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IMA Expands Bonanza-Grade Silver Discovery at Navidad
Wednesday March 5, 4:30 pm ET
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2003--IMA Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:IMR.CX) (OTC Bulletin Board:IMXPF - News; FRANKFURT:IMT) (BERLIN:IMT - News) is pleased to announce that recent work on the Navidad project in Patagonia has achieved the following:
1. Doubled the strike length of the mapped bonanza-grade silver-copper-lead mineralization at Navidad Hill.
2. Significantly expanded the size of replacement-style silver-lead mineralization which has clear bulk tonnage potential.
3. Demonstrated the potential for additional discoveries within an 8 kilometre by 3 kilometre area of favourable geology and anomalous geochemistry.
Navidad Hill Bonanza-Grade Structures
Cumulative strike length of known structures at Navidad Hill is now 402 metres; the steeply dipping structures have widths typically from 0.45 to 3.3 metres and occur within an area of 160 x 110 metres. The length weighted average grade of all 43 samples taken from this style of mineralization is 6,537 grams per tonne (g/t) silver (191 ounces per ton), 3.5% copper, and 16.6% lead. Outside the Navidad Hill area, several additional bonanza-grade structures have been mapped with values up to 30,510 g/t silver (897 oz/ton) (see appendix for details).
Replacement Style Mineralization
Replacement style silver-lead mineralization has a cumulative strike length of over 3.2 km within a 3.8 km trend. The average grade of all 41 samples taken from this style of mineralization is 158 g/t (4.61 oz/ton) silver and 8.9% lead. Thicknesses of the replacement zones are not yet known due to sparse exposure.
Additional Potential
Geologic mapping, rock and soil sampling has shown potential for additional discoveries similar in style to Navidad within an 8 kilometre by 3 kilometre area. Results received to date from an initial soil grid (278 samples) include values greater than 100 g/t silver and greater than 1% lead from areas outside Navidad Hill. Although extensive soil cover has limited the surface delineation of mineralization at Navidad, excellent potential exists for additional mineralization below this cover.
IMA's Exploration Manager, Keith Patterson, M.Sc. and Daniel Bussandri, B.Sc. completed the recent mapping, rock sampling and soil sampling. IMA's Qualified Person for the Navidad project, Dr. Paul Lhotka, P.Geo., has since verified the above work in the field.
The Navidad discovery is ideally located in a temperate climate zone, at an elevation of approximately 1,100 metres. It is less than one kilometre from a highway, 45 kilometres from the nearest town, 125 kilometres from the nearest railway line and 250 kilometres from a deep-sea port.
IMA will be attending the PDAC conference in Toronto from March 9th to the 12th at the Investor's Exchange, booth #2421. Shareholders and all interested parties are invited to visit with the Company's Management at the booth to learn more about IMA's exploration activities.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Dr. Gerald G. Carlson, P.Eng., Chairman
Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to explore or mine. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
2003 Number 8
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APPENDIX
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(To News Release dated March 5, 2003)
Table 1: Select Samples from Navidad Hill Structures
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Silver Silver Copper Lead
Sample Type Width (oz/ton) (g/t) (%) (%)
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M1086 chip 0.75 411.7 14,100 39.5 1.2
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M1088 chip 0.55 347.5 11,900 3.6 11.2
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M1093 chip 1.1 282.1 9,660 4.4 6.4
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M1094 chip 0.7 312.7 10,710 17.5 3.7
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M1098 chip 0.75 440.9 15,100 2.8 1.6
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M1104 chip 1.07 280.0 9,590 29.0 1.0
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M1105 chip 0.5 294.9 10,100 2.7 1.3
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M1106 chip 0.45 531.7 18,210 3.4 10.5
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M2139 chip 0.9 438.0 15,000 9.6 5.2
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M2253 chip 0.5 681.8 23,349 0.1 8.8
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M2254 chip 0.3 548.5 18,784 0.1 23.9
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M2290 chip 0.4 451.3 15,454 16.4 6.5
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M3034 chip 0.2 648.0 22,192.4 8.85 1.15
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M2255 chip 0.6 254.0 8,699 6.76 0.27
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Note: Average of all 43 samples taken to date from the Navidad Hill structures is: 7,753 g/t (226.4 oz/ton) silver, 4.9% copper and 14.3% lead. Length weighted average of all 43 samples is 6,537 g/t silver (191 oz/ton), 3.5% copper, and 16.6% lead. This relatively small difference between average and length weighted average demonstrates the remarkable consistency of grade within the Navidad Hill structures.
Table 2: High-Grade Structures outside the Navidad Hill area
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Silver Silver Copper Lead
Sample Type Width (oz/ton) (g/t) (%) (%)
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M2265 grab - 55.0 1,871 14.9 0.2
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M2266 chip 0.7 213.3 7,251 9.3 0.2
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M2267 chip 1.0 57.4 1,952 9.3 0.2
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M2295 grab - 159.5 5,423 2.1 0.1
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M2297 chip 0.5 897.3 30,510 3.0 9.8
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