TORONTO, May
24, 2011 /CNW/ - Pele Mountain Resources Inc. (TSX
Venture: GEM; OTCQX: GOLDF) ("Pele"
or the "Company") today announced the arrival of two
drill rigs and the commencement of a 7,000-metre drill program at its
Eco Ridge Mine Rare Earths and Uranium Project at Elliot
Lake, Ontario. Eco Ridge is 100-percent owned by
First Canadian Uranium Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.
As the
mineralized reefs of the Elliot Lake mining
camp are well known for their consistency and size, the mineral
resources at Eco Ridge have excellent potential for upgrade and
expansion. The program will include in-fill drilling within the
existing Resource Wireframe with an objective of upgrading up to
5-million tonnes of Inferred Resources into the Indicated
category. Indicated Resources will be required for mine planning
purposes in NI 43-101 reports subsequent to the pending updated
Preliminary Assessment, which is on schedule for delivery next
month. The program will also include step-out drilling to the
north and east of the Resource Wireframe with an objective of bringing
up to 10-million additional tonnes of the mineralized reef into the
Inferred Resource category.
Pele recently
received an updated NI 43-101 Resource Estimate for Eco Ridge, which
for the first time included both rare earth oxides ("REO")
and uranium oxide ("U3O8").
·
The Indicated Resources include 51.9-million pounds of total rare
earth oxides ("TREO") (14.3-million tonnes at 0.164-percent)
and 15.2-million pounds U3O8 (14.3-million
tonnes at 0.048-percent).
·
The Inferred Resources include an additional 96.3-million pounds
TREO (33.1-million tonnes at 0.132-percent) plus 31.4-million pounds U3O8 (33.1-million
tonnes at 0.043-percent).
The Eco Ridge
Resource Estimate was prepared by Roscoe Postle Associates
and can be viewed at:http://www.pelemountain.com/mineral-resources.php.
Recent
extraordinary REO market developments, sparked by China's reduction of
export quotas, have resulted in sharply higher prices, inciting a rush
to find and bring to production new REO sources outside of China.
Eco Ridge contains the full range of naturally occurring REO, including
the highly valued "heavy" REO. The mining and
processing method to recover uranium at Eco Ridge will also recover
heavy REO (including scandium and yttrium) into the leach solutions at
no extra cost. Eco Ridge is located within a proven mining camp
at Elliot
Lake, formerly known as "the uranium capital of the
world" and a historically important source of heavy REO and
yttrium.
About Pele
Pele Mountain
Resources is focused on the sustainable development of its 100-percent
owned Eco Ridge Mine Rare Earths and Uranium Project. Eco Ridge
is one of very few North American deposits with NI 43-101 compliant REO
resources and is located inElliot Lake,
the only Canadian mining camp to have ever achieved commercial REO
production. An updated Preliminary Assessment is on schedule for
expected delivery during the second quarter of 2011, incorporating
design enhancements achieved since the initial positive Scoping Study
in 2007 and, for the first time, providing a detailed economic model
based on revenues from both REO and U3O8.
With well-understood geology, excellent regional infrastructure, and
strong local support, Eco Ridge is an ideal location for a safe,
secure, and reliable long-term supply of REO and U3O8.
Pele also holds interests in a portfolio of Northern Ontario gold
properties at Highland and Ardeen. Pele's shares are listed on
the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "GEM" and
on the OTCQX under the symbol "GOLDF".
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
release. Some of the
statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements,
such as estimates and statements that describe Pele's future plans,
objectives or goals, including words to the effect that Pele or
management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Since
forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by
their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties.
Actual results in each case could differ materially from those
currently anticipated in such statements. The economic viability of the
43-101 mineral resource at Pele's Elliot Lake Project
has not yet been demonstrated by a preliminary feasibility study.