Rockland Resources Expands Lithium Butte Claystone Property

VANCOUVER - Rockland Resources Ltd. has recently staked an additional 464 lode claims on the Lithium Butte Property in Juab County, Utah. Including the original 60 claims, the Property now comprises a total of 524 claims with an area of 10,670 acres (4,320 ha). The Company previously reported grab samples that contained up to 4,080 ppm lithium in claystones derived from rhyolite tuff-breccia on the Property. Rockland has initiated a soil sampling program to follow up on the grab sample results to determine the areal extent of claystone lithium mineralization and define additional exploration targets. The Lithium Butte Property is in the Basin and Range geological province of west-central Utah and is well situated 185 km southwest of Salt Lake City.

The five grab samples of clay altered rhyolite tuff breccia from the property that assayed from 4,080 ppm lithium to 1,200 ppm lithium with an average of 2,142 ppm lithium. The soil sampling program will cover the 10,670 acre property with an estimated 995 soil samples taken at 150 m intervals on east-west lines spaced at 300 m for a total of 145.5 line-km of sampling. Samples will initially be analyzed in the field by handheld Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) capable of light metal detection. Results of the survey are anticipated in early autumn and expected to generate lithium exploration targets for follow up drilling. Work on the property by previous operators including Redhill Resources Corp. in 2011 and Anaconda Copper Mining Company did not focus on lithium.

In addition to the soil sampling program, Rockland will channel sample the outcropping exposure of clay altered tuff-breccia where the previously reported grab samples were obtained. The exposure has a stratigraphic thickness estimated to be greater than 20 m and contains at least two intervals of claystone mineralization, each of which is several meters in thickness. Samples will be analyzed for Li and other elements at an independent assay laboratory using sodium peroxide fusion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Richard Sutcliffe, President, said, "Although this project is at an early stage, we are extremely pleased with the results to date and the progress that we are making at Lithium Butte. Rockland has been an early mover in the Utah Basin and Range Province for claystone lithium exploration and we have assembled an exciting property package. Our early stage sampling has returned significant lithium assays and Lithium Butte has many of the hallmarks of successful lithium claystone projects including: volcanic source rocks with elevated lithium content; geothermal fluid activity; containment basins; clay altered horizons; and favorable structure. We look forward to reporting new results on this promising project."