CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / October 25, 2021 / Jade Leader Corp. ("Jade Leader") is pleased to provide an update on the recently completed field work at its Sky Jade© zone in Wyoming. Work focused on geologic mapping of the occurrences plus the first pilot-scale bulk sampling of Sky Jades©. Over 230 kilograms (kg) of Nephrite Jade, including 183 kg of gem quality Sky Jade©, were recovered. From this, cleaning and preparation of an initial 88 kg of various sized pieces has begun. Once prepared, Jade Leader will begin test-marketing to the national and international Jade trade in order to continue establishing proper valuation parameters on this discovery. Prices are expected to vary from US$500 to US$4,000 per kg, depending on stone sizes, color, texture, and translucency. In addition, the total includes 20.7 kg of exceptional specimen stones where the Jade encloses large quartz crystals. This occurrence is unique to Wyoming and such stones have significant collector value.
"This initial bulk sample shows that significant amounts of gem quality Jade with very fine grain and fairly uniform colors are present in the Sky Jade© system, which is an important milestone for Jade Leader. We are delighted to see that this fine-grained Jade can take the extremely clean mirror polish with no undercutting that is so desirable to the gem, carving and collectors' markets," stated Mr. Jean-Pierre Jutras, P.Geol., the President of Jade Leader. "The detailed mapping we did during excavation greatly advances our understanding of the controls, extent and continuity of the Sky Jade© system. While testing a 10 meter representative section of the known system, we were also able to almost double its known surface extent, from 15 meters as previously reported, to over 28.4 meters. Jade mineralization remained present along the entire main Jade bearing structure on the excavation bottom prior to reclamation, indicating the potential to continue harvesting in all directions."
Figure 1. Two samples of polished gem quality Sky Jade showing fine-grained textures and colors. Lefthand sample weighs 52.5 grams, and righthand sample weighs 178 grams.
Figure 2. Left: partially polished 1.05 kg specimen-quality sample of Sky Jade© enclosing large quartz crystals. These quartz crystal inclusions are unique among Jades worldwide. Right, larger carving/gem Jades, partially sanded to remove the surface weathering rind and reveal the materials' even texture and color.
Work Program
A total of 15 days of backhoe-mounted hydraulic hammer work was used to partially excavate the exposed Sky Jade© bearing structure along 10 meters of its strike length, and over widths of 1 to 3 metres. The zone was excavated to depths of between 0.25 and 1.5 meters along the 10 meter stretch showing the best Jade quality potential as defined by previous sampling and stone testing. An additional 15 days were dedicated to careful mapping, sample extraction, classification and final reclamation. Jade was found to consistently occur as veins and pods up to 5.7 kg, both along the principal Jade-mineralized fault structure and as joint fillings in the host country rock. Surface weathering was found to extend to depths of 20 to 40 centimeters and the 47 kg of Jade materials recovered nearest to surface were partially to pervasively altered to clay. Although an indeterminate proportion of this material is too altered to be useable as gem material, it gives a useful indication of the amount of underlying unaltered Jade mineralization.
Measured Field Jade Yields
Field cleaning and preliminary classification of these gem quality Sky Jades© shows we recovered:
- 11.2 kg of large, exceptionally fine-grained gem quality pieces
- 48.1 kg of hand size pieces suitable for large carvings or lapidary/gem cutting
- 20.7 kg of unique specimen stones where the Jade encloses large quartz crystals.
- 32.4 kg of various-sized gem quality material (individually weighing up to 5.07 Kg) which were partially sanded and polished on site to guide the bulk sampling program.
- 70.6 kg of small pieces suitable for gem use such as ring stones, small pendants, small carvings or tumbling stones
Figure 3: Hand size gem jades, 48.1 Kg (left), with select pieces partially polished on the right.
In order to generate an accurate determination of the volume of material extracted and provide the basis for measuring the recovered yields of gem Jade materials per unit volume or tonne, a high resolution drone survey was conducted before and after field activities by a US based independent third part mining consultancy firm to accurately measure the area tested by comparative photogrammetry.
Based on this high resolution survey, Burgex Mining Consultants of Salt Lake City has reported to the Company a total modeled excavation volume of 7.57 cubic meters. Using a host rock specific gravity of 2.85, (as measured by the Company on a representative sample of the host quartz-epidote Jade host), this corresponds to the excavation and testing of 21.6 metric tonnes of material. From this, an overall 230 kg of Jade, (including the 47 kg of weathered near-surface Jade), yielded 183 kg of gem-quality Sky Jade. This results in a measured yield of 10.6 kg of Jade per tonne for this program from which an actual 8.47 kg per tonne of usable gem-grade Jade material was recovered.
This calculation serves to describe the amount of Jade recovered per unit volume in this sample only. Ongoing application of this approach to future extraction programs will serve as a basis for evaluating the uniformity of Jade distribution within the Jade occurrence as it is further expanded.
Preparation for Marketing
Preparation of the recovered Jade materials for marketing requires exposing the stones' true colors and grain textures, either through the traditional approach of grinding "windows" into the stone or tumbling to remove the surface alteration rind. Once prepared, stones will be graded, weighed, photographed and priced and the resulting information will be disseminated to potential customers.
Figure 4: Large Gem and finer grained Jades, 11.2 kg (left), and detail, shown wet on the right.
Qualified Person
Mr. Jean-Pierre Jutras, P.Geol., President of the Company, is the Company's Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Jutras maintained full chain of custody of sampled material throughout the extraction and testing process and has approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.
About Jade and Jade Leader Corp.
Recent articles and mainstream publications suggest that the international Jade market is now larger than the better known worldwide market for rough diamonds, without any participation in the space by publicly listed Companies prior to the formation of Jade Leader Corp.
Jade Leader Corp, with a Board of Directors having over 120 years of combined experience as mineral exploration geologists with proven track records of discoveries, is led by JP. Jutras, B.Sc. Hons Geology, P.Geol who is also an internationally recognized Jade carver with over 30 years of experience.
Jade leader is leveraging this unique combination of mineral exploration expertise and Jade carving knowledge to build a portfolio of 6 Jade exploration properties on which Nephrite Jade with various characteristics has now been identified in stable, mining-friendly jurisdictions in the USA.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
"Jean-Pierre Jutras"
Jean-Pierre Jutras,
President/Director
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.
Except for the historical and present factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release, including words such as "expects", "projects", "plans", "anticipates" and similar expressions, are forward-looking information that represents management of Jade Leader's internal projections, expectations or beliefs concerning, among other things, future operating results and various components thereof or the economic performance of Jade Leader. The projections, estimates and beliefs contained in such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Jade Leader's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, those described in Jade Leader's filings with the Canadian securities authorities. Accordingly, holders of Jade Leader shares and potential investors are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted. Jade Leader disclaims any responsibility to update these forward-looking statements.
For Further Information Contact: info@jadeleader.ca Or Jean Pierre Jutras, President at 1.403.233.0464
SOURCE: Jade Leader Corp.
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