Duran Ventures Considers Strategic Alternatives for Its Huachocolpa Assets

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 30, 2015) - Duran Ventures Inc. (TSX VENTURE:DRV) (LMA:DRV) ("Du ran" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its 100% owned Huachocolpa precious and base metal properties ("Huachocolpa" or the "Properties"). The Properties consist of 82 contiguous and non-contiguous mining concessions totalling 2,980 hectares ("ha") located within the historic Huachocolpa Mining District in the Department of Huanavelica, Peru, some 260 kilometres ("km") southeast of Lima. There is paved road access from Lima (via the coastal town of Pisco) totalling 445 km up to the Chonta Pass. From there a number of gravel roads service the Properties.

The Properties acquired in January 2015 (refer to news release dated January 20^th, 2015) are 100% owned with no underlying royalties.

Duran's current objective at Huachocolpa is to advance its technical knowledge of the Properties while minimising impact on the Company's cash reserves which are primarily committed for the construction of the Aguila Norte flotation plant in the north of the Peru (see news release dated October 16, 2015). Duran is committed to establishing a sustainable business model whereby its Aguila Norte processing plant will complement its exploration expertise and portfolio of mineral assets, such as Huachocolpa. 

With this in mind the Company will evaluate and consider the following options:    

1. Contract Mining and toll treating its high grade material at one of the operating flotation plants in the vicinity of the Properties.
2. Commence permitting for installation of a flotation plant to treat high grade material from Duran's properties plus several of the nearby artisanal mine workings in the district.
3. Associate with one of the existing small-scale producers in the district to build a joint district-wide toll milling facility.
4. Seek a Joint venture partner who would fund exploration and development on the Properties with Duran receiving cash payments and royalty on production.
5. Associate with a 3^rd party investment syndicate or fund to make a strategic investment in the district combining a number of small mining operations

The Huachocolpa Mining District is host to several producing and past-producing vein hosted polymetallic, base metal (silver-zinc-lead-copper plus or minus gold). Polymetallic mining and milling continues to be the dominant formal economic activity in the district with Caudalosa Chica and Recuperada being the larger operations currently in production. The Caudalosa Chica and Recuperada mineral processing plants (located 3.0 and 7.5 km respectively from the centre of the Properties) produced a combined 41,012^(a)(b) tonnes of concentrate during 2014.

Compania Minera Caudalosa S.A. is in the process of upgrading its current 800 tonne per day ("tpd") polymetallic flotation plant to 2,000 tpd.  Smaller scale mining operations also operate in the district.

Veins have been mined in the Huachocolpa District since Spanish colonial times (16^th century). The vein systems generally strike easterly and crosscut folded Mesozoic sediments and overlying Cenozoic volcanics. Base metal mineralization in the veins is dominated by sphalerite, silver bearing galena, and chalcopyrite. On Duran's Properties, numerous veins of variable widths and strike potential have been observed during the 2015 first pass exploration. The veins are continuous to rosary/lenticular, commonly branching, and mineralization is hosted in these veins and related vein breccias.

The Properties have been divided into eight distinct zones. Duran mapped and sampled four of these during April, June, and September 2015, for a total of 196 samples. The majority of the work concentrated on three zones that have assayed high-grade base and precious metal numbers during the reconnaissance sampling programs undertaken by the Company's geologists. The 2015 sampling also confirmed mineralization in 81 samples collected by the previous owner of the Properties.

Highlights of the 2015 sampling included defining several gold bearing polymetallic veins at the Castorindo Zone, identifying a 1,500 metre long mineral bearing structure at the Alta Tunes Zone, accessing and mapping two levels of an abandoned mine working at the Tangana West Zone, and confirming the potential to expand the strike length on these structures and numerous other structures within the Properties. The surface sampling was successful in defining numerous follow up targets. A complete list of sample assays, dominantly in the form of chips with lesser grab and mine dump samples, including those confirmed from the previous owner, along with maps, can be viewed on Duran's website located at: http://www.duranventuresinc.com/huachocolpa.php.

Castorindo Zone:

At the Castorindo Zone, 5 gold bearing polymetallic structures were mapped that remain open along strike. The lengths of the structures as currently mapped are 40 to 400 metres with variable widths from 0.15 to 4 metres and occur in a vein corridor nearly 600 metres wide. Veins bend and occasionally branch and it is anticipated that favourable extensional sites for mineralization will be found during future work programs.

The Castor structure has provided the highest grade gold values on the Properties thus far with four samples ranging in width from 0.18 to 0.42 metres and assaying 13.5 to 25.4 g/t gold with 162.9 to 1128 g/t Ag. High grade silver (1848 g/t Ag) was also encountered at the Jess structure on a sample of 0.2 metres. Other veins not yet mapped represented by 5 samples with widths of 0.2 to 0.7 metres also present precious and base metal mineralization with gold values ranging from 0.89 to 1.55 g/t, silver ranging from 82.8 to 682 g/t, and up to 4.3% zinc and 9.7% lead.

	Length	# of	True	g/t	g/t	%	%	%
Structure	(m)	Samples	Widths (m)	Au	Ag	Zn	Pb	Cu
Castor	400	25	0.1-3	0.1-25.4	6.3-1128	0.031-3.9	0.033-8.95	0.007-0.62
			Averages:	5.52	287.9	1	1.83	0.104

 

	Length	# of	True	g/t	g/t	%	%	%
Structure	(m)	Samples	Widths (m)	Au	Ag	Zn	Pb	Cu
Jess	40	3	0.15-0.2	0.03-0.13	47.4-1848	0.052-0.501	0.643-5.72	0.038-1.87
			Averages:	0.07	654.7	0.22	2.68	0.67
Pamela 1	220	5	0.2-4	0.03-0.29	0.9-394	0.015-0.189	0.006-3.24	0.00-0.43
			Averages:	0.16	105.3	0.065	1.03	0.11
Pamela 2	360	5	0.45‐1	0.07-0.95	2.5-429	0.069-0.17	0.26-9.04	0.01-0.40
			Averages:	0.4	224.8	0.13	3.13	0.19
Norah	240	25	0.15-0.7	0.14-1.99	82.8-682	0.36-4.3	1.79-9.68	0.044-0.33
			Averages:	1.19	268.4	1.92	5.77	0.14

Alta Tunes Zone:

The Alta Tunes Zone has been shown to host a significant silver-zinc-lead-gold bearing structure, the Alessandra structure, which has been traced for 1,500 metres and is still open along strike. The structure ranges in width from 0.15 to 5 metres and is dominated by breccia textures. Sampling has concentrated on the northwest and southeast parts of the Alessandra structure and 31 of the better samples collected, including samples from veins in the vicinity of the structure, have provided grades averaging 59 g/t silver, 3.99% zinc, 2.74% lead, and 0.19g/t gold. Another vein in the Alta Tunes Zone outcrops for 200 metres and has shown widths of 0.4 to 1.5 metres. Veins parallel to this vein have been noted in outcrop with widths of 0.4 to 0.5 metres.

	Length	# of	True	g/t	g/t	%	%	%
Structure	(m)	Samples	Widths (m)	Au	Ag	Zn	Pb	Cu
Alessandra	1400	31	0.15-5	0.02-1.05	0.9-625	0.014-15.46	0.013-14.42	0.00-0.24
			Averages:	0.19	59	3.99	2.74	0.039

Tangana West Zone:

The Doris vein in the Tangana West Zone was mapped and sampled on two mined levels. The vein has a strike length of 120 metres with vein widths ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 metres and average grades of 0.19 g/t gold, 59 g/t silver, 3.99% zinc, and 2.74% lead.

Of the remaining 75 samples collected from elsewhere in the Tangana West, 8 samples returned between 1.43 to 3.38 g/t gold on sample widths of 0.25 to 1.25 metres averaging 0.79 metres, 12 samples returned 100 to 547 g/t silver on samples widths of 0.3 to 1.5 metres averaging 0.57 metres, 3 samples returned 1000 to 4180 g/t silver on samples widths of 0.4 to 0.5 metres averaging 0.45 metres, 4 samples returned between 2.2% to 8.6% zinc on sample widths of 0.3 to 1.0 metres averaging 0.49 metres, 8 samples returned between 2.0% to 14.4% lead on sample widths between 0.25 to 1.5 metres averaging 0.6 meters, and 3 samples returned 1.4% to 2.4% copper averaging 0.55 metres. These and other anomalous samples require follow up mapping and sampling.

	Length	# of	True	g/t	g/t	%	%	%
Structure	(m)	Samples	Widths (m)	Au	Ag	Zn	Pb	Cu
Doris	120	21	0.5-1.5	0.01-14.6	0.3-336	0.036-2.37	0.003-1.28	0.00-10.87
			Averages:	1.69	66.1	0.34	0.18	0.73

Limited sampling at the Chuqutum and Sarinha Zones has identified significant gold, silver, zinc, or lead values in rock samples from these zones. The Company looks forward to further developing these zones, as well as, the Manzalones Zone that is located in close proximity to the Caudalosa Chica mine and other small producers, as well as, the Miguu and San Frango Zones.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Sample collection in the field was accompanied by industry standard documentation including sample location, type, width, and description. All samples were delivered to Inspectorate Services SAC in Lima, Peru by Company geologists. Inspectorate is an ISO certified laboratory. At Inspectorate, the samples were crushed, pulverized, split, and assayed for gold by fire-assay with atomic absorption finish and 44-element four acid digestion ICP atomic emission spectrometry. Samples containing greater than 200 parts per-million silver were reanalyzed with an atomic absorption finish. Samples containing greater than 1,000 ppm silver were reanalyzed using fire-assay with gravimetric finish. Samples exceeding 10,000 parts per-million zinc, lead, or copper were reanalyzed using four acid digestion atomic absorption spectrometry. The June 2015 samples employed standard reference material and coarse quartz blanks. Neither the April 2015 samples nor samples collected by the previous operator employed the use of quality control material. The 2015 sample rejects and pulps are available to the Company and the 2015 sampling has confirmed mineralization reported by the previous operator.

Ryan Grywul, P.Geo., and a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for all technical information contained in this news release.

(a) from Grupo Raffo GR Holding SA 2014 Annual Report

(b) from Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA 2014 Annual Report in the Bolsa de Valores de Lima http://www.bvl.com.pe/eeff/B20003/20150327203602/MEB200032014AIA01.PDF

About Duran

Duran Ventures Inc. is a Canadian exploration company focused on mineral processing and the exploration and development of porphyry copper, precious metal, and polymetallic deposits in Peru.

Duran Ventures Inc. is a Canadian resource company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the Bolsa de Valores de Lima: Symbol "DRV".

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. We use words such as "might", "will", "should", "anticipate", "plan", "expect", "believe", "estimate", "forecast" and similar terminology to identify forward looking statements and forward-looking information. Such statements and information are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments as well as other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. While the Company believes that the expectations expressed by such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information and the assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis underlying such expectations are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct. In evaluating forward-looking statements and information, readers should carefully consider the various factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking statements and forward-looking information.