NEWS UPDATETVI PACIFIC PROVIDES CANATUAN SULPHIDE PROJECT UPDATE
FINAL APPROVALS PROVIDED; FAST-TRACK CONSTRUCTION UNDER WAY
· Construction Activities Now Well Advanced
· Plant Commissioning on a Fast Track for Q3, 2007
· Copper, Zinc Concentrate Production Expected to Commence in 2007
· Ongoing Canatuan Exploration Program Expected to Increase Mine Life
· Previously Released Feasibility Study Prepared On a Stand Alone Basis Shows Robust Economics
o NPV (10%) = US$60.1 million, IRR = 89% (feasibility study metal prices)
o NPV (10%) = US$114 million, IRR = 149% (current metal prices)
TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX: "TVI" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has provided all final approvals for construction of the Sulphide Project at the Canatuan Mine, Philippines. The Canatuan deposit is wholly owned by TVI's affiliate, TVI Resource Development (Phils) Inc. This News Release should be read in conjunction with News Releases issued on May 26, 2006, "TVI Pacific Inc. Receives Completed Feasibility Study On Canatuan Sulphide Project, Philippines" and on July 13, 2006, "TVI Pacific Inc. Files NI 43-101 Technical Report Regarding Sulphide Project At Canatuan, Philippines".
Certain information set out in this News Release, including exploration and development plans at Canatuan, constitute forward-looking information. Readers should review the cautionary statement respecting forward-looking information that appears at the end of this News Release. Unless otherwise noted, all dollar amounts set out in this News Release are expressed in US dollars.
The Sulphide Project was the subject of a positive Feasibility Study, prepared by Norwest Corporation ("Norwest") on a stand alone basis in the second quarter of 2006, demonstrating technical feasibility and robust economics. The study showed a Net Present Value (NPV10) to the Company of USD$60 million and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 89% (metal prices used: US$2.00/lb Cu, US$1.04/lb Zn, US$550/oz Au and US$9.50/oz Ag). Using more recent metal prices (as of January 17, 2007: US$2.53/lb Cu, US$1.67/lb Zn, US$632/oz Au and US$12.75/oz Ag), NPV10 amounts to US$114 million with an IRR of 149%. Further information on the estimated commercial potential of the Sulphide Project is available within the previously filed NI 43-101 report, also prepared by Norwest, and filed on July 13, 2006 on the SEDAR web site (www.sedar.com).
"The final decision to proceed with construction of the Sulphide Project is a major milestone for TVI, and is expected to result in substantial future cash flow for the Company. The Norwest study which was prepared on a stand alone basis indicates very robust economics, and subsequent optimization studies have shown that the economics improve substantially once the Sulphide Project is combined with current Gossan mining operations," said Cliff James, TVI's President and CEO. "Information from an aggressive 2006 exploration program at the Canatuan Mine is now being compiled, and is expected to add additional Sulphide mineral resources to increase mine life".
Construction Activities
TVI is also pleased to report that it has made significant progress in its Sulphide Project optimization and construction preparation activities following the receipt of the Norwest Feasibility Study.
The following work to date occured:
A Project Management Team for the Sulphide Project has been hired.
All necessary permits to proceed with construction have been obtained.
An extensive exploration program to increase mineral resources as described in the Exploration Update section below is well underway.
Metallurgical test work on core samples taken during the exploration program is well advanced. The samples are being analyzed to optimize the plant grinding and flotation circuits.
Construction has been initiated on an overland power line which is expected to substantially reduce electrical costs. The power line will be capable of supplying electricity for both the new Sulphide Plant and the existing Gossan Plant. Current Gossan operations rely on generator sets using costly diesel fuel for electric power.
Final engineering design of a new tailings dam for Sulphide material has been completed, and construction of the dam is well underway.
New administration and warehouse building construction has commenced, and plans have been completed for additional housing at site along with an upgrade of the kitchen facility.
Three used ball mills have been purchased, consisting of two 2.7 m by 4.6 m mills, and one 3.6 m by 5.0 m mill. The ball mills are being refurbished.
The onsite laboratory has been upgraded to handle the sulphide mineralization, and the capacity of the lab has been doubled. All of TVI's exploration samples will be processed in this lab following rigorous QA and QC procedures which will result in substantial cost savings over commercial assaying.
Several port facilities for loading concentrate to barges and/or ships have been investigated, and one in particular has been identified as ready and suitable.
Geotechnical drilling of the tailings dam area and the Sulphide plant site has been completed. Test work on the plant site core is being carried out for engineering design of the foundations.
Intermet Engineering Pty. Ltd. of Australia has recently completed an engineering study on the proposed plant, which has confirmed the required plant equipment. TVI is in the process of purchasing the equipment, especially items that have appreciable manufacturing times.
Process Machinery Company Inc., a Philippines engineering company, has been hired to provide detailed design and layout drawings for the crushing and grinding circuits. TVI is currently approaching other firms for engineering drawings on the remaining plant circuits, such as flotation, thickeners, pressure filters, pumps, etc.
TVI is arranging for vendor financing of certain high cost items such as a generator that will provide backup electrical power in case of power line interruptions.
Canatuan Near Mine Exploration Update
As part of its comprehensive evaluation of its extensive Canatuan tenements, an exploration drilling program was completed in the last half of 2006 to define the mineralization surrounding the current Canatuan open pit with the aim of ultimately increasing Canatuan's mineral resources/reserves and extending the life of the mine plan.
TVI's exploration program involved the following:
Infill drilling program consisting of 69 reverse circulation ("RC") drill holes ("DHs") as well as 34 diamond drill holes ("DDHs") to further define mineral resources.
13 DDHs to provide core samples for sulphide optimization metallurgical test work.
Additional 56 RC DHs and 25 DDHs to test the extension of Sulphide mineralization along the west and north fringes of the deposit.
The exploration program consisted of 125 RC DHs for 4,761 metres, and 72 DDHs for 3,619 metres, for a combined total of 197 drill holes for 8,380 metres.
The drilling information and assay data from the above described exploration program is now being compiled into a software package for analysis. It is expected that an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource/reserve report for Canatuan will be announced in the near future.
Exploration activities in the near vicinity of the Canatuan minesite are ongoing in an effort to determine whether additional deposits are present in the area. As previously described (included in the Company's 2005 Annual Report), TVI's Canatuan deposit is classified as a Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ("VMS") - a deposit type that is mined to a high degree of operational and financial success in many parts of the world. VMS deposits are typically sources of copper and zinc, and frequently contain gold and silver, which is consistent with the composition of the Canatuan deposit. One of the common characteristics of VMS deposits that occur in a greenstone belt is that the individual deposits occur in clusters and together form a "mining camp". Such deposits tend to be readily identified within a favourable "host rock horizon".
Outlook
Metal and mineral prices have recently been subject to a degree of volatility, but remain near record highs. TVI's goal is to commission the Sulphide Plant as soon as possible to take maximum advantage of high metal prices. The Company currently expects to start the commissioning phase during the third quarter of 2007.
Capital costs of the Sulphide Project have to date have been funded from internal TVI cash flow. The Company remains debt free. However, external financing will be required for the Sulphide Project to remain on a fast track schedule. Hill Street Capital LLC of New York has been retained by TVI to assist in arranging such financing, and a number of financing options are currently being pursued. The ability of TVI to remain on a fast track schedule, to meet commissioning during the third quarter of 2007, is contingent on the timing of completing satisfactory financing.
About TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX: TVI)
TVI Pacific Inc. is a publicly-listed Canadian mining company focused on exploring for and producing precious and base metals within district scale systems in Asia.
In the Philippines, TVI's most advanced project, the Canatuan Mine, (the first foreign-invested, new, mining project in the Philippines in nearly four decades) began mining and milling operations in mid-2004, producing gold and silver doré. Mill throughput is currently averaging 1,900 dmtpd, generating an average of approximately 160 AuEqOz per day from a gossan/oxide zone. In 2006, TVI received a completed NI 43-101 feasibility study on the Canatuan Sulphide project prepared by Norwest Corporation (which has been filed with certain securities regulatory authorities in Canada and is available at the SEDAR website.) The Norwest study addresses the copper-zinc bearing massive sulphide zone, or lower portion of the Canatuan Deposit. Construction of the Sulphide Project at Canatuan is now underway. In addition, TVI holds a 2.5% NSR on the Philippine-based Rapu Rapu project (operated by Lafayette Mining Ltd.). Exploration in the Philippines is being conducted at Canatuan, in an effort to expand TVI's mineral resource base and to find new deposits, at Balabag and at other areas which management of TVI view as compelling exploration properties.
In China, TVI's wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary, Hunan Pacific Geological Exploration Inc. ("HPGEI"), was the first foreign mining company to be granted both WOFE status and a Qualified Explorer License. The exploration program in China is focused primarily within the Golden Triangle area, a highly prospective metallogenic region in China's south-western provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi Autonomous Region and prospective areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region. HPGEI has 2,394 sq kms of land under application in China in the Golden Triangle and in the Tibet A.R.
TVI also has a Drilling Division consisting of Exploration Drilling Corporation ("EDCO"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of TVI Pacific Inc. based in the Philippines, and Hunan Pacific Drilling ("HPD"), a division of HPGEI based in China, which generates revenue from contract drilling.
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Further Information: Clifford M. James, President and CEO (403) 265-4356
Paul Moon, Director, Corporate Communications (403) 265-4356