• TSX-V:ECR 0.08 (0)
  • Volume 177000

Press releases



March 5, 2012

Cartier Signs an Option Agreement to Acquire the Benoist Project

Cartier Resources Inc. (TSX-V: ECR) (“Cartier”) announces the execution of an exploration and option agreement with Murgor Resources Inc. (“Murgor”).

Under the terms of the exploration and option agreement, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, Cartier will have the option to earn up to a 100% interest in the Benoist project, which hosts the Pusticamica gold deposit and is located 65 km north-west of the town of Lebel-sur-Quévillon in the province of Québec.

More particularly, Cartier will have a first option to earn a 51% undivided interest in the project by (i) paying $100,000 in cash and by issuing 250,000 common shares to Murgor upon receipt of regulatory approvals, (ii) issuing 250,000 common shares to Murgor and incurring exploration expenditures aggregating $3,000,000 by March 1st, 2015. In addition, Cartier will have a second option to earn an additional 49% undivided interest in the project by issuing 500,000 common shares and incurring additional exploration expenditures aggregating $3,000,000 by March 1st, 2018. Cartier will act as operator. Murgor will retain a 1%. The project is also subject to a 2.5% NSR payable to previous vendors of which a 1.5 % NSR can be bought back by Cartier for a consideration of $1,500,000.

« This agreement is advantageous for Cartier shareholders as it will provide the company with an interest in an advanced exploration project» commented Philippe Cloutier, President and CEO. «This transaction bears Cartier’s signature. The team’s experience and knowledge base has shown its value in enabling the company to identify this forgotten gem. »

In a press release issued on January 17, 2012, Murgor reported that calculations were made in 1993 by Minova of Inferred Resources on the Pusticamica gold deposit. Murgor also clearly disclosed that such calculations were conducted prior to the implementation of National Instrument 43-101. Cartier and its Qualified Persons have reviewed historical data and work conducted on the project and will provide with updates in future press releases. Additional drilling will be required to better determine and eventually increase the gold resources of the Pusticamica Gold Deposit forming part of the Benoit project.

The Pusticamica deposit was drilled down to 300 meters and remains open at depth. Economic grades over thick intervals have been reported by previous workers*, such as:

91-26A : 5.2 g/t Au / 56.2 m
91-30A : 8.7 g/t Au / 14.6 m within 5.9 g/t Au / 50.1 m
92-44 : 10.4 g/t Au / 21.0 m within 6.5 g/t Au / 37.0 m
92-58 : 9.9 g/t Au / 16.0 m within 4.2 g/t Au / 59.7 m

* Cartier believes this information to be reliable. However it has not conducted any resampling of drill cores. Additional drilling will be required to confirm historical drill hole intersections.

«Our review of the data indicates the Pusticamica mineralized zone is broad, continuous and is open at depth. The main commodity is gold; however silver and copper are also associated with the mineralization. The potential for this project is excellent and could constitute for Cartier a short to medium term resource base» concluded Mr. Cloutier.

The Benoist project is accessible year-round by a network of forestry roads. It is comprised of 52 contiguous claims for a total area of 1,330 hectares. The project is situated 25 km south-west of the Bachelor Mine and 30 km north-east of the Gonzague-Langlois Mine. The zone was drilled from 1989 to 1997 by Freewest, Minnova and Murgor for a total of 22,140 meters. Deep searching geophysics was conducted and several anomalies were detected which remain to be tested.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

The exploration program and the technical information presented in this press release have been reviewed and approved by Mr. Philippe Berthelot, P. Geo., and Vice President Exploration for Cartier. Mr. Berthelot is a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101. The Benoist exploration program will be conducted under the supervision of Mr. Berthelot. Cartier has implemented and adheres to a strict Quality Assurance/Quality Control program which includes mineralized standards and blanks for each batch of samples. Assay samples are taken from drill core sawed in half with one half sent to a commercial laboratory and the other half retained for future reference. Analyses are either performed by Techni-lab S.G.B. Abitibi Inc. (ACTLABS) in Sainte-Germaine, Québec, or by ALS-Chemex in Val-d’Or, Québec, both accredited laboratories.

The company’s objective is to set up a dynamic process which will allow it to develop and maintain a balanced portfolio of mining projects ranging from exploration to resource definition, development and production. Its VISION is to develop current and future assets into near to medium term mineral production with a schedule consistent with its human and financial resources and respecting sustainable development practices.


Document(s)

Location of Benoist Project