NEWS--Picking up some cheap ounces nad copper some to boot.
JANUARY 3, 2006 - 08:30 ET
Silver Standard to Acquire Berenguela Project, Peru
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Jan. 3, 2006) - Silver Standard Resources Inc. (TSX:SSO)(NASDAQ:SSRI) is pleased to report a purchase agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Berenguela project located five kilometers west of Santa Lucia on the altiplano of southern Peru. Under the purchase agreement, Silver Standard will acquire all of the shares of Sociedad Minera Berenguela S.A., a Peruvian company that holds the rights to the Berenguela Project, in consideration of an aggregate payment of US $2 million in cash and US $8 million in shares of Silver Standard and the grant of a 2% net smelter returns royalty on copper capped at US $3 million. The acquisition is subject to acceptance for filing by the TSX.
Prior to signing the purchase agreement, Silver Standard held an option to acquire all of the property's silver resources by paying US $0.06 per ounce for the defined silver resource and US $0.10 per ounce for all additional silver resources delineated on the property. Under the purchase agreement, Silver Standard is acquiring the entire project for US $0.11 per ounce of silver resources, which includes the project's significant copper resources. With the acquisition, Silver Standard controls the direction of the project, allowing it to focus on maximizing the value and potential of the project's silver resources with the integral support of the project's copper resources.
In August 2005, James A. McCrea, P.Geo., (an independent Qualified Person) prepared for Silver Standard a resource estimate for the Berenguela project in accordance with Canada's National Instrument 43-101 (see news release 05-16, September 6, 2005) which is summarized in the following table based on a cut-off grade of 50 grams of silver per tonne: