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| | Fri Mar 5, 2010
Virginia Energy Releases High-Grade Uranium Assays and Completes Acquisition of Strategis Property, Quebec
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| | News Release: 10-07
Virginia Energy Resources Inc. (TSX.V: VAE) and Big Red Diamond Corporation (TSX.V: DIA) are pleased to announce completion of the Strategis property acquisition by Virginia Energy, and final high-grade uranium assays from a fall 2009 prospecting program.
Under the terms of an assignment agreement signed February 24, 2010, Virginia has now acquired a 100% interest in the Strategis property comprising 5100 hectares of map designated claims in 97 cells, located in the Otish Mountains, Quebec. The property is subject to a 2% Net Smelter Return royalty interest in favour of Big Red and certain underlying vendors, of which 1.5% may be purchased at any time for $1.5 million. Virginia previously paid $50,000 cash as part of a September 2009 option agreement, and will now issue 635,000 common shares to complete the acquisition. The shares are subject to a four-month hold period.
The Strategis property straddles the Otish Basin unconformity and is located directly west of the Lorenz Gully uranium prospect on Virginia's wholly owned Lorenz property (see Virginia news release of September 21, 2009 and March 4, 2010). In 1979, Uranerz Exploration and Mining Ltd. drilled two holes from a single set-up within the Strategis portion of the Lorenz Gully mineralized trend. Hole LG-34 is reported to have intersected 2.0 metres grading 1260.7 ppm U3O8, including 0.5 m grading 3440 ppm U3O8 (Quebec assessment report GM36332). Big Red completed an airborne radiometric-magnetic survey in 2007, which identified several promising anomalies for follow-up.
In fall 2009, Big Red's field consultant, IOS Services Geoscientifiques Inc., completed a two-week program consisting of prospecting, 405 soil samples and a 25 line-km ground magnetic survey at Strategis (see Big Red news release of October 28, 2009). The program was hampered by inclement early winter weather conditions that restricted the fieldwork to only one of the three prime exploration targets. Nevertheless, 21 radioactive rock samples (18 from bedrock and 3 boulders) were collected over a 425 m long by 85 m wide area directly adjacent to Virginia's Lorenz property. The sample sites averaged 19,738 counts per second (range of 5000 to 49,500 cps) using a hand-held RS-125 spectrometer.
Final uranium analyses for grab samples yielded an average of 3025 ppm U3O8 by optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) following aqua regia digestion. Sixteen of 21 samples assayed greater than 0.05% U3O8 and five assayed greater than 0.5% U3O8, with results varying from 66 to 13,326 ppm U3O8. Values were slightly higher using analytical methods designed for high-grade samples, as can be seen in the table below. The samples were also anomalous for barium, copper, lead, and vanadium. Gold and thorium values are very low.
Sample # |
Type |
CPS Maximum |
U3O8 (ppm)
(ICP-OES - Aqua
Regia Digestion) |
% U3O8
(High-Grade
Assay) |
75990450 |
Outcrop |
20000 |
66 |
|
75990451 |
Boulder |
7000 |
1910 |
0.200 |
75990452 |
Outcrop |
5000 |
417 |
|
75990453 |
Outcrop |
11500 |
1344 |
0.145 |
75990454 |
Outcrop |
20000 |
4752 |
0.526 |
75990455 |
Outcrop |
8500 |
346 |
|
75990456 |
Boulder |
9500 |
729 |
|
75990457 |
Outcrop |
26500 |
981 |
|
75990458 |
Outcrop |
18000 |
3054 |
0.329 |
75990459 |
Boulder |
25000 |
8491 |
0.914 |
75990460 |
Outcrop |
9000 |
298 |
|
75990461 |
Outcrop |
18000 |
908 |
|
75990462 |
Outcrop |
11500 |
506 |
|
75990463 |
Outcrop |
34000 |
1946 |
0.228 |
75990464 |
Outcrop |
21500 |
10,861 |
1.300 |
75990465 |
Outcrop |
16000 |
198 |
|
75990466 |
Outcrop |
49500 |
13,326 |
1.500 |
75990467 |
Outcrop |
20000 |
2889 |
0.328 |
75990468 |
Outcrop |
25000 |
3231 |
0.352 |
75990469 |
Outcrop |
25000 |
1568 |
0.172 |
75990470 |
Outcrop |
34000 |
5696 |
0.637 |
Mineralization is hosted by intensely hematite-altered basement granitoid rock, and consists of fractures and veins carrying hematite, carbonates, yellow secondary uranium minerals, pyrite, copper sulphides and an unidentified barium mineral. Additional petrographic studies are underway.
The occurrence is coincident with a regional linear magnetic break suggestive of a faulted contact between two rock types with very different magnetic susceptibilities (see Lorenz Gully map on Virginia website). The 2009 work also detected abundant uranium-in-soil anomalies in the immediate vicinity of the mineralized and altered outcrops. Two other uranium anomalies from the 2007 airborne radiometric survey remain to be prospected.
In summary, the Lorenz Gully uranium trend has now been traced over a strike length of 820 m on the Strategis property and on Virginia's adjacent Lorenz property, based on historic drill hole assays and bedrock mineralization discovered in 2009. The zone trends northeasterly and is sub-parallel to the Otish basin unconformity, located 300 to 400 m to the southeast. Uranerz drilled a total of 35 holes in the area in 1978-79; however only two of these actually tested the southern 650 m of the trend.
Now that Virginia has consolidated 100% ownership of this promising uranium prospect, planning is underway for an aggressive exploration program in summer 2010.
Sample Security & Quality Control
A strict program of sample security and quality control has been implemented, including the use of blanks and certified standards. Rock samples were analyzed at SRC Geoanalytical Laboratory of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan by optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) after aqua regia digestion for 16 trace elements including soluble uranium, and by mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after multi-acid near-total digestion for 46 elements, including uranium and thorium. Assay grade uranium was conducted by ICP-OES and aqua-regia digestion for samples above 0.1% U3O8. Assay grade uranium was conducted by fluorometry after hydrochloric acid digestion for samples above 1% U3O8.
Mr. Rejéan Girard, P.Geo. of IOS Services Geoscientifiques Inc. based in Chicoutimi, Quebec, is the qualified person responsible for the current exploration program at Strategis and has verified the data reported above. The technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Michael S. Cathro, P.Geo., Virginia's Vice-President of Exploration and a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
VIRGINIA ENERGY RESOURCES INC.
"Norman Reynolds"
Norman Reynolds, President & CEO
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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