STEWART, British Columbia, July 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mountain Boy Minerals Ltd (TSX-V:MTB) (Frankfurt:M9U) (“Mountain Boy”) reports that it has received the results of metallurgical testing on the massive sulphide-barite mineralization in core from DDH-SC-2016-2. The drill hole was from the Ataman zone within the Surprise Creek claims located in the “Golden Triangle” area of BC. The hole intersected 0.12 g/t Au, 28 g/t Ag, 1.21 % Zn, 0.03 % Pb, 0.31 % Cu and 46.73 % Barite over 18.94 m. The full width of the zone was not intersected as the drilling was terminated due to bad weather and freezing of the water source. Highlights of the metallurgical testing on core from this 18.94 section include:
- Barite Concentrate from Surprise Creek VMS Test far exceeds API (American Petroleum Institute) Standards
- Cu Grade 26.2% at 70.5% recovery and Zn Grade 53.8% at 89.1% Recovery in initial tests.
The initial metallurgical work on the core rejects was done by SGS Laboratory located in Richmond, BC The work included flotation methods to recover the copper and zinc minerals and subsequent flotation of the tailing to determine barite recovery as well as purity. The concentrate from the barite flotation was then sent by SGS to Ana-Lab Corp in Texas to determine the levels of any impurities that may hinder use as in oilfield drilling.
After successfully separating copper and zinc sulfides with good recovery the barite was floated with excellent recovery rates. SGS recovered a Cu grade of 26.2% at 70.5% recovery and a Zn grade 53.8% at 89.1% recovery in the open cycle batch test. The lab estimated that the recovery should be higher for both Cu and Zn in a closed circuit test. Further testing on copper and zinc recoveries will be carried out on 2017 drill core. Gold and silver metals are mostly contained within the copper concentrate.
The initial flotation results on the tails from the sulphide flotation tests indicate a product with 91.6% BaSO4 at 83.2% recovery. This was an open circuit test, and there was 10.8% barite in the intermediate product from the sulphide tests. SGS estimated that the final recovery should be higher than 83.2% (should be close to 90%) but this can only be confirmed by locked cycle test in future. The SGS test results will be posted on the website upon receipt of the final report.
Results from Ana-Lab in Texas are shown in table:
| Criteria | API Standards | Surprise Creek Results | |
| Specific Gravity | 4.20 g/cm3 Min. | 4.24 g/cm3 | |
| Barite Content | 90 % Min. | 91.6% | |
| Water Soluble Alkaline metals as Ca | 250 ppm Max | 31.72 ppm | |
| Extractable Carbonates | 300 ppm Max | 13.16 ppm | |
| Mercury | 1.00 ppm Max | 0.15 ppm | |
| Cadmium | 3.00 ppm Max | 1.37 ppm | |
| Lead | 1000 ppm Max | 33.7 ppm | |
| Arsenic | 40 ppm Max | 4.38 ppm | |
| Extractable sulphides | 250 ppm Max | 4.71 ppm | |
The testing was from the Ataman zone, a mineralized system that has been traced over 1200 m of strike. Along the NE end of the exposure, it is 650 m wide by 600 m in height. Photos of the NE end of the zone are shown on www.mountainboyminerals.ca. Surface work in 2016 on a 25 m wide barite zone, located 120 m west of DDH-2016-SC-2, yielded high barite values along with significant base metal values. A map showing this sampling is posted on the website in the Surprise Creek map section. The surface work also indicated barite zones extending to the mountain top. In addition to a main barite zone, numerous shears contain barite and sulphides.
The Ataman zone is only one exposure of a number of VMS zones located within the Surprise Creek claims. Work during 2017 will explore and define other sulphide, sulfide-barite zones as well as natural barite veins.
Rene Bernard, Chairman of Mountain Boy states: "We knew that we have potential for a large resource of Barite at Surprise Creek but were unsure about recovery and quality of the final product. We are absolutely delighted to have these great results on our first attempt. After all we are talking about a mineral which according to the 2016 USGS report on Barite sells for an average of $198 f.o.b. mill with industry relying on imports for 78% of its needs. With this knowledge in hand we can now promote our location within short trucking distance to deep water port, infrastructure, metal credits and proximity to key markets to attract industry partnerships. Our goal is to have a 43-101 industrial mineral resource later this year after all drilling is completed."
Ed. Kruchkowski, P. Geo., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, will be in charge of the exploration programs on behalf of the Company and is responsible for the contents of this release. E. Kruchkowski is not independent of Mountain Boy as he is the president of the Company.
Mountain Boy Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian based mineral exploration company with diverse property and resource holdings around the Stewart region in British Columbia’s golden triangle. It owns 20% of the Silver Coin project, a gold-silver-base metals project that has a 43-101 compliant resource calculated. It also owns a 35% interest in the "Red Cliff" property, a high grade advanced gold-copper exploration project. The Company is also exploring silver-base metals on its American Creek and Bear Valley properties as well as copper-gold on their Stewart area claims. For a complete listing of the Company assets and developments, visit the Company website at www.mountainboyminerals.ca. For investor information please call 250-636-2264 or Gary Assaly at 604-377-7969.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF MOUNTAIN BOY MINERALS LTD
"Ed Kruchkowski”
Ed Kruchkowski, President
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