Minera Alamos Inc. Advances La Fortuna with the Acquisition of Mineral Processing Plant
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jun 21, 2016) - Minera Alamos Inc. (TSX VENTURE:MAI) (the "Company" or "Minera Alamos") is pleased to announce it has acquired the assets of a previously operational grinding/flotation facility to be utilized in the construction of its La Fortuna gold project in Durango, Mexico.
"The opportunity to acquire and fully pay for this facility, at a significant discount, marks substantial progress in the development of the La Fortuna project," said Darren Koningen, President of Minera Alamos. "The Company continues to evaluate metallurgical alternatives that would allow us to increase gold production from the project resource by up to 50% based on what would be expected under the heap leaching models considered by previous owners. We continue to aggressively take advantage of the rare opportunities current markets are providing".
The Company is finalizing the optimal configuration of the components for inclusion in the La Fortuna Pre-Feasibility Report due later this year. A construction decision is pending the completion of a formal economic assessment by management.
Highlights:
- Acquisition of core plant assets significantly reduces the capital requirements for the construction of a high gold-recovery processing alternative at the La Fortuna project -- Under the new approach being considered, the Company anticipates an approximate 50% increase in production rates at the same mining rate (see Press Release June 14, 2016);
- Provides the opportunity to reduce the project construction schedule and significantly enhance overall project economics to be detailed in the Company's Pre-Feasibility Report due later this year;
- New mill equipment is extremely well suited for the flowsheets being considered and provides sufficient capacity for future production expansion at the site as other historic areas of known mineralization are also developed into resources; and
- Surplus equipment assets not under consideration for La Fortuna may be appropriate for use at the Company's Los Verdes copper project in Sonora, Mexico.
The acquired assets include three grinding mills and motors, floatation and thickener mechanisms, a filter press and a significant inventory of pumps and motors. Also included is a complete package of electrical starters as well as spares, maintenance equipment and other related items. The mill was built originally to process in excess of 2000 tonnes per day and had been disassembled and packaged for transport by the previous owner. All items have been well maintained and remain in storage in Canada, ready for shipment to Mexico later in the year for refurbishment and upgrades. The entire package was purchased for a significant discount at a total cost of CDN$750,000.
About Minera Alamos
Minera Alamos is a junior exploration and development company. Its growing portfolio of high-grade Mexican projects includes the La Fortuna open pit gold project in Durango and the Los Verdes open pit copper-molybdenum project in Sonora, both currently in development.
Mr. Darren Koningen, P. Eng., Minera Alamos Inc.'s President, is the Qualified Person responsible for technical content of this release under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Koningen has supervised the preparation of, and approved the scientific and technical disclosures utilized in this news release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward‐Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to the proposed transaction, timing of the closing of proposed transaction and the Company's consideration of the proposed production plans. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made at the date that such statements are made.
Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the risk factors disclosed elsewhere in the Company's public disclosure. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the purposes of assisting readers in understanding the Company's plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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