Copperwood Drill Results Show Continuous MineralizOrvana Minerals Corp.: Copperwood Drill Results Show Continuous Mineralization Into Copperwood S6, Michigan, USA
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jan 06, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX News Network) --
Orvana Minerals Corp. (TSX: ORV), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Orvana Resources US Corp ("Orvana USA"), announced today assays from 12 holes drilled on the periphery of the Copperwood copper deposit, Michigan, USA. These drill holes were part of a 39-hole program that also collected samples for additional metallurgical testing, better located the subcrop where the access ramp is planned, provided key geological information to improve the mine plan and design, added water-monitoring wells, and intended to raise the confidence level of the indicated resource estimates in the area east of and adjacent to Copperwood in Copperwood S6 (see December 14, 2010 press release available on the Company website www.orvana.com and SEDAR www.sedar.com. Results are summarized in the table below.
Hole From, m To, m Thickness, m Cu, % Ag, ppm Sector
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CW-10-105 74.3 76.3 2.00 1.10 1.8 Southeast
CW-10-121 99.4 101.2 1.83 0.93 2.3 Southeast
CW-10-123 103.9 106.0 2.13 1.11 0.9 Southeast
CW-10-126 78.9 80.9 2.02 1.26 1.5 Southeast
CW-10-127 69.3 71.4 2.05 1.05 2.1 Southeast
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CW-10-110 154.6 157.7 3.03 1.60 5.4 East-Central
CW-10-114 188.3 190.2 1.99 1.23 1.7 East-Central
CW-10-116 187.3 188.9 1.60 1.01 0.8 East-Central
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CW-10-111 263.6 265.6 2.08 1.23 1.4 Northeast
CW-10-112 250.3 253.2 2.93 1.96 6.9 Northeast
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CW-10-119 194.2 197.3 3.09 2.10 7.0 Southwest
CW-10-122 156.0 158.3 2.29 1.28 1.8 Southwest
Note: Total depths and total thicknesses are reported. The mineralized units
strike approximately 090 and dip approximately 7-12 degrees north. Multi-
shot surveys from these vertical holes showed that the deviation is
typically less than 1 degree. True thicknesses are between 96% and 99% of
the total thicknesses reported herein.
"These drill holes were located in areas where, for the most part, inferred resources were estimated on the edge of the Copperwood deposit and it is expected that these resources can now be upgraded," said Dr. Bill Williams, President of Orvana USA. "Also, 5 of these holes demonstrated that potentially minable mineralization, as defined in previous Technical Reports, continues into the adjacent Section 6, some of which was not classified as NI 43-101 compliant. We will now work on bringing Copperwood S6 into the overall mine plan with the goal of getting a bigger, longer-lived project permitted."
The Company will complete the drill program in the next few days and the assays from the 15 holes drilled in Copperwood S6 will be released within a few weeks. Marston and Marston of St. Louis, Missouri was retained to evaluate the combined resource estimates in Copperwood and Copperwood S6 with the purpose of including the latter in the mine plan for the pre-feasibility study and mine-permit application. Current combined estimates are summarized in the table below. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have a demonstrated economic viability.
Mt Cu, % Cu, Mlbs Class
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Copperwood 14.15 1.93 600 Measured
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5.33 1.69 198 Indicated
Copperwood S6 8.41 1.42 264 Indicated
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TOTAL 13.74 1.52 462 Indicated
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TOTAL M&I 27.89 1.73 1,062
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Copperwood 3.27 1.49 107 Inferred
Copperwood S6 0.46 1.29 13 Inferred
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TOTAL INFERRED 3.73 1.47 120
Note: The resources assume a $22/tonne mining cost, $9.00/tonne
processing cost, 87% copper recovery, $4.00/tonne G&A, $5.63/tonne
sales cost, a minimum of 1.5 metres (5 feet) mining height, and a 1%
cutoff; $2.30/pound and $2.60/pound copper prices were used for
Copperwood and Copperwood S6, respectively. AMEC E & C Services, Inc.,
Phoenix, Arizona, under the supervision of Greg Kulla P.Geo. a
qualified person who is independent of Orvana for the purposes of NI
43-101, prepared the resource estimates under separate Technical
Reports, whose effective dates are April 30, 2010 and October 8, 2010.
Copperwood and Copperwood S6 are sedimentary stratiform copper deposits hosted by the Precambrian Nonesuch Formation. The mineralized unit, or the copper-bearing sequence ("CBS"), lies at depths between about 30 metres (100 feet) and 265 metres (870 feet). The CBS is amenable to underground, room-and-pillar mining. The mineralization is analogous to the White Pine mine, located 30 kilometres (18 miles) to the east, where nearly 2 million tonnes of copper was produced between 1953 and 1996.
The technical information contained in this document was prepared under the supervision of Bill Williams, Ph.D., VP Corporate Development, a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101. Theodore Bornhorst, Ph.D., who is an independent qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101, reviewed the assay results and verified the QA/QC. Copper and silver were analyzed by accredited Activation Laboratories Ltd, (ACTLAB) in Ancaster, Ontario Canada. Analytical procedures are the same as described in the Copperwood Project NI 43-101-compliant Technical Report "Copperwood Project, Michigan, USA", whose effective date is April 30, 2010.
A map showing the location of the drill holes is available on the Company's website, www.orvana.com.