TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 10, 2015) - Minera Alamos Inc. (the "Company" or "Minera Alamos") (TSX VENTURE:MAI) today provided an update on the development efforts underway at its 100% owned Los Verdes project in Sonora Mexico. The Company has completed initial mine planning at the South Deposit and the evaluation of sensor based ore sorting techniques.
"In addition to the work completed on the South Deposit, we are now evaluating new options regarding our North Deposit," said Chris Frostad, CEO, Minera Alamos Inc. "As a result of last month's successful drill results and the completion of a new resource estimate later this month we expect to add valuable alternatives to our approach."
Highlights
- A phased mine plan on the South Deposit has now been developed focusing on an initial 600,000 tonnes of ore within the 1,300,000 tonne starter pit;
- The plan results in a significant reduction in waste stripping prior to the commencement of mining operations;
- Average grades during the initial mining phase continue to approach 2% CuEq;
- Bench tests performed by Tomra in Perth, Australia to evaluate the use of sensor based sorting produced positive results consistent with the Company's expectations;
- Sorting results confirmed the potential to effectively reject low grade crushed material from the South Deposit mineralization prior to final downstream processing. The ability to produce a crushed rock stream with high metal recoveries and elevated grades provides a number of opportunities to improve the overall project economics.
- Bulk samples are currently being delivered in order to optimize the results of the preliminary sorting tests using full scale production equipment.
About Los Verdes
Recent work by Minera Alamos has identified the potential for a phased approach at the Los Verdes project. An initial small-scale production operation would be followed by an expansion towards the full project scope. Internal estimates currently target project construction to be initiated in 2016.
The Los Verdes project is comprised of 18 concessions covering 7,760 hectares located in Sonora Mexico, approximately 200 kilometers east-southeast of the capital city of Hermosillo. This high-grade, open pit copper-molybdenum project was the subject of a Preliminary Feasibility Study issued by the Company in 2008. That report was updated and re-issued as a Preliminary Economic Assessment in 2012.
Utilizing only the project's South Deposit, the most recent report was based on a resource estimate that contained a total resource (measured + indicated) of 7.7MM tonnes - 0.64% copper, 0.12% molybdenum, 0.07% tungsten, 4.75 g/t silver.
In 2011, Minera Alamos acquired the North Deposit area (previously known as Potreritos) which is located approximately 2 km north of the Los Verdes property limits. Historic estimates for the North Deposit include 1.4 MM tonnes of indicated resources (0.47% Cu / 0.12% Mo) and 0.8 MM tonnes of inferred resources (0.22% Cu / 0.033% Mo) (see Company's press release dated October 27, 2011).
About Minera Alamos
Minera Alamos is a junior exploration and development company with offices in Toronto, Ontario Canada and Hermosillo, Sonora Mexico. Its flagship project is the Los Verdes open pit copper-molybdenum project in Sonora, Mexico that is currently in development.
Mr. Darren Koningen, P. Eng., Minera Alamos Inc.'s President, is the Qualified Person responsible for technical content of this release under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Koningen has supervised the preparation of, and approved the scientific and technical disclosures utilized in this news release.
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