Mustang reports Mayville copper-nickel resource (April 15, 2010)

Mustang Minerals (MUM-V) has updated its resource estimate for the Mayville copper-nickel project in southeast Manitoba.

To calculate the resource, consulting firm Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle took drill results from 2005 and 2006 and included platinum group metal values, recently completed metallurgical recovery results and updated operating costs.

Indicated resources at Mayville now stand at 9.23 million tonnes grading 0.23% nickel, 0.61% copper and 0.17 gram palladium per tonne. A net smelter return cutoff value of $30 was used. Mustang also listed the results for NSR cutoffs of $50 and $18.

Inferred resources total 188,000 tonnes grading 0.22% nickel, 0.59% copper and 0.13 gram palladium per tonne.

Mustang completed the resource to evaluate the economic potential of the Mayville deposit as a second open pit mine in a joint development with the Makwa nickel project.

Mayville and Makwa are about 35 km apart traveling by existing roads.

The Makwa deposit has probably reserves of 9.85 million tonnes grading 0.54% nickel, 0.011% copper, 0.094 gram platinum and 0.34 gram palladium per tonne for a total of 53,000 tonnes of nickel and 137,000 oz. of platinum and palladium. Makwa reserves were updated in February from about 7 million tonnes at similar grades.

A prefeasibility study in May 2008 looked at developing an open pit mine at Makwa that would mine at a rate of 2,750 tonnes per day to produce 9.2 million lbs. of nickel in concentrate per year plus byproduct credits of pgms, copper and cobalt.

Mustang shares were trading 12.5¢ today (up half a cent) on a trading volume of almost 210,000 shares.