Tungsten

[Tackler]

I missed the fly on PLY...

Playfair ups inferred resource at Grey River by 59.3%

2007-06-18 03:22 MT - News Release

Mr. Neil Briggs reports

PLAYFAIR RELEASES INDEPENDENT NI 43-101 COMPLIANT RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR GREY RIVER TUNGSTEN DEPOSIT, NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA

Playfair Mining Ltd. has completed a National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate for the company's 100-per-cent-owned Grey River, Nfld., tungsten deposit.

The National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate completed by Wardop Engineering Inc. reports 16.1 million pounds of inferred resource (852,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.858 per cent WO3 at a 0.2-per-cent-WO3 cut-off), an increase of 59.3 per cent over the previously released relevant historic estimate(i) of 10.1 million pounds (473,000 tonnes at an average grade of 0.97 per cent WO3) prepared by the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) in 1970.

Playfair chairman Don Moore states: "A validation of the relevant historical resource(i) delineated by Asarco at Grey River would have been an excellent event for Playfair Mining. Rather than simply validating the Asarco estimate, this National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate completed by Wardrop represents an increase of almost 60 per cent in contained tungsten at Grey River. This has greatly exceeded our expectations and we are extremely pleased for all of the Playfair shareholders who have followed the progress at Grey River since we acquired this high-grade tungsten project. With a National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate describing a 59.3-per-cent increase in contained tungsten at Grey River over the historical Asarco estimate, we have made a great stride towards our production goal. We are equally enthused with the fact that this deposit is still open at depth and on strike, providing substantial upside exploration potential. Today is a true milestone for Playfair and we are energized to capitalize on these great results as we move forward."

The National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate completed by Wardrop is based only on data from the No. 10 vein on Playfair's Grey River tungsten deposit. In addition to exploring the No. 10 vein further (which has not been drilled below the existing adit), Playfair is also developing aggressive exploration plans to test and quantify the numerous other veins that have been found on the property to date.

Wardrop calculated the resource according to CIM resource categories in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 guidelines. Data from various sample types were used to create a three-dimensional block model resource for the No. 10 vein at Grey River. The data included historic surface sampling, underground sampling and diamond drilling by Asarco together with recent surface sampling and diamond drilling by Playfair.

The resource estimate was generated using an inverse-distance-squared interpolation method with grades capped at 8.5 per cent WO3 (a total of six values higher than 8.5 per cent WO3 were set back to 8.5 per cent WO3). Individual block size was 10 metres by 10 metres by two metres. A Pass 1 search ellipse of 75 metres parallel to the strike of the vein, 35 metres down the dip of the vein and five metres across the width of the vein was used for grade interpolation. A specific gravity of 2.8 grams per cubic centimetre was used.

A cut-off grade of 0.2 per cent WO3 was chosen based on the cut-off grades for North American Tungsten's Cantung mine in Western Canada. The table, "Resource estimate," shows the resource tabulation at higher cut-off grades.

 
  
                           RESOURCE ESTIMATE 
  
 Inferred      Grade cut-off                  WO3%              WO3 
 resources        (%)             Tonnes     grade           pounds 
  
 Vein 10       Greater than or   216,000      1.75        8,333,473 
               equal to 1.0 
               Greater than or   470,000      1.24       12,848,541 
               equal to 0.6 
               Greater than or   852,000      0.86       16,153,711 
               equal to 0.2 
 

The resource estimate reported here was prepared by Christopher Moreton, PhD, PGeo, with peer review by Pierre Desautels, PGeo, both of Wardrop Engineering Inc., and both qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Playfair's Canadian tungsten deposits

In addition to the Grey River tungsten deposit, Playfair owns three additional high-grade tungsten deposits, all in Canada and all with significant historical resource estimates(i) that predate National Instrument 43-101 but that have been delineated by well-established mining companies.

 
  
            NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101-COMPLIANT RESOURCE ESTIMATE 
  
                       Cut-off 
             Classifi-   grade            Grade                Pounds     MTU 
 Property    cation       %WO3    Tonnes   WO3%        WO3            company 
  
 Grey River  Inferred      0.2   852,000   0.86  16,153,700   732,700 Wardrop 
 No. 10 vein resource                                                 2007 
  
 Historic resource estimates(i) 
  
 Risby       Historic      0.4 2,700,000   0.81  48,214,600 2,187,000 HBED 
             resource(i)                                              1982 
 Lened       Historic      0.4   737,000   1.14  18,523,050   840,200 Union 
             resource(i)                                              Carbide 
 Clea        Historic      0.5   257,000   0.93   5,269,000   239,000 Placer 
             resource(i)                                              Dome 
                                                                      1980 
 

(i) Estimates of historic tungsten resources predate and are non-compliant
with National Instrument 43-101. Playfair is not treating the historical
estimates as current mineral resources or reserves. Playfair has not
undertaken any independent investigation of the resource estimates nor has
it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in
order to verify the resources, and therefore, the historical estimates
should not be relied upon. However, Playfair believes that these historical
estimates provide a conceptual indication of the potential of the
occurrences and are relevant to continuing exploration.

Wardrop Engineering is a multidisciplinary consulting engineering firm and has completed projects in more than 40 countries throughout North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Wardrop was founded in 1955 and is in the business of providing engineering, environmental, information technology and business solutions around the world. Some of the notable high-profile projects that the company has worked on include the Canadian space station team in the development of the Canadian mobile base system (MBS), the partial decommissioning of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine, the rebuilding of New York's subway line under the former World Trade Centre and Winnipeg's Provencher Bridge. The company currently has projects under way in Canada, the United States, Chile, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Russia and Uzbekistan. Wardrop has international offices in most of the locations where it has projects and is involved in infrastructure, manufacturing, supply chain, mining, mineral processing, nuclear, oil, gas, power, and pulp and paper. The company's North American operations have achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification and the company's mining division has experience in all facets of the mining-life cycle from exploration through to development, production, closure and reclamation.

About tungsten

Tungsten is an extremely hard, heavy, steel-grey to white metal that is remarkable for its robust physical properties and vast uses and cannot be substituted in many industrial applications. Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metallic elements. Tungsten is a strategic metal and emerging economies such as India and China are consuming increasing amounts of tungsten. The current price of tungsten is approximately $12 (U.S.) per pound.

Until 2005, China was the world's largest exporter of tungsten concentrate but rapid industrialization within China, structural economic changes, and changes in economic policies toward industry have resulted in the restriction of tungsten exports from China. China is now the world's largest consumer of tungsten. Escalating Chinese consumption, in conjunction with the continuing demand in the world's principal economies along with the supply issues noted above, has resulted in increases in the price of tungsten. Tungsten prices are quoted per metric ton unit of contained tungsten trioxide (WO3). One MTU contains 10 kilograms of WO3 and is the standard weight measure of the tungsten trade. Ammonium paratungstate (APT) is an intermediate product in the production of tungsten metal for which prices are available. A price of $260 (U.S.) per MTU equates to $26 (U.S.) per kilogram or $12 (U.S.) per pound.

Due to these Chinese export restrictions and the strong global demand for tungsten, the management of Playfair feels that the company is very well positioned with four high-grade deposits, all located within Canada.

Michael Moore, PGeo, is the qualified person, who has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release on behalf of Playfair. As required by National Instrument 43-101 regulations, the resource estimate report will be filed in its entirety on SEDAR within 45 days.