, 9.00 and 15.85 %U) are significantly higher. The calculated grades are 18% to 121% higher than the assayed grades. Calculated grades are more accurate than assayed grades since leach solution concentration is homogeneous and easy to sample and potential fire assays errors are confined to the diminished values in the leach residue. This finding could have major implications for the size of the mineral resource.
To view Figure I: Bottle roll test results for Pinocho-1 (in 100 g/l acid solution), please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/YELFig1.pdf.
President and CEO, Dr. Laurence Stefan, stated: "The fact that the most recent bottle roll tests of higher-grade samples collected from Pinocho and Chilcuno Chico have yielded in some cases more than double the reported uranium assays, is a nice problem to have. We are also impressed by the very high recoveries of these higher-grade uranium samples, all in excess of 99%. These recovery results increase our confidence that uranium may be profitably mined from the Macusani plateau in the future."
The leaching tests and associated analyses have been run under the same standard conditions by TECMMINE EIRL, a Peruvian metallurgical consulting firm contracted by Global Gold SAC, the subsidiary in Peru of Macusani Yellowcake Inc., for in-house uranium metallurgical and processing investigations.
Macusani wishes to stress and caution that these high recoveries in bottle roll leaching tests are from a very limited number of samples and may not be replicated in future testing.
Qualified Person
Dr. Thomas Apelt, PhD (Chemical Engineering), CP(Met) MAusIMM, CEng MIChemE, Senior Process Engineer with GBM Mining Engineering Consultants Limited, an independent consultant to the Company, is the Qualified Person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical data contained in this release.
About Macusani Yellowcake
Macusani Yellowcake Inc. is a Canadian uranium exploration and development company focussed on the exploration of its properties on the Macusani Plateau in southeastern Peru. The Company owns a 99.5% interest in concessions which cover over 90,000 hectares (900 km2) and are situated near significant infrastructure. Macusani Yellowcake is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol 'YEL' and the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol 'QG1'. The Company has 159,473,613 shares outstanding. For more information please visit www.macyel.com.
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements concerning the future performance of Macusani's business, operations and financial performance and condition, as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in the Company's recent securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and Macusani cautions against placing undue reliance thereon. Neither Macusani nor its management assume any obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements.
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.
Contacts:
Macusani Yellowcake Inc.
Laurence Stefan
President and CEO
+1-416-628-9600
laurence@macyel.com
Website: www.macyel.com
Facebook: www.macyel.com/facebook/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/macusani/