Vancouver, B.C. (FSCwire) - Saville Resources Inc. (TSXv: SRE, FSE: S0J) (the “Company” or “Saville”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an exploration earn-in agreement (the “Agreement”) with Commerce Resources Corp. (“Commerce”) on a group of niobium claims that form part of their Eldor Property, located approximately 130 km south of Kuujjuaq in northern Quebec.
The claim group (the “Property”) consists of 21 contiguous mineral claims, encompassing an area of approximately 980 hectares, and are considered highly prospective for niobium and tantalum. The Property includes the high-priority, and drill ready, Miranna Target where prior sampling has returned up to 5.9% Nb2O5 and up to 1,220 ppm Ta2O5 within a strongly mineralized boulder train with a distinct geophysical anomaly at its apex. Of the 64 prospecting rock samples collected from the Miranna Area during the 2015 program, a total of 40 samples returned Nb2O5 grades in excess of 0.5%, with 16 in excess of 1% to a peak of 5.9% Nb2O5. A map highlighting sampling results as well as the postulated source can be found at http://savilleres.com/MirannaBoulderTrain.pdf.
The Property also includes the Northwest and Southeast zones where previous drilling returned wide intercepts of mineralization including; 46.88 m grading 0.46% Nb2O5 (EC08-008) and 26.10 m grading 0.55% Nb2O5, including 10.64 m of 0.78% Nb2O5 (EC08-015), respectively.
The Company believes that these numerous, high-grade, niobium-tantalum mineral occurrences demonstrate the prospective nature of the Property, and indicate a strong potential to host a deposit of significance.
Prior mineralogical work on samples from the Miranna Target and Southeast Area indicate that the niobium-tantalum mineralization is present in the mineral pyrochlore, which is the dominant source mineral for niobium and tantalum globally, including the operating Niobec Mine located in Quebec. Further, the pyrochlore is commonly visible to the naked eye, thus indicating a relatively course grain size, which is a favourable attribute for metallurgical recovery.
The Agreement
Under the terms of the Agreement, the Company may obtain a 75% interest in the Property by completing a total of $5M CAD in work expenditures over a five-year period. Commerce will receive a cash payment of $25,000 upon signing, and $225,000 upon closing, as well as retain a 1% or 2% Net Smelter Royalty (NSR) on production, depending on the claim, with Saville having the option to buy back half the respective NSR for $1M CAD. The Agreement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and regulatory authorities.
NI 43-101 Disclosure
Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geol., Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.
About Niobium
Niobium is a shiny grey, ductile metal with a chemical symbol Nb and an atomic number 41. Niobium is seeing significant increased demand from the HSLA (High Strength Low Alloy) steel market. Niobium has the ability, with a very low percentage alloy, to significantly strengthen steel. The HSLA steel market is growing at approximately 22% per annum. HSLA steel is used in bridges, buildings and in automotive chassis. Market analysts forecast the overall global niobium market to grow at a CAGR of 7.66% during the period 2017-2021.
