- Published: 14 October 2009
- Written by Editor
Marathon Identifies 1.1 km On-Strike Extension of PGM-Cu Mineralization
Marathon PGM Corporation (TSX-MAR, "Marathon" or "the Company") encountered considerable widths of PGM-Cu mineralization during recent trenching north of the Marathon PGM-Cu Project, located 8 km north of the town of Marathon, Ontario.
Phillip Walford, President and CEO of Marathon commented, "Trenching has successfully outlined 4 zones of mineralization that could potentially expand the resource by over 1,100 m north across the Bamoos property and Marathon claims. Further exploration will test the continuity of mineralization between these zones and the potential for additional reserves."
Bamoos Trenching Results
Trenching on the Bamoos property and the adjoining land held by Marathon PGM returned promising assay values with grades and widths that reflect the type of mineralization that was routinely found during the development of the Marathon deposit. The trenches are to the north of the Marathon deposit (view map at http://www.marathonpgm.com/newsmaps/2009-25.jpg).
Selected composite trenching intervals include: - 81.6 m of 0.27 % Cu and 0.71 g/t PGM+Au; - 43.1 m of 0.10 % Cu and 1.43 g/t PGM+Au; - 29.9 m of 0.44 % Cu and 1.44 g/t PGM+Au; - 25.8 m of 0.20 % Cu and 1.17 g/t PGM+Au; - 14.7 m of 0.13 % Cu and 2.44 g/t PGM+Au; - 13.9 m of 0.46 % Cu and 1.67 g/t PGM+Au; - 12.4 m of 0.16 % Cu and 2.72 g/t PGM+Au;
Trenching: Cost Effective and Revealing
Prospecting and trenching continue to play a key role in resource development at the Marathon Project. Trenching is important because it reveals the surficial extent of mineralization found by prospecting, permits geological interpretation and is a very cost effective method of identifying and screening mineralized areas prior to drilling.
Bamoos Property: Mineralization and Generalized Geology and Mineralization
PGM-Cu mineralization is hosted within the Two Duck Lake intrusion, which strikes north to northwest across the entire length of the Bamoos property. Mineralized zones encountered in trenching range in thickness from 4 to 81m and occur over a strike length of 1,100 m. Mineralization on the Bamoos property and adjoining Marathon property is very similar to that of Marathon deposit, located 1.1 km on-strike to the south. The Bamoos property was purchased by Marathon PGM Corporation and has a 4% NSR with a 1% buyout option of $1 million. The Marathon property has no royalties. The Marathon deposit measured and indicated resource is 2.58 million ounces of Pd, 769,000 ounces of Pt, 280,000 ounces of Au, 625 million lbs of Cu and 5.5 million ounces of Ag (please see Marathon press release of August 20, 2009).
Trenching and channel sampling completed by Marathon in 2008 and 2009 confirms that the PGM-Cu mineralization is hosted within gabbros associated with the Marathon deposit. Geology on the Bamoos Property is complex, as the various rock units are discontinuous and have irregular contacts and so exploration will focus on detailed mapping and 3 dimensional modeling as well as drilling.
Drilling by previous operators (Anaconda and Benton) partially defined mineralization on the Bamoos property. A total of 55 holes and 10,923 m metres were drilled and mineralization at depth is consistent with that identified in Marathon's trenching, for instance, historical drill hole Anaconda 118 returned 12.0 m of 0.35 % Cu and 3.7 g/t PGM+Au. The majority of drilling was conducted on the northern extension of the Marathon Main zone. Very little drilling has been done in the vicinity of trenching, which bodes well for additional resource development.
Planned Work: 2010
The potential of adding to the current Marathon resource by developing the Bamoos property is extremely high. Marathon is presently compiling recent trench results, work by previous operators and geological mapping in order to build a better understanding of the Bamoos geology and mineralization. Based on results of data compilation, Marathon will pick the best drill targets and expect to test in 2010. The goal is to develop additional resources and reserves.
David Good, P.Geo., VP of Exploration is Marathon's Qualified Person in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 with respect to this release. Dr. Good has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon.
About Marathon PGM Corporation:
Marathon PGM Corporation is presently optimizing an earlier definitive feasibility study on the Marathon PGM-Cu deposit, which is expected to be completed in Q4. Marathon is also exploring resource development potential in the immediate vicinity of the Marathon deposit to expand mine life of the planned large tonnage, open pit mining operation. The Marathon deposit is one of the largest PGM-Cu reserves in Canada and is expected to grow with development of additional nearby resources. Marathon's updated in-pit M&I resource contains 2.58 million ounces of Pd, 769,000 ounces of Pt, 280,000 ounces of Au, 625 million lbs of Cu and 5.5 million ounces of Ag. Marathon also has development and exploration stage properties in southeastern Manitoba and western Newfoundland, respectively. Marathon's management plans to build on its experience through the advancement of its properties and by examining other strategic opportunities.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Except for statements of historical fact relating to Marathon, certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "considers", "intends", "targets", or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and "could". We provide forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about our current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to those identified and reported in Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2008.
Other than as specifically required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results otherwise.
Contacts
David Leng
P.Geo.
Tel: (905) 537-5377
Fax: (416) 861-1925
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