IC Potash Corp commences Phase II drill program on its 100%-owned Ochoa projectIC Potash Corp ICP
4/29/2010 7:00:00 AM
TORONTO, Apr 29, 2010 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX News Network) --
IC Potash Corp. ("ICP" or the "Company") (TSXV: ICP) announced today the Company plans to commence its Phase II drilling program for its flagship Polyhalite Ochoa project in New Mexico May 15, 2010. The drill program will be performed in accordance with the program description as described in the 43-101 Compliant Report; "Polyhalite Resources and a Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Ochoa project Lea County, Southeast New Mexico" which was prepared as at August 19, 2009. The 10 hole program is a follow-up to the successful 6 hole Phase I drilling program that validated the Company's geologic model for polyhalite throughout the area. Core and a comprehensive suite of geophysical logs will be obtained from each hole.
"With 400M tons of inferred resources of high-grade Polyhalite, we have designed an extensive drill program and prioritized targets that will further expand and define the resource. We anticipate the assay results for the drill program in approximately six weeks of the first drill hole at which time IC Potash will begin its Definitive Feasibility Study," said Sidney Himmel, President and CEO of IC Potash Corp. "With this drill program underway and a strong market for premium potash, we are well positioned to be a primary SOP producer in the world."
The Phase II drill program has been designed to: (i) continue to validate interpretations of historical oil and gas geophysical logs as started by Phase I drilling; (ii) advance the classification of resources reported in the 43-101 Technical Report from inferred resource to indicated resource; (iii) acquire bulk samples for metallurgical and geophysical testing through sidetrack coring from the exploration hole; (iv) ascertain chemical and thickness variability; (v) determine optimal locations for Phase III in-fill drilling and optimum mine location; (vi) initiate baseline hydrological investigations by geophysical logging of the fresh water zone of core holes; and (vii) protect any potable water in the area during drilling and drill hole abandonment. The Company anticipates completing the Phase II drilling program by September 2010.
The Ochoa Polyhalite prospecting permits cover subsurface mineral rights in Lea County about 60 miles west-southwest of Hobbs, New Mexico, and 23 miles west of the Texas-New Mexico state line. The property is located in five townships in Lea County, New Mexico.
Drilling is being conducted by an experienced potash drilling company; Stewart Brothers of Milan, New Mexico. Century Geophysical has been contracted for geophysical logging of core holes. QA/QC will be overseen by Qualified Person, Marc Melker, an IC Potash employee. Core samples will be evaluated using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) by The Mineral Lab, and assays will be conducted by ALS Chemex using ICP chemical analysis.
NI43-101 compliant QA/QC measures are being employed in the field and laboratories to ensure defensibility of the data through a validation process using blanks, standards and replicates. Core splits will be carefully preserved against moisture degradation and placed in secure, temperature controlled storage area to enable any future confirmation audits of the core. Reference samples will be collected and photographed for all rock units encountered during drilling for future reference. Samples from core will be procured for density measurements and thin section microscopy and scanning electron microprobe (SEM) evaluation.
All scientific and technical disclosure in this press release has been prepared under the supervision of Marc Melker with IC Potash who is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.
About IC Potash Corp
IC Potash intends to become a primary producer of Sulfate of Potash ("SOP") by mining its 100%-owned Polyhalite Ochoa property in New Mexico. SOP is a non-chloride based potash fertilizer that generally sells at a substantial premium over the price of Muriate of Potash ("MOP"), the most widely used fertilizer in the world. Over the past several years, SOP has traded at approximately a 50% premium to MOP in international markets. Using a simple, low cost and proven technology to produce SOP from Polyhalite, IC Potash is focused on being the lowest cost producer of SOP in the world.
The SOP market is approximately 4 million tonnes per year and is a significant alternative fertilizer for agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables, tobacco, potatoes, and horticultural plants. SOP has low "salinity" compared to MOP, and therefore is also used in various saline soils in the world, which are found for example in China, India, the Mediterranean, and the United States.
IC Potash Ochoa property consists of federal sub-surface potassium permits granted by the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") covering approximately 50,000 acres of land. All reclamation plans, environmental plans, and archeological work have been approved by BLM. IC Potash carries out all activities through its wholly owned subsidiary, Intercontinental Potash Corp.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of ICP, including, but not limited to, risks associated with mineral exploration and mining activities, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory approvals, and the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.
NEITHER THE 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.
SOURCE: Intercontinental Potash Corp.
please visit www.intercontinentalpotash.com or contact: Sidney Himmel, President and CEO, IC Potash Corp, sid@icpotash.com
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