Trevali's Santander Mine On-Track for Q1-2013 Production Encounters New Zones of Silver-Rich Mineralization at Magistral North Deposit in Peru
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/27/12 -- Trevali Mining Corporation ("Trevali" or the "Company") (TSX: TV)(TSX: TV.WT)(LMA: TV)(OTCQX: TREVF)(FRANKFURT: 4TI) reports that ongoing development at its Santander Zinc-Lead-Silver Mine in west-central Peru is in the final phase with initial mining and milling operations currently scheduled to commence in Q1-2013. All critical mill and processing infrastructure is now in place and underground development continues to progress well with 1.8 kilometres of ramp completed to date. Approximately 100,000 tonnes of mineralized material averaging 5.6% zinc, 0.65% lead and 1.65 oz/t silver has now been stockpiled on surface for processing upon commissioning of the 2,000 tonne-per-day plant. There are currently over 900 construction workers, contractors, miners and management staff on site involved in the final development process.
SITE INFRASTRUCTURE
All core site infrastructure is now complete and fully operational - accommodation units, catering facilities, and various mine planning and site offices.
Construction of the project's 65-kilometre transmission-line to the National Grid has been completed. Energization of the power-line is currently being coordinated with the Peruvian regulator in order to minimize disruptions with local end-users. It is anticipated that the Santander mine site will be accessing power from the Peruvian Grid prior to year-end. In the interim, during this the final construction phase, site is being powered by the Company's run-of-river power station at Tingo and supplemented by a combination of generators and excess power from a neighbouring mining unit.
PROCESSING PLANT
The Processing Plant is currently scheduled to commence operation in Q1-2013 with ramp-up and optimization progressing thereafter (Fig. 1: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/837293_figures.pdf).
All critical plant buildings are completed - Flotation, Filter Areas, Concentrate Sheds, Milling and Crushing modules, Zn and Pb Thickeners and Closed Industrial Water circuits. The various Mills (Primary through to Re-grind) and flotation cells are all installed. Ongoing construction is presently focusing on finishing the Tailings Management Facility, Coarse and Fine Mineral Stock-pile areas, E-Houses and the Reagent Unit. Piping and Electrical work is ongoing and is making progress.
UNDERGROUND DEVELOPMENT
The Company's mining contractors, JRC Ingenieros, have completed an aggregate of 1.8 kilometres of underground ramp (5-metre-by-4-metre) development on the Magistral North, Central and South deposits from three portals to facilitate high-speed underground trackless mining (Fig. 2 and 3: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/837293_figures.pdf). Ground conditions are moderate to good and minimal ground support is required to date in the ramps and mineralized zones.
Underground development has confirmed the presence of several zones of potentially significant footwall satellite mineralization that will require additional drilling at a later date and contingent on results may provide additional mill-feed. Underground channel sampling on one such zone at the Magistral North Deposit returned the following results (Table 1 and Fig. 4: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/837293_figures.pdf):
Table 1: Channel sample results from new footwall mineralized zone at
Magistral North Deposit
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Channel Sample Length (m) Zn% Pb% Cu% Ag g/T (oz/t)
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1 4.65m 2.88% 2.51% 0.09% 57.9 g/T (1.69 oz/t)
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2 5.80m 3.24% 2.31% 0.09% 67.9 g/T (1.98 oz/t)
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3 3.50m 0.99% 0.54% 0.03% 12.3 g/T (0.36 oz/t)
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4 3.10m 7.14% 5.26% 0.18% 136.5 g/T (3.98 oz/t)
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5 3.45m 5.86% 5.73% 0.14% 168.7 g/T (4.92 oz/t)
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6 5.30m 7.88% 6.46% 0.28% 133.0 g/T (3.88 oz/t)
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7 5.45m 5.32% 4.83% 0.18% 142.3 g/T (4.15 oz/t)
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Average 4.46m 4.76% 3.96% 0.15% 102.2 g/T (2.98 oz/t)
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VICE PRESIDENT - INVESTOR RELATIONS AND CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
Trevali is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Steve Stakiw as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Mr. Stakiw initially joined Trevali in April 2008, as Manager - Corporate Communications, and has been instrumental in expanding the Company's institutional and retail investor base in North America, Europe and South America, in addition to being a key member of the team that has raised in excess of $140 million to successfully acquire, explore and develop the Santander, Halfmile, Caribou and Stratmat projects to date. Mr. Stakiw is a geologist with over 20 years of mineral exploration, research and finance/equity market experience, and has held senior management roles with a leading mining research and investment publication and has consulted to resource-focused investment funds.
Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance
EurGeol Dr. Mark D. Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Cruise is not independent of the Company, as he is an officer, director and shareholder.
ABOUT TREVALI MINING CORPORATION
Trevali is a zinc-focused base metals development company with operations in Canada and Peru - the Halfmile and Santander mines respectively. In Canada, Trevali owns the Halfmile zinc-lead-silver mine, the Caribou mine and mill, and Stratmat polymetallic deposit all located in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick. The Company also has the past-producing Ruttan copper-zinc mine in northern Manitoba. Initial trial production from the Halfmile mine was successfully undertaken in 2012 and underground development is ramping up to achieve a planned production rate of approximately 3,000-tonnes-per-day to feed planned operations at the Company's Caribou Mill Complex in 2013.
In Peru, the Company has the Santander zinc-lead-silver mine and the former-producing Huampar silver mine, both located in the Central Peruvian Polymetallic Belt. Mine commissioning is anticipated to commence at the Santander operation in Q1-2013 with subsequent ramp up to full 2,000-tonnes-per-day production. Additionally through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Trevali Renewable Energy Inc., Trevali plans to undertake a significant upgrade of its wholly-owned Tingo run-of-river hydroelectric generating facility to allow, in addition to supplying power to the Santander mining operation, the potential sale of surplus power into the Peruvian National Energy Grid.
The common shares of Trevali are listed on the TSX (symbol TV), the OTCQX (symbol TREVF) and on the Lima Stock Exchange (symbol TV). Warrants to purchase common shares of Trevali are listed on the TSX (symbol TV.WT). For further details on Trevali, readers are referred to the Company's web site (www.trevali.com) and to Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of TREVALI MINING CORPORATION
Mark D. Cruise, President
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and the company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation to, update such statements containing the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to statements as to: the accuracy of estimated mineral reserves and resources, anticipated results of future exploration, and forecast future metal prices, anticipated results of future electrical sales and expectations that environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, political, marketing or other issues will not materially affect estimates of mineral reserves. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies.
These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in spot and forward markets for silver, zinc, base metals and certain other commodities (such as natural gas, fuel oil and electricity); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Peruvian sol versus the U.S. dollar); risks related to the technological and operational nature of the Company's business; changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and political or economic developments in Canada, the United States, Peru or other countries where the Company may carry on business in the future; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; diminishing quantities or grades of mineral reserves as properties are mined; global financial conditions; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; the Company's ability to complete and successfully integrate acquisitions and to mitigate other business combination risks; challenges to, or difficulty in maintaining, the Company's title to properties and continued ownership thereof; the actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, and changes in project parameters to deal with unanticipated economic or other factors; increased competition in the mining industry for properties, equipment, qualified personnel, and their costs.
Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty or reliance on forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.
Trevali's production plans at Halfmile-Stratmat, Caribou and Santander are based only on Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources and not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred Mineral Resources 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 therefore no certainty that the conclusions of the production plans and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will be realized. Additionally where Trevali discusses exploration/expansion potential, any potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.
The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.
Contacts:
Trevali Mining Corporation
Steve Stakiw, Vice President, Investor Relations
and Corporate Communications
(604) 488-1661 / Direct: (604) 638-5623
sstakiw@trevali.com
www.trevali.com
