Feb 11 2013
Soldi Ventures Inc. announces that it has staked an additional 120.4 hectare property (known as the "Royal" property) within Galaxy Graphite Corp.'s ("Galaxy") Buckingham Project located in Quebec.
Galaxy recently announced its assay results from its fall 2012 mapping and sampling program on the Buckingham graphite project in Quebec. One sample taken from the property analyzed for size distribution contains 11.5% graphitic carbon, with 54.42% of the large flakes in excess of 80 mesh.
The Buckingham graphite property comprises of two former producing mines, located just east of Buckingham, Quebec. The mines are located in the highly prospective Central Metasedimentary belt of the Grenville geological province, host to many active graphite projects. The host rocks for both deposits are graphitic crystalline marbles, similar to the host stratigraphy at Timcal's Lac des Iles graphite mine, currently Canada's only producing graphite mine. The two properties cover a total of 1,324 hectares on 22 mining claims.
The Ste-Marie deposit had small-scale production in 1865, with a total reported production of 50 tons of graphite. The mineralization is hosted in lenticular masses and mineralized veins, within a crystalline limestone marble. The mineralization results from carbonization of organic matter in calcareous sedimentary formations during the Grenvillian metamorphic event. The graphite mineralization is typically massive.
The Dominion mine produced a reported 916 tons of graphite between 1910 and 1919. The geological setting is very similar to the Ste-Marie deposit. Flake graphite is reported to be the common form of graphite in the deposit (see Galaxy's news release dated February 7, 2012 for more details).
Soldi's new Royal property within Galaxy's Buckingham project is approximately 20 kilometres west of Soldi's Lochaber Graphite Property and 95 kilometres south of Soldi's Cameron Graphite Property (map available here: http://www.soldiventuresinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/soldi-map-posterFeb.pdf).
The Lochaber Graphite Property covers 930.77 hectares and was acquired February 2012. The Lochaber Property had been the target of exploration in the early 1950's and again in the 1980¡äs during which time an airborne survey (in report DP 83-05) was flown to further define targets. A strong, wide airborne conductor was discovered and a ground visit to the location revealed massive flake graphite. The property is located approximately 50 kilometers east of Ottawa-Gatineau, near a highway in a historic graphite mining district.
In a 1952 report it was reported that: "Trenches were bulldozed by Frobisher Exploration, stripping overburden of 3-18 inches perpendicular to the strike of the Graphite zone. 10 trenches were stripped every 50 feet for 550 feet of the zone. The graphite exposed ranged from 3 feet to over 10 feet in the last 150 feet of the zone. The graphite zone trends along a steep valley that has a strike of N85E." The author visually estimated grades of 10% to 15% graphite. A pit 1,500 feet west of this zone exposed graphite bearing rock. A government airborne electromagnetic-magnetic survey detected conductors on three lines, showing parallel zones to the one which was trenched.
Soldi's other graphite project - the approximate 1,200 hectare Cameron Graphite Property in Quebec, is located 16 kilometres east of Maniwaki and approximately 125 kilometres due north of Ottawa, with excellent road access.
The property is part of the Grenville Sub-Province of the Precambrian Shield of northern Canada. The formations of the area are generally gneissic granites, crystalline limestones, mica and amphibolites schists. Pegmatite dykes, veins and stock work are often present within the gneissic granite batholite.
Graphite is known to be common throughout the Grenville Sub-Province and has been commercially mined in the past from a number of deposits located mainly between the Ottawa River to the south and the Mont Laurier area to the north. On the property itself, graphite was found to occur in large, irregular shaped masses of coarsely crystalline white limestone. The graphite occurs as a bed approximately 20 feet thick. The graphite grade was visually estimated to be approximately 15% with a high proportion of large flakes.
In 1965, a bulk sample of the graphite-bearing material was shipped to a processing plant located in Labelle, Quebec. Approximately 5 tons of this material was processed. In addition, 23 drill holes were drilled to the west of this occurrence and all, except for one, intersected graphite.
Three metallurgical tests were conducted on the bulk sample from 1965 using different grinding times. The results obtained were excellent, with the ensuing production of concentrate averaging 91.35% carbon after two minutes of grinding in the rod mill. A concentrate averaging 95.06% carbon was obtained after four minutes of grinding in a rod mill. In either case the recovery of large or "jumbo" graphite flakes in the plus 48 mesh concentrate ("plus 48 mesh" concentrate is considered highly valuable) was exceptional at 65.09% and 52.39% respectively.
The bulk sample was later analyzed with a semi-commercial plant test. The rod mill test gave a concentrate of 95.11% Carbon with 77.43% recovery. The final test run gave a concentrate of 97.40% Carbon with a 90.15% recovery.
In July 2012, Soldi reported that it received assays of samples taken from its Cameron Graphite Property. Two consecutive chip samples taken over widths of 1 metre each, assayed 26.85% and 25.02% graphitic carbon respectively, for an average of 25.94% graphitic carbon over a true thickness of 2.0 metres.
In the spring of 2012, Soldi carried out a preliminary VLF-electromagnetic survey and geological mapping on the Cameron property (see news release of May 1, 2012). The graphite zone coincides with a weak VLF conductor that extends for 200 metres to the southeast, and is open in that direction. Historic shallow drill holes that were put down in 1965, at the same time as the bulk sample, are reported to have intersected graphite in "all but one" of 23 drill holes to the west of the test pit, although the VLF conductor does not extend for more than about 25 metres in that direction. Details of the 1965 drilling, including hole locations and depths, as well as widths and grades of mineralized intersections, are not available.
The technical information in this news release has been written and/or reviewed by Mike Magrum, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. Note: Grab samples are selective by nature and are unlikely to represent average grades on the property. Historic results are not 43-101 compliant and cannot be relied upon.
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