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TORONTO,
ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 9, 2009) - Nevoro Inc. (TSX:NVR)
("Nevoro") is pleased to announce results from its initial
core drilling program at its 100%-owned Stillwater Project in Montana.
Two drill holes were collared in late autumn, 2008, to examine the
PGM-bearing 'A' and 'B' reefs in the Ultramafic Series sequence and
massive Ni-Cu-Co sulfide mineralization in the Basal Series sequence.
These rock sequences occur immediately south of and parallel to the J-M
Reef, site of the Stillwater mine, one of the world's largest and
richest operating PGM mines.
The first hole (MV-08-01) was abandoned at 120 m depth due to bad
ground conditions but a second, more steeply inclined hole (MV-08-02)
collared 200 m west was drilled to 639 m before being terminated due to
an unusually heavy autumn snowstorm. Highlights from the second hole
include:
- Identifying six PGM-enriched chromite-bearing reefs - including one
very high-grade horizon (Upper 'B': 0.5 m @ 9.90 g/t PGM which includes
greater than 1 g/t of rhodium).
- Intersecting a PGM-enriched sulfide-bearing pegmatoid reef (0.9 m @
1.17 g/t PGM) which very much resembles the producing J-M reef in the
Stillwater mine, 2 km north of the drill site.
- Encountering significant disseminated and semi-massive Ni-Cu sulfides
(4.3 m @ 0.29% Ni and 0.19% Cu) plus Au (1.2 m @ 0.77 g/t Au) in the
upper part of the Basal Series near the bottom of the hole. The hole
was, however, terminated short of intersecting the lowermost part of
the sequence which is host to massive Ni-Cu-Co mineralization with
significant historical resources (23 million tons of 0.62% Ni, 0.45% Cu
and 0.062% Co) defined on Nevoro's adjacent up-dip ground to the east.
William Schara, President and CEO of Nevoro stated, "Given that
Nevoro acquired the property in mid-2008, it was fortunate to get the
necessary permits and begin drilling before winter. Also, we have a
healthy treasury, approximately C$6.9 million at year end, that will allow
us to continue developing the project even in a downturned
market."
PGM Mineralization The following table summarizes the best PGM intercepts in drill hole MV-08-02: From (m) To (m) Length (m) Pt (g/t) Pd (g/t) Rh (g/t) Zone ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 309.2 309.7 0.5 2.90 6.00 greater than 1.00 Upper B 321.7 323.1 1.4 0.18 0.63 0.07 Middle B1 326.3 327.4 1.0 0.21 0.60 0.10 Middle 'B2' 334.5 335.0 0.5 0.19 0.09 NA Lower 'B' 360.1 361.2 1.1 0.33 0.26 0.09 Upper 'A' 368.9 370.3 1.4 0.28 0.23 0.09 Lower 'A' 424.6 425.5 0.9 0.98 0.19 0.004 'A' Pegmatoid Note: The lengths (widths) of all drill intervals reported in this news release and in the above table are down-hole lengths which are approximately 1.15x greater than the estimated true stratigraphic widths.
These results confirm the
presence of PGM mineralization in seven seams - four chromite-bearing
reefs assigned to the 'B' interval, two chromite-bearing reefs assigned
to the 'A' interval, and an unexpected sulfide-rich pegmatoid reef
below the chromite reefs - offering evidence that the number of
PGM-enriched seams increases down-dip, to the west, presumably pointing
toward a possible feeder system for the mineralization. The
PGM-enriched chromite seams are considered analogous to the UG2
chromite reef, which produces the majority of PGMs from the Bushveld
layered intrusive complex in South Africa. The unexpected PGM-enriched
'A' pegmatoid reef in MV-08-02 contains no chromite but has sulfides and
textures markedly similar to those of the nearby producing J-M reef, an
analogue of the highly productive Merensky Reef in the Bushveld, which
occurs above the PGM-bearing chromite reefs.
To view the "Interpretative Cross-section of Diamond Drill Holes
MV-08-01 and MV-08-02" map, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/nvr209.pdf
The relatively high rhodium (Rh) contents in the PGM analyses returned
for MV-08-02 are noteworthy, especially the high-grade 0.5 m Upper 'B'
reef interval which contains rhodium in excess of 1.00 g/t (the upper
limit of detection in the analysis as received). Rhodium is a very rare
PGM and is typically several times more valuable (in dollars per ounce)
than platinum (Pt), which in turn is typically several times more
valuable than palladium (Pd), which is the most common and least
valuable PGM. This high-grade rhodium-rich sample is currently being
re-analyzed by a second laboratory and if the results are confirmed,
this may well be the highest-grade rhodium sample yet collected from
the Stillwater Complex. Also noteworthy is that the four lowermost PGM
reefs (Lower 'B', Upper 'A', Lower 'A', and 'A' pegmatoid) contain
distinctly more platinum than palladium. This is quite different from
the upper chromite reefs and the high-grade PGM sulfide-bearing ores of
the nearby producing J-M reef, all of which typically contain several
times more palladium than platinum.
Only 20% of the core from MV-08-02 has been sampled and analyzed to
date, consisting of 134 initial samples collected across zones of most
apparent interest. Considering the encouraging results returned from
this selective sampling - and considering a few pleasant surprises such
as the platinum-enriched 'A' pegmatoid reef - a priority effort is
underway to sample and analyze all remaining drill core. Future
drilling near this site will attempt to identify vectors suggested by
these multiple PGM-enriched horizons to point towards richer and
thicker PGM accumulations and a possible feeder system in the
Ultramafic Series.
Ni-Cu-Co Mineralization
MV-08-02 intersected significant Ni-Cu mineralization (567.5-571.8 m:
4.3 m @ 0.29% Ni and 0.19% Cu) at depth (toward the east) in the upper
part of the Basal Series sequence and significant gold (1.2 m @ 0.77
g/t Au) near the bottom of the hole in a sulfide-rich hornfels unit.
The hole was terminated short of intersecting the lowermost part of the
Basal Series, which is host to significant massive Ni-Cu-Co
mineralization defined by historical drilling in the up-dip shallower
Mouat area to the east.
The Mouat area was first examined in the 1970s by the Anaconda Copper
Company with more than 33,000 m of drilling (127 core holes) and
approximately 500 m of underground development. This work defined a
historical resource of 23 million tons of 0.62% Ni, 0.45% Cu and 0.062%
Co occurring as massive sulfide bodies in the lower part of the Basal
Zone sequence. (Note: This is a 'historical resource' only which does
not conform to CIM resource reporting standards as required by National
Instrument 43-101.) Additionally, Anaconda outlined a potentially much
larger Ni-Cu-Co deposit with wide-spaced drilling in the same rock
sequence in the Nye Basin area, on strike several kilometers east of
the Mouat area, and a similar third sulfide deposit further east in the
Benbow area.
Nevoro has contracted an independent Qualified Person to review the
vast historical data available on these Ni-Cu-Co sulfide occurrences
and prepare a Technical Report summarizing the known deposits and
target areas and recommending follow-up work necessary to upgrade and
extend the mineralization. The report is tentatively scheduled for
completion by June 2009.
Chromite Mineralization
In addition to exploration potential for PGMs and massive sulfide
deposits with historical Ni-Cu-Co resources, Nevoro's 18.6 square
kilometers of patented and unpatented claims in the Stillwater
Intrusive Complex include several former producing chromite deposits.
Collectively these chromite deposits comprise a remaining historical
resource of at least 50 million tons of 22% Cr2O3, currently the
largest known chromite resource in the western hemisphere (USGS, 2001).
(Note: This is a 'historical resource' only which does not conform to
CIM resource reporting standards as required by National Instrument
43-101.) The deposits consist of coarse-grained massive chromite bodies
in the 'G' and 'H' seams of the Ultramafic Series sequence above (north
and west of) the PGM-bearing 'A' and 'B' chromite seams, and lie
immediately south of the producing Stillwater PGM mine. Nevoro
continues to evaluate the extensive historical data available on the
chromite deposits, including a detailed pre-Feasibility study completed
in 1988 by Chrome Corporation of America on the "brownfields"
Mountain View deposit.
Core logging, sawing, and sampling for Nevoro's initial drilling
program at Stillwater were carried out by licensed senior geological
consultants who are 'Qualified Persons' as currently defined by NI
43-101. Sample standards and blanks were inserted in a manner
consistent with accepted QA/QC protocols. The samples were shipped via
commercial carrier to the ALS Chemex preparation facility in Elko,
Nevada, and subsequently to the ALS Chemex laboratory in Vancouver,
British Columbia, for analysis using standard 30 g fire-assay and
inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry methods. Selected pulp and
coarse reject samples prepared by ALS Chemex are in the process of
being submitted to a second outside laboratory as a means of verifying
the ALS Chemex results.
The Qualified Person under NI 43-101 responsible for reviewing and
presenting all technical data reported in this news release is Mel
Klohn, Director and Executive Vice President, Exploration, for Nevoro
Inc.
About Nevoro Inc.
Nevoro is a TSX-listed exploration and development company focused on
the discovery of precious and base metals primarily in the western USA.
Nevoro holds the Stillwater nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE-chromite project
in Montana and the Moonlight copper project in California. Nevoro also
holds 11 gold and base metal exploration projects in Nevada and Idaho.
For more information, please visit the Nevoro Inc. website at www.nevoro.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: All statements, other than historical fact,
contained or incorporated by reference in this news release, including
any information as to the future financial or operating performance of
Nevoro, constitute "forward looking statements" within the
meaning of certain securities laws, and are based on expectations,
estimates and projections as of the date of this news release. Such
"forward looking statements", reflects management's current
beliefs and are based on information currently available to management
of Nevoro. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified
by terminology such as "may", "will",
"should", "expect", "plan",
"anticipate", "believe", "estimate",
"predict", "potential", "continue",
"intention" or the negative of these terms or other similar
expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.
Forward-looking information in this news release includes but is not
limited to economic performance of Nevoro, statements regarding
potential mineralization and resource, exploration and future plans and
objectives of Nevoro, including exploration and development.
Forward-looking information involves significant risks and
uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual events or results
to differ materially from the events and results discussed in the
forward-looking information including risks related to investments,
conditions of capital markets, economic conditions, dependence on key
personnel, interest rates, regulatory change and availability of future
financing. These factors should not be considered exhaustive. In
addition, in evaluating this information, investors should specifically
consider various factors, including risk factors, which may cause
actual events or results to differ materially from any forward-looking
statement. In formulating forward-looking information herein,
management has assumed that business and economic conditions affecting
Nevoro will continue substantially in the ordinary course, including
without limitation with respect to general levels of economic activity,
regulations, taxes, interest rates and that there will be no material
changes. Although the forward-looking information is based on what
management of Nevoro considers to be reasonable assumptions based on
information currently available to it, there can be no assurance that
actual events or results will be consistent with this forward-looking
information, and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect.
This forward-looking information is made as of the date of this press
release, and Nevoro does not assume any obligation, except as required
by law, to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.
Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information.
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