Roca Expands Surface Tungsten Zone at MAX Project
20:50 EST Tuesday, December 12, 2006
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Dec. 12, 2006) - Roca Mines Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ROK) ("Roca" or the "Company") announces that new tungsten mineralization has been discovered during exploration and sampling at the Company's MAX Molybdenum Project in the Revelstoke Mining Division of British Columbia, Canada.
Roca is focused on the fast-tracked development of the known molybdenum resource at MAX but has also reviewed previous exploration work by others on the MAX claim group. That review highlighted the property's potential for tungsten mineralization based on past work by others, including an historic high-grade mining operation, which has seen little follow-up exploration.
Working at higher elevations on the project claims in September 2006, the Company's prospectors discovered scheelite mineralization (a tungsten mineral, WO3) southeast of the "Ridge Zone" and hosted in low-sulphide, garnet-rich skarn boulders and outcrop. The new area, named the "Upper Ridge Zone" begins approximately 200 metres on-strike from the Ridge Zone and appears to extend for at least a further 200 metres along the east flank of the ridge. Higher grades of WO3 appear to be associated with brecciated and faulted zones of skarn with significant pinkish-brown garnet development, similar to the mineralization observed at the Ridge Zone. The Ridge Zone was originally discovered by Newmont Exploration of Canada Ltd. in 1977. Assays for tungsten from samples of the newly discovered Upper Ridge Zone are reported in the table below:
Upper Ridge Zone (Roca 2006)
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Sample Description From - To Interval Assay
No. (metres) (metres) % WO3
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277601 Float 0.63
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277604 Float 0.77
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277605 Float 1.50
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277606 Float 1.15
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277607 Float 0.88
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277609 Float 0.88
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277610 Float 0.54
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277611 Chip(A) 0.0-1.0 1.0 0.43
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277612 Chip(A) 1.0-2.0 1.0 0.14
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277620 Chip(B) 1.0-2.0 1.0 0.83
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277621 Chip(B) 2.0-3.0 1.0 1.07
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277622 Chip(C) 0.0-1.0 1.0 0.68
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277623 Chip(C) 1.0-2.0 1.0 0.52
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277624 Chip(C) 2.0-2.8 0.8 1.00
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277625 Chip(D) 0.0-1.0 1.0 0.23
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277626 Chip(D) 1.0-2.0 1.0 0.20
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277627 Chip(D) 2.0-2.9 0.9 0.15
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277628 Chip(E) 0.0-2.0 2.0 0.16
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277629 Chip(E) 2.0-3.0 1.0 0.08
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277630 Chip(E) 6.5-8.0 1.5 0.15
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277631 Chip(F) 0.0-2.0 2.0 1.35
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277632 Grab 1.19
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277633 Grab 0.74
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277634 Float 2.06
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All assays reported above were carried out by ACME Analytical Laboratories of Vancouver, BC. Mr. Scott Broughton, P.Eng. is the 43-101 qualified person who supervised the sampling program in 2006.
Tungsten Exploration by Newmont
In 1979 Newmont conducted systematic chip sampling of their discovery trench at the Ridge Zone and obtained assays of 0.32% WO3 across 110 feet. Subsequent to that work three diamond drill holes were then drilled in 1979 proximal to the trench on approximately 200 ft centres and along trend, with selected results shown in the table below:
Ridge Zone (Newmont 1979)
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Drill From To Interval Assay
Hole (feet) (feet) (feet) % WO3
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79-12 16 45 29 0.11
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79-12 430 492 62 0.26
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79-13 38 94 56 0.40
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79-14 61 76 15 0.29
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79-14 398 449 51 0.18
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Mr. Terry Macauley, P.Eng. is the 43-101 qualified person who supervised the trenching and diamond drilling program in 1979.
Tungsten Exploration by Others
Previous exploration for tungsten to the northwest of the Ridge Zone took place between 1942 and 1958 and results were reported in British Columbia's Ministry of Mines' Annual Reports, including samples obtained from skarn showings exposed intermittently over a length of 900 feet and a vertical range of 600 feet. The sampled skarn reportedly occur at the contact of dolomite and a quartzitic rock. These samples are reported by the BC Department of Mines Bulletin No. 45 by Fyles and Easwood, 1962, with results shown in the table below:
Copper Chief Zone (1962)
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Sample Interval Assay
No. Description (feet) % WO3
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1 Chip 8.0 0.20
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2 Chip 4.0 1.06
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3 Chip 6.0 0.50
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4 Chip 4.0 0.11
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5 Chip 8.0 0.04
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6 Chip 4.0 1.62
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7 Chip 4.5 1.02
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Also, reported in British Columbia's Ministry of Mines' Annual Reports in 1953 were results of work by B.W. MacDougal as follows:
Copper Chief Zone (1953)
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Sample Interval Assay
No. Description (feet) % WO3
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2 Chip 11.0 0.42
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2a Chip 8.0 0.92
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3 Chip 11.0 0.48
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3a Chip 8.0 0.12
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3b Chip 18.0 0.12
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3c Chip 10.0 0.33
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3d Chip 10.0 0.61
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The Company wishes to caution the reader that the historical results reported above, having been taken from what are considered to be reliable sources, are not in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 and should not be relied upon.
With the addition of the newly discovered Upper Ridge Zone the strike length of tungsten mineralization as indicated by all of the outcrop sampled to date and encompassing all three zones now totals 1450 metres in length and extends over a vertical range of 600 metres. Roca plans to aggressively explore the potential for tungsten mineralization in 2007. Since only three diamond drill holes have tested one of the zones to date, new exploration work will focus on delineating immediate drill targets.
Tungsten is an essential metal, noted for its hardness and high-melting point. It is used primarily in cemented carbide and high speed steel tools for the construction and mining industries and for general wear protection of steel alloys. Unalloyed tungsten in the form of wire is used as filaments in lamps and as heating elements for furnaces and heaters.
ROCA MINES INC.
Scott E. Broughton, P.Eng. - President & CEO
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Roca Mines Inc.
Doug Fosbrooke
Investor Relations
(604) 684-2900
(604) 684-2902 (FAX)
Email: info@rocamines.com
Website: www.rocamines.com
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