Great Western Minerals Group Launches Douglas River Exploration Program
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwire) -- 07/22/10 -- Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: GWG) (OTCQX: GWMGF) (PINK SHEETS: GWMGF) ('GWMG') announces it has launched its Rare Earth Elements ('REE') exploration program at its Douglas River property located in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan.
The focus of this program is to expand the known showings which were originally discovered in 1979 during the course of uranium exploration. At that time, because of the discovery of anomalous yttrium and heavy Rare Earth ('HREE') values including dysprosium, reconnaissance geological mapping, radiometric prospecting and further sampling of existing trenches was undertaken throughout the area.
The HREE-enriched showing is a mineralized outcrop of the Otherside River Formation within the Athabasca Group. The outcrop consists of fine to medium grained, hematitic sandstone, with little interstitial clay. Beige to pink laminated to thinly bedded sandstone, with pebble units separating the homogenous laminae, is also present. Bedding in the sandstone has a strike of 98 degrees to 100 degrees and a dip of 6 degrees to 10 degrees NE.
The mineralization is present as narrow, stratabound mineralized lenses of very fine grained xenotime confined to an area bounded by prominent fractures. The mineralized lenses are parallel to bedding. Trench and surface samples (see news release of October 9, 2009) gave grades of up to 8.75% total Rare Earth oxide ('TREO') including dysprosium oxide values of up to 1.15%. The majority of samples yielded over 99% HREE as a proportion of TREO.
The current program is to be executed through detailed geological mapping and geochemical sampling in order to trace the known mineralization. In addition, regional prospecting, mapping and geochemical sampling are intended to identify new zones of mineralization.
As part of the current exploration program, the company has retained Dr. Charlie Harper and Dr. Colin Dunn as advisors in designing specific aspects of the exploration program. Both Dr. Harper and Dr. Dunn have many years experience working in the Athabasca basin.
It is expected that this exploration program will result in the selection of drill targets which would be tested in the next phase of work.
The heavy Rare Earth elements are critical to applications like permanent magnets. In particular, dysprosium is required to give a neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnet the ability to perform under high temperatures such as those experienced under the hood of a hybrid vehicle where the permanent magnet electric motor resides. Although still at a very early stage, Management feels that the Douglas River has the potential to be an important source of dysprosium for the permanent magnet industry.
GWMG is a significant supplier of permanent magnet alloys through its subsidiaries Less Common Metals Limited and Great Western Technologies Inc.
The disclosure relating to any potential quantity or grade of minerals is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a 'mineral resource' (as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects) and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in any such target being delineated as a 'mineral resource'. All disclosure relating to potential quantity and grade of the Douglas River project has been determined by publicly available data and the Company's exploration and sampling activities. No independent verification of such publicly available summary information has been undertaken by the Company or the 'Qualified Persons' referred to in this news release.
John Pearson, MSc, PGeo, Vice-President Exploration for GWMG, is the qualified person responsible for reviewing the contents of this news release.
Jim Engdahl, President and CEO
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. is an integrated Rare Earths producer. Its specialty alloys are used in the battery, magnet and aerospace industries. Produced at the Company's wholly-owned subsidiaries Less Common Metals Limited in Birkenhead, UK and Great Western Technologies Inc. in Troy, Michigan, these alloys contain aluminum, nickel, cobalt and Rare Earth Elements. As part of the Company's vertical integration strategy, GWMG holds an option with respect to the former Rare Earths producing Steenkampskraal mine in South Africa as well as seven Rare Earth exploration and development properties in North America.
Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements (often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as 'expect', 'may', 'could', 'anticipate' or 'will' and similar expressions) may describe expectations, opinions or guidance that are not statements of fact and which may be based upon information provided by third parties. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions, expectations and estimates of management of GWMG as at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to the satisfaction by GWMG of the conditions required to exercise the Steenkampskraal option, receipt of all required approvals and risks, uncertainties and other factors that are beyond the control of GWMG, risks associated with the industry in general, commodity prices and exchange rate changes, operational risks associated with exploration, development and production operations, delays or changes in plans, risks associated with the uncertainty of reserve estimates, health and safety risks and the uncertainty of estimates and projections of production, costs and expenses. In light of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking information. Although GWMG believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements set out in this press release or incorporated herein by reference are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The forward-looking statements of GWMG contained in this News Release, or incorporated herein by reference, are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement and the risk factors contained in GWMG's current annual information form.
CUSIP: 39141Y 10 3
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Contacts:
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.
Dwight Percy
Manager of Investor Relations
(306) 659-4500
info@gwmg.ca
www.gwmg.ca
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.
226 Cardinal Crescent
Saskatoon, SK S7L 6H8