MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 15, 2011) - J.A.G. Mines Ltd ('JAG') (News - Market indicators) and its private subsidiary Olitra Inc. hold ten research permits in the Temiscouata Lake area covering 204,715 hectares. JAG is searching for conventional natural gas reservoirs in the Lower St-Lawrence region and has developed a comprehensive two Phases research program, which can be consulted on SEDAR.
The Temiscouata Property is part of the Appalachian Basin (Lower St-Lawrence – Gaspe) and is mainly covered by sedimentary rocks of the Devonian Temiscouata Formation which were brought into contact with sedimentary rocks of the Siluro-Devonian Chaleurs and Ordovician Cabano Groups, along the reverse Temiscouata Fault. Although the geological context is not as well understood as it is in the Gaspe Basin, evidences of potential structural traps and reservoir rocks are shown by the surface geology. Indeed, an ancient reef, likely part of the Chaleurs Group, was observed by JAG in the Owen ZEC.
Promising results were obtained by JAG with soil gas surveys conducted on the Property in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Those surveys have allowed detection of some strong anomalies, showing enriched soil gas components (i.e. methane, ethane, propane, butane), nearby the towns of St.Eusebe and Packington and in the northern part of the Owen ZEC, which have made these areas priority targets for the current and upcoming research program. The anomalies on the Property are characterized by ethane and methane contents reaching as much as respectively up to 8,600 ppb and up to 4,000,000 ppb, whereas background values are only 20 ppb for ethane and 1,000 ppb for methane.
JAG has also conducted subsurface geophysics, including regional gravimetric and mobile radiometric surveys as well as local electrical resistivity and induced polarization surveys on targeted areas. Those surveys have allowed recognition of contrasting rock domains and an important negative gravimetric anomaly associated with a magnetic low, suggesting that a thick sequence of low density sedimentary rocks is present underneath some of the targeted areas.
Research program for the upcoming 2011-2012 year reaches more than $ 500,000 and includes three deep penetrating geophysical surveys: a CSAMT survey (Controlled Source Audio Magneto-Tellurics intended to map the crust in the 0 to 2,000 m depth range), a high power electrical resistivity and induced polarization survey and a seismic survey. Those surveys will be conducted nearby the town of St. Eusebe and in the Lake Ango area of the Owen ZEC, where numerous enriched soil gas anomalies have been located by previous work.
At the end of this sixth year of exploration, JAG will have invested at least 2 million dollars on the Temiscouata Property. JAG and OLITRA are also searching for oil and natural gas in the Charlevoix and Lac St-Jean regions.
The works are conducted by Marc Richer-LaFlèche, geologist and professor at the Quebec Institut de la Recherche Scientifique. Mr. LaFlèche participated in the writing of this press release and agreed to its publication.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.