NORTHERN SUN MINING CORP LBEFF

NR - Liberty Reports First Quarter Production and

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According to:
https://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/press-release/lbe_lbeff_liberty-reports-first-quarter-production-and-exploration-update-923145.html
Liberty Reports First Quarter Production and Exploration Update

Posted on: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 08:00:04 EDT
Symbols: LBEFF, LBE
EDMONTON, Alberta, Apr 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Liberty Mines Inc. ("Liberty or the Company") is pleased to report the first quarter of 2010 ("Q1") production results from its mining operations at the Redstone and McWatters nickel mines near Timmins Ontario. Production continues to increase from the McWatters mine. During March 2010, 25,464 tonnes of ore was processed at the Redstone nickel concentrator ("Mill"), being 48% of the 53,415 tonnes processed during Q1. Ore processed at the Mill during Q1 increased by 39% over the 38,529 tonnes during Q4 2009.
Gary Nash, Liberty's President & CEO, commented "We processed 821 tonnes per day in March as we continue to ramp up our mine and mill operations to 1800 tonnes per day. Our target can be reached when mining from the McWatters open pit commences shortly. When the core of the pit is exploited, sublevel caving of the underground orebody can provide the tonnage necessary to continue to operate the Mill at the desired rate."
Ore from development of the stopes and access drifts contributed to most of the tonnage from both mines during Q1. As a result, the grade at both mines was less than the grade that will be exploited from the developed stopes in the near future. The payable metal production during Q1 was 663,682 pounds of nickel, 28,960 lbs of copper, and 6,327 lbs of cobalt; subject to final agreement of analyses from the smelter provided in the quotational months, being the third month forward from the processing months. Average metallurgical recovery was 83.4% which was down slightly due to the lower grade development ore mined from the Redstone mine.
Redstone Mine
The 1550 sublevel is complete and long-hole blasting is underway. Waste development of the 1250, 1350 and 1450 sublevels is complete. The mine is currently operating with one shift 4-on-4-off 7 days a week. Grade is expected to improve significantly from the new stopes that can now be mined. Production is also expected to increase to meet or exceed the guidance of 89,000 tonnes mined during 2010.
McWatters Mine
Development of the 65m and 85m levels is complete. The west cut-and-fill stopes at the 155m level are complete and the emphasis underground is now on developing the 120m and 140m levels to enable sublevel caving and blast hole stoping to commence once the core of the open pit is exploited. Ore from development of the 140m level is about to mined with ore from the 120m level development being exploited in May 2010.
About half of the overburden at the open pit is removed with mining expected to commence in May/June 2010. The open pit is uniquely designed to minimize waste rock and overburden removal while exploiting all of the ore in the pit in conjunction with sublevel caving from the 65m level below.
Mine production statistics during Q1 were as follows:
Mine Tonnes Produced Grade Ni %Redstone 20018 0.82McWatters 36136 0.75
Hart Mine
Permitting of the Hart nickel mine is progressing and construction is scheduled for Q3 2010; subject to the acknowledgement of a filed Closure Plan from the Ministry of Northern Development of Mines and Forestry. Commercial production from Hart is tentatively scheduled for Q3 2011 which would provide a continuous supply of ore to the Mill.
Outlook
Commissioning of the third ball mill is on schedule for completion in May 2010. This will enable the Mill to process the ore mined from the open pit and sublevel caving thereafter at the desired rate of 1800 tonnes per day.
Exploration Update
Liberty has determined several prospective targets from specific geophysical surveys performed on its Shaw Dome Nickel Belt properties, one of which is discussed below.
During development of the 155m level of the McWatters mine, a pentlandite vein grading 13%-19% nickel was discovered which dipped downwards to the west and east of the floor of the drift. This is interesting as the nickel bearing ore at McWatters is generally heazlewoodite thought to be associated with an intrusive event as discussed in the recent feasibility study. Pentlandite is the ore found at Redstone and Hart known to be associated with extrusive komatiite flows which form nickel bearing "pods" under certain physical and chemical conditions.
This vein and the associated komatiitic flow may be responsible for a unique geophysical signature located about 70m S.W. of the McWatters orebody. From a search in the Ontario Geological Survey database, a log of borehole 62-13 was found which was drilled by McWatters Gold Mines in 1962. The location of the borehole was overlaid on the geophysical anomaly and appears to be near the western edge of the target. The core contained 199 feet (60.65m) of mineralization grading 0.428% Ni with the bottom interval of 51.8 feet (15.8m) grading 0.65% Ni. The borehole was drilled at a 50 degree dip and terminated at 249 feet (75.9m) in mineralization due to the end of the contracted amount of drilling (vertical depth of the borehole was approximately 58.1m).
The historic drill data strongly suggests the geophysical anomaly is nickel bearing with grades similar to the McWatters orebody at the same depth. A phase one drill program is now underway to further investigate the anomaly with the goal to extend the McWatters orebody.
This exploration program is supervised by Liberty's Chief Mine Geologist Richard Allard P. Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About Liberty Mines Inc.
Liberty Mines Inc. is a producer of nickel and is focused on the exploration, development and production of nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals from its properties in Ontario, Canada. It owns and operates the Redstone nickel concentrator near Timmins Ontario.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This News Release includes certain "forward looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of Liberty, are forward looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. 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. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Liberty's expectations are: exploration risks; commodity prices; regulatory approvals; receipt of mining permits and leases; and assumed startup and operating costs detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Liberty with securities regulators. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any such statement or reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, except where required by securities regulations. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: Liberty Mines Inc.
Liberty Mines Inc.Dr. Gary Nash, PhD (Physics), President & CEOPhone: 416-238-9736Fax: [e-mail]
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