🕐02.02.10 - 17:08 Uhr
News Release
NEWS RELEASE - Champion Minerals Inc.
TSX-V:CHM
Champion Minerals update from Harvey-Tuttle; additional drilling planned at
Fire Lake North
Toronto (Canada), February 2, 2010 CHAMPION MINERALS INC.
("Champion or
the Company) (TSX-V: CHM; FSE: P02) is pleased to update shareholders on
the advancement of the winter exploration program at the Fermont Iron
Property (the Property) in the Fermont Iron Ore District of northeastern
Quebec.
Program planning is on schedule and with the recent financings
Champion will be very active in outlining resources in 2010 not only on the
69 km2/122 claims Harvey-Tuttle Claim Block (Harvey-Tuttle), but also on
the adjacent Fire Lake North and Bellechasse Claim Blocks (Fire Lake North
and Bellechasse).
These claim blocks are located adjacent to and within
5km to 20km of surface infrastructures.
The 10,000m drilling campaign is slated to begin by mid-February at the 25
km2 Mammoth Iron Zone on Harvey-Tuttle.
The drilling is to be performed with
a number of service providers to facilitate the execution of the program.
All of the preparatory work has been completed to determine the shortest
access points to Harvey-Tuttle in order to minimize wood cutting, camp
emplacement and to facilitate the implementation of the drill program.
Winter access roads to the drill sites are proceeding as scheduled.
Champion is completing the detailed design of each drill hole supported by
magnetic inversion interpretations.
All of the drill holes are 150m to 300 m
in length and are aimed at outlining the maximum mineral resources for a
potential open pit scenario.
Also included in the current campaign is
metallurgical and mineralogical testing to qualify and quantify the value of
the iron mineralization.
Champion is also preparing a 5,000m drilling program on Fire Lake North
where the Company has already outlined (in 2009) National Instrument (NI)
43-101 compliant Inferred Mineral Resources of 288.2 million tonnes
grading 27.5% Iron in 2009.
Fire Lake North is contiguous to the north of
ArcelorMittals Fire Lake Mine (341 million tonnes grading 33.4% Iron), a
seasonal operation that supplies ore to the Mont Wright Mine and
Concentrator Complex located approximately 50 km to the north
(www.arcelormittal.com; MRNFQ Files).
Once the Fire Lake North resource
delineation drilling is completed the next step would be to finalize
resource delineation on nearby Bellechasse and also test the Midway Claim
Block which Champion believes has similar potential to Bellechasse and Fire
Lake North.
Thomas Larsen, President and CEO of Champion stated, Champion will have
winter road access to Harvey-Tuttle and Fire Lake North, and will seek
permitting to construct an all-season road to both claim blocks to allow
continuous drilling on both locations.
We look forward to communicating
drill results as soon as they are available.
Champion continues to focus on
the Fermont Iron Ore District and the Fermont Iron Property that has seen a
renewed interest in its high quality iron resources.
New projects are being
developed in the area and existing producers are considering expansions in
response to improving market conditions and higher iron ore prices.
The Fermont Iron Property
Champion previously announced an initial Mineral Resources Estimate (MRE)
on Bellechasse and Fire Lake North under NI 43-101 guidelines (refer to the
Company news release dated November 19, 2009).
The MRE totals 503.3 million
tonnes grading 28.0% Iron in the Inferred Mineral Resources category.
Bellechasse hosts 215.1 million tonnes grading 28.7% Iron; whereas Fire Lake
North hosts 288.2 million tonnes grading 27.5% Iron (all at a 15% Iron
cut-off grade).
Champion has under option a land package of 384.6 km2 in 16 strategic claim
blocks grouped into 3 clusters comprising the Property.
Champion had
previously announced 8 claim blocks with historical Mineral Resources of 694
million tonnes grading 30.4% Iron, but now after 2 of the 8 claim blocks
(Bellechasse and Fire Lake North) host a current MRE, there are 6 remaining
claim blocks that host historical Mineral Resources of 578 million tonnes
grading 30.4% Iron (Paquet, 1963; Ministre des ressources naturelles et de
la faune Qubec Assessment File GM 13035).
The Mineral Resources are
strictly historical in nature and are non-compliant to NI 43-101 Mineral
Resources and Mineral Reserves standards, and should therefore not be relied
upon.
A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to upgrade or classify
these historical Mineral Resources as current NI 43-101 compliant.
The Company is currently in the second year of an option agreement (the
Agreement) with Fancamp Exploration Ltd.
(TSX-V: FNC) and the Sheridan
Platinum Group Ltd.
(the Vendors) on the Property.
Pursuant to the
Agreement, Champion can earn a 65% interest in all 16 claim blocks within
the Property by expending C$6 million in staged exploration and development
work expenditures, making cash payments totalling C$1 million, and issuing
2.9 million shares, all over a 4-year period, with the Vendors retaining a
3% Net Smelter Returns royalty, one third of which may be purchased by
Champion for C$3 million.
The Agreement also includes a right of first
refusal on the Lamle Lake Claim Block.
Once Champion has completed its
earn-in, a 65-35 joint venture would be formed between Champion and the
Vendors.
About Champion Minerals Inc.
Champion is an exploration Company focused on discovering and developing
significant metal resources in eastern Canada, particularly in the provinces
of Quebec and Newfoundland & Labrador.
The Companys projects include the
Attikamagen Iron Property in northeastern Quebec and western Labrador, the
Fermont Iron Property in northeastern Quebec, and the Powderhorn/Gullbridge
Base Metal Projects in central Newfoundland.
Please visit Champions website
at www.championminerals.com.
The technical information in this news release was prepared, revised and
approved by Jeff Hussey, P.
Geo., VP Exploration of the Company and Jean
Lafleur, P.
Geo., Director and Technical Advisor to the President and CEO of
Champion.
Both individuals are Qualified Persons under NI 43-101 standards.
For further information please contact Thomas G.
Larsen, President and CEO,
and Jorge Estepa, Vice-President, at (416) 866-2200.
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 news release.
The
statements made in this news release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements and readers are cautioned that any such
statements are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual
developments or results, may vary materially from those in these
forward-looking statements.
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