2 July 2018 – Bromborough (UK): NewEra Metal Resources Ltd (the “Company” or “NewEra”) announces the application for five (5) cateos (exploration concession) for vanadium exploration in the Malargue Department, Mendoza Province, west-central Argentina. The applications cover a total of 5,500 ha in four separate project areas of the Neuquén Basin. The projects are to be named as 1) La Valenciana (4,000 ha), 2) Minacar south (500 ha), 3) Mallin Largo (500 ha) and 4) Mercedes (500 ha).
Vanadium mineralisation hosted by bitumen is historically reported at all four projects with La Valenciana and Minacar being sites of former producing bitumen mines in the 1940s. The bitumen typically occurs as dykes and sills emplaced in sandstones and shales of the Cretaceous age Vaca Muerta Formation. The dark, organic marine shales are also mineralized with as yet unidentified vanadium minerals. The Mallin Largo and Mercedes projects also contain documented vanadium-rich bitumen and these areas saw limited exploitation in the 1940s.
Bitumen mining in the Malargue region commenced in 1887 when a small prospect was exploited at Mina Anita (the Mercedes project) and activity peaked in the 1940s when wartime embargo’s cut off the supply of British coal to Argentina. Vanadium has never been exploited in this region before.
The majority of the occurrences were discovered by the American Vanadium Corporation in the 1940s following their highly successful exploitation of vanadium at the Mina Ragra mine in central Peru during the period 1906 – 1956. This mine is one of the highest-grade vanadium deposits known. The vanadium is hosted by bitumen.
All project areas benefit from very good access. The Company plans to complete site visits during the Spring.
