MONTREAL, Dec. 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sama Resources Inc. (“Sama” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: SME) is pleased to announce the first hole targeting Typhoon™ electromagnetic geophysical survey (“Typhoon”) intersected 36 meters (“m”) of mineralized material starting at a depth of 536m including a total of 10.75m of semi-massive sulphides. Results obtained using the Niton XRF Analyzer (“Niton”) are described in the table below and include up to 5.18% Copper (“Cu”) starting at a depth of 543m and up to 3.56% Nickel (“Ni”) starting at a depth of 569m.  This mineralized interval hit what appears to be the edge of a structure very close to where the anomaly was modeled using Typhoon and is the first hole of a series of deep holes designed at testing high-conductivity targets defined by the Phase 1 Typhoon at the 100%-owned Yepleu property at the Company’s Nickel-Copper-Palladium Project in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. The drill hole is continuing and is now at 776m from surface.

“We are very pleased with the results from this first deep drill hole as it confirms the exceptional potential for nickel and copper mineralisation at depth in the large Yacouba layered complex.  Additionally, we are very impressed by the accuracy of the Typhoon conductivity inversion. The hole hit the upper edge of the target leaving the remaining bottom two-thirds and the center untested,” said Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, P.Geo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sama Resources.

Downhole electromagnetic geophysics will be performed along the entire drill hole using the Typhoon™ system to help map the sulphides in greater detail.

The mineralization encountered in the hole is characterised by aggregates of the nickel, copper and iron sulphides pentlandite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite, respectively.  Pentlandite occurs together with pyrrhotite, while the chalcopyrite is either mixed with the pentlandite and pyrrhotite or occurs as late millimetric to centimetric sulphide veins cross cutting the pentlandite and pyrrhotite

Contacts between the semi-massive sulphides and the mineralized pyroxenite and gabbroic host rocks are irregular but sharp and often show brecciated textures. This indicates that these sulphide lenses have intruded the host rocks and originated from a source that is yet to be discovered.

The table 1 below details Niton XRF measurements taken along lengths of semi-massive sulphide mineralization intersected between 536m and 573m. The hand‑held Niton XRF analyzer provides assay readings for a wide range of metallic elements including nickel and copper. XRF readings are made on the core material through a window of a few square millimetres.  Several readings are used to generate an averaged value.  Reported values obtained using the Niton XRF analyzer are being used only for exploration planning.

Table 1: Niton XRF measurements taken along lengths of semi-massive sulphide mineralization.

	Individual reading on interval		Ni	Cu
	From (m)	To (m)	%	%
	536.2	537.85	1.84	0.20
			2.19	0.19
			2.41	0.18
			2.73	0.18
			1.99	0.11
			1.49	0.09
		Average Niton	2.11	0.16
	543.2	544.8	0.61	2.07
			0.55	1.73
			2.67	5.18
			0.54	1.47
			1.44	1.65
			0.63	2.06
		Average Niton	1.07	2.36
	545.55	547	1.95	0.27
			1.08	0.46
			0.98	0.53
			1.50	0.71
			0.97	0.75
		Average Niton	1.30	0.54
	563.35	565.3	1.03	0.16
			2.63	0.10
			1.53	0.14
			1.53	0.09
			1.52	0.12
		Average Niton	1.65	0.12
	568.7	569.15	1.77	–
			1.72	–
			2.79	0.10
			1.72	0.21
			2.00	0.09
		Average Niton	2.00	0.13
	569.5	573.15
			3.55	0.07
			3.56	0.07
			1.83	0.19
			1.84	0.05
			2.68	0.03
		Average Niton	2.69	0.08

Note: The conductivity units used for the inversion performed using the Typhoon™  data are S/m (Siemens / meter). According to geophysicists, a chunk of pure nickel in lab conditions will be roughly 100 million S/m, but when you place massive sulphide mineralization in host rock and take the average conductivity of the 25m³ volume of rock (the process done in inversion), that 1 million S/m value will get diluted down to 10 or 20 S/m.

The Phase 1 Typhoon™ EM survey was performed following results from the 2,889-line/kilometer airborne helicopter time-domain electromagnetic and magnetic survey (“HTEM Survey”) completed in February, 2018 over the Samapleu and Yepleu areas. The Phase 1 Typhoon™  survey covered selected anomalies outlined by the HTEM survey. The Company has planned a Phase 2 Typhoon™  survey over additional EM targets.

Sama selected the Yepleu area for the Phase 1 of HPX’s Typhoon™  ground EM survey due to its high quality HTEM response as well as the prospective geological setting. It is at the Yepleu area that Sama made the first discovery of nickel-copper sulphide mineralization at surface in West Africa.  The Yepleu area is located 18 kilometers southwest of the Samapleu nickel-copper deposit.

The Samapleu-Yepleu mineralization is similar to conduit‐hosted nickel deposits found elsewhere. These rare types of intrusions host the world’s largest nickel‐copper deposits such as Jinchuan (515 million tonnes (“Mt”) at 1.06% nickel), Voisey’s Bay (137Mt at 1.68% nickel), Kabanga (52Mt at 2.65% nickel), Eagle (4.5Mt at 3.33% nickel), Eagle Nest (20Mt at 1.68% nickel), Kalatongke (24Mt at 0.68% nickel), and N’komati (2.8Mt at 2.08% nickel).

Sama discovered the nickel-copper-cobalt-palladium mineralization when it discovered the Yacouba layered complex of mafic and ultramafic rock. This layered complex was created approximately 2.1 billion years ago by the intrusion of magma through the Man Shield. The Yacouba complex can be traced over a strike length of more than 50 kilometers within Sama’s properties in Côte d’Ivoire.

Core logging and sampling was performed at Sama’s facility at the Yepleu field facility. Sample preparation will be conducted at the Bureau Veritas Mineral Laboratory’s facility in Abidjan. Sample pulps will be delivered to Activation Laboratories Ltd, Ancaster, Thunder bay, Canada, for assaying. All samples will be assayed for Ni, Cu, Co, Pt, Pd, Au, Fe and S.

About HPX

HPX is a privately-owned, metals-focused exploration company deploying proprietary in-house geophysical technologies to rapidly evaluate buried geophysical targets. The HPX technology cluster comprises geological and geophysical systems for targeting, modelling, survey optimization, acquisition, processing and interpretation. HPX has a highly experienced board and management team led by Chief Executive Officer Robert Friedland, President Eric Finlayson, a former head of exploration at Rio Tinto, and board member Ian Cockerill, a former Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields Ltd. For further information, please visit www.hpxploration.com.

About Sama Resources Inc.

Sama is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company with projects in West Africa. On October 23, 2017, Sama announced that it had entered into a binding term sheet in view of forming a strategic partnership with HPX TechCo Inc., a private mineral exploration company in which mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland is a significant stakeholder, in order to develop its Côte d’Ivoire Nickel-Copper and Cobalt project in Côte d’Ivoire, West-Africa. For more information about Sama, please visit Sama’s website at http://www.samaresources.com.

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, P.Geo and President and CEO of Sama, and a ‘qualified person’, as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

SAMA RESOURCES INC./RESSOURCES SAMA INC.
Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, President and CEO
Tel: (514) 726-4158

OR

Mr. Matt Johnston, Corporate Development Advisor
Tel: (604) 443-3835
Toll Free: 1 (877) 792-6688, Ext. 5

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain of the statements made and information contained herein are “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including, without limitation, the availability of financing for activities, risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results and the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company’s expectations, metal price fluctuations, environmental and regulatory requirements, availability of permits, escalating costs of remediation and mitigation, risk of title loss, the effects of accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration or development, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities, the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, expectations and beliefs of management and other risks and uncertainties.

In addition, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are based on various assumptions. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information or forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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