Tasman Metals Ltd. ("Tasman" or the "Company") (TSXV : TSM) (Frankfurt : T61) (NYSE MKT : TAS). Mark Saxon, President & CEO, is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into an agreement to acquire a 100% interest in three new rare earth element (REE) exploration properties in central Finland. As further described below, the Korsnäs South, Siilinjärvi and Laivajoki projects are being acquired from an arm's length private Finnish company, Magnus Minerals Oy, for consideration including 60,000 common shares of the Company.
The Korsnäs South project is located 350 km north of Helsinki in central western Finland (Figure 1), and is comprised of six claim applications securing approximately 1300 Ha. These claims cover the southeastern prospective trend of the historic Korsnäs rare earth element (REE) – lead (Pb) mine that is currently under claim application by Tasman (as reported February 3rd, 2010). The historic mine site has excellent infrastructure, lying only 1km from the Baltic coast with an excellent all weather road network and a skilled and well serviced local community. Between 1959 and 1972, the Finnish mining company Outokumpu Oy produced a total of 0.87 million tonnes of ore from Korsnäs at a grade of 3.6% Pb and 0.83% REE's. REE-Pb mineralization is associated with a carbonatite intrusion and other rift-associated rock types, where REE-bearing minerals include apatite, monazite and allanite. Within the claim areas gained under this acquisition, clusters of several hundred REE-rich boulders and two REE-mineralized outcrops are known, with historic grades of up to 13% Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO). Elevated REE grades in boulders have been recently confirmed by Tasman using handheld Niton XRF devices, which indicate the project to be strongly dominated by light REE's.
The Siilinjärvi project consists of two claim applications totaling 450 ha covering outcrops of alkaline intrusive and carbonatite, rock units which are elsewhere known to host REE mineralization. The project lies adjacent to the operating apatite/phosphate mine of Siilinjärvi (owned by Yara International ASA) 30 km north of the city of Kuopio. Geological Survey of Finland records indicate that during historic exploration for apatite ore in this area, alkaline rock units were discovered to be elevated in REE's, but to Tasman's knowledge no focused exploration for these elements has been completed.
The Laivajoki project covers a 300 m x 4 km carbonatite intrusion that lies on a major structural boundary between mafic volcanics and granite, approximately 100 km southeast of the city of Rovaniemi. The area is secured by a single claim application of 390 ha in size. In mineralogical studies of high REE grab samples from the carbonatite, the Geological Survey of Finland reported the occurrence of REE-bearing bastnasite, allanite, monazite and zircon.
In addition to this transaction, Magnus Minerals has been engaged to manage exploration on Tasman's entire Finnish exploration portfolio. A summer work program of surface sampling and mapping is now underway. Magnus Minerals brings extensive project generation and geological consulting experience and will provide excellent support to Tasman's team.
"Tasman is pleased to add these new rare earth element projects to our extensive Finnish portfolio" said Mark Saxon, Tasman's President & CEO. "While the projects are of an early stage compared to our Swedish assets, they have been selected due to their potential for elevated grades of neodymium, one of the critical REE's that is short supply and high demand within the green technology, high technology and automotive industries. All projects are known to have rare earth bearing minerals, and are supported by extensive existing infrastructure. We welcome the continued involvement of the Magnus Minerals team who will assist in the follow up of all of Tasman's Finnish projects."
The purchase of the Korsnäs South, Siilinjärvi and Laivajoki projects is subject to NYSE-MKT and TSX Venture Exchange approval for the issuance of the shares. Issuance of half the shares (30,000 shares) is also subject to granting of the claims associated with the Korsnäs South project by the Finnish Mining Inspectorate. The shares in Tasman will be subject to a hold period of four (4) months from the date of issue. Magnus Minerals Oy retains a 2% NSR on the Finnish projects and shall receive a 2% NSR on Tasman's other Finnish exploration claims. The closing of the acquisition is expected to occur five days after the later of (a) receipt of approval from both the TSX-Venture Exchange and NYSE-MKT to the issuance and listing of the shares to be issued to Magnus Minerals and (b) receipt of approval from the Finnish Mining Authority to transfer the Korsnäs South, Siilinjärvi and Laivajoki mineral claim applications from Magnus Minerals to the Company.
In addition to this acquisition, note that the NI43-101 report for the Preliminary Economic Assessment of Tasman's Norra Karr REE – Zr project in Sweden is now available on Sedar (www.sedar.com), EDGAR (www.sec.gov) and the Company's website.
The qualified person for the Company's exploration projects, Mark Saxon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tasman and a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Australian Institute of Geoscientists, has reviewed and verified the contents of this release.
The Company wishes to advise that Mr Mark Saxon shall be presenting at the Marcum MicroCap Conference onJune 20th at the Roosevelt Hotel, New York City. The event is hosted by Marcum LLP, one of the top ten auditors of U.S. public companies, and co-presented by CCG Investor Relations, a global investor relations consulting firm. Further information can be found at http://www.marcumllp.com/MicroCap.
About Tasman Metals Ltd.
Tasman Metals Ltd is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on Rare Earth Elements (REE's) in the European region and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "TSM" and the NYSE-MKT under the symbol "TAS". REE demand is increasing, due to the metals' unique properties that make them essential for high technology and environmentally-beneficial applications. Since over 95% of REE supply is sourced from China, the European Union is actively supporting policy to promote domestic supply of REE's, to ensure the security of high-tech industry. Tasman's exploration portfolio is uniquely placed, with the capacity to deliver "high-tech" metals from politically stable, mining friendly jurisdictions with developed infrastructure.
The Company's Norra Karr project in Sweden is one of the most significant heavy REE resources in the world, and the only NI43-101 compliant REE resource in mainland Europe. The resource is unusually low in radioactive metals relative to peer projects, with less than 15 ppm each of uranium and thorium.
