Creston drills thick, high-grade moly interval

Vancouver – Creston Moly‘s (CMS-V, CMSJF-O) initial round of infill drilling at its El Creston project in Sonora, Mexico has turned in some long intervals of high-grade molybdenum mineralization.

With results in for a half-dozen of the 16 holes completed in the resource drill program – initial assays show grades of up to 0.14% molybdenum over 245.3 metres in hole EC07-007 starting from surface. The hole, drilled into the Main Molybdenum zone, includes a 99.2-metre interval of 0.23% molybdenum in its upper section.

Creston notes an oxide zone extending from surface to as much as 30 metres depth. Molybdenum oxide is not recoverable through a conventional flotation circuit.

The project was the subject of a previous development plan by an Amax, now part of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX-N), and Mexican mining house Industrias Peoles (IPOAF-O) joint venture in the 1970s and 80s that included pre-feasibility, bulk sampling and metallurgical programs.

Molybdenum mineralization at El Creston occurs as disseminated molybdenite in quartz stockworks and in the matrix of breccia zones associated with quartz monzonite porphyry.

An indicated resource of 93 million tonnes grading 0.083% molybdenum and 0.06% copper for a contained metal tally of about 170 million lbs. molybdenum and 123 million lbs copper. The early-2007 study also tabled 84 million inferred tonnes averaging 0.076% moly and 0.05% copper for an additional 141 million contained lbs. moly and 93 million lbs. copper. The resource estimates are based on a 0.035% molybdenum cut-off grade.

The El Creston deposit forms a topographic high, resulting in a very low modeled strip ratio of less than 1-to-1 for an open pit operation.

Amax’s metallurgical sampling program extracted material from a series of adits to access representative material. Its study indicated recoveries of about 87% from sulphide mineralization.

Creston has resumed its infill drill program aiming to upgrade a significant portion of its inferred resource to the indicated category.

After closing a $40-million bought-deal private placement, the company acquired the project in mid-2008 for US$20.15 million, issuing US$10 million in units (comprised of 15.86-million shares and 7.9-million warrants) and issuing 600,000 stock options to the vendors that also retain a 3% net profits interest.

Shares of the prospective molybdenum miner have recently traded at the 43 level, giving it a $51-million market capitalization based on 119-million shares outstanding. The stock posts a 52-week trading range of 15-$1.21.