American Potash LLC, a corporate joint venture owned equally by
Confederation Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: CFM) and Magna Resources
Ltd. (CNSX: MNA), is pleased to announce the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") between American Potash LLC and
the Utah State Office of the United States Bureau of Land
Management ("BLM") for the purpose of facilitating exploration
activities on Federal land containing potash rights applied for or
owned by American Potash LLC. The MOU is a significant milestone
for American Potash LLC in its efforts to move forward on the
exploration of its Federal potash applications and State potash
leases in Utah. American Potash LLC has over 63,000 acres of
Federal Potash Prospecting Permit Applications ("PPAs") and over
6,000 acres of State potash leases in the Paradox Basin in
southeast Utah. These areas are believed to host significant
amounts of potash based upon gamma log geophysical surveys of
historical oil and gas drilling and reports prepared by R.J. Hite
for the US Geological Survey.
The PPAs were filed with the BLM on June 26, 2008 by Sweetwater
River Resources. In 2009 American Potash LLC purchased the rights
to these PPAs and has been working with the BLM in Utah to advance
plans for potash exploration on lands outside the BLM proposed
"10-Mile Known Potash Leasing Area" ("KPLA"). The "10-Mile KPLA"
has yet to be officially designated by BLM and would be an
expansion of an existing KPLA. The MOU includes PPA's on
approximately 39,000 acres while the PPA's on the remaining 24,000
acres are within the proposed KPLA expansion and are not covered by
the MOU. The proposed KPLA boundaries are under review by the BLM
and once it is finalized, the BLM would offer lands within the KPLA
in a competitive lease sale that will not affect the lands subject
to the MOU. The objective of the MOU for American Potash LLC is to
gain timely approval of the PPA's in order to conduct potash
exploration outside the proposed "10-Mile KPLA". The objective of
the MOU for the BLM is to separate approval of exploration from
leasing and firmly establish the proper scope of environmental
analysis required to consider approval of the PPAs.
Under the terms of this MOU, the BLM acknowledges that once
exploration is underway and environmental studies necessary to
authorize leasing and development are completed, a decision by the
BLM on leasing lands outside of the KPLA will be made in a timely
manner. Should the BLM determine that leasing of potash lands for
development is appropriate within the area of the American Potash
LLC PPA's, the decision will be to issue preference rights leases
to American Potash LLC. Any decision to grant preference rights
leases to American Potash LLC will be subject to environmental
standards developed through the NEPA process and economic and
workability requirements.
Should the BLM ultimately decide not to lease these lands, the
MOU does not preclude or diminish the rights of American Potash LLC
to pursue administrative rights to seek a decision favourable to
its position.
Dr. Lawrence Dick, CEO of Confederation Minerals Ltd., stated,
"The MOU is a significant step forward for American Potash LLC and
by extension, Confederation Minerals and Magna Resources."
About American Potash LLC's Green River Potash Project
American Potash LLC's Green River Potash Project is located near
Moab in southeast Utah and consists of 31 potash prospecting permit
applications totalling 25,593 hectares (63,242 acres) and leases of
9 State sections for a total of 2,446 hectares (6,043 acres). It is
within the limits of the Paradox Basin, a southeast-trending
geological feature extending across southeast Utah and southwest
Colorado, with dimensions of roughly 160 km by 50 km. This
sedimentary basin has been the focus of oil and gas exploration
since the mid-1950s and has supported potash extraction from the
Cane Creek mine since 1964. Cane Creek utilizes low-cost,
energy-efficient solution mining and solar evaporation potash
recovery. A very arid climate, with 360+ days of sunshine per year,
provides ideal conditions for these methods, and American Potash
LLC could therefore potentially use the same mining technology.
The Paradox Basin was formed during Pennsylvanian age subsidence
and over the span of approximately 4 million years was filled with
1500-1800 m (5000-6000 ft) of cyclical evaporite sequences. In
total, over 29 evaporite sequences accumulated in the Paradox
Basin; all terminated with the deposition of halite salt cycles,
with 17 of these cycles containing sylvite-sylvinite salts and
other potash minerals.
The target salt cycles beneath American Potash's area of
interest are Cycles 5 and 13, the latter being the thickest layer
of the potash-bearing salt cycles in the Paradox Basin. The project
area is centered on the postulated thickest part of the Cycle 13
accumulation in the northwest corner of the basin, possibly due to
deposition here along some local structural depression.
Logs and reports for 38 historic oil and gas exploration wells
drilled on the subject permit applications have been reviewed for
indications of potash and indicate that in the property area Cycles
5, 13 and 18 contain significant concentrations of potash. The
Cycle 5 potash horizon is currently being solution mined by
Intrepid Potash at the Cane Creek mine. In the Green River property
area, it ranges from 3.7-5.5 m (12-18 ft) in thickness, and, based
on gamma ray logs, grades vary approximately between 15% and 25%
K2O.
Cycle 13 has three distinct consecutive potash-bearing horizons
with a cumulative thickness of 44-55 m (143-180 ft), which is
thickening to the northwest. This Cycle 13 potash sequence can be
traced across at least 14 km of the permit applications and is very
probably continuous throughout. The upper potash-bearing horizon
ranges in thickness from 14.6 m (48 ft) in the southeast to 21.3 m
(70 ft) in the northwest and grades an estimated 4-7% K2O. The
middle Cycle 13 potash horizon ranges from 4-4.6 m (13-15 ft)
thick, with an apparent consistent grade of approximately 15% K2O.
There is also a lower potash member, which ranges in thickness from
21.9-27.4 m (72-90 ft) but at lower grades, with an estimated K2O
content of 1-2%. The middle horizon has the best potential of the 3
horizons of supporting a viable solution mining operation, due to
its higher grades. Note that potash grades are estimates derived
from geophysical interpretations and no direct assays have been
carried out.
Gamma and Neutron Log Correlation along Cycle 13 of the Paradox
Basin (Hite, 1976)
Cycle 13 also appears to be essentially flat-lying and
undeformed beneath the property area, as illustrated by gamma and
neutron log correlation along NW-SE section (refer to
Confederation's web site at www.confederationmineralsltd.com). This
is critical, as it potentially reduces future exploration,
development and mining complications that can exist with
structurally deformed stratigraphy due to folding, faulting and
associated salt dome effects.
Preliminary interpretation of the historic oil and gas well log
data also suggests that, besides cycle 5, several other potentially
economic potash-bearing salt cycles occur within the area of
interest above Cycle 13 (Cycles 6 and 9) and below it (Cycles 16
and 18). One or all of these other cycles could potentially
represent significant additional potash resource, in particular
cycle 18 which occurs with potentially economic thicknesses and
grades in other parts of the basin.
Most areas of the property have good road access via state,
county and off-track (dirt) roads and probable access to ample
water supply from nearby Green River. It is an arid area with low
suitability for other uses such as farming, ranching, recreation
etc, and is out of sight of any of the National Parks in southern
Utah. Interstate Highway 70 (I-70) runs east-west (from Denver to
Salt Lake City) within a few miles north of the property, and a
major power line corridor exists nearby.
The technical information disclosed in this press release has
been reviewed, verified and compiled by Dr. Kent Ausburn, P. Geo.
Dr. Ausburn is a qualified person (QP) as defined by National
Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). Dr. Ausburn has over 29 years of
mineral exploration experience.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Confederation Minerals Ltd.
Lawrence A. Dick, Ph.D., P.Geo, President, CEO, and Director
Forward-Looking Information
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed
"forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other
than statements of historical facts, that address events or
developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not
historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by
the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends",
"estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or
that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or
"should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations
expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of
future performance and actual results may differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause
the actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and
exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and
financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.
Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees
of future performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and
opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are
made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company
undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements
in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or
other factors, should change.
Contacts: Confederation Minerals Ltd. Lawrence A. Dick, Ph.D.,
P.Geo President, CEO, and Director 604 688 9588 778 329 9361 (FAX)
www.confederationmineralsltd.com
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