TORONTO, April 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerita Resources Corp. (“Emerita” or the “Company”) (TSXV:EMO) has received the necessary permits to commence diamond drilling and  drills have been mobilized to its Salobro zinc project located in Minas Gerais State, Brazil (Figure 1).  Emerita has awarded the drilling contract to Sevitec/Foraco Drilling, and staff are on site preparing for the commencement of the drilling campaign.  

The key deliverable for the Company’s ongoing exploration program will be to complete a mineral resource estimate that meets National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) standards.  The Company is targeting completion of the revised resource by the end of Q2/2018.  Based on a historical resource estimate, the Salobro zinc-lead deposit is estimated to contain 8.3 million tonnes grading 7.12% zinc and lead.  A summary of the historical resource estimate can be found on the Company’s website in a report entitled “Mineralizações De Zinco E Chumbo Do Depósito Salobro, Porteirinha (Mg) (2006)”.   A “qualified person”, as defined in NI 43-101, has not done sufficient work on behalf of Emerita to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource and Emerita is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource or mineral reserve. Further work must be completed in order to demonstrate whether a reasonable expectation for commercial extraction exists. The mineral resource estimate is a historical estimate and should not be relied upon. 

The initial drilling program contemplates 3,500 meters of diamond drilling with the objective of expanding the resource (Figure 2).  In advance of the diamond drilling program, Emerita’s exploration team has been busy advancing the following essential activities required to accomplish this objective efficiently:

• ProUrb Engenharia Ltda. completed geodesic surveys of 20 collars/monuments using RTK high precision positioning system, as part of the historical data validation procedures.
• Approximately 12 km of drill access roads have been created/rehabilitated.
• 15 drill pads have been prepared.
• Selected resampling of historical drill core is in progress as part of the QA/QC procedures to validate previous assays. Resampling of 10 drill holes (FD-02, 03, 06, 09, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 23) have been completed to date (assays pending).
• Relogging of previous drill core to improve understanding of mineralization controls in preparation for geological modelling is in progress.  11 drill holes have been relogged to date (DDH FD-01, 02, 04, 05, 08, 09, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16). Rock coding is being revised to support the updated geological model.
• Prominas, an engineering firm based in Belo Horizonte, has completed an engineering report laying out a preliminary mine plan for the Salobro deposit that is being used to prioritize the drilling.
• Field office and core shack, including sampling facilities, have been established at site.
• Health, safety and environmental plans including emergency preparedness procedures have been established and are being incorporated into the field program.
• A proposal for community engagement is in progress and an initial draft of the proposal is being reviewed.
• A Canadian based geophysicist with extensive base metals experience has been contracted to process the existing geophysical data base to improve diamond drill targeting.

David Gower, P. Geo., Chair of Emerita, stated, “We are very excited to begin the drill program at the Salobro zinc project.  We see excellent potential to expand the existing resource and the previous work completed by Vale was to a high technical standard which provides an excellent base from which to accelerate the evaluation of the project.”

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/6c3d7b45-6caa-4a0e-a19b-3d0bbdee11e6 
http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/92e830c1-c20b-4897-9dc3-7582d675fc6f

Qualified Person

Dr. Fernando Tallarico, P.Geo., and Carlos Cravo Costa, P.Geo., are each a “qualified person” as such term is defined in NI 43-101 and have reviewed and approved the technical information included in this press release and have approved its dissemination. 

About Emerita Resources Corp.

Emerita is a natural resource company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Europe, with a primary focus on exploring in Spain and Brazil. The Company’s corporate office and technical teams are based in Sevilla, Spain and Belo Horizonte, Brazil with an administrative office in Toronto, Canada.  

For further information, contact:

Helia Bento
+1 416 309 4293 (Toronto)
[email protected]

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Information

This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the prospectivity of the Salobro project, the mineralization of the Salobro project, the results of the drilling program, the potential expansion of the deposit at the Salobro project, and the Company’s future plans. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Emerita, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; risks associated with operation in foreign jurisdictions; ability to successfully integrate purchased properties or mining rights awarded; foreign operations risks; and other risks inherent in the mining industry. Although Emerita has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Emerita does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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