August 5, 2010 — VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (Source: MarketWire) — TNR Gold Corp. (“TNR”) and wholly-owned International Lithium Corp. (“ILC”) (jointly the “Company”) are pleased to announce the plan for the forthcoming drill program at the Mariana lithium brine project in northwestern Argentina.
Key Highlights:
— $1 million drill program planned at Mariana commencing fourth quarter
2010; and
— Constructing drill access road network and locating 20 person camp to
site in September.
“The Mariana project has the ability to rapidly advance and we are preparing for exciting developments through the next year,” Gary Schellenberg, President of TNR Gold Corp. states. “Observations to date continue to support the potential of the project and we remain fully committed in this endeavor.”
Mariana Drill Program
The Company is planning to initiate a $1 million drill program for fourth quarter 2010 on the Mariana lithium brine property in Argentina. The goals include a) geochemical characterization of the subsurface brine across different zones within the basin, b) identification of the stratigraphy for a geological model of the salar, and c) identification and characterization of the aquifer potential of the basement of the salar. The Company’s intent is to utilize this drill program as a first step towards a resource classification of the brine.
Non Executive Chairman Kirill Klip states: “We are encouraged with recent developments in the lithium market place and increased investor awareness about this opportunity to participate in building supply chains for electrification of our transportation. Recent exploration activities within the sector have attracted the attention from major participants among battery makers, car manufacturers and Asian trading houses. Upon completion of the ILC spinoff, the company will be in a strong position to develop its assets, capitalize on strategic opportunities, expand its market presence and leverage its profile with lithium end users.”
As a preparatory phase, the Company will be locating a 20 person camp at site and commencing construction on the drill pad network across the Mariana salar in September.
About the Mariana Project
The Mariana project, a lithium-boron-potassium salar, consists of several contiguous mineral claims covering 120 km2 and strategically encompasses the entire salar. Salars, or salt lakes, host some of the largest known lithium, potassium, and boron resources in the world. Lithium brines with economical grades can produce cost effectively relative to other more cost intensive mine settings.
To date the Company has completed a number of phases of shallow subsurface brine sampling surveys across the salar on a 2 kilometre grid pattern. The majority of samples within the main 10 by 15 kilometre body of the salar returned values between 250-650 mg/L lithium. These lithium concentration levels are comparable to early stage results from producing salars in North and South America.
Following this, a 3-hole exploratory drill program and the associated construction of 6″ diameter filter PVC cased water wells were completed in May 2010. The wells were sampled utilizing a submersible pump at various depths and duplicate samples were shipped to two certified labs, one in Argentina and one in Canada. The results reported to the Company revealed significant issues with both the sampling method utilized in the field as well as the analytical measures employed by the labs.
It was determined that the down-hole sampling method did not attain the objective of selectively sampling specific subsurface brine aquifers at discrete depths, but collected brine samples representing a mixture of aquifers. Besides the evident mixing of the brine within the casing column, an inherent sampling bias existed and strongly favored the brine layer with the greater transmissivity; the near surface brine. The chemistry reported from the down-hole samples directly reflects the surface brine chemistry previously reported by the shallow surface pit samples and indicates that the subsurface brine aquifers have yet to be tested. This inference has been observed by other operators utilizing a similar sampling method and needs to be corrected for in future down-hole sampling campaigns.
In addition, the analytical results revealed marked differences between the two labs that have yet to be satisfactorily resolved, making QA/QC resolution problematic and the results should not to be relied upon.
“The QA/QC protocols that our technical team has in place have revealed challenging sampling and analytical issues that face lithium brine explorers,” states Mike Sieb, Chief Operating Officer of TNR Gold Corp. “Our goal is to achieve the highest standards and reliability in our exploration programs and the results that we generate. The upcoming program directly builds upon the experience acquired from the 2009-10 pit sampling and drilling programs and will provide valuable data from which to form an initial assessment of the Mariana project.”
To address down-hole sampling issues identified and assist in the design of subsequent programs, the Company is planning to resample the existing three drill-holes utilizing an alternate method as soon as conditions permit.
Milligrams per litre (mg/L) are approximately equal to parts per million (ppm) when the density of the sample is similar to fresh water. Brines at Mariana have a density of approximately 1.21 g/cm3, significantly higher than fresh water, resulting in the relationship: mg/L = 1.21 x ppm.
The scale and timing of the proposed exploration programs are subject to and dependent upon the Company raising sufficient funds.
John Harrop, P.Geo, is the company’s qualified person on the project as required under NI 43-101 and has reviewed the technical information contained in this press release.
ABOUT TNR GOLD CORP. / INTERNATIONAL LITHIUM CORP
The Company is a diversified international metals exploration company focusing on the continued advancement of existing properties and identifying and acquiring new prospective projects. The Company has a portfolio of 18 active projects, of which 9 rare metals projects, including Mariana, will be held or optioned to the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary International Lithium Corp upon completion of a proposed plan of arrangement.
The objective of the proposed plan of arrangement is to spin out the Company’s rare metals property interests into a separate public company, International Lithium Corp. This proposed plan of arrangement has been approved by the Company’s shareholders and the courts of British Columbia. The Company will now proceed with the spin out and will provide updates on the progress of the spinout in further news releases. For further details of the spinout, please refer to Stockwatch news dated May 26, 2010, or visit International Lithium’s website.
The recent acquisition of lithium, other rare metals and rare-earth elements projects in Argentina, Canada, USA and Ireland confirms the combined companies’ commitments to generating projects, diversifying its markets, and building shareholder value.
On behalf of the board,
Gary Schellenberg, President
Statements in this press release other than purely historical information, historical estimates should not be relied upon, including statements relating to the Company’s future plans and objectives or expected results, are forward-looking statements. News release contains certain “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company’s business, including risks inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
CUSIP: #87260X 109
SEC 12g3-2(b): Exemption #82-4434
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