Tintina Announces Increased High Grade Copper Resources for the Johnny Lee Deposit, Black Butte, Montana, USA
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/13/12 -- Tintina Resources Inc. ("Tintina" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: TAU)(OTCQX: TINTF) is pleased to announce a new Measured, Indicated, and Inferred resource estimate for the Johnny Lee deposit, a part of the Black Butte Copper Project, Montana, USA (Table 1). In addition, the Company has begun an expanded Preliminary Economic Assessment ("Expanded PEA") which will include both the Johnny Lee and Lowry deposits (Fig. 2) and will supersede the current SEDAR filed Preliminary Economic Assessment(i) ("PEA") dated August 30, 2012 (see news release dated August 31, 2012) which was based only on the indicated and inferred resource estimate for the Johnny Lee deposit.
(i)Please see the Cautionary Note Regarding the PEA
Updated Resource Highlights
-- New Johnny Lee Upper Zone Measured, Indicated and Inferred resources are
as follows:
-- Measured: 2.66 MMt @ 2.99% Cu, 0.12% Co, and 16.3 g/tonne Ag
-- Indicated: 6.52 MMt @ 2.77% Cu, 0.13% Co, and 15.5 g/tonne Ag
-- Inferred: 1.26 MMt @ 2.52% Cu, 0.10% Co, and 15.2 g/tonne Ag
-- New Johnny Lee Lower Zone Indicated and Inferred resources are as
follows:
-- Indicated: 2.39 MMt @ 6.40% Cu, 0.03% Co, and 4.5 g/tonne Ag
-- Inferred: 0.21 MMt @ 5.33% Cu, 0.03% Co, and 4.1 g/tonne Ag
-- Existing Inferred resource for the Lowry Middle Zone is as follows:
-- Inferred: 5.14 MMt @ 2.60% Cu, 0.120% Co, and 14.6 g/tonne Ag
-- The Expanded PEA will include the new Johnny Lee Measured, Indicated,
and Inferred resources as well as the Lowry deposit Inferred resource
and is expected Q2, 2013.
Jerry Zieg, Vice President of exploration for Tintina, stated, "Continued drilling has helped us confirm the continuity of the high copper concentrations present in the Johnny Lee deposit. Meanwhile, we have initiated an the expanded PEA that will include both the Johnny Lee and Lowry deposits, which will help us more appropriately assess the full value of the Black Butte Copper project. While we find the previous PEA results for the Johnny Lee deposit encouraging, inclusion of these upgraded resource estimates with significantly higher copper grades in the Johnny Lee Lower Zone, plus the addition of the Lowry deposit, offer an opportunity to significantly increase operational scale and overall potential economic returns for the project. Management believes that these actions will serve to more fully realize the value potential at the Black Butte Copper Project and enhance shareholder value."
Johnny Lee Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate
The Johnny Lee deposit (Fig. 2) consists of two zones - an Upper Zone and a Lower Zone. The drill hole database that was used to estimate the Johnny Lee Deposit Mineral Resource consists of 136 drill holes totaling 37,530.3 metres, all containing one or more intercepts of significant mineralization. Of these, 106 drill holes, representing 23,704.5 metres of drilling, were used to estimate the Johnny Lee Upper Zone resource. In addition, 47 of the 136 holes were used to estimate the Johnny Lee Lower Zone resource. Further, 17 of the 136 holes were used to estimate both Upper Zone and Lower Zone resources. Mineralization occurs as lenses of high grade copper, primarily chalcopyrite which is hosted within thicker and more extensive massive pyritic sulfide lenses, all of which are contained in un-mineralized shale and carbonate country rock. Zone boundaries are either faults and/or diminishing copper grades. Mike Lechner, president of Resource Modeling Inc. provided the new resource estimate.
Lowry Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate
The drill hole database that was used to estimate the Lowry Deposit Inferred Mineral Resource consists of 14 drill holes totaling 9,274 metres (Fig. 2). Mineralization occurs as bands, veins, and masses of chalcopyrite concentrated within a modestly dipping silicified breccia and shale layer up to 52 metres thick. Mike Lechner, president of Resource Modeling Inc. provided the resource estimate as reported in a news release dated March 19, 2012 and in a NI 43-101 Technical Report filed May 2, 2012.
Black Butte Copper Mineral Resource Estimate as of November 8, 2012
Table 1 - Undiluted Measured and Indicated ("M&I") Resources at Black Butte
Copper, MT, USA
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UNDILUTED MEASURED RESOURCES - Johnny Lee Deposit
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Estimated Metal Grades Estimated Contained Metal
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Cutoff Tonnes Cu Co Au Ag Cu Lbs Co Lbs Au Ag Ozs
(%) (000) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (Millions) (Millions) Ozs (000)
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Upper
Zone 1.60 2,659 2.99 0.118 0.007 16.3 175 6.9 598 1,393
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UNDILUTED INDICATED RESOURCES - Johnny Lee Deposit
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Estimated Metal Grades Estimated Contained Metal
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Ag
Cutoff Tonnes Cu Co Au Ag Cu Lbs Co Lbs Au Ozs
(%) (000) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (Millions) (Millions) Ozs (000)
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Upper
Zone 1.60 6,520 2.77 0.125 0.009 15.5 398 18.0 1,887 3,249
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Lower
Zone 1.50 2,387 6.40 0.033 0.304 4.5 337 1.7 23,330 345
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TOTAL 8,907 3.74 0.100 0.088 12.6 735 19.7 25,217 3,594
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UNDILUTED MEASURED AND INDICATED RESOURCES - Johnny Lee Deposit
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Estimated Metal Grades Estimated Contained Metal
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Ag
Tonnes Cu Co Au Ag Cu Lbs Co Lbs Au Ozs
(000) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (Millions) (Millions) Ozs (000)
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Upper and
Lower
Zones 11,566 3.57 0.100 0.069 13.4 910 26.6 25,815 4,987
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TOTAL 11,566 3.57 0.100 0.069 13.4 910 26.6 25,815 4,987
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Table 2 - Undiluted Inferred Resources at Black Butte Copper, MT, USA
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UNDILUTED INFERRED RESOURCES - Johnny Lee Deposit
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Estimated Metal Grades Estimated Contained Metal
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Cu Ag
Cutoff Tonnes Cu Co Au Ag Cu Lbs Co Lbs Au Ozs
(%) (000) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (Millions) (Millions) Ozs (000)
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Upper
Zone 1.60 1,255 2.52 0.102 0.008 15.2 70 2.8 323 613
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Lower
Zone 1.50 205 5.33 0.025 0.207 4.1 24 0.1 1,364 27
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TOTAL 1,460 2.91 0.092 0.036 13.6 94 2.9 1,687 640
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UNDILUTED INFERRED RESOURCES - Lowry Deposit Middle Zone
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Estimated Metal Grades Estimated Contained Metal
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Cu Ag
Cutoff Tonnes Cu Co Au Ag Cu Lbs Co Lbs Au Ozs
(%) (000) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (Millions) (Millions) Ozs (000)
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Middle
Zone 1.60 5,139 2.60 0.120 0.009 14.6 294 14 1,487 2,412
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TOTAL 5,139 2.60 0.120 0.009 14.6 294 14 1,487 2,412
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UNDILUTED INFERRED RESOURCES - Johnny Lee and Lowry Deposits
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Estimated Metal Grades Estimated Contained Metal
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Ag
Tonnes Cu Co Au Ag Cu Lbs Co Lbs Au Ozs
(000) (%) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (Millions) (Millions) Ozs (000)
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Johnny Lee 1,460 2.91 0.092 0.036 13.6 94 2.9 1,687 640
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Lowry
Middle
Zone 5,139 2.60 0.120 0.009 14.6 294 14 1,487 2,412
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GRANDTOTAL 6,599 2.67 0.114 0.015 14.4 388 16.9 3,174 3,052
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Notes:
1. Mineral Resources have been classified according to the "CIM Standards on
Mineral Resources and Reserves: Definitions and Guidelines" (December 2005).
The preliminary economic assessment contained herein is preliminary in
nature and includes inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too
speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them
that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves and there is no
certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized.
2. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Resource will be
upgraded to an Indicated Resource, or that an Indicated Mineral Resource
will be upgraded to a Measured Resource, as a result of continued
exploration. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have
demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part
of the Mineral Resources will be converted into Mineral Reserves. Mineral
Resources are global in situ totals.
3. For the Johnny Lee Upper Zone, cutoff grade calculation is based on
assumed metal prices of $2.75/lb for copper and an 81% recovery. A mining
cost of $US $59.00/tonne, processing costs of US $16.00/Tonne, and G&A costs
of U.S. $5.00/tonne were assumed to form the basis for the resource cut-off
determination. For the Johnny Lee Lower Zone, cutoff grade calculation is
based on an assumed metal price of $2.75/lb. for copper and an 84% Cu
recovery. A mining cost of US $50/tonne, processing costs of US $16/tonne,
G&A costs of US $5.00/tonne, and refining costs of US $5.53/tonne, were
assumed to form the basis for the resource cut-off determination. Note:
these costs differ from those used for the cash flow model in the PEA.
4. Mineral resource tonnage and contained metal quantities have been rounded
to reflect the accuracy of the estimate, and thus the numbers may not sum
due to rounding.
Expanded Preliminary Economic Assessment
The Company, encouraged by the results of the previously released Preliminary Economic Assessment for an underground mine built around only the Johnny Lee deposit, has decided to complete an Expanded PEA to incorporate the Lowry Middle Zone Inferred Resource along with the newly upgraded Johnny Lee Upper Zone Measured, Indicated, and Inferred resources and the Lower Zone Indicated and Inferred Resources. The Company anticipates that this new Expanded PEA will achieve an even better economic outcome from the increased production rates obtained by mining the Lowry Middle Zone in conjunction with the Johnny Lee Upper and Lower Zones. The firms working on the Expanded PEA include Tetra Tech (Wardrop) who is responsible for the site infrastructure, mill design, operating and capital costs and overall report; Amec' s Phoenix office who is responsible for all aspects of the underground design and costing; and Knight Piesold who is responsible for the design of the Tailings Management Facility.
2013 Development Plans
The Company continues engineering, geotechnical, hydrological, and metallurgical studies, and continued baseline environmental studies. As previously reported, Tintina also plans to submit an application for an Exploration Decline to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in Q4, 2012 with the approval expected in Q2, 2013. The Company also plans to commission a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") or final Feasibility Study ("FS") after completion of the Expanded PEA.
About the Black Butte Copper Project
Geologists with Cominco American Inc. and joint venture partners Utah International and BHP discovered the copper deposits during exploration programs in the 1980's. In 1993, Cominco turned the property back over to the ranch owners and the deposits lay dormant until 2010 when members of the original discovery team now with Tintina re-established contact with the property owners. In May of 2010 Tintina completed mining leases on over 5,000 acres of private ranch lands which contain all currently identified resources at Black Butte. Present land holdings consist of 3,109.7 hectares (7,684.28 acres) of private ranch lands and 1,837.7 hectares (4,541 acres) of Federal mining claims. Tintina has completed over 46,000 metres of drilling since September of 2010, and from this work, as well as approximately 37,500 metres of previous historic drilling, has achieved resource estimates on the Johnny Lee and Lowry deposits (described below). At least five additional copper mineralized zones have been identified in the resource area.
The Johnny Lee Deposit (Fig. 2) lies 3.2 km (2 miles) west of U.S. Highway 89, and is comprised of the Johnny Lee Deposit Upper Zone and the Johnny Lee Deposit Lower Zone. Both zones consist of tabular layers of copper-cobalt-silver mineralization as bands of massive chalcopyrite concentrated within fine-grained massive pyritic sulfide layers hosted by shale and conglomerate. The Johnny Lee Deposit Upper Zone deposit lies at depths ranging from 30 to 210 metres below the surface and is up to 29.17 metres thick. The Johnny Lee Deposit Lower Zone lies at depths ranging from 340 to 500 metres below surface and is up to 13.05 metres thick. Portions of both the Upper and Lower Zones are faulted away and have yet to be located. Additional sulfide zones lie above the Johnny Lee Upper Zone and contain variable concentrations of zinc and copper. The deposit has an undiluted Measured and Indicated Resource of 910 million lbs. of copper (Cu) at an average grade of 3.57% and an undiluted Inferred resource of 94 million lbs. of copper (Cu) at an average grade of 2.91% Cu.
The Lowry Deposit (Fig. 2) lies 1.2 kilometres (0.75 miles) west of U.S. Highway 89 and consists of at least five mineralized copper zones. Of these, the Lowry Deposit Middle Zone is a tabular layer of copper-cobalt-silver mineralization reaching up to 52 metres thick with high concentrations of chalcopyrite (copper-iron sulfide) concentrated within fragmental, silicified and dolomitized shale and carbonate. The deposit dips gently to the south, lies at depths ranging from 265 to 718.5 metres below surface, and measures 600 metres by 300 metres in plan. The northeast trending Rose fault down drops the southeast portion of the zone, where two holes extend the zone by about 100 metres. These holes have not been offset further east or south. The deposit has an Inferred resource of 294 million lbs. of copper (Cu) at an average grade of 2.6% Cu.
These deposits are amenable to underground mining (See Fig. 3), an approach consistent with the desires of the landowners and community. Community and regional support for the project is high due to the strong desire for jobs in this economically challenged rural Montana area. Permitting activities are ongoing using highly knowledgeable Montana-based consulting groups together with the in-house team. Base-line and other key studies for permitting are carried out in close cooperation with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to ensure high quality and complete permit applications.
Qualified Persons
Mike Lechner, P.Geo. (Resource Modeling Inc.) completed the resource estimates and is a Qualified Person in accordance with NI 43-101, and is independent of Tintina Resources Inc.
Jerry Zieg, Vice President of Exploration for the Company is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed, approved and verified the information of a scientific and technical nature and has verified the data disclosed in this news release. Assays for this program have been completed by ALS Chemex including duplicates, standards, and blanks for QA/QC purposes.
About Tintina Resources Inc.
Tintina Resources Inc. is a well-funded Vancouver based resource company focused on the development and mining of its 100% owned Black Butte high grade copper project (Fig. 1) in central Montana. Black Butte is the third highest grade copper deposit in development in North America, with an M&I resource of 910 million pounds of copper (Cu) at a grade of 3.57%, and Inferred Resources of 388 million pounds of copper (Cu) at a grade of 2.67%. On August 31, 2012, the Company filed on SEDAR a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Johnny Lee deposit on the Black Butte copper property. The Company is also conducting infill drilling on the Lowry deposit at Black Butte to upgrade existing Inferred resources to Indicated resources and will be updating the PEA to include the Lowry Inferred resource, previously not included in the PEA filed August 31, 2012.
Tintina is led by a highly experienced executive management team that has an impressive track record of successfully building shareholder value through exploration, corporate finance and mine development.
About Mining in Montana
Montana has been a mining state for a well over 100 years. Today, more than two dozen mining operations are active making mining a cornerstone contributor to the State's GDP. Tintina has met with State regulators and looks forward to presenting the Black Butte Copper project as an underground mine with a small footprint located on private land. The project continues to benefit from broad local community support.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Raj Chowdhry, CA, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO
To view Figures 1-3, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tau1113i.pdf.
Cautionary Note Regarding the PEA:
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Furthermore, there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Readers are encouraged to read the technical report, which discloses the basis for the preliminary economic assessment and the qualifications and assumptions made by the authors of the report.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain disclosures in this release, including statements regarding the Company's plans for and intentions with respect to advancement of the Company's Black Butte Copper Project to production resource estimates, the upgrading of resource estimates, the PEA, including estimates of capital and sustaining costs, anticipated internal rates of return, mine production, estimated recoveries, mine life, estimated payback period, and net present values, planned exploration activities and the results thereof, development activities, including the receipt of approvals and permits, the preparation of an updated preliminary economic analysis and a feasibility study and other plans and objectives of the Company with respect to the Black Butte Project and surrounding area constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities legislation. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the Company is able to obtain any government or other regulatory approvals and any financing required to complete the Company's planned exploration and development activities, that the Company is able to procure equipment and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, that the Company's exploration and development activities on the Black Butte Copper Project will not be affected by actions of environmental activists or other special interest groups, that actual results of exploration activities are consistent with management's expectations, that the proposed mine plan and recoveries will be achieved, that capital costs and sustaining costs will be as estimated, that the assumptions underlying mineral resource estimates are valid and that no unforeseen accident, fire, ground instability, flooding, labor disruption, equipment failure, metallurgical, environmental or other events that could delay or increase the cost of development will occur.
However, the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to Tintina's operation as a mineral exploration company and the Black Butte Copper Project property that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and risks include, among others, actual results of the Company's exploration activities being different than those expected by management, uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and geological tests, delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals or financing, interference with Tintina's exploration or development activities by environmental activists or other special interest groups, inability to procure equipment and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, the risk of unexpected variations in mineral resources, grade or recovery rates, of failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, of accidents, labor disputes, and unanticipated delays in obtaining governmental approvals and completing other development activities, the risk that estimated costs will be higher than anticipated and the risk that the proposed mine plan and recoveries will not be achieved, equipment breakdowns and bad weather. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Tintina does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
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.
Contacts:
Tintina Resources Inc.
Corporate Development
604.628.1162
info@tintinaresources.com
www.tintinaresources.com
