Mason Graphite Reports Additional High Grades in Remaining 2012 Drill Program Results

MONTREAL, April 3, 2013 /CNW/ - Mason Graphite Inc. ("Mason Graphite" or the "Company") (TSX.V: LLG) is pleased to report assay results for the remaining 104 drill holes from the 2012 mineral resource expansion program at its Lac Guéret project in northeastern Quebec. This drill program was designed to test for mineralization extending outside of the July 2012 resource envelope within its hosted GC Zone, as well as in the GR Zone, a prospective secondary target located less than one kilometre away from it (see Figure 1). Mineralization with similar grades was successfully identified in both zones.

The new results for 86 drill holes from the GC Zone (see Table 1) and 18 drill holes from the GR Zone (see Table 2) conclude the 26,500 metre drill  program conducted in the second half of 2012 (see Nov. 21, 2012 and Feb. 28, 2013 press releases for previously reported results).

Significant drill intercepts obtained from the GC and GR zones in this group of results include:

GC Zone

• Hole LG-221 intersected 55 meters at 26.1 % Cgr
• Hole LG-234 intersected 128 meters at 21.1 % Cgr, including 27 meters at 37.3 %
• Hole LG-235 intersected 197 meters at 17.1 % Cgr, including 39 meters at 33.9 %

GR Zone

• Hole LG-248 intersected 31 meters at 20.2 % Cgr
• Hole LG-257 intersected 32 meters at 15.9 % Cgr

High grade drill intercepts from holes LG-221 (55 meters at 26.1 % Cgr) and LG-222 (36 meters at 27.5 % Cgr) located in the GC zone suggest a possible extension to the northeast of the July 2012 mineral resource envelope. The Company intends to follow up on these holes of interest in the next phase of drilling.

Benoît Gascon, CEO of Mason Graphite commented, "We are very pleased with the new high grade intercepts. Overall, this exploration program has returned very good results that have confirmed the presence of mineralization well beyond the boundary of the current mineral resource envelope. We are particularly excited by the confirmation of continued mineralization to the northeast of the current mineral resource in the GC zone and we look forward to following-up on the good results in the newly drilled GR Zone. It is clear to us that further drilling will be required to establish the full extent and potential of both zones; however in the short term we anticipate that the new results from the GC zone will contribute to mineral growth in the upcoming resource estimate."

An updated mineral resource estimate using the Company's July 2012 resource calculation and the 145 new drill results from the GC zone is expected for completion in the coming months by Roche Ltd. Consulting Group, who also completed the Company's previous resource calculation.  Progress on the Preliminary Economic Assessment, conducted by Met-Chem and based on the July 2012 mineral resource calculation, is well advanced and the Company expects to release its results in the first part of the second quarter of 2013. The Lac Guéret project currently hosts a mineral resource of 300,000 tonnes at 24.4% Carbon as Graphite ("Cgr") in the Measured category and 7.3 million tonnes at 20.2% Cgr in the Indicated category (see Technical Report dated July 3 2012 for details).

Table 1 - Most relevant drill results from the GC zone (86 drill holes totaling approximately 13,040 meters)

Drill hole #		From  (m)	To  (m)	Length (m) ^1	Graphite  (Cgr %)		Drill hole #		From  (m)	To  (m)	Length  (m) ^1	Graphite  (Cgr %)
LG-076		47	76	29	12.1		LG-116		No significant mineralization
		116	165	49	12.1		LG-118		85	101	15	20.6
LG-077		9	30	21	11.7				108	117	9	12.6
LG-078		9	22	13	20.2		LG-119		16	25	9	12.2
		35	45	9	12.8				48	60	12	12.6
		97	126	30	10.3		LG-120		25	38	13	10.5
LG-079		7	32	25	23.4		LG-121		No significant mineralization
		48	112	64	14		LG-122		69	92	23	12.4
	incl.	103	111	8	32.8		LG-123		No significant mineralization
		147	164	17	17.7		LG-126		83	118	35	11.6
LG-080		6	30	24	14.7		LG-127		52	64	12	10.6
		54	101	47	11.6		LG-128		4	39	35	8.9
		128	143	16	12.3		LG-129		No significant mineralization
LG-081		26	33	7	14.3		LG-130		78	97	19	6.6
		46	66	20	12.9		LG-134		17	52	35	9.4
		99	107	8	20.9				83	105	23	13.5
LG-082		11	19	9	14.4		LG-219		No significant mineralization
		34	58	24	10.4		LG-220		90	96	7	22.5
LG-083		No significant mineralization							105	156	51	17.9
LG-085		108	137	29	12.8		LG-221		41	96	55	26.1
		142	151	9	18.5		LG-222		13	50	36	27.5
LG-086		9	50	41	13.5		LG-223		7	27	20	16.1
	incl.	12	27	15	24.3		LG-232		43	64	21	9.9
		62	119	57	12.6		LG-233		6	14	8	17.2
LG-087		4	15	11	14.8		LG-234		101	230	128	21.1
		23	36	14	13.4			incl.	203	230	27	37.3
		49	63	15	16.5				234	250	16	16.4
		129	156	27	12.5				267	296	29	25.2
LG-088		81	97	17	11.3			incl.	277	290	12	36.4
		115	141	26	19.1		LG-235		74	271	197	17.1
LG-089		42	66	24	9.9			incl.	192	230	39	33.9
LG-090		9	23	14	10.8		LG-236 ^(2)		106	186	80	16.9
LG-091		No significant mineralization						incl.	146	166	20	29.7
LG-092		No significant mineralization					LG-237 ^(2)		81	114	33	14.8
LG-093		21	25	5	40.3				150	186	37	15.4
		32	41	9	11.3		LG-238		No significant mineralization
		111	141	30	9.2		LG-239		78	174	96	12.6
LG-094		4	66	62	12.3			incl.	99	110	11	29.7
LG-095		134	165	32	17.2		LG-240		No significant mineralization
	incl.	146	156	11	30.4		LG-241 ^(2)		82	111	29	16.2
LG-096		93	130	37	9.7				173	186	14	17.3
LG-098		56	65	9	11.6		LG-242		No significant mineralization
LG-099		8	21	13	12.9		LG-243 ^(2)		86	141	55	17.5
LG-100		No significant mineralization						incl.	116	126	11	28.4
LG-101		40	90	50	10.8				156	186	30	11
		109	119	11	19.8		LG-320		No significant mineralization
		164	178	14	18.5		LG-321		No significant mineralization
LG-102		8	47	39	10		LG-322		No significant mineralization
		56	69	13	21.3		LG-323		No significant mineralization
LG-103		8	20	12	20		LG-324		No significant mineralization
		30	48	18	8.1		LG-325		No significant mineralization
LG-104		115	135	20	9.1		LG-326		No significant mineralization
LG-105		77	85	8	15.9		LG-327		No significant mineralization
		90	106	15	12.8		LG-328		No significant mineralization
LG-106		51	66	15	10.9		LG-329		No significant mineralization
LG-107		4	36	32	13.3		LG-330 ^(2)		114	186	72	22.2
LG-109		No significant mineralization					LG-331		No significant mineralization
LG-110		53	66	12	12.8		LG-332		109	183	75	9.7
		99	109	10	11.5		LG-333		97	110	14	11
		167	185	18	14.2		LG-334		No significant mineralization
LG-111 ^(2)		24	44	20	12.6		LG-335		68	93	25	17.7
		130	144	15	16.8		LG-337		No significant mineralization
		176	192	17	12.6		LG-338		87	110	23	16.2
LG-112		4	38	34	15.4				114	148	34	9.7
		42	59	17	10		LG-339		88	125	36	14.5
LG-113		116	132	15	12.9
LG-114		59	87	29	12.7
LG-115		36	60	25	13.9

Table 2 - Most relevant drill results from the GR Zone (18 drill holes totaling approximately 2,320 meters)

Drill hole #	From (m)	To (m)	Length (m) ^1	Graphite (Cgr %)		Drill hole #	From (m)	To (m)	Length (m) ^1	Graphite (Cgr %)
LG-244	No significant mineralization					LG-255	No significant mineralization
LG-244	No significant mineralization					LG-256 ^(2)	57	104	47	10.0
LG-244	No significant mineralization					LG-257 ^(2)	38	71	32	15.9
LG-247	41	69	28	10.8			90	95	5	18.8
	72	99	27	12.2		LG-258	6	20	14	17.5
LG-248	11	42	31	20.2			102	117	15	10.2
	80	87	8	13.2		LG-259 ^(2)	6	29	22	11.1
LG-249	14	26	13	10.0			92	102	11	8.7
LG-250	92	104	13	9.0		LG-260	42	50	8	10.0
LG-251	57	74	17	7.3			155	167	12	11.3
LG-252	42	57	14	15.9		LG-261 ^(2)	86	102	17	17.4
LG-253	7	19	12	17.9			132	152	20	11.2
	52	63	11	12.7
LG-254	4	17	13	11.8

Notes:
	1.		Lengths are measured drill intervals - the true thickness is not known at this stage;
	2.		Mineralization found at end of hole;
	3.		Length figures are rounded to nearest integer for clarity.

See "Technical Report on the Lac Guéret Graphite Project" dated July 3, 2012 under Mason Graphite's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com for additional information, including exploration information and data verification.

Quality Control and Assurance

The drill program was supervised by Benoît Moreau, P.Eng.  Nathalie Guillemette, P. Geo., M.Sc., a Consultant to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

Analyses for this drilling campaign were carried out by AGAT Laboratories Ltd. in Mississauga, Ontario, a company independent from Mason Graphite, exercising a thorough Quality Control and Assurance program (QA/QC) with Mason Graphite personnel inserting one blank, two standards and one duplicate every 100 samples. AGAT Laboratories is an accredited analytical laboratory. Carbon as graphite ("Cgr") assays reported in this press release were obtained by using the LECO analytical technique ASTM E1915-07A with a detection limit of 0.01% Cgr. Drill holes were sampled over an average of 1.5 metre intervals.

Engagement of Investor Relations Firm

The Company would also like to announce that it has retained Transcend Resource Group, a full-service Investor Relations company for a period of three months starting on March 15, 2013 for a fee of CAD$5,000/month to help increased the Company's exposure through its large network of retail and institutional clients.

About Mason Graphite

Mason Graphite is a Canadian mining company focused on the exploration and development of its 100% owned Lac Guéret graphite property, which is located in northeastern Québec near the main service center of Baie-Comeau. The Lac Guéret graphite property currently hosts a National Instrument 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource of about 300,000 tonnes at 24.4% Cgr in the Measured category and 7.3 million tonnes at 20.2% Cgr in the Indicated category. (see news release issued on July 16, 2012). Exploration potential exists on the property with the current Mineral Resource based on exploration of only 17% of one well defined zone. Mason Graphite is led by Benoit Gascon, CA CMA, who has held 20 years of executive positions at Timcal, including over 6 years as CEO. Timcal, now owned by Imerys, is one of the largest graphite producers in the world.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: (i) volatile stock price; (ii) the general global markets and economic conditions; (iii) the possibility of write-downs and impairments; (iv) the risk associated with exploration, development and operations of mineral deposits; (v) the risk associated with establishing title to mineral properties and assets; (vi) the risks associated with entering into joint ventures; (vii) fluctuations in commodity prices; (viii) the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of exploration, development and production; (ix) competition faced by the resulting issuer in securing experienced personnel and financing; * access to adequate infrastructure to support mining, processing, development and exploration activities; (xi) the risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime governing the resulting issuer; (xii) the risks associated with the various environmental regulations the resulting issuer is subject to; (xiii) risks related to regulatory and permitting delays; (xiv) risks related to potential conflicts of interest; (xv) the reliance on key personnel; (xvi) liquidity risks; (xvii) the risk of potential dilution through the issue of common shares; (xviii) the Company does not anticipate declaring dividends in the near term; (xix) the risk of litigation; and (xx) risk management.

Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued exploration activities, no material adverse change in metal prices, exploration and development plans proceeding in accordance with plans and such plans achieving their stated expected outcomes, receipt of required regulatory approvals, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

 

Image with caption: ""Figure 1 - Plan view with drill hole locations at Lac Guéret (CNW Group/Mason Graphite Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130403_C2302_PHOTO_EN_25129.jpg

SOURCE: Mason Graphite Inc.

For more information about Mason Graphite, visit www.masongraphite.com or contact: 

Investor Relations
[phone]
[email protected]

Simon Marcotte, Vice-President Corporate Development
[phone]

Benoît Gascon, President & CEO
[phone]

Montreal Office
2000 McGill College ave., Suite 2210
Montreal, QC H3A 3H3

Toronto Office
65 Queen Street West, Suite 800
Toronto, ON M5H 2M5