Quest B-Zone Pegmatite Zone Drilling Returns Up to 105.3 Metres at 1.34% TREO With Sections Grading Up to 20.36% TREO, Strange Lake
Highlights:- B-Zone drilling continues to expand the size of the near-surface high grade mineralized Pegmatite Zone or 'Spine' for over 1.2 km in strike length, with horizontal widths varying from 125 to 550 m and vertical thickness from 9.1 to over 120.66 metres
- Multiple, high grade intersections of between 1.10% and 20.36% TREO over thicknesses of 0.7m to 79.0m characterize all holes drilled into the surface pegmatite zone. These intersections are contained within a larger, 107.2 and 217.5 m-thick, mineralized envelope grading between 0.87%-1.27% TREO
- The drillhole database has been delivered to Wardrop Engineering Inc. for the preparation of an updated 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the B-Zone deposit, expected to be delivered towards the end of Q1 2011
TORONTO, 01/11/11 - Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: QRM) is pleased to report the remaining assay results from the 2010 diamond drilling program completed on their B-Zone Rare Earth Element (REE) deposit. Final lab results for holes BZ-10-71 to BZ-10-96 have returned multiple, high Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) grade intersections of between 1.10% and 20.36% over thicknesses of 0.66 m to 79.0 m. Heavy Rare Earth Oxide (HREO) represents between 31.4% and 70.8% of the TREO content intersected in the new drilling. Best intersection grades returned 1.49% TREO over 68.5 m (BZ10080), 1.41% TREO over 79.0 m (BZ10078) and 1.87% TREO over 38.1 m (BZ10093) including 3.45% TREO over 11.9 m. The final 2010 drillhole database has been assembled and delivered to Wardrop Engineering Inc. of Toronto, Ontario for completion of a revised 43-101 mineral resource estimate. This work is expected to upgrade the classification of the mineral resource from the Inferred to the Measured and Indicated categories. The detailed drill sample analysis table has been posted to Quest's website homepage at www.questrareminerals.com for review.
'Our 2010 drilling work on the B-Zone deposit is now complete and confirms the very strong grades and vertical thicknesses of REE and the high proportions of valuable HREE related to our near-surface Pegmatite Zone mineralization,' said Peter Cashin, Quest's President & CEO. 'The Pegmatite Zone will likely constitute the focus of more advanced economic assessments of the B-Zone deposit area. Additions to the resource model will likely come from the hole deepening in the B-Zone, from expanding the strike extent of the near-surface Pegmatite Zone, as well as from the previously reported B-Zone Deep area to the northwest of the Pegmatite Zone. Future exploration drilling will be oriented toward the extension of the Pegmatite Zone to the north and south, as well as evaluating the new deep zone and will commence in March. Our expectation is that a decision to commence a pre-feasibility study of the deposit will be made upon receipt of the revised resource estimate before the end of the first Quarter of 2011.'
B-Zone Definition Drill Program
Assays have been received for the 22 remaining definition drill holes of the program, representing 3,604.7 m (see Table 1). The definition drilling program has tested the B-Zone at drill centers of between 50-100 m. The drill results have confirmed the presence of strong REE mineralization over a 1.2 km strike length and over horizontal widths of up to 600 m. Drilling has defined the mineralization to be a set of relatively flat dipping horizontal sheets. The mineralized zone is composed of a thicker, north-trending Pegmatite Zone at the core (or 'spine'), which is surrounded by a thinner mineralized envelope (see Figure 1). The mineralization has been defined to vertical depths of over 191.0 m and comprises the highest grades observed in the B-Zone deposit. The surface footprint of the deposit is seen to coincide with a two km-long, northeast trending airborne radiometric anomaly that is located to the northwest of the Strange Lake Main Deposit. The radiometric anomaly abuts to the northwest against Brisson Lake and may extend further northwards, under the lake. Historical Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) drilling, located one km further to the north, indicates that mineralization may continue in this direction.
The best results from the additional drillholes of the program (see Table 1 for hole locations) are:
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From To Length HREO/
Borehole (m) (m) (m) TREO% LREO% HREO% TREO %
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BZ10072 4.50 194.93 190.43 1.02 0.59 0.44 42.57
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BZ10072 18.95 120.96 102.01 1.18 0.64 0.54 45.76
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BZ10072 18.95 46.30 27.35 1.43 0.74 0.69 48.33
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BZ10072 113.50 120.96 7.46 2.75 1.37 1.39 50.36
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BZ10072 42.16 46.30 4.14 3.40 1.31 2.09 61.49
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BZ10072 4.98 5.26 0.28 4.44 0.61 3.83 86.25
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BZ10072 43.78 44.10 0.32 7.74 5.31 2.43 31.38
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BZ10076 4.50 119.50 115.00 1.01 0.56 0.45 44.48
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BZ10076 50.48 55.28 4.80 2.35 0.99 1.36 57.96
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BZ10076 6.59 61.00 54.41 1.17 0.58 0.59 50.59
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BZ10076 18.00 20.00 2.00 2.82 0.82 2.00 70.83
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BZ10076 46.00 58.34 12.34 1.61 0.70 0.91 56.48
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BZ10078 4.64 125.30 120.66 1.22 0.63 0.58 47.87
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BZ10078 4.64 83.62 78.98 1.41 0.71 0.71 50.06
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BZ10078 10.45 12.06 1.61 2.57 1.31 1.26 49.20
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BZ10078 37.86 48.17 10.31 1.64 0.82 0.82 49.95
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BZ10078 50.71 58.40 7.69 3.94 1.55 2.39 60.73
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BZ10079 5.00 126.00 121.00 1.06 0.57 0.48 45.71
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BZ10079 5.00 78.10 73.10 1.22 0.63 0.59 48.59
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BZ10079 33.65 78.10 44.45 1.34 0.69 0.65 48.49
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BZ10079 33.65 37.24 3.59 2.99 1.90 1.09 36.48
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BZ10079 49.70 52.60 2.90 1.92 0.89 1.03 53.60
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BZ10079 69.40 78.10 8.70 1.15 0.68 0.47 40.95
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BZ10080 3.30 125.50 122.20 1.27 0.68 0.59 46.28
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BZ10080 5.00 73.47 68.47 1.49 0.73 0.75 50.72
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BZ10080 43.84 71.47 27.63 1.77 0.78 0.99 55.84
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BZ10080 55.67 69.47 13.80 1.86 0.89 0.97 52.03
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BZ10081 3.00 125.00 122.00 1.09 0.66 0.43 39.47
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BZ10081 3.00 56.00 53.00 1.30 0.74 0.56 43.00
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BZ10081 23.70 39.00 15.30 1.41 0.73 0.69 48.44
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BZ10081 102.00 125.00 23.00 1.03 0.66 0.37 35.99
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BZ10082 4.88 126.70 121.82 1.05 0.59 0.46 43.69
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BZ10082 4.88 54.19 49.31 1.22 0.63 0.59 48.56
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BZ10082 12.33 26.65 14.32 1.53 0.75 0.78 51.02
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BZ10082 45.27 54.19 8.92 1.52 0.79 0.72 47.65
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BZ10083 2.39 121.20 118.81 1.14 0.66 0.47 41.49
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BZ10083 37.52 96.79 59.27 1.35 0.74 0.62 45.51
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BZ10083 47.60 69.90 22.30 2.11 1.09 1.02 48.14
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BZ10083 48.20 50.33 2.13 3.85 2.20 1.65 42.81
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BZ10083 52.87 54.08 1.21 8.54 3.20 5.34 62.57
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BZ10086 3.65 126.20 122.55 0.93 0.55 0.39 41.33
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BZ10086 5.32 46.00 40.68 1.10 0.61 0.49 44.55
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BZ10086 17.61 46.00 28.39 1.15 0.65 0.49 43.01
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BZ10086 29.37 31.90 2.53 1.61 1.10 0.51 31.63
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BZ10087 3.00 125.50 122.50 1.13 0.64 0.49 43.31
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BZ10087 6.55 97.22 90.67 1.21 0.67 0.55 45.09
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BZ10087 6.55 13.50 6.95 2.83 1.27 1.57 55.30
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BZ10087 32.84 36.00 3.16 2.00 1.01 1.00 49.71
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BZ10088 4.30 125.20 120.90 1.29 0.68 0.61 47.32
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BZ10088 6.70 112.00 105.30 1.34 0.69 0.65 48.20
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BZ10088 6.70 19.10 12.40 1.96 0.86 1.11 56.34
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BZ10088 75.38 95.20 19.82 1.33 0.56 0.77 57.80
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BZ10088 91.00 95.20 4.20 2.78 1.54 1.24 44.60
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BZ10089 6.25 125.30 119.05 1.19 0.71 0.48 40.58
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BZ10089 8.25 20.30 12.05 3.21 1.64 1.58 49.05
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BZ10089 17.30 17.96 0.66 20.36 13.15 7.20 35.39
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BZ10089 82.44 85.28 2.84 1.18 0.53 0.65 55.14
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BZ10089 102.43 104.00 1.57 2.25 1.01 1.24 55.29
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BZ10090 1.64 125.20 123.56 1.10 0.63 0.48 43.11
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BZ10090 1.64 48.00 46.36 1.49 0.75 0.74 49.58
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BZ10090 12.99 38.51 25.52 1.63 0.83 0.80 49.21
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BZ10090 22.61 24.97 2.36 3.90 1.59 2.31 59.23
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BZ10090 33.84 38.51 4.67 3.90 1.67 2.23 57.13
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BZ10092 6.32 126.40 120.08 1.02 0.58 0.45 43.81
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BZ10092 20.92 103.40 82.48 1.13 0.61 0.52 45.67
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BZ10092 21.92 43.08 21.16 1.55 0.68 0.86 55.73
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BZ10092 25.60 28.36 2.76 3.16 1.19 1.97 62.30
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BZ10092 71.00 74.00 3.00 2.66 1.69 0.97 36.46
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BZ10092 87.11 90.60 3.49 1.35 0.79 0.57 41.91
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BZ10093 6.00 113.20 107.20 1.21 0.74 0.47 38.85
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BZ10093 45.00 83.10 38.10 1.87 1.09 0.78 41.52
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BZ10093 52.10 64.00 11.90 3.45 2.22 1.23 35.71
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BZ10093 69.00 83.10 14.10 1.25 0.63 0.61 49.13
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BZ10095 5.50 125.50 120.00 1.05 0.63 0.42 40.14
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BZ10095 7.45 73.40 65.95 1.12 0.65 0.47 41.95
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BZ10095 17.30 31.64 14.34 1.53 1.06 0.47 30.91
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BZ10095 56.00 63.00 7.00 1.39 0.70 0.69 49.83
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BZ10096 6.26 125.10 118.84 1.09 0.58 0.51 46.70
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BZ10096 9.69 101.20 91.51 1.17 0.60 0.56 48.36
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BZ10096 41.00 97.20 56.20 1.26 0.64 0.62 49.30
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BZ10096 9.69 17.46 7.77 1.33 0.52 0.82 61.31
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BZ10096 41.00 44.81 3.81 1.72 0.59 1.14 65.95
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BZ10096 63.18 64.81 1.63 2.43 1.35 1.07 44.29
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BZ10096 90.68 97.20 6.52 2.76 0.87 1.88 68.31
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Where: TREO=Total Rare Earth Oxides, includes Y2O3=yttrium oxide (i),
La2O3=lanthanum oxide (i), Ce2O3=cerium oxide (i), Pr2O3=praseodymium
oxide (i), Nd2O3=neodymium oxide (i), Sm2O3=samarium oxide,
Eu2O3=europium oxide, Gd2O3=gadolinium oxide, Tb2O3=terbium oxide (i),
Dy2O3=dysprosium oxide (i), Ho2O3=holmium oxide, Er2O3=erbium oxide,
Tm2O3=thulium oxide (i), Yb2O3=ytterbium oxide, Lu2O3=lutetium oxide
(i); LREO=light rare earth oxides, includes La2O3=lanthanum oxide,
Ce2O3=cerium oxide, Pr2O3=praseodymium oxide, Nd2O3=neodymium oxide,
Sm2O3=samarium oxide ; HREO=heavy rare earth oxides, includes Y2O3=yttrium
oxide, Eu2O3=europium oxide, Gd2O3=gadolinium oxide, Tb2O3=terbium oxide,
Dy2O3=dysprosium oxide, Ho2O3=holmium oxide, Er2O3=erbium oxide,
Tm2O3=thulium oxide, Yb2O3=ytterbium oxide, Lu2O3=lutetium oxide. The
principal REO at the B-Zone are depicted by an asterisk (i).
The better grades of mineralization are associated with what is termed the Pegmatite Zone which is composed of a high proportion of very coarse-grained pegmatite that is intercalated with an extremely altered intrapegmatitic Strange Lake peralkaline granite at the uppermost parts of the B-Zone mineralized system (see Diamond Drill Sections in Figure 2 and 3). The highly-altered, granite-hosted zones continue to carry elevated grades of REE in excess of 0.7% TREO over core lengths of over 314.6 m (see Press Release: December 9, 2010). A 0.85% TREO cut-off, as specified in Quest's recent Preliminary Resource Estimate (see Press Release: April 7, 2010), was used in determining the average grades of diamond drill intersections.
In addition to the definition drilling on the Pegmatite Zone, previously reported deep drilling to the northwest has intersected a new zone of pegmatite-style mineralization at a vertical depth of approximately 60m below surface. The new Pegmatite Deep Zone was intersected in drillhole BZ10070 to a depth of 241.0 m (see Press Release: December 9, 2010). Further drilling will be targeted to expand the limits of this important new area of mineralization, likely during the proposed Winter 2011 drilling program.
Revised 43-101 Resource Estimate - B-Zone Deposit
The digital drillhole database for the 2010 diamond drilling program is now complete. The file has been delivered to Wardrop Engineering, Inc. of Toronto, Ontario, for resource calculation. It is anticipated that the revised 43-101 Compliant Resource Estimate will be delivered before the end of the First Quarter of 2011 and subsequently be filed on www.SEDAR.com.
Quality Control
Mr. Peter Cashin, P. Geo., is the qualified person on the Strange Lake Project under National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for this news release. Material for analysis has been obtained from drill core which was cut in half using a diamond saw. Half of the core was sent to the lab for analysis, with the remaining half left on-site for future reference. A strict QA/QC program is followed which includes the use of elemental standards, duplicates and blanks. Analyses were performed by Activation Laboratory Limited of Ancaster, Ontario.
About Quest Rare Minerals
Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on the identification and discovery of new and significant Rare Earth deposit opportunities. The Corporation is publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange as 'QRM' and is led by a highly respected management and technical team with a proven mine finding track record. Quest is currently advancing several high potential projects in Canada's premier exploration areas: the Strange Lake and Misery Lake areas of northeastern Quebec, the Kenora area of northwestern Ontario and the Plaster Rock area of northwestern New Brunswick. Quest's 2009 exploration led to the discovery of a significant new Rare Earth metal deposit, the B-Zone, on its Strange Lake property in northeastern Quebec. The Corporation recently filed a 43-101 Inferred Resource Estimate on the B-Zone deposit and has completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the deposit. In addition, Quest announced the discovery of an important new area of REE mineralization on its Misery Lake project, approximately 120 km south of Strange Lake project. Quest continues to pursue high-value project opportunities throughout North America. As a result of a recently-completed marketed equity financing, Quest has a strong working capital position in excess of $51.0 million. This will be sufficient to advance the Corporations plans of completing a pre-feasibility study of the B-Zone REE deposit by 2011-2012 and to continue exploration on its other rare earth property interests.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains statements that may constitute 'forward-looking information' or 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. More particularly, this news release may contain forward-looking information concerning the Strange Lake B-Zone Rare Earth Element (REE) deposit held by Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. ('Quest'). This forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Quest. Actual results or achievements may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, this forward-looking information. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that Quest will derive. In particular, no assurance can be given with respect to the development by Quest of the Strange Lake B-Zone Rare Earth REE deposit. Forward-looking information is based on the estimates and opinions of Quest's management at the time the information is released and Quest does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
To view Figure 1 - Geological and Diamond Drilling Compilation Map, B-Zone REE Deposit, Strange Lake Project, Quebec, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/qrm0111fig1.pdf.
To view Figure 2 - Composite Diamond Drill Section BL2+450, B-Zone REE Deposit, Strange Lake Project, Quebec, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/qrm0111fig2.pdf.
To view Figure 3 - Composite Diamond Drill Section BL2+550, B-Zone REE Deposit, Strange Lake Project, Quebec, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/qrm0111fig3.pdf.
Table 1 - Diamond Drillhole Location Table, B-Zone Deposit, Strange Lake
Project, Quebec
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HOLE-ID Easting Northing Elevation Length Dip
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BZ10071 427631 6242898 452 204.70 -90
BZ10072 427741 6242510 502 194.93 -90
BZ10073 427674 6242434 509 201.00 -90
BZ10074 428258 6243265 449 152.00 -90
BZ10075 427775 6242445 513 225.00 -90
BZ10076 427799 6242702 479 119.50 -90
BZ10077 428215 6243192 453 140.20 -90
BZ10078 428033 6243096 449 125.30 -90
BZ10079 427846 6242616 495 126.00 -90
BZ10080 427823 6242658 486 125.50 -90
BZ10081 427905 6242727 486 125.00 -90
BZ10082 427881 6242784 473 126.70 -90
BZ10083 428072 6243035 453 121.20 -90
BZ10084 428106 6242985 461 125.40 -90
BZ10085 428137 6242921 470 125.10 -90
BZ10086 427981 6242786 482 126.20 -90
BZ10087 427955 6242848 471 125.50 -90
BZ10088 427926 6242899 464 125.20 -90
BZ10089 427955 6243047 450 125.30 -90
BZ10090 427981 6242994 457 125.20 -90
BZ10091 428002 6242944 462 125.40 -90
BZ10092 428042 6242881 473 126.40 -90
BZ10093 428130 6243135 450 113.20 -90
BZ10094 427895 6242943 457 124.15 -90
BZ10095 427936 6242668 494 125.50 -90
BZ10096 427770 6242567 499 125.10 -90
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TOTAL : 3604.68
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:
Quest Rare Minerals Ltd.
Peter J. Cashin, President & CEO
(416) 916-0777 or 1-877-916-0777
(416) 916-0779 (FAX)
info@questrareminerals.com
www.questrareminerals.com