VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MGX Minerals Inc. (“MGX” or the “Company”) (CSE:XMG) (FKT:1MG) (OTCQB:MGXMF) is pleased to announce that diamond drilling has commenced at its Koot silicon project (“Koot”) north of Cranbrook, BC. and proximate to the Company’s Driftwood Creek magnesium project. Preparations are also underway to commence a drill program on the Wonah silicon project (“Wonah”). Additionally, metallurgical test work has now commenced on mineralized material from the recently acquired Gibraltar silicon project (“Gibraltar”) for assessment of upgrading to standard and solar grade silicon metal. The Summer 2018 drill programs are designed to define initial N.I. 43-101 resource estimates at all three local silicon projects.
Koot Silicon
Four drill holes have been completed to date on the North zone. Analysis of drill core has shown competent quartzite throughout with high iron oxides and Al2O3 as clay in fractures. The Company plans to complete a minimum of 13 drill holes at Koot and also conduct a metallurgical program to test for suitability of upgrading mineralized materials to silicon metal and solar grade silicon. Historic Exploration conducted by COMINCO during the 1980’s outlined a mineralized zone spanning approximately 400 meters consisting of high-purity silicon dioxide (SiO2).
Fieldwork performed in 2015 by MGX VP of Exploration Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.) consisted of geochemical sampling and geological mapping. Geochemical sampling was carried out on exposed surface bedrock located in close proximity to historic diamond drilling performed by COMINCO. A total of 8 rock chip samples were collected from surface outcrop near previous drilling. Rock chip samples were analyzed by ALS Minerals of North Vancouver using Li Borate fusion, whole rock analysis ME-XRF-06 (XRF26). Highlights of significant results from Koot North, Middle and South Zones are listed by percentage:
| Sample ID | SiO2 | Fe2O3 | MgO | CaO | P2O5 | LOI | Total |
| Koot-15-AR-1 | 97.97 | 0.53 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.24 | 99.17 |
| Koot-15-AR-2 | 98.82 | 0.44 | <0.01 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.2 | 99.91 |
| Koot-15-AR-3 | 98.39 | 0.48 | <0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.25 | 99.75 |
| Koot-15-AR-4 | 97.87 | 0.46 | <0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.28 | 99.14 |
| Koot-15-AR-5 | 97.95 | 0.46 | 0.01 | 0.01 | <0.01 | 0.34 | 99.36 |
| Koot-15-AR-6 | 97.89 | 0.55 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.31 | 99.32 |
| Koot-15-AR-7 | 97.61 | 0.52 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.33 | 99.36 |
| Koot-15-AR-8 | 97.63 | 0.51 | <0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.4 | 99.16 |
Wonah Silicon
Drill site preparations are set to commence at Wonah. The main target at Wonah includes the ridge where steeply dipping Ordovician age quartzite is exposed over a strike length of approximately 850 meters. Geological mapping, geochemical sampling, and surveying identified a series of white quartzite outcroppings (Wonah Quartzite Formation) that form 2 lenses, the ‘Central Zone’ that has been traced for approximately 500 m, and South Zone traced for 350 m along strike. The Central and South Zones consist of a highly competent quartzite unit that trends N to NNE, is approximately 50 meters in width, and has a steep east dip.
A total of 11 rock chip quartzite samples were taken from the Central & South Zones by MGX VP Exploration Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.) in 2015. Rock chip samples were analyzed by ALS Minerals of North Vancouver using Li Borate fusion, whole rock analysis ME-XRF-06 (XRF26). Results of significant elements are summarized by percentage as follows:
| Sample ID | SiO2 | Fe2O3 | MgO | CaO | P2O5 | LOI | Total |
| 15WONAH-1 | 99.4 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.01 | <0.01 | 0.14 | 99.76 |
| 15WONAH-2 | 99.2 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.01 | <0.01 | 0.12 | 99.51 |
| 15WONAH-3 | 99.7 | 0.03 | 0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 | 0.08 | 99.87 |
| 15WONAH-4 | 99.5 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.01 | <0.01 | 0.1 | 99.76 |
| 15WONAH-5 | 99.5 | 0.06 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.21 | 100.1 |
| 15WONAH-6 | 98.9 | 0.03 | 0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 | 0.1 | 99.14 |
| 15WONAH-7 | 99.2 | 0.05 | 0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 | 0.06 | 99.43 |
| 15WONAH-8 | 99.9 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.01 | <0.01 | 0.11 | 100.17 |
| 15WONAH-9 | 99.3 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.01 | <0.01 | 0.21 | 99.73 |
| 15WONAH-10 | 99.5 | 0.03 | 0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 | 0.11 | 99.74 |
| 15WONAH-11 | 99.3 | 0.05 | 0.01 | <0.01 | <0.01 | 0.13 | 99.59 |
Solar Silicon Metallurgy Work
Metallurgy work on a shipment of material from the Gibraltar silicon claims is underway at Dofner ANZAPLAN, a leading silicon metal metallurgy and process engineering Company. The process design for testing is complete and physical material has been received. The purpose of the metallurgy is to generate standard silicon metal (95-96% Si) and potentially solar grade silicon metal (99.9999%) process design options for feedstock from the Company’s local silicon projects.
Energy Applications
To further the Company’s expansion into low cost energy mass storage systems, following the acquisition of ZincNyx Energy Solutions (see press release December. 13, 2017), MGX has prioritized evaluation and development of its silicon projects for silicon metal potential. One of the primary uses of silicon metal is in solar panels. Solar panels are a cornerstone to remote and distributed energy solutions. Solar, combined with a mass storage system such as that currently under development by ZincNyx, serves to replace or augment diesel generators, as well as having broad applications in energy storage for residential and commercial grid load balancing and backup, and in providing primary and backup power for industrial sites, telecommunications, large scale computer server arrays and military bases. Additional information on the integration of solar with ZincNyx energy storage systems is available at www.zincnyx.com.
Qualified Person
The technical portions of this press release were reviewed by Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.), Vice President of Exploration for MGX Minerals. Mr. Kikauka is a non-independent Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards.
About MGX Minerals
MGX Minerals is a diversified Canadian resource company with interests in advanced material and energy assets throughout North America. Learn more at www.mgxminerals.com.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.