|
TVI PACIFIC INC. TSX: TVI
|
TVI Pacific Inc. Files NI 43-101 Technical Report Regarding Sulphide Project at Canatuan, Philippines
On-Going Drilling Program at Canatuan
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(CCNMatthews - July 13, 2006) - TVI Pacific Inc. ("TVI") (TSX:TVI) announced today that it has filed a National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") report on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) in respect of the Sulphide Project at the Canatuan mine, located in the Philippines. The report was prepared by Qualified Persons Craig Acott and Ian Perry of Norwest Corporation ("Norwest"), a specialized consulting company providing services to the mining and energy industries. The NI 43-101 report relates to TVI's May 26, 2006 news release, which summarized the key points of the Canatuan Sulphide Project feasibility study prepared by Norwest. The Canatuan deposit is wholly owned by TVI's affiliate, TVI Resource Development (Phils) Inc. ("TVIRD").
Certain information set out in this News Release, including exploration and development plans at Canatuan, constitute forward-looking information. Readers should review the cautionary statement respecting forward-looking information that appears at the end of this News Release. Unless otherwise noted, all dollar amounts set out in this news release are stated in US dollars.
In the feasibility study prepared for the Canatuan Sulphide Project, Norwest concluded that the Project is both technically and economically feasible under Base Case conditions.
Significant information and assumptions (base case) set out in the NI 43-101 report include the following:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mineral Reserves(1): 3,111,487 tonnes @ 1.55% copper (Cu),
1.16% zinc (Zn), 0.84 g/t gold (Au) and
43.82 g/t silver (Ag)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mining Rate: 1,300 dry metric tonnes per day (dmtpd)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Payable Metal Over Mine Life: Estimated at 84.4 million lbs Cu, 21,400
tonnes Zn, 51,600 oz Au and 3.0 million
oz Ag
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mine Life: 6.5 years
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Production Start: Anticipated to be during the first quarter
of 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Cost: $23.3 million
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Operating Cost: $28.52 per tonne of ore milled over the
life of the mine
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Cash Cost: $0.65 per lb Cu Equivalent
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NPV @10%: $60.1 million
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRR (Before Tax): 89%
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) the report assumes metal prices of $2.00/lb copper, $1.04/lb zinc,
$550/oz gold and $9.50/oz silver
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The foregoing is a summary only of information contained in the full 43-101 report. Readers should refer to the full 43-101 report for more detail concerning the information summarized in this news release. The information set out in the table above and detailed in the 43-101 report represents an estimate only and actual results may differ materially.
The Norwest report addresses the copper-zinc bearing massive sulphide zone, or lower portion of the Canatuan Deposit. TVIRD plans to construct a new facility to process the sulphide ore if a determination is made to bring the Sulphide Project into production.
The Board of Directors and Management of TVI are studying the Norwest feasibility study and assessing the next steps that will be required to advance the Sulphide Project. Refinement and optimization studies have been planned, including further metallurgical test work.
Based on the Norwest feasibility study and its own analysis, management of TVI Pacific considers the Sulphide Project to be very robust and a positive production decision is anticipated in the near future. The Norwest feasibility study was conducted on a stand alone basis with no account being given for the overlying gossan deposit that is currently producing gold and silver and TVI has initiated an optimization study combining the sulphide and gossan operations. Management of TVI Pacific expects that the optimization study will suggest enhanced project economics. TVI expects that both the capital and operating costs of the Sulphide Project (as presented in the Norwest feasibility study) will decrease when appropriate allocation is made between the existing gossan operation and the potential sulphide operation.
On-going Drill and Expansion Program at Canatuan
TVI is currently completing a reverse circulation (RC) and core drilling program on the Canatuan deposit, involving:
1. 13 diamond drill holes for further metallurgical test work in relation to the Sulphide Project.
2. 24 diamond drill holes and 75 RC holes for in-fill drilling, which are expected to enhance the Company's understanding of the complexities of the mineralogy and thereby allow for better mine planning and mill feed scheduling. These holes are also expected to provide further information respecting the extent of the mineralized area at Canatuan as a number of the holes are to be drilled near the known fringes of the deposit.
3. 22 RC holes for geotechnical purposes, such as piezometers, and analysis of the proposed Sulphide Project tailings dam area.
A program of test pitting and trenching is also planned on material identified as "rubbly gossan". This material is gossan that has eroded from the Canatuan hilltop and surrounds the open pit. A test mining and processing program on this material is currently underway.
Canatuan Exploration Upside
As previously described (including in the Company's 2005 Annual report), TVI's Canatuan deposit is classified as a Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) - a deposit type that is mined to a high degree of operational and financial success in many parts of the world. VMS deposits are typically sources of copper and zinc, and frequently contain gold and silver, which is consistent with the make up of the Canatuan deposit. One of the common characteristics of VMS deposits is that in any greenstone belt, in which they are located, the individual deposits occur in clusters and together they often form a "mining camp". The deposits are found within a favorable "host rock horizon" which is readily identified. Exploration activities at Canatuan are ongoing in an effort to determine whether additional deposits are present in the area.
About TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX: TVI)
TVI Pacific Inc. is a publicly-listed Canadian mining company focused on exploring for and producing precious and base metals within district scale systems in Asia.
In the Philippines, TVI's most advanced project, the Canatuan Mine, began mining and milling operations in mid-2004, producing gold and silver dore. Mill throughput is currently 1,600 dmtpd (greater than 170 AuEqOz per day avg.) from a gossan/oxide zone. Further expansion of the mill's processing capacity is underway. In addition, TVI holds a 2.5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on the Philippine-based Rapu Rapu project (the second foreign-invested, new, mining project in the Philippines operated by Lafayette Mining Ltd.). First gold was poured in July 2005 with TVI receiving its first royalty payment in November 2005. On November 10, 2005, Lafayette announced it had suspended all activities to investigate two unauthorized discharges of process water. In a July 10, 2006 news release, Lafayette indicated that it has recommenced the Rapu Rapu plant commissioning process and expects to move promptly from final testing of water and waste to ore production. Royalty payments to TVI are expected to resume shortly. Exploration in the Philippines is being conducted at Canatuan (both to expand TVI's resource base and to find new deposits), and at Balabag, Tamarok and Tapisa, which management of TVI views as compelling exploration properties.
In China, TVI's wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary, Hunan Pacific Geological Exploration Inc. (HPGEI) is the first and only foreign mining company to be granted both WOFE status and a Qualified Explorer License. HPGEI has three main areas of interest in China - gold exploration in the Golden Triangle, a prospective metallogenic region in the provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi Autonomous Region, copper/gold exploration in Yunnan Province and copper/gold exploration in the Tibet Autonomous Region. HPGEI has 168,200 hectares of land under application in China in the Golden Triangle and in the Tibet A.R.
TVI also has a Drilling Division comprising of Exploration Drilling Corporation (EDCO), a wholly-owned subsidiary of TVI Pacific Inc. based in the Philippines, and Hunan Pacific Drilling (HPD), a division of HPGEI based in China which generates revenue from contract drilling.
The statements set out in this News Release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements (often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "expect", "may", "anticipate" or "will" and similar expressions) may include plans, expectations, opinions, or guidance that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions, expectations and estimates of management as at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include such things as the volatility of prices for precious metals and base metals, commodity supply and demand, fluctuations in currency and interest rates, inherent risks associated with the exploration and development of mining properties, ultimate recoverability of reserves, timing, results and costs of exploration and development activities, availability of financial resources or third-party financing, new laws (domestic or foreign) and changes in exploration plans or budgets. Forward-looking information respecting expansion plans at the Canatuan mine, and further exploration activities in the Philippines are based upon the current budget, development plans and overall strategy of TVI, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking information concerning recommencement of operations by the operator of the Rapu Rapu property and timing of royalty payments to the Company in respect of production at Rapu Rapu are based upon public statements made by the operator of the Rapu Rapu property. Forward-looking information relating to the anticipated construction of a sulphide processing plant and related infrastructure at Canatuan is premised on such things as the volatility of prices for precious metals and base metals, commodity supply and demand, fluctuations in currency and interest rates, inherent risks associated with the development of mining properties, ultimate recoverability of reserves, timing, results and costs of development activities, availability of financial resources or third-party financing, new laws (domestic or foreign) and changes in plans or budgets. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The forward-looking statements of TVI Pacific Inc. contained in this News Release are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement. Various risks associated with the Company's operations are described in detail in TVI's Annual Information Form, filed by TVI on SEDAR on March 30, 2006, which is available at www.SEDAR.com.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.
For more information, please contact
TVI Pacific Inc.Clifford M. James
President and CEO
(403) 265-4356
or
TVI Pacific Inc.
Paul Moon
Director, Corporate Communications
(403) 265-4356
Email: tvi-info@tvipacific.com
Website: www.tvipacific.com
