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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 05/15/12 -- Selwyn Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:SWN) ("Selwyn") is pleased to announce an updated mineral resource estimate for the XY West deposit, Selwyn Project in Yukon, and the global mineral inventory. The updated mineral resource has been completed to National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 standards, and includes drill results from the 2010 and 2011 definition drilling and exploration work programs; noting that XY West deposit was a key component due to its close proximity to the adjacent XY Central deposit.
Highlights
-- The XY West deposit has an Inferred mineral resource of 12,754,400
tonnes grading 4.42% zinc and 1.40% lead at a base case 2.0% zinc cut-
off grade that includes 3,269,500 tonnes of higher grade zinc-lead
mineralization grading 7.71% zinc and 2.23% lead at a 5% zinc cut-off
grade; and
-- Global mineral inventory, Inferred category, increased by 4.4% that
corresponds to an increase of 0.94 billion pounds of zinc and 0.24
billion pounds of lead at a 2% cut-off grade.
Selwyn Definition and Exploration Drilling
The updated mineral resource estimate for the XY West deposit includes results from an extensive drilling program consisting of 195 drill holes in 2010 and 2011, totalling 68,155.0 metres which are distributed between definition, exploration, and condemnation drilling. The work program associated with the mineral resource update was undertaken by Selwyn Chihong Mining Ltd. ("SCML"), the joint venture company equally owned by Selwyn and Chihong Canada Mining Ltd. Chihong Canada Mining Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yunnan Chihong Zinc and Germanium Co., Ltd. The location of the drill holes can be found on drill plan maps available at www.selwynresources.com.
XY West Deposit
The XY West deposit was discovered in 2008 as part of a step out exploration program assessing favourable strata along strike from the XY Central deposit. The drill program following up the discovery resulted in the first estimation of a mineral resource to NI 43-101 standards, of 1,917,600 tonnes in the Inferred category grading 7.70% zinc and 2.45% lead (see February 26, 2009 news release) using a base case 2% cut-off grade that focused solely on high-grade zinc-lead mineralization. This study was completed by Independent Qualified Person, Mr. Cliff Pearson, P.Geo., and Non-Independent Qualified Person, Mr. John J. O'Donnell, P.Geo.
SCML undertook exploration drilling at XY West deposit to test for expansion of known zinc-lead mineralization in this high priority target area; noting that XY West is only 800 metres to the northwest from XY Central deposit. This close proximity means that there are as yet untested synergies between these two deposits that could have future implications on project development. The drill holes were designed to test favourable strata in the area known to host zinc-lead mineralization in the structural panels hosting the XY West deposit. A total of 58 drill holes were successfully completed in 2010 and 2011 at XY West deposit, totalling 22,877.90 metres. Even with this significant number of meters undertaken to test favourable strata, the XY West deposit remains open for future expansion; however, the 2012 mineral resource update is the first to fully model the zinc-lead mineralizing system at XY West deposit.
These drill holes resulted in an expansion of Inferred category mineral resources. Using a base case 2% zinc cut-off, an Inferred Mineral Resource of 12,754,400 tonnes has been defined grading 4.42% zinc and 1.40% lead. A summary of mineral resources for a range of cut-off grades for the XY West deposit is presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Updated XY West Deposit Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate
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Zn Pb Zn Pb
Cut-off Tonnes (%) (%) (Blbs) (Blbs)
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0.5 15,871,900 3.83 1.21 1.34 0.42
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1 15,122,000 3.98 1.26 1.33 0.42
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1.5 14,316,450 4.13 1.30 1.30 0.41
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2 12,754,400 4.42 1.40 1.24 0.39
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2.5 10,991,100 4.77 1.51 1.16 0.37
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3 8,569,900 5.35 1.71 1.01 0.32
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3.5 7,049,800 5.80 1.88 0.90 0.29
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4 5,486,550 6.40 2.10 0.77 0.25
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4.5 4,223,050 7.05 2.19 0.66 0.20
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5 3,269,500 7.71 2.33 0.56 0.17
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5.5 2,731,400 8.20 2.47 0.49 0.15
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6 2,407,150 8.54 2.55 0.45 0.14
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6.5 2,154,550 8.81 2.61 0.42 0.12
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7 1,911,850 9.06 2.66 0.38 0.11
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8 1,485,800 9.54 2.64 0.31 0.09
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9 1,094,250 9.95 2.68 0.24 0.06
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10 523,900 10.79 2.64 0.12 0.03
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Notes to Table 1:
1. Mineral Resources reported above have been calculated as of May 10,
2012 in accordance with the CIM Best Practices and National Instrument
43-101.
2. A 2% zinc grade cut-off was applied to the new mineral resource
estimate.
3. The Mineral Resource Estimate uses information from 798 drill holes,
totalling 199,698.60 metres, completed on the Selwyn Project over three
separate periods: 1973 to 1981, 2000, and 2005 to 2011.
Global Mineral Resource Inventory
Since acquiring the Selwyn Project in 2005, Selwyn has made 9 major deposit discoveries; noting that the Selwyn Project now contains 14 drill defined deposits and zones over a strike length of 37.5 kilometres of contiguous zinc-lead mineralization. These deposits and zones are potentially amenable to open pit and/or underground mining methods; however, more work is required. All of these deposits remain open for expansion.