TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 14, 2009) - Merc International Minerals Inc. ("Merc") (TSX VENTURE:MRK) announces today that it has retained SRK Consulting ("SRK") to complete a mineral resource evaluation and preparation of a National Instrument (NI) 43-101 compliant technical report on Merc's Damoti Lake Gold Project, located 200 km north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. SRK is recognized as a world leader in providing technical consulting services to the mineral exploration industry.
"We are extremely pleased to have SRK working with us and look forward to the completion of an updated resource in early 2010 " states Dr. Michael Byron, Merc's President and CEO. "This resource evaluation represents an important milestone in Merc's goal of advancing Damoti into a significant gold deposit.
An exploration drill program has been underway since early July 2009 to verify and expand the historic resource by infilling priority target areas, extending mineralized zones along strike and to depth within the Horseshoe and Pyrite Zones and to test similar mineralized structures 150 metres west of the Horseshoe Zone within the Red Mountain, Pink Antler and Lookout Zones.
Merc also reports that selective re-sampling and analyses of historical drill holes D97-278, D97-282, and D97-311 validate original gold assays and confirm the high-grade tenor of the mineralization on the Damoti Lake project. Merc re-sampled selected intervals from the historic holes using the remaining half of the core that was then analysed using the metallics assay method, an industry accepted assay procedure that identifies the presence and significance of coarse gold in a sample. Assay results are summarized in the table below and compared with the standard fire assay method results of 1997.
Damoti Lake Gold Project. Re-sampling results - historic individual samples
with visible gold.
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Drill Hole 1997 Fire Assays Metallic Assays
(new gold results) Specks
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From To Length Assay Assay Visible
(m) (m) (m) (g/t Au) (g/t Au) Gold
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D97-278 245.75 246.80 1.20 8.33 9.85 4
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D97-282 101.90 102.90 1.00 109.71 116.50 63
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103.90 104.90 1.00 104.43 85.40 18
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104.90 105.90 1.00 114.80 30.40 11
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244.20 245.20 1.00 26.50 36.80 2
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246.20 246.90 0.90 6.90 4.40 3
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D97-311 244.80 245.60 0.80 28.08 19.15 10
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Merc also had samples of broader intervals of the historic holes analysed using the metallics method. Assay results are summarized in the table below and compared with the standard fire assay method results of 1997.
Damoti Lake Gold Project. Re-sampling Results. Historic Drill Holes D97-278,
D97-282
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Drill Hole From To Length 1997 Fire Metallic Assays
(m) (m) (m) Assays (new gold results)
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(g/t Au) (g/t Au)
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D97-278 119.30 121.40 2.10 0.48 0.59
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124.90 129.70 4.80 2.30 4.87
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177.20 204.90 27.70 2.47 2.53
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242.10 259.60 17.50 4.48 3.97
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D97-282 101.00 108.20 7.20 48.59 34.79
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121.50 124.40 2.90 4.79 4.03
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132.30 135.80 3.50 26.76 2.90
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190.70 193.50 2.80 6.79 6.97
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240.30 246.90 6.60 9.72 11.24
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D97-311 33.70 41.20 7.50 4.65 3.58
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85.70 106.30 20.60 3.79 3.94
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196.30 214.80 18.50 5.71 5.11
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239.70 252.50 12.80 6.68 6.30
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259.80 262.70 2.90 9.09 9.43
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Results compare exceptionally well, except for some high-grade samples and composite intervals such as D97-282, footage 132.3 to 135.8, where the re-sampled value is approximately a factor of 10 lower than the original value. This can best be attributed to the variable nugget-like characteristics of the Damoti gold mineralization. To address the nugget effect Merc is using the metallics method to analyse all iron formation sections that host significant sulphide mineralization and/or alteration.
Re-sampling was also intended to examine the mineralized shoulders of some historic intersections to determine whether pulp metallic assaying would prove effective in extending mineralization widths. Results proved inconclusive, however one sample taken by Merc at the end of a mineralized interval in hole D97-282 (147.0 m to 147.5 m), that was not sampled by the previous workers, returned 19.20 g/t Au, better than twice the original adjacent sample. Merc routinely samples all intersected iron formation to avoid such oversights.
A new NI 43-101 compliant resource will use all drilling results to date within the Horseshoe Zone (135 drill holes) as well as the drilling completed in Merc's 2009 program (20 to 30 holes), and include approximately 63 holes not included in the 1997 and 2004 resource estimates. Preliminary drill results and deposit modelling confirm the potential for resource expansion.
Renmark Financial Communications Inc.
Additionally, Merc has retained the services of Renmark Financial Communications Inc. to handle its investor relation's activities.
"We are pleased to announce that we have selected Renmark to reinforce Merc International Minerals' profile in the financial community and enhance the visibility of our project portfolio. We choose Renmark because its standards and methodologies fit best with the message we wish to communicate to the investing public," noted Merc's CEO, Dr. Michael Byron.
In consideration of the services to be provided, the Company has agreed to pay a monthly retainer of $3,500 for a one-year contract to Renmark Financial Communications Inc. Renmark Financial Communications does not have any interest, directly or indirectly, in Merc International Minerals Inc. or its securities, or any right or intent to acquire such an interest.
Quality Control
Merc International Minerals, Inc. has implemented a quality-control program to ensure best practice in the sampling and analysis of the drill core. NQ-size drill core is saw cut and half the drill core is sampled in standard intervals not exceeding 1.5 metres in length while core from the main mineralized horizons or core displaying visible gold or significant sulfides are sampled in greater detail generally not exceeding 1 metre in length. The remaining half core is stored in a secure location.
Core samples are transported in security-sealed bags for analyses at ALS Chemex Assay Laboratory in Vancouver, BC. ALS Chemex is an ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory. Gold assaying is done by a fire assay - atomic absorption spectrometry method on a 30-gram charge of a 1000 gram pulp. Samples returning values exceeding 3 g/t Au are re-checked by fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Pulp and metallics assaying for gold is conducted on the entire pulverized sample for all samples within the main mineralized horizons and those samples with visible gold or significant sulfides.
As part of its QA/QC program, Merc International Minerals inserts external gold standards (low to high grade) and blanks every 20 samples. This is in addition to the standards, blanks and pulp duplicates inserted by ALS Chemex. In addition, samples of pulps have been collected from ten percent of all samples analyzed and will be submitted to a second independent laboratory for comparison purposes.
The Damoti Lake Gold Project is being supervised by William Waychison, M.Sc.A.,P.Geo, the Qualified Person (QP) for this project.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update such statements.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.