Silver Spruce Reports Preliminary Mineralogical Results -- Pope's Hill REO

March 27, 2012

Main REE minerals are allanite, titanite, monazite and britholite

Bridgewater, NS, Canada -- March 27, 2012 / Marketwire - Silver Spruce Resources Inc. (TSXV:SSE) is pleased to provide preliminary results for a mineralogical investigation on the Pope’s Hill Rare Earth Element (REE) prospect in southern Labrador.   Pope’s Hill is a road-accessible, 100% owned, REE property located on the Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH), approximately 100 km to the west of Happy Valley-Goose Bay.   

The REE mineralogical research study is being carried out by Alex Chafe, a Master’s student at Memorial University of Newfoundland, under the supervision of Dr. John Hanchar, the Head of Memorial’s Department of Earth Sciences.    Silver Spruce would like to acknowledge that this research is partially supported through a GeoEXPLORE research grant from the Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador. “This type of support is invaluable to junior mining companies in this province and is greatly appreciated,” says Peter Dimmell, President and CEO of Silver Spruce Resources.

REE rich rock samples from the Pope’s Hill area were first evaluated by thin section to ensure that they were representative of the mineralization.    Scanning Electron Microscopy - Mineral Liberation Analysis (SEM-MLA) was then used to determine the grain size, distribution, modal abundances and elemental distribution of each REE-rich mineral phase in the representative thin section.   Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) was used to determine the average Rare Earth Element Oxide (REO) composition for each individual mineral present in the samples.  The data from both techniques were then used to calculate each mineral’s contribution to the average whole-rock REO composition.

The results indicate that the REE from the MP trend of the Pope’s Hill prospect are primarily hosted in allanite, titanite, monazite and britholite, with trace amounts hosted in fergusonite, REE-carbonates and apatite.   Table 1 on the next page shows a total average REO composition of 17.5 wt%, with the percentage contributed by each mineral:  allanite - 47.6%; high-REE titanite - 24.1%; monazite - 16.7%; both varieties of britholite (high-REE and low-REE) - 11.1%; with the rest in fergusonite, REE carbonate and apatite.  Disseminated allanite and monazite were also noted in the adjacent host rock units in the thin section analysis.  

“These preliminary mineralogical results indicate that the REE mineralization is found in mineral phases that have been successfully exploited to produce a saleable REE concentrate in other parts of the world.   Based on this information and positive results from our trenching program completed along the MP trend last fall, our next logical step is diamond drilling to better define the mineralized units,” says Dimmell.

The MP trend, which has been defined in the Pope’s Hill area over an approximate 2.5 km strike length, is a recent REE discovery in southern Labrador.   It has been tested by widely spaced trenching and is part of a 100 km district scale trend that has been established by airborne radiometric surveys (thorium [Th] anomalies) and fieldwork.    Plan maps of the property and Pope’s Hill trend, which includes the Pope’s Hill JV with Great Western Minerals Group and the MRT property; the airborne Th radiometric and magnetic data; pictures of the area; as well as the showings and some of the higher grade samples, are available on the Silver Spruce website at  www.silverspruceresources.com



Table 1
Preliminary REE Mineralogy - Pope’s Hill Trend - Labrador

Mineral

Modal mineral %

Avg. wt% REO

Mineral wt% REO

Mineral contribution to REO budget (%)*

Allanite

41.71

20.03

8.35

47.64

Titanite (-high REE)

11.25

37.62

4.23

24.13

Monazite

4.95

59.31

2.94

16.74

Britholite (-high REE)

3.43

46.36

1.59

9.07

Britholite (-low REE)

4.12

8.61

0.35

2.02

Fergusonite

0.16

22.66

0.04

0.21

REE carbonate

0.05

53.84

0.03

0.15

Apatite

0.28

2.50

0.01

0.04

Titanite (-low REE)

0.01

1.19

0.00

0.00

 

 

TOTAL

17.54

 

* Each mineral’s contribution to the REO budget is calculated by multiplying its SEM-MLA determined modal percentage by the EPMA determined average wt% REO, and then dividing the mineral wt% REO by the total wt% REO, in this case 17.54 wt%.



This release has been approved by Peter M. Dimmell, P.Geo., President and CEO of Silver Spruce Resources Inc., who is a Qualified Person (QP) in NL and ON as defined in National Instrument 43-101.

About Silver Spruce Resources Inc.
Silver Spruce is a diversified junior exploration company with a portfolio of rare earth (Pope’s Hill, Pope’s Hill JV (with Great Western Minerals Group), MRT, RWM and the Straits), gold silver (Big Easy), and for the longer term, uranium (CMBJV, Snegamook, Double Mer, Mount Benedict) projects in Newfoundland and Labrador.   With interests in more than 4,000 claims totalling more than 1,000 square kilometres in Labrador, Silver Spruce is one of the largest landholders in one of the world's premier emerging rare earth and uranium districts.   For more information go to www.silverspruceresources.com.

The TSX Venture Exchange or its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The company seeks Safe Harbour.



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For further information contact:
Gordon Barnhill, CFO & Director
Silver Spruce Resources Inc.
Phone: 902.527.5700
Fax: 902.527.5711


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