Western Potash Corp. Reports a Composite Thickness of 24.4 Metres of Potash Mineralization with a Grade of 18.2 Wt % K2O across Three Potash Members from the Fourth Well at Milestone ...
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/western-potash-corp-reports-a-composite-thickness-of-244-metres-of-potash-mineralization-with-a-grade-of-182-wt-k2o-across-three-potash-members-from-the-fourth-well-at-milestone-2009-08-24
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug 24, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Western Potash Corp. Reports a Composite Thickness of 24.4 Metres of Potash Mineralization with a Grade of 18.2 Wt % K2O across Three Potash Members from the Fourth Well at Milestone, Prepares for Expanded Drilling and Seismic Program with Goal towards Resource Definition
Western Potash Corp. (the "Company") /quotes/comstock/30o!ahe (DE:AHE 0.30, +0.00, +0.33%) is pleased to announce that it has received the complete results from its first phase drill program on the Milestone property in southern Saskatchewan. Gamma ray results have been reported in previous news releases for the four wells drilled in the initial exploration phase and potash assay results for the first well were reported in a June 15th, 2009 company release. Highlighted in the fourth well is a 24.4 m composite intersection of potash mineralization with a weighted average grade of 18.2 wt % K2O across three potash members.
The 100% owned Milestone property, comprising 500 square kilometers, is located 30 kilometers southeast of Regina, and southeast of Mosaic's Belle Plaine Mine, one of the largest producing potash solution mines in the world. The potash mineralization encountered within the Patience Lake and Belle Plaine potash members in this drill program is similar in grade and thickness to those reported at the operating Belle Plain mine.
The Milestone-003 well is the fourth well drilled on the Milestone property and is located approximately 12.5 km and 7.5 km to the southeast of the first and second well sites reported previously. A summary of the results from this well are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Potash thickness and weighted average grade from the Milestone - 003 well.
Potash Member From To Interval K2O MgO Insoluble Best Intercept
(KB, m) (KB, m) (m) Wt % Wt % Wt %
Patience Lake 1715.55 1729.5 13.9 18.38 0.09 11.32 21.34 wt% K2O over 6.1m
Belle Plaine 1731.45 1736.3 4.85 18.37 0.09 3.78 20.11 wt% K2O over 3.6m
Esterhazy 1756.15 1761.8 5.60 17.75 1.57 3.96 30.17wt% K2O over 1.7m
Total 24.35 18.23 0.43 8.13
Note: Total intervals noted in this release are composites. All drill intercepts noted in this release are considered the true thickness of the mineralization; as the salt beds are relatively flat-lying and down-hole directional surveys indicate the hole was essentially vertical upon intersecting the salt and potash sequences. The core recovered from this hole was logged, photographed, split, and sampled at the Company's secure core storage facility on the property. All samples were handled in accordance with the Company's Chain of Custody procedures. The half-split core samples from the wells were analyzed at the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) Laboratory in Saskatoon. The Laboratory has been certified by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to conform to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (CAN-P-4E).
The Company is very pleased with the potash grades intersected in the Patience Lake and Belle Plaine potash members reported for the Milestone-003 well, as these are considered particularly exceptional. In addition, these potash hosting members have very low carnallite and low insoluble contents, which is also very encouraging as they are critical factors for developing a solution mine. The grades reported from the Esterhazy member are lower in comparison to grades reported from the same member in previous wells. Also, the carnallite content within the Esterhazy potash member is considered too high for effective economic extraction of potash in a solution recovery process.
The potash assays results from the Milestone-003 well support the Company's decision to accelerate a resource definition program in the vicinity of this well as reported in the July 23, 2009 press release.
The Company is currently planning and permitting an additional 5 well resource definition drill program to define the grade, thickness, and extent of this higher grade zone within the Patience Lake and Belle Plaine members. A 2D seismic survey over this priority area has already commenced. Furthermore, a 3D seismic survey will also be carried out following the resource definition drill phase with the goal to fast-track and establish an NI43-101 compliant resource. The Company's board has approved an $8.5 million CAD budget for this program.
The Company is also pleased to report results from the second and third wells drilled on the property (Milestone-002, and Milestone-002A respectively), a summary of which is presented in Table 2. Milestone-002 was drilled 5.25km to the south east of the first well, and encountered an anomaly not apparent in the 2D seismic data that removed most of the potash mineralization in the Patience Lake Member. This anomaly was likely due to local structure and water ingress resulting in localized dissolution.
The Milestone-002A well was directionally drilled from the same well site as Milestone-002, intersecting the potash beds 800m to the north of the vertical second well. The Company decided to drill this directional hole to test the theory that the anomaly observed in Milestone-002 was a local anomaly. Geological observations, gamma ray logging and geochemical results have indeed confirmed this theory.
Table 2: Potash thickness and weighted average grade from the Milestone-002 and Milestone-002A wells.
Hole Potash Member From To Interval K2O MgO Insoluble
(KB, m) (KB, m) (m) Wt % Wt % Wt %
Milestone 002 Patience Lake 1680.7 1681 0.3 17.5 0.06 7.8
Belle Plaine 1697.5 1701.7 4.2 15.59 0.08 5.2
Esterhazy 1719.9 1726.2 6.3 22.28 0.06 5.35
Total 10.8 19.55 0.07 5.36
Milestone 002A Patience Lake 1674 1683 9 17.53 0.09 10.58
Belle Plaine 1687.35 1691.3 3.9 12.82 0.09 4.71
Esterhazy 1710.4 1716.9 6.5 24.1 0.93 5.38
Total 19.4 18.78 0.37 7.66
Results from the Milestone-001 and Milestone-002A wells demonstrate regional continuity of all three potash members between these wells. While these results show positive potash mineralization, the Company is compelled to focus its initial resource definition in the vicinity of the Milestone-003 well, where higher potash grades and better thicknesses within the Patience Lake and Belle Plaine members have been demonstrated.
Western Potash Corp. is a mineral exploration company engaged in the evaluation, exploration and development of potash mineral properties in Western Canada. The Company intends to define and develop a world-class potash deposit in an ecologically sustainable, economically efficient and socially responsible manner.
The in-house qualified persons for the purposes of NI 43-101 guidelines are J. Patricio Varas, P. Geo and Dean Pekeski, P. Geo, both of whom have reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
For more information on Western Potash Corp.'s projects, please visit the Company's website at: www.westernpotash.com
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"J. Patricio Varas"
J. Patricio Varas
President and CEO
This news release contains Forward Looking Statements regarding our intentions and plans. Forward looking statements in this news release include that the potash mineralization encountered in this drill program is similar in grade and thickness to those reported at the Belle Plain mine; that the potash grades intersected in the Milestone-003 well are considered exceptional; the potash hosting members have very low carnallite and low insoluble contents, which is encouraging as they are critical factors for developing a solution mine; results support the acceleration of the resource definition program in the vicinity of Milestone-003; that the Company is planning and permitting a 5 well resource definition drill program in conjunction with a 2D seismic survey already underway; that a 3d seismic survey will follow the resource definition drill phase to fast-track an NI43-101 resource; the Company has approved an $8.5 Million CAD budget for the program; that results from all the wells compel the company to focus its initial resource definition in the vicinity of the Milestone-003 well. It is the Company's policy not to update forward looking statements. Various factors may prevent or delay our plans, including but not limited to, contractor availability and performance, weather, access, mineral prices and success and failure of the exploration and development carried out at various stages of the program. Readers should review risk factors applicable to junior mining exploration companies generally to understand the variety of risks that can affect the Company.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE: Western Potash Corp.
Western Potash Corp.
Patricio Varas, 604-689-9378
President & CEO
www.westernpotash.com
