VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Group Ten Metals Inc. (TSX.V:PGE) (OTCBB:PGEZF) (FSE:5D32) (the “Company” or “Group Ten”) is pleased to announce that it has acquired a 100% interest in an additional 17 square kilometers (“km2”) of mining rights at its Stillwater West PGE-Ni-Cu project (the “Project”) in south central Montana, USA.
These new claims nearly double the size of the Company’s holdings in the district to approximately 40 km2 and directly adjoin Sibanye-Stillwater’s high-grade Platinum Group Element (“PGE”) mining operations, which include the Stillwater, East Boulder and Blitz mines.
The Sibanye-Stillwater mines occur along the J-M Reef within the Stillwater Complex; one of the largest and richest PGE deposits in the world. These mines have produced over 12 million ounces of palladium and platinum to date1, and host a Measured and Indicated resource of 31.3 million ounces at a grade of 17.0 grams/tonne (g/t) Pt+Pd and an additional 49.4 million ounces at 16.6 g/t Pt+Pd in Inferred resources2. It should be noted that mineralization previously identified and exploited in the Stillwater Complex is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization hosted on the Company’s Stillwater West PGE-Ni-Cu project.
The Stillwater Complex is recognized as one of the top regions in the world for PGE-nickel-copper mineralization, alongside the Bushveld Complex and Great Dyke in southern Africa, which are similar layered intrusions. The J-M Reef, and other PGE-enriched sulphide horizons in the Stillwater Complex, share many similarities with the highly prolific Merensky and UG2 Reefs in the Bushveld Complex, while the lower part of the Stillwater Complex also shows the potential for much larger scale disseminated and high-sulphide PGE-nickel-copper type deposits, possibly similar to Platreef in the Bushveld Complex3. The Stillwater West property covers the lower part of the Stillwater Complex along with the Picket Pin PGE Reef-type deposit in the upper portion.
Note 1: Sum of public production records from 1986 to present.
Note 2: Report on Montana Platinum Group Metal Mineral Assets of Sibanye-Stillwater, November 2017, Measured and Indicated Resources of 57.2 million tonnes grading 17.0 g/t Pt+Pd containing 31.3 million ounces and 92.5 million tonnes grading 16.6 g/t containing 49.4 million ounces.
Note 3: Magmatic Ore Deposits in Layered Intrusions—Descriptive Model for Reef-Type PGE and Contact-Type Cu-Ni-PGE Deposits, Michael Zientek, USGS Open-File Report 2012–1010.
The first discoveries in the Stillwater district were high-grade nickel and copper sulphides, and later chromite, within the lower part of the Stillwater Complex in the 1880s. Exploration and mining of these metals continued intermittently from the lower sequence up to the 1970s. The PGE potential of the Stillwater Complex was first recognized in the 1930s and ultimately led to the discovery of the high-grade J-M Reef deposit in the 1970s within the lower-middle part of the Stillwater Complex, along with at least six other PGE-enriched sulphide horizons (including the Picket Pin PGE horizon situated above the J-M Reef, now owned by Group Ten), and additional high-sulphide PGE-rich occurrences in the lower part of the Stillwater Complex, now within the expanded Group Ten holdings4.
President and CEO Michael Rowley stated, “We are very pleased to have acquired this additional ground, solidifying Group Ten’s position as the largest landholder in this world-class district, after Sibanye-Stillwater. The expanded claim position secures the most prospective zones within the lower Stillwater Complex as defined by surface geochemistry and geophysical signatures, providing Group Ten with close to 40 square kilometers of ground with numerous high-quality, large-scale PGE-Ni-Cu targets.”
Mr. Rowley continued, “The Group Ten technical team continues to compile, review, and analyze the wealth of technical information we have acquired on the project including recent soil sampling, geophysical surveys, and historic drill data. That data, combined with new technology and recent advancements in the geologic understanding of these systems, suggest the potential for a much larger mineralized system than was previously recognized in the lower portion of the Stillwater Complex. With Group Ten’s Stillwater West project sitting next to more than 40 million ounces of past production and current M&I resources plus 49 million ounces of Inferred resources in the J-M Reef deposit, we believe we are ideally positioned for a major new PGE-Ni-Cu discovery within the Stillwater Complex. We are excited with how quickly this project is advancing and anticipate providing additional updates from ongoing work over the coming weeks and months.”
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Note 4: A Geologic and Mineral Exploration Spatial Database for the Stillwater Complex, Montana, Michael Zientek and Heather Parks, USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5183.
Warrant Exercises
The Company is further pleased to announce that it has received over $300,000 in funding via warrant exercise commitments, including Company directors and management, with additional exercises in progress. Group Ten has approximately $3 million in additional in-the-money warrants remaining that are callable.
Qualified Person
Mr. Mike Ostenson, P.Geo., is the qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, and he has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.
About Group Ten Metals Inc.
Group Ten Metals Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of high-quality platinum, palladium, nickel, copper and gold exploration assets in North America. The Company’s holdings include the Stillwater West PGE-Ni-Cu Project adjacent to Sibanye-Stillwater’s high-grade Pd-Pt mines in Montana, the Kluane Ni-Cu-PGE Project adjacent to Wellgreen Platinum in the Yukon Territory, and the Black Lake-Drayton Gold Project in the Rainy River district of northwest Ontario.
