MANTLE RESOURCES INC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
info@mantleresources.com
ACCESS ROAD CONSTRUCTION COMMENCES
AKIE PROPERTY, B.C.
Vancouver, B.C. � Thursday March 13,
2008 � Mantle Resources Inc. (TSX Venture: MTS; Frankfurt: AOF7E1) (the �Company�) is pleased to announce that, further
to its news release dated November 28, 2007, construction of the access road to
the Cardiac Creek deposit (�CC deposit�) on its 100% owned Akie
zinc-lead property, in northeastern British Columbia,
has commenced.
Access Road Permitting
Mantle submitted a Notice of Work application to the British Columbia
Ministry of Mines and Petroleum Resources at the end of September and an
approved Notice of Work and amended Mines Act permit was issued by the Ministry
on November 20, 2007 for the construction of a new access road that will, in
part, be an extension of the existing main line Akie
forestry logging road. In addition, Mantle was issued an Occupant License to Cut from the Mackenzie office of the Ministry of Forests and
Range for timber clearing of the right of way. The amended permits include
approval for road construction, approval to complete up to 53,000 metres of
drilling and necessary pad construction for drilling.
Access Road Design
The length of the main road extension is estimated at 9.0 kilometres and
will be constructed to standard forestry codes. At approximately 8.7 kilometre
distance, two shorter access trails are planned.
The planned route will provide road access to the CC deposit and will
greatly facilitate the Company�s future exploration plans and additional site
work. The new access road will reduce overall drilling costs, will increase the
programs productivity and will facilitate essentially year round drilling.
Importantly, road access will also provide for safer operations for both Mantle
personnel and its contractors. Planning of the road involved several
specialized disciplines including First Nations heritage studies and bio
physical assessments. First Nations participation from both the Tsay Keh and Kwadacha
communities was instrumental in providing local knowledge and advice to assist
with planning and implementation.
Access Road Schedule
The work schedule will see the cutting of the right of way over the next
several weeks followed by actual road bed construction after the spring thaw.
Engineered stream crossing structures will be installed as required by permit
and final road surfacing will be completed under dry conditions. The bulk of
the road construction is anticipated to take place in August with completion
expected in September.
�The new access road will allow us to considerably expand the amount of
drilling we can complete in a season and it will provide us with significant
flexibility in our future planning. It will lead to a more rapid exploration,
assessment and development of the CC deposit,� stated Jim
Mustard, President of Mantle. �We are pleased to demonstrate to
the First Nations, the BC Government and to our shareholders our commitment to
proceed with exploration in an environmentally and technically sound manner.�
About the Akie
Property
The Akie zinc-lead property is situated within
the southern-most part (Kechika Trough) of the
regionally extensive Paleozoic Selwyn Basin, one of
the most prolific sedimentary basins in the world for the occurrence of SEDEX
zinc-lead-silver and stratiform barite deposits.
Drilling on the Akie property by both Inmet Mining Corporation during the period 1994 to 1996 and
by Mantle in 2005 and 2006 and this year has identified a significant body of baritic SEDEX mineralization (Cardiac Creek Zone). The
deposit is hosted by variably siliceous, fine grained clastic
rocks of the Middle to Late Devonian �Gunsteel
Formation.
Two similar deposits, Cirque and South Cirque, located some 20 kilometers
northwest of Akie and owned under a joint venture by Teck Cominco and Korea Zinc, are also
hosted by Gunsteel rocks and have a combined geologic
inventory in excess of 50 million tonnes averaging approximately 10% combined zinc+lead.
For further information, please visit our website at www.mantleresources.com
The TSX Venture
Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press
release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MANTLE RESOURCES INC.
pEEYUSH vARSHNEY, LL.B
Chief executive officer