PROJECT UPDATE: Mason Graphite Records 658-percent Increase in Measured and Indicated Resources

Mason Graphite’s (TSXV:LLG,OTCQX:MGPHF) Quebec-based Lac Guéret graphite project has a bit of a reputation. It’s been described as a “freak of nature” — in a good way — by Guy Bennett, CEO of Global Metal News, and one of its claims to fame, according to the Financial Press, is that it lured Benoit Gascon, former CEO of Stratmin Graphite, back into the world of junior mining.

The company’s updated mineral resource estimate for Lac Guéret, calculated by Roche Ltd., Consulting Group and released today, offers some indication of just why it has gained that reputation.

Measured and indicated mineral resources for the project now total 50,024,000 tonnes grading 16.5-percent Cg, including 6,672,000 tonnes grading 32.4-percent Cg — that’s a 658-percent jump from the previous 7.6 million tonnes. Inferred mineral resources also saw an increase, rising from 2.8 million tonnes to 11,861,000 tonnes grading 17.1-percent Cg, including 2,637,000 tonnes grading 30.5-percent Cg.

Overall, Lac Guéret has a measured and indicated grade of 15.6-percent Cg, and the main parameters of the project’s preliminary economic assessment are still valid: 22 years of production at 27.4-percent Cg with a stripping ratio of 0.76:1 and operating costs of $390 per tonne, as per today’s press release.

Commenting on the news, Gascon, president and CEO of Mason, said “[w]e are very pleased to see the success of our 2012 drilling program materialize in this updated mineral resource estimate. We expect the scale of growth of our project to positively impact what is already expected to be an economical project. Results from the Lac Guéret Project continue to reinforce our belief in the world-class potential of this asset.”

Thus far, the market has shared Gascon’s positive reaction. Shares of Mason are currently selling for $0.49, up 25.64 percent.

Encouragingly, the company believes there is further potential for mineral growth in the future — the new mineral resource estimate is based on drill data from the GC Zone and does not include data from the GR Zone, the other mineralized zone identified on the Lac Guéret project.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.