Search Minerals Inc. announced that two bulk samples of mineralization from Deep Fox and Foxtrot have been received and are being processed in PHASE 1 magnetic separation program at SGS Canada (Lakefield) (“SGS”). The Deep Fox sample comprises 52.9 metric tonnes recovered from the exposed surface of the deposit. Similarly, the Foxtrot sample comprises 19.8 tonnes of surface material.

The SGS program involves crushing and grinding the bulk samples and feeding a series of magnetic separation devices to produce: a magnetic concentrate by Low Intensity Magnetic Separation (LIMS) containing predominantly magnetite (an iron oxide mineral), a magnetic concentrate by Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separation (WHIMS) containing the majority of the rare earth element values in the original sample and a final non-magnetic material fraction containing non-magnetic material, including the zircon mineral containing zirconium and hafnium. The testing will be carried out at a scale of over 500 kg per hour of material treatment for the next few weeks. The results of the testing will be used as part of scale up to a full commercial magnetic separation plant.

The LIMS concentrate will be evaluated for sale as a potential iron ore concentrate. The WHIMS concentrate will comprise 18-20 tonnes of material from the two bulk samples. This concentrate will be used as material for PHASE 2 program to further study and scale up the Direct Extraction Process for rare earth recovery.

Finally, the non-magnetic concentrate will be studied for zirconium and hafnium recovery by flotation.