TNR Gold signs irrevocable letter to acquire Mariana

2009-05-27 16:51 ET - News Release

Mr. Gary Schellenberg reports

TNR GOLD ACQUIRES LITHIUM-BORON BRINE PROJECT IN ARGENTINA

TNR Gold Corp. has signed an irrevocable offer letter to acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the Mariana property, located 120 kilometres west of Tolar Grande, in Salta province, Argentina. The Mariana property, a lithium-boron salar, is accessible year-round by paved and dirt roads. Historical sampling has reported significant lithium, boron and potash levels in brines and sediments within the main body of the salar.

Salars, or salt lakes, contain minerals dissolved in brines; some include buried layers of evaporite minerals. Salars host some of the largest known lithium and boron resources in the world. Lithium with economical grades can be produced directly from salars without the need for the costly and time-consuming process of mine construction.

The Mariana project consists of several contiguous mineral claims over 120 square kilometres covering the entire salar, which extends over 12 kilometres north-south and 10.5 kilometres east-west.

TNR personnel recently completed a reconnaissance visit to the property in order to confirm historic data. Four of seven water samples collected in the shallow subsurface over approximately three kilometres returned values from 188 to 283 milligrams per litre lithium and 423 to 698 milligrams per litre boron.

This confirms that there are some brines present with concentrations similar to those found at producing salars in North and South America.

The term, milligrams per litre, is approximately equal to parts per million when the density of the brine is similar to fresh water.

Please refer to TNR's press release dated April 16, 2009, in Stockwatch, for information regarding TNR's Fish Lake Valley property, located northwest of Chemetall Foote's Silver Peak lithium production facility in Esmeralda county, Nevada, the only lithium brine producer in North America for over 30 years.

The president of TNR Gold, Gary Schellenberg, states: "We are very encouraged by the positive press surrounding lithium and rare metals due to new sources of demand from technologies such as rapid-charging batteries and electric vehicles. The Mariana project acquisition is aligned with International Lithium's and TNR's overall philosophy of acquisition of lithium and rare metals projects of merit around the world. Our preliminary evaluation suggests the Mariana project has attractive potash and boron potential, which is also characteristic of some major brine producers."

TNR has agreed to make payments totalling $3-million (U.S.) over a five-year period and has committed to work expenditures totalling $2.5-million (U.S.) over a four-year period. After completing these payments and incurring these expenditures, TNR will have a royalty-free 100-per-cent undivided interest in the property.

This agreement is subject to regulatory approval. A finder's fee is payable with regards to this transaction.

John Harrop, PGeo, is the company's qualified person on the project, as required under National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed the technical information contained in this press release.

Lithium market overview

Currently, Australia, Chile and Argentina account for more than 80 per cent of the world's lithium production. The main sources of lithium and rare earth metals are pegmatites and brines. Conventional hard-rock mining of lithium is economical thanks to other rare earth metals such as tantalum, niobium and other rare metal content. Some of the largest lithium producers rely on evaporation from brine ponds, as this is the most efficient process for concentrating lithium.

TNR believes that current production levels will have to be increased in order to meet rising demand for lithium due to the recent introduction of stricter standards of fuel efficiency in the United States, increasing prevalence of electric vehicles and an overall need for more efficient alternative energy solutions.

For more information about lithium deposits, production, markets and news please refer to TNR Gold's page entitled, "About lithium," on its website.