Proven and Probable resource increase by 43%
Timmins Gold Announces Updated Reserve and Resource Estimates for the San Francisco Gold Mine (ccnm) VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Nov. 5, 2013) - Timmins Gold Corp. ("Timmins Gold" or the "Company") (TSX:TMM)(NYSE MKT:TGD) is pleased to announce an updated Reserve and Resource Estimate for the San Francisco Gold Mine in the state of Sonora, Mexico, that was previously updated as of July 1, 2011. The San Francisco Gold Mine is comprised of the San Francisco deposit ("SF") and the La Chicharra ("LC") deposit. The update incorporates approximately 220,000 meters of drilling over 2012 and 2013, and is effective as of July 1, 2013. Highlights: The updated Proven and Probable Reserves for the San Francisco Gold Mine are 1.59 Mozs of gold (91 Mt at 0.54 gpt). This represents a 43% increase in contained gold vs. the previous Reserve excluding depletion, and a 20% increase in contained gold net of depletion (~314 kozs extracted since last update). The updated Measured and Indicated Resources (inclusive of Reserves) for the San Francisco Gold Mine are 1.87 Mozs of gold (102 Mt at 0.57 gpt). This represents a 30% increase in contained gold vs. the previous Measured and Indicated Resource. The updated Inferred Resources for the San Francisco Gold Mine are 1.78 Mozs of gold (122 Mt at 0.45 gpt). This represents a 77% increase in contained gold vs. the previous Inferred Resource. "This Reserve and Resource Estimate update is a major milestone for the Company," states Bruce Bragagnolo, CEO of the Company. "The significant increases in gold ounces in Reserves (+20%, net of depletion), Measured & Indicated Resources (+30%) and Inferred Resources (+77%) derived from the recent drill program continue to illustrate the large scale of the mineralized system. Reserve grade has remained in-line with our expectations and the Inferred grade has increased by 7%." "Considering the effectiveness of our drilling and the size of our land package, we believe that we can continue to increase Reserves and Resources beyond their current levels as we have yet to reach the extent of mineralization along strike and at depth." MINERAL RESERVES Table 1 - Mineral Reserve Estimate for the San Francisco Gold Mine as of July 1, 2013 Pit Classification Metric tonnes (000s) Gold (g/t) Contained gold (ozs) Proven 44,952 0.56 808,000 San Francisco Probable 26,420 0.55 465,000 Total 71,372 0.56 1,273,000 Proven 12,364 0.52 205,000 La Chicharra Probable 7,463 0.46 111,000 Total 19,827 0.50 316,000 Proven 57,316 0.55 1,013,000 Total Reserves Probable 33,883 0.53 576,000 Total 91,199 0.54 1,589,000 San Francisco Stockpile 6,155 0.26 51,000 Notes: Mineral Reserves are based on (1) a gold price of $1,250/oz Au; (2) 0.20 g/t Au cutoff; (3) mining recovery of 99% for SF and LC, dilution of 9.1% for SF and 3.0% for LC; (4) average total costs of $10.75/t ore. Table 2 - Comparison of July 2013 vs. July 2011 San Francisco Gold Mine Mineral Reserve (net of depletion) Classification July 2013 Mineral Reserve (koz) July 2011 Mineral Reserve (koz) Ozs change Ozs, % change July 2013 avg grade (g/t) July 2011 avg grade (g/t) grade, % change San Francisco - Reserves 1,273 1,214 59,000 5% 0.56 0.59 -6% La Chicharra - Reserves 316 116 200,000 172% 0.50 0.45 11% Total - Reserves 1,589 1,330 259,000 20% 0.54 0.57 -5% Notes: July 2011 Reserves were based on (1) $1,100/oz Au; (2) 0.14 g/t Au cutoff; (3) mining recovery of 99% for SF and LC, dilution of 8.3% for SF and 7.5% for LC; (4) average total costs of $8.04/t ore. MINERAL RESOURCES Table 3 - Mineral Resource Estimate for the San Francisco Gold Mine as of July 1, 2013 Pit Classification Metric tonnes (000s) Gold (g/t) Contained gold (ozs) Measured 50,351 0.60 968,000 Indicated 26,093 0.59 496,000 San Francisco Total Measured & Indicated 76,444 0.60 1,464,000 Inferred 95,830 0.46 1,431,000 Measured 13,427 0.51 221,000 Indicated 11,847 0.48 183,000 La Chicharra Total Measured & Indicated 25,274 0.50 404,000 Inferred 26,347 0.41 351,000 Measured 63,778 0.58 1,189,000 Indicated 37,940 0.56 679,000 Total Resources Total Measured & Indicated 101,718 0.57 1,868,000 Total Inferred 122,177 0.45 1,782,000 Notes: Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves and are based on (1) a gold price of $1,250/oz Au; (2) a cutoff grade of 0.17 g/t for SF and 0.15 g/t gold for LC. Inferred Resources include material outside of the pit shell and have the potential to become additional Reserves at a future stage. However, due to the uncertainty that is attached to Inferred Mineral Resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will be upgraded to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource as a result of continued exploration. In addition, Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Table 4 - Comparison of July 2013 vs. July 2011 San Francisco Gold Mine Mineral Resource Classification July 2013 Mineral Resource koz) July 2011 Mineral Resource (koz) Ozs change Ozs, % change July 2013 avg grade (g/t) July 2011 avg grade (g/t) grade, % change San Francisco - M&I 1,464 1,310 154,000 12% 0.60 0.63 -5% San Francisco - Inferred 1,431 898 533,000 59% 0.46 0.42 10% La Chicharra - M&I 403 131 272,000 208% 0.50 0.49 2% La Chicharra - Inferred 351 107 244,000 228% 0.41 0.46 -11% Total - M&I 1,868 1,441 427,000 30% 0.57 0.61 -6% Total - Inferred 1,782 1,005 777,000 77% 0.45 0.42 7% Notes: July 2011 Resources were based on (1) $1,200/oz Au; (2) 0.13 g/t Au cutoff; (3) average total costs of $8.04/t ore. Sample sections for the new Mineral Resource can be found at: https://timminsgold.com/projects/2013resource-samplesections/ The Mineral Reserve and Resource Estimates were audited by Micon International Limited (Micon) of Toronto, Ontario, using the Canadian Institute of Mining ("CIM") definitions for Mineral Reserves as required by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101").