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July 15, 2008
MIDASCO EXPANDS URANIUM ASSETS IN UTAH
The Company is pleased to announce that through its operating subsidiary, Midasco Uranium LLC, it has
completed the acquisition of 100% of the mineral rights of the Silverbell Uranium Mine, a large uranium property
immediately south and adjacent to the Company's Calliham mine holdings near Summit Point in San Juan
County, Utah.
The acquisition includes the control of the mineral rights for a term of 20 years, and consists of 960 acres of
privately held mineral rights. Drilled areas that are 100% controlled by the Company have existing, un-mined
historical resources of 1,469,000 pounds U3O8 and 9,856,080 pounds V2O5 at the Silverbell Mine and Calliham
Mine, both located in the Salt Wash member of the Morrison Formation.
Specifically, the Silverbell Mine has an existing, un-mined historical resource of 794,320 pounds of U3O8 with an
average grade of 0.20% U3O8 and 5,099,400 pounds of V2O5 with an average grade of 1.27% V2O5
(Uranium:Vanadium ratio of 1:6.35) according to a 1992 Umetco Minerals Corporation internal resource
summary prepared after mine shutdown. The deposit was initially discovered by Homestake Mining Company in
the late 1960's and was developed by Atlas Minerals Corporation through the Silverbell Shaft and the adjacent
Wilson Mine and Shaft, ¨ù mile to the northeast. Union Carbide Corporation (" Umetco¡±) took over operations at
the mine in the mid-1980's and operated up to January of 1991. Atlas and Umetco's production records at the
mine range from 1975 to 1990 for a total of 248,245 tons of ore with weighted average grades of 0.154% U3O8
and 1.058% V2O5 (total recorded production of 763,307 pounds of U3O8 and 5,250,055 pounds of V2O5).
Throughout the 30 years of exploration and mining in the vicinity of the Silverbell Mine, it became apparent that
the Wilson, Silverbell, and Calliham Mines were all intercepting the same large ore-body. During the closing
operations at the mines in 1990 and 1991, Umetco was developing through the northern extent of the Calliham
Mine, to connect the Silverbell and Calliham Mines. Due to depressed uranium prices development ceased 1,200
feet before reaching the Silverbell Mine workings. For future operations, it is the intention of the Company to
continue to connect the two mines into one large complex enabling the use of both decline and shaft
access/mining methods. It is important to note that Umetco had over 75 operating mines at one time, and the
Silverbell was one of only a few that remained in operation into the 1990s
In the vicinity of Summit Point, the Company has leased over 7,500 acres of surface and minerals rights that
surround drilled areas of the Wilson, Silverbell, Calliham, and Dunn Mines (see news release dated March 3rd,
2008). Much of the leased area was sparsely drilled or explored and the Company believes that the uranium
resources of these mines as a whole could substantially increase with underground long-hole drilling and further
surface drilling. All combined at Summit Point, the Company has historical resources of 1,813,924 lbs U3O8 and
12,343,635 pounds V2O5 as shown in the table below:
Summit Point
Resource Area
|
Pounds
U3O8
|
Grade
(%U3O8)
|
Pounds
V2O5
|
Grade
(%V2O5)
|
Ratio of Uranium
to Vanadium
|
| Silverbell Mine1 |
794,320 |
0.20% |
5,099,400 |
1.27% |
1:6.35 |
| Calliham Mine (J.H. Ranch)2 |
676,000 |
0.20% |
4,495,400 |
1.33% |
1:6.65 |
| Dunn Mine3 |
343,604 |
0.12% |
2,748,835 |
0.94% |
1.7.80 |
| TOTALS/WT. AVERAGES |
1,813,924 |
0.18% |
12,343,635 |
1.21% |
1:6.93 |
Sources:
1 1992 Umetco Minerals Corporation internal resource summary, prepared after mine shutdown
2 Umetco Minerals Corporation's Reserve Summary report entitled " Mineable Reserves; Western Colorado Eastern Utah,
January 1, 1990¡±
3 Atlas internal resource summary report entitled " Atlas Controlled Uranium and Vanadium Ore Reserves as of June 30,
1984¡±
The Company possesses several datasets that support the historical resources, which were produced by
Homestake Mining Company, Atlas Minerals Corporation, Union Carbide Nuclear/Umetco Minerals Corp.,
Energy Fuels Nuclear, and Truches Minerals, all of whom leased the properties from private parties through the
1960s to the 1990s.
The historical resource summaries prepared by the above Corporations have not been prepared in accordance with
the requirements of the National Instrument (N.I.) 43-101 guidelines and the Company has not completed an
independent review of the data and methodology employed. Each of the corporations were private entities with
over 125 years of combined experience in uranium exploration and mining. For this reason the Company
considers the historical resources as relevant for purposes of acquiring the property, but the historical resources
may not be relevant for any other purpose. The Company will be moving forward with the completion of a N.I.
43-101 Technical Report defining the current status of the mineral resources as well as potential future resources.
The Company is also pleased to report that similar to the Calliham Mine, the Silverbell Mine is entirely located on
private property and only requires permitting through the State of Utah and not through any Federal Land
Management Agency, enabling a much shorter permitting timeline. The Company is currently drafting mine
development plans and is moving forward to acquire mining and exploration permits.
Over the past six months the Company has worked diligently to build a portfolio of properties with historical
resources that can support near-term production. Mike Thompson, Vice President of Exploration and
Development comments, " The Silverbell mine is a very substantial near-term property and we are pleased to
have finalized the six months of negotiations with over 45 individuals to secure 100% of the mineral rights. The
hard work of the Midasco Uranium Staff has placed the Company into a strong position for near term
production." The Company is working diligently to acquire other properties with established resources and is
exploring limited dilution financing alternatives, which may or may not include industry partners.
Mr. Terry Heard, P.Eng, is the qualified person with respect to this acquisition and he has reviewed the technical
information contained in this news release.
We seek Safe Harbor.
Dustin Elford, President
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