Uranium Star Acquires Remaining 25% Interest in Green Giant Vanadium Deposit in Madagascar;Company Now Holds 100% of Projected 200 Million Tonne Deposit
Uranium Star Corp. (OTCBB:URST) (FRANKFURT:YE5) (“Uranium Star” or “the Company”) announces it has formally signed a purchase and sale agreement with Madagascar Minerals (“MMR”) which gives the Company the exclusive right to purchase the remaining 25% of the Green Giant Vanadium Project in Madagascar from MMR for the sum of $100,000 USD. In conjunction with the transaction, Uranium Star has agreed to grant MMR a 2% NSR royalty with Uranium Star having a “buyback” option but not an obligation to purchase the first 1% of the NSR for $500,000 USD. Upon exercising its option to purchase the first 1%, the Company then has a further “buyback” option but not an obligation to purchase the second 1% of the NSR for $1,000,000 USD. Payments for the purchase of the NSR are payable in cash or equivalent shares at Uranium Star’s sole discretion. The funds will be held in an Escrow account with final payment subject to transfer of title and any required regulatory or governmental approvals.
Once completed, Uranium Star will have 100% ownership of the 194 square kilometre, 22.5 kilometre long property, in which the Green Giant Project is situated.
Company Targets 200 Million Tonne Minimum Deposit
The Company has been able to verify that there is an extensive stratigraphic zone that hosts the majority of vanadium mineralization defined to date. This can be readily interpreted from Uranium Star’s airborne geophysical survey flown in 2007. The mineralized zone is interpreted to pinch and swell along its entire strike length of over 18 kilometres, as well as up and down dip.
Significant Vanadium Seen Over Widths Exceeding 200 Meters
The initial trench results from the south end of the property indicate that the near surface mineralization has widths that are far beyond the Company’s initial expectations. Significant grades of vanadium mineralization have been seen over widths exceeding 200 meters, with a high-grade core having grades in excess of 1.0% V2O5. The average width of vanadium mineralization is in excess of 50 metres.
Highlights of Trench and Drill Results
XRF units being used to report the trench results are state-of-the-art exploration tools used for accurate, in-the-field analysis of rocks and soils. Past experience indicates that these units very adequately generate vanadium values that can be utilized with confidence. A comparison of the 2008 drill results between the XRF and commercial laboratory assays was very strong. All trench samples are being sent to the NATA accredited Genalysis Services Laboratory in Perth, Australia for verification of the XRF results. A rigorous QAQC program is in place and being overseen by Taiga Consultants Ltd. to ensure accuracy of analytical results.
Trench Result Highlights
Uranium Star has recently completed 56 trenches, totaling 8,168 metres on the primary vanadium trend that extends the entire 18.0 kilometre length of the property. Highlights are as follows;
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0.65% V2O5 over 218 metres, including 1.30% V2O5 over 32 metres for trench TR-09-002
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0.62% V2O5 over 270 metres, including 1.30% V2O5 over 45 metres for trench TR-09-039
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1.16% V2O5 over 30 metres for TR-09-044, and 0.92% V2O5 over 58 metres for TR-09-050
A complete table of XRF results for V2O5 from the 56 trenches completed to date can be found in the Company’s July 16, 2009 press release at www.uraniumstar.com
Drill Result Highlights:
The 2008 drilling results indicated that vanadium grades at and near surface are enhanced over those from primary mineralization. Highlights are as follows;
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0.85% V2O5 oxide zone over 56.4 metres, including 0.96% V2O5 over 42.6 metres for Hole TH-08-24.
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0.4% V2O5 over 44.2 metres, including 0.77% V2O5 over 13.7 metres for Hole TH-08-27
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0.37% V2O5 over 42.7 metres, including 0.44% V2O5 over 12.2 metres for Hole TH-08-02
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0.% V2O5 over 36.6 metres, including 0.56% V2O5 over 12.2 metres for Hole TH-08-29
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0.4% V2O5 over 79.3 metres, including 0.61% V2O5 over 19.8 metres for Hole TH-08-14
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0.4% V2O5 oxide zone over 64.0 metres, including 0.51% V2O5 over 13.4 metres for Hole TH-08-13
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0.41% V2O5 oxide zone over 21.3 metres, including 0.51% V2O5 over 15.2 metres for Hole TH-08-11
A summary detail of assay results can be found in the Company’s February 4, 2009 press release at www.uraniumstar.com
Next Steps
The Company has recently announced a major vanadium discovery in Madagascar, and is now preparing for the project’s advancement.
An extensive drill program is planned for later in the year that will allow Uranium Star to calculate a compliant resource statement that can be used in an economic assessment of the property. The Company’s objective in the upcoming drill program is to define a minimum of 200 million tonnes of appreciable vanadium mineralization.
Uranium Star has further strengthened the company strategically by recently adding two Canadian political and business heavyweights to their Special Advisory Board: the Hon. Brian V. Tobin, P.C., ICD.D, and Peter Harder. Tobin, who served as a Member of Parliament for 16 years and as Federal Minister and Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, will serve as Chairman. Harder, who previously served as Deputy Minister, will also serve on the Board of Directors of Uranium Star.
Why is Vanadium so special?
Vanadium is a strategic metal that is already irreplaceable for engineering in aerospace, aviation, automotive, shipping, and construction. Vanadium has a remarkable ability to make steel alloys both stronger and lighter, and when added to steel, it creates a product that is lightweight but extremely high in tensile strength and wear resistance. In fact, Vanadium-titanium alloys have the best strength-to-weight ratio of any engineered material. These ultra high-strength and super-light steels are often called the plastics of the 21st century, and demand for them is strong and growing.
Worldwide Potential for Vanadium
BHP Billiton projects that more steel will be consumed in the next 20 years than was consumed during the entire 20th century. High Strength – Low Alloy steel, made with Vanadium, has outpaced crude steel production by 21.6% since 2006.
Around the world, economic stimulus packages are now funding a global boom in infrastructure projects such as airports, pipelines and bridges. CIBC World Markets estimates total global infrastructure spending over the next 20 years at $35 trillion – with many of those projects requiring Vanadium.
The future will be battery powered. The best battery will win. Vanadium makes the best batteries.
While Vanadium is most often associated with steel, it is poised to play a pivotal role in helping renewable energy achieve success. Vanadium also makes highly powerful and efficient batteries – batteries that have the potential for large-scale, power grid usage.
Solar, wind and geothermal power will not be fully effective without an efficient way to store it in a commercialized and scalable manner. Vanadium has exceptional qualities in battery technology applications. It has the ability to absorb and release huge amounts of electricity instantaneously, and will play a pivotal role in the emergence of battery power and energy storage.
Vanadium may therefore hold the key to scaling renewable energy to national levels, helping reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Beyond these large-scale uses, Vanadium has also proven to be effective at combining with Lithium-ion batteries to significantly improve their performance – so the next generation of hybrid car batteries may also feature Vanadium.
About the Company
Uranium Star Corp. is a rapidly emerging exploration company with assets in Madagascar (Vanadium) and Northern Quebec (Uranium). Its shares are traded on the OTCBB under the symbol URST and on the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol YE5.
Bill Nielsen, P.Geo., Director is the Project Manager for the Green Giant Vanadium Project in Madagascar and is the qualified person for this report. Taiga Consultants Ltd. is supervising Uranium Star’s exploration activities in Madagascar under the direction of Claude Aussant, P.Geol.
For more information on the Green Giant Project and up-to-date pictures from the field, please visit our website at www.uraniumstar.com
Contact:
Brent Nykoliation Vice President of Business Development Uranium Star Corp. Toll Free: 800.818.5442 or 416.364.4911 Email: bnykoliation@uraniumstar.com |
Kirk McKinnon, President & CEO Richard Schler, Chief Operating Officer & CFO |
WARNING: The statements made in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially from expectations and projections set out herein.