Trevali plans additional drilling to expand Santanhttps://www.trevaliresources.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=346707&_Type=News&_Title=Trevali-plans-additional-drilling-to-expand-Santander-silver-lead-zinc-proj...
May 04, 2009
Trevali plans additional drilling to expand Santander silver-lead-zinc project resources in Peru
Vancouver, British Columbia...Trevali Resources Corp. ("Trevali" or the "Company") (CNSX: TV, Frankfurt: 4TI, Pink Sheets: TREVF) is pleased to announce its upcoming exploration plans for the Santander Silver-Lead-Zinc Mine project in Peru. The anticipated program will include up to 10,000 metres of additional drilling aimed to significantly expand the current resource estimate of the Magistral North, Central and South deposits.
In addition to infill and expansion drilling on the three Magistral deposits -- that is expected to both increase and upgrade the current defined resources -- drilling of the silver-lead-zinc rich Puajanca zone will look to bring this fourth mineralized structure into the resource category. Drilling is also planned on significant geophysical anomalies (magnetic and induced polarization) that are coincident with the main mineralized structural trends.
The recently completed independent resource estimate of the three Magistral deposits reviews a total Indicated Mineral Resource of 5,298,000 tonnes with an average grade of 3.34% zinc, 1.27% lead and 38 g/t silver (using a 2% ZnEQ* cut-off grade -- that is the nominal base case estimated grade of material that can be mined and processed considering all applicable costs) -- for a contained metal inventory of 390 million lbs. zinc, 149 million lbs. lead and 6.5 million oz. silver in the Indicated category. An additional Inferred Mineral Resource of 2,244,000 tonnes grading 2.92% zinc, 0.50% lead and 18 g/t silver was also reviewed in the three deposits using the same cut-off grade -- for contained metals of 144 million lbs. zinc, 25 million lbs. lead and 1.3 million oz. silver. All three Magistral bodies remain open at depth and to the East.
Additionally, a further 100 million contained lbs. of zinc are estimated to be present in the 1,656,000 indicated tonnes grading at 2.74% zinc (using a 2.0% zinc cut-off grade) at the Santander Tailings Impoundment.
*ZnEQ = ((Ag Price(g) x Ag Recovery x Ag Grade) + (Pb Price(t) x Pb Recovery x (Pb Grade(%)/100)+(Zn Price(t) x Zn Recovery x (Zn Grade(%)/100)))/Zn Price(t). Golder utilized the three year rolling average price for all three metals. Price for silver is per gram ($0.43339) and that for Pb ($1,983) and Zn ($2,742) is per tonne. A recovery of 85% was applied to Ag, 94% for Pb and 91% for Zn based upon Trevali's metallurgical testwork.
Planned Private Placement Financing
The Company has arranged a non-brokered private placement financing of up to 3,500,000 units (the "Units") at $0.80 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $2,800,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share and one-half of a transferable share purchase warrant. Each warrant is exercisable to acquire an additional share for two years from the date of closing at an exercise price of $1.30. The warrants will carry a forced conversion feature such that should the common shares of the Company trade at or above $2.20 per share for 20 consecutive trading days -- then if the warrant holders are notified by the Company, the warrants must be exercised within the next 30 calendar days from the date of such notice. Unexercised warrants will expire thereafter.
All securities issued in the offering will have a hold period in Canada of four months from the closing of the offering.
The proceeds will be utilized for exploration, advancement of the mineral processing plant refurbishment and planned mining operations at the Company's Santander silver-lead-zinc mine development project in Peru, and for general working capital.
Project Background
The Santander silver-lead-zinc mine project is located approximately 215 km by road from Lima, in the western extent of Peru's prolific Cerro de Pasco mineral district. The mine operated from 1958-1993 targeting a single Carbonate Replacement Deposit-type pipe and manto structure, the Santander Orebody.
Substantial site infrastructure at the formerly-producing operation includes a fully refurbished 200-man camp and associated support facilities, an ore processing / concentrator plant (including various crushers, mills, flotation cells and filters able to produce zinc, lead-silver and copper concentrates) currently undergoing a refurbishment program, and the Tingo hydroelectric power-station located approximately 17 km down-valley to the west. The Santander project and the considerable existing infrastructure form a highly strategic asset in this mining district. The Company commenced exploration at Santander in November 2007 discovering four new high-grade silver-lead-zinc replacement and massive sulphide bodies to date.
Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance
EurGeol Dr. Mark D. Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 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 and shareholder.
The work programs at Santander were designed by, and are supervised by, Dr. Mark D. Cruise, President & CEO, Trevali, and Tim Kingsley (independent geological consultant), who together are responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance program. On-site personnel at the project rigorously collect and track samples which are then security sealed and shipped to ACME Laboratories, Vancouver, for assay. ACME's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025: 1999. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples. Quality control is further assured by the use of international and in-house standards. Blind certified reference material is inserted at regular intervals into the sample sequence by Trevali personnel in order to independently assess analytical accuracy. Finally, representative blind duplicate samples are routinely forwarded to ACME and an ISO compliant third party laboratory for additional quality control.
About Trevali Resources Corp.
The Company is currently exploring and conducting various scoping level studies on the former Santander polymetallic mine in Peru to ascertain as best as possible the feasibility of re-commencing mining and milling operations in a timely manner upon successful exploration and engineering studies.
Additionally, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Trevali Renewable Energy Inc., the Company is undertaking a significant upgrade of the Tingo run-of-river hydroelectric generating facility along with transmission line upgrades and extensions to allow the potential sale of surplus power into the Peruvian National Energy Grid.
The common shares of the Company are currently listed on the CNSX (symbol TV). For further details on the Company 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 RESOURCES CORP.
"Mark D. Cruise" (signed)
Mark D. Cruise, President
Contact Information:
Steve Stakiw, Manager -- Corporate Communications
Email: sstakiw@trevali.com
Phone: (604) 488-1661 / Fax: (604) 408-7499
The CNSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.