WPX reports composite thickness of 24.4m of potash mineralization with a grade of 18.2% wt K2O on fourth well at Milestone, SK

24/08/2009

Western Potash Corp. (the “Company”) (TSX.V: WPX, FSE: AHE) is pleased to announce that it has received the complete results from its first phase drill program on the Milestone property in southern Saskatchewan.  Gamma ray results have been reported in previous news releases for the four wells drilled in the initial exploration phase and potash assay results for the first well were reported in a June 15th, 2009 company release. Highlighted in the fourth well is a 24.4 m composite intersection of potash mineralization with a weighted average grade of 18.2 wt % K2O across three potash members.

Die ca. 500 km² große Milestone-Liegenschaft, die sich zu 100 % im Unternehmensbesitz befindet, liegt ca. 30 km südöstlich der Provinzhauptstadt Regina und südöstlich der Mine Belle Plaine der Mosaic Company. Diese Mine ist einer der größten produzierenden Solungs-Kalibergbaubetriebe der Welt. The potash mineralization encountered within the Patience Lake and Belle Plaine potash members in this drill program is similar in grade and thickness to those reported at the operating Belle Plain mine.

The Milestone-003 well is the fourth well drilled on the Milestone property and is located approximately 12,5 km and 7,5 km to the southeast of the first and second well sites reported previously.  A summary of the results from this well are presented in Table 1.

Tabelle 1: Potash thickness and weighted average grade from the Milestone – 003 well.








Kaliformationsglied Von (KB, m) Bis   (KB, m) Intervall (m) Gew.-% K2O Gew.-% MgO Gew.-% unlöslich Bester Abschnitt
Patience Lake 1.715,55 1.729,45 13,90 18,38 0,09 11,32  21,34 wt% K2O over 6.1m
Belle Plaine 1.731,45 1.736,3 4,85 18,37 0,09 3,78  20,11 wt% K2O over 3.6m
Esterhazy 1.756,15 1.761,75 5,60 17,75 1,57 3,96  30.17wt% K2O over 1.7m
Insgesamt     24,35 18,23 0,43 8,13  

 


Anmerkung: Total intervals noted in this release are composites. All drill intercepts noted in this release are considered the true thickness of the mineralization; as the salt beds are relatively flat-lying and down-hole directional surveys indicate the hole was essentially vertical upon intersecting the salt and potash sequences. The core recovered from this hole was logged, photographed, split, and sampled at the Company’s secure core storage facility on the property. Alle Proben wurden gemäß der Aufbewahrungsmaßnahmen des Unternehmens gehandhabt. Die halbierten Bohrkerne wurden im Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) Laboratory in Saskatoon analysiert. Das Labor wurde durch Standards Council of Canada (SCC) zertifiziert, um der Norm ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (CAN-P-4E) zu entsprechen.

Das Unternehmen ist mit den für Milestone-003 berichteten Kaligehalten der durchteuften Patience Lake- und Belle Plaine-Kaliformationsgliedern äußerst zufrieden, da diese als außerordentlich angesehen werden.  In addition, these potash hosting members have very low carnallite and low insoluble contents, which is also very encouraging as they are critical factors for developing a solution mine. The grades reported from the Esterhazy member are lower in comparison to grades reported from the same member in previous wells. Also, the carnallite content within the Esterhazy potash member is  considered too high for effective economic extraction of potash in a solution recovery process.

The potash assays results from the Milestone-003 well support the Company’s decision to accelerate a resource definition program in the vicinity of this well as reported in the July 23, 2009 press release. The Company is currently planning and permitting an additional 5 well resource definition drill program to define the grade, thickness, and extent of this higher grade zone within the Patience Lake and Belle Plaine members.  A 2D seismic survey over this priority area has already commenced. Furthermore, a 3D seismic survey will also be carried out following the resource definition drill phase with the goal to fast-track and establish an NI43-101 compliant resource. The Company’s board has approved an $8,5 million CAD budget for this program.
 
The Company is also pleased to report results from the second and third wells drilled on the property (Milestone-002, and Milestone-002A respectively), a summary of which is presented in Table 2.  Milestone-002 was drilled 5.25km to the south east of the first well, and encountered an anomaly not apparent in the 2D seismic data that removed most of the potash mineralization in the Patience Lake Member.  This anomaly was likely due to local structure and water ingress resulting in localized dissolution.
 
The Milestone-002A well was directionally drilled from the same well site as Milestone-002, intersecting the potash beds 800m to the north of the vertical second well. The Company decided to drill this directional hole to test the theory that the anomaly observed in Milestone-002 was a local anomaly.  Geological observations, gamma ray logging and geochemical results have indeed confirmed this theory.
 
Tabelle 2: Potash thickness and weighted average grade from the Milestone-002 and Milestone-002A wells.
 









Hole Kaliformationsglied Von (KB, m) To (KB, m) Intervall (m) Gew.-% K2O Gew.-% MgO Gew.-% unlöslich Bester Abschnitt
Milestone 002 Patience Lake 1.680,7 1681 0,3 17,5 0,06 7,8  
Belle Plaine 1.697,5 1.701,7 4,2 15,59 0,08 5,2  18,5 Gew.-% K2O über 2,7 m
Esterhazy 1.719,9 1.726,2 6,3 22,28 0,06 5,35 26,82 Gew.-% K2O über 3,0 m
Insgesamt      10,8 19,55 0,07 5,36  
                 
Milestone 002A Patience Lake 1674 1683 9 17,53 0,09 10,58  21,21 Gew.-% K2O über 5,4 m
Belle Plaine 1.687,35 1.691,25 3,9 12,82 0,09 4,71  14,18 Gew.-% K2O über 1,8 m
Esterhazy 1.710,4 1.716,9 6,5 24,1 0,93 5,38  30.85wt% K2O and  0.13wt% MgO over 2.4m
Insgesamt      19,4 15,16 0,09 7,62  
 
Results from the Milestone-001 and Milestone-002A wells demonstrate regional continuity of all three potash members between these wells.  While these results show positive potash mineralization, the Company is compelled to focus its initial resource definition in the vicinity of the Milestone-003 well, where higher potash grades and better thicknesses within the Patience Lake and Belle Plaine members have been demonstrated.
 
Western Potash Corp. is a mineral exploration company engaged in the evaluation, exploration and development of potash mineral properties in Western Canada. The Company intends to define and develop a world-class potash deposit in an ecologically sustainable, economically efficient and socially responsible manner.
 
Die gemäß NI 43-101 betriebsintern qualifizierten Personen sind J. Patricio Varas, P.Geo und Dean Pekeski, P.Geo. Beide haben den Inhalt dieser Pressemitteilung überprüft und genehmigt.
 
IM NAMEN DES BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 
„J. Patricio Varas“     
J. Patricio Varas
President und CEO
 
Diese Pressemitteilung enthält zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen zu unseren Absichten und Plänen. Forward looking statements in this news release include that the potash mineralization encountered in this drill program is similar in grade and thickness to those reported at the Belle Plain mine; that the potash grades intersected in the Milestone-003 well are considered exceptional; the potash hosting members have very low carnallite and low insoluble contents, which is encouraging as they are critical factors for developing a solution mine; results support the acceleration of the resource definition program in the vicinity of Milestone-003; that the Company is planning and permitting a 5 well resource definition drill program in conjunction with a 2D seismic survey already underway; that a 3d seismic survey will follow the resource definition drill phase to fast-track an NI43-101 resource; the Company has approved an $8,5 Million CAD budget for the program; that results from all the wells compel the company to focus its initial resource definition in the vicinity of the Milestone-003 well.  Gemäß Unternehmensrichtlinie werden zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen nicht aktualisiert. Various factors may prevent or delay our plans, including but not limited to, contractor availability and performance, weather, access, mineral prices and success and failure of the exploration and development carried out at various stages of the program. Readers should review risk factors applicable to junior mining exploration companies generally to understand the variety of risks that can affect the Company.  

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