VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 16, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Douglas Lake Minerals Inc. (OTCBB:DLKM) (Frankfurt:D60.F) (the "Company") announced that it has received a project review report (the "Report") respecting the Company's Mkuvia Gold Placer Property (the "Property"), located in Tanzania. The Report, dated May 27, 2009, was prepared for the Company by Ross McMaster, an independent consultant and registered member of the Australian I.M.M. with over 30 years of relevant exploration experience. The Report details the preliminary surveying work on the Property and outlines an Inferred Resource (volume) of gold bearing recent alluvium and terrace alluvium as defined by the Stage 1 pitting and sampling in the Matandani prospect (of the Mwemkuru River headwater area) that is in the range of 2.19 million loose cubic metres with an average grade 0.3 grams of gold per loose cubic metre (g/Lcm). (A loose cubic metre is defined as the expansion of the in situ measurement of material that once excavated increases by a 20-30% factor that will be determined exactly in further test work.) The inferred resource calculation is conformable to the JORC standards.
The results of this program are based on the 528 samples taken from approximately 155 pits which were sampled as separate horizons (sand, gravel and cobbles) where possible that were hand dug on 500 metre spaced lines with 50 metres spaced pits. The compilation of all heavy mineral and gold results has been completed by TMEx staff in laboratory conditions at Arusha, Tanzania, which included separating and weighing the gold recovered from each sample where measurable gold was observed. Samples were collected as a measured volume of loose material (e.g, sand, gravel) and usually were 100 litres in field estimated volume. Each sample was processed in the field using a 7.5 inch Knelson concentrator to produce a heavy mineral concentrate. After further hand-panning in the TMEx laboratory to reduce the concentrate, the concentrate was dried. The gold was then the separated from all other minerals, described and weighed to give a result in g/Lcm.
This compilation has allowed for the presentation of cross sections and quantifiable data on 8 of the 10 sections that show the surface profiles and the grades of recoverable gold to enable the resource calculation. TMEx is a company controlled by Mr. McMaster.
The Property comprises four prospecting licenses (each a "PL") covering a total area of approximately 430 square kilometers which include the outlined resource (an area of less than approximately two square kilometres) with in an potential paleoplacer/beach placer envelope that is estimated to be 29 kilometres long (covering the whole length of the property) and up to 5 kilometres wide. The Property is located in the Nachingwea District, Lindi Region of the United Republic of Tanzania, approximately 140 kilometers west of Nachingwea town. The Lindi Region is one of the three regions forming the Southern Zone of the United Republic of Tanzania, the other regions being Mtwara and Ruvuma. The Mtwara and Ruvuma regions border northern Mozambique and eastern Malawi.
The alluvial geology of the prospecting licenses is dominated by a thick transported sedimentary paleo-placer cover generally consisting of a well rounded and sorted pebble basal unit overlain by massive to graded orange-yellow sand unit and all covered by white grey sand unit which covers a large part of the area.
The reconnaissance exploration work on the project to delineate both the resource outlined above and the potential placer envelope was completed in 2008/09 and included surface geological and regolith mapping, stream sediments sampling, bedrock mapping and sampling and the pit sampling program outlined above.
The existing PLs initially consisted of two prospecting licenses (the "PLs") and one prospecting license reconnaissance (the "PLR"), which were granted to Mr. Mkuvia Maita in 2004 and 2005 for a period of three years (for the PLs) and two years (for the PLR). Following Mr. Maita's application for license renewal submitted to the Ministry of Energy and Minerals in 2007, the PLR was subdivided into two PLs, and the four resulting PLs were awarded through a Notification of Grant on August 16, 2008 for a period of three years from the date the PLs would be issued from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals. The Company had entered into a joint venture agreement with Mr. Maita shortly before that time, in June 2008, whereby the Company acquired all of Mr. Maita's rights under the PLs and the PLR, including the right to enter, sample, drill and otherwise explore for minerals, subject to a 3% royalty payable to Mr. Maita on any minerals that may eventually be produced.
The Property has several overlying primary mining licenses (each a "PML") which have mineral rights that lie within the boundaries of the Property. Generally, PMLs represent limited mining rights which allow small scale exploitation of minerals by local miners and must pre-date the establishment of a prospecting license. The maximum size of the demarcated area for a PML for all minerals other than building materials is 10 hectares. Each PML is granted for a period of five years and is renewable, upon request. Pursuant to his joint venture agreement with the Company, Mr. Maita is required to request the governmental mining authorities to revoke PMLs that overlap any areas where the Company plans to apply for a mining license.
The Report does not comply with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards for Disclosure of Mineral Projects and its Companion Policy ("NI 43-101"). NI 43-101, as it applies to the Company, provides that written disclosure publicly made by a company of a mineral reserve, mineral resource or preliminary assessment relating to a mineral property material to the Company must be supported by a technical report filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "Commission") in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. Accordingly, the Company has undertaken to the British Columbia Securities Commission to file a NI 43-101 compliant technical report on the Property within 45 days from the issuance of this press release.
Cautionary Note to Investors Concerning Estimates of Inferred Resources: Investors are advised that while the use of the term "inferred" resources is recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred" mineral resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of inferred mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. Investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed by Laurence Stephenson, P. Eng., a "qualified person" under NI 43-101, who has been engaged by the Company as an independent consultant.
About Douglas Lake
The Company is an emerging mineral exploration company focused on exploring and developing mining opportunities in Tanzania. For more information, go to www.douglaslakeminerals.com.
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