AUN announces 15,000M diamond drill programThis a scan by my computer of the NR handout provided at the conference....
"Aurcana commences 15,000 metre diamond drill program at La Negra
Aurcana Corporation ("Aurcana" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a 15,000 metre underground diamond drill exploration program will commence immediately at the La Negra mine, Queretaro State, Mexico. The program is designed to follow up on earlier drilling success, target extensions to known zones and test geophysical anomalies. A contract has been awarded to Micro Tuneles y Suministros del Occidente S.A. de c.v. (MTSO) an established Mexican drill contractor with previous drilling experience at La Negra. With Aurcana's underground drill currently at site and the contracting of MTSO, two drills will be available to undertake the program.
Aurcana has completed approximately 400 metres of development which will allow for drilling to continue uninterrupted by providing access to all of the planned locations for drill stations from where the targets can be most effectively tested.
The drill program will begin by testing three important targets in the currently producing Alacran - Cristo Rey area:
1) the high grade copper - silver Cristo Reyarea;
2) the Trinidad mantos; and
3) the potentially large tonnage Breccia Zone.
The Cristo Rey zone has been accessed underground on the 1990 level where historic stope samples reported grades of up to 353 grams per tonne ("gft") silver, 5.69% copper, and 1.26% zinc. A historic diamond drill hole intersected a 7.8 metre interval of 323 gft silver, 5.79% copper, and 2.37% zinc 90 meters below the stope that returned the high grade samples.
The Trinidad mantas (previously reported as the stope 1980 zone in the Company's April 26, 2007 news release) were discovered by Aurcana using their own underground diamond drill. Highlights from the April 26, 2007 news release included four holes that returned an average of 11.82 meters of 162.5 gft silver, 2.57% zinc, 1.28% copper, and 0.43% lead.
The Breccia Zone is interpreted to be the continuation of the Alacran ore body to depth. Mining of an initial bulk sample from the Breccia Zone to date by Aurcana has recovered approximately 7,000 tonnes with an average grade of 125 gft silver, 1.29% copper, 0.68% zinc, and 0.41 % lead.
The remaining phase of the underground program is designed to test for extensions to several of the known ore zones and to test new zones that have been indicated from past diamond drilling and through geophysics carried out by the previous operator. With completion of the full program, Aurcana is expecting to be able to increase the historical reserve base through expansion of the existing zones, and from the delineation of new zones. The objective of the program is to outline sufficient additional resources in order to be able to make a decision on expanding the size of the existing mill. The reader should be cautioned the historic reserves do not conform to National Instrument 43-101 requirements for reporting purposes; as such the Company is not treating these historic estimates as current reserves or resources. These estimates should not be relied upon until they have been verified by further due diligence and by the Company's "Qualified Person".
Aurcana commenced production in June of this year and production from the 3rd quarter was approximately 73,000 tonnes of ore processed with 3,200 tonnes of concentrate produced. During this start up phase stockpiled material and lower grade ore generated by development work was used in order to fine tune the mill and allow efficiencies to be incorporated into the mill. Aurcana is very pleased with the performance of the La Negra operation and expects that 2008 will see improving results from this start up phase of the operation.
With a strong balance sheet, 1,000 tonnes per day production established at La Negra, Rosario slated to add additional production of 800 tonnes per day by the end of 2008, a very positive outlook for the price of commodities, along with the continued expansion of Aurcana's shareholder base, a very bright, exciting and rewarding future await Aurcana and it's shareholders.
The reader should be cautioned the Company has not completed feasibility studies confirming the projected production capacity at La Negra nor Rosario and there is no certainty the Company's plans will be economically viable.
Ron Nichols, P.Eng. a Director and Vice President of Exploration for Aurcana, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this release.
Aurcana is a Canadian junior mining company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, symbol: AUN.
The Company is currently producing and remains focused on the acquisition, development and operation of additional silver, zinc and copper mines with good infrastructure and ore reserves/resources that require minimal capital and time to re-start.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AURCANA CORPORATION
"Ken Booth'~ President
Ken Booth, President or
Jack Barnes, Investor Relations Aurcana Corporation
Phone: (604) 331-9333
Toll Free: (866) 532-9333
Web site: www.aurcana.com
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements - This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the business and anticipated financial performance of the Company. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include unsuccessful exploration results, changes in metal prices, changes in the availability of funding for mineral exploration and development, unanticipated changes in key management personnel and general economic conditions. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forwardlooking statements, oral or written, made by itself or on its behalf.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy and accuracy of this Release."