Stillwater Mining Intercepts J-M Reef at East Boulder; Update on Stillwater Mine
Wednesday June 21, 9:02 am Eastern Time
biz.yahoo.com
DENVER, June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Stillwater Mining Company (Amex: SWC) announced that it has intercepted the J-M Reef on the west end of the 28 mile long deposit where the East Boulder Project is under construction. Sulfide mineralization was encountered in a core hole putting the location of the reef at 18,875 feet from the tunnel entry point. Assay results for the 6.6 foot ore zone sample indicate an average grade of 1.25 ounces of palladium and platinum per ton of ore. Twin tunnel boring machines (TBM) have been progressing toward the reef for almost two years, and the second TBM is now at 17,839 feet. TBM #1, currently at 18,723 feet, will continue boring to the reef, then proceed for an additional 1,000 feet. Once the machine completes the tunnel drive, footwall lateral will be driven and a 100 hole drilling program is planned to delineate the initial area targeted for mining. This work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The grade and thickness of the J-M Reef are highly variable, and the sample results for one drill hole may not be indicative of what the entire reef package looks like in the area of the East Boulder Project. The average grade of the proven and probable ore reserve for the J-M Reef is 0.71 ounce of metal per ton of ore. The planned drilling program will provide results that will give a more comprehensive overview of the expected grade and thickness of the reef and provide the basis for a definitive mine plan.
``After 22 months of tunnel boring toward the J-M Reef, we are pleased that we've intercepted it and that the geology is as we expected. This is truly a landmark event for Stillwater Mining and especially for the East Boulder team,'' said Bill Nettles, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. ``Once we complete the initial drilling program and subsequent test mining sequence, we'll have more information regarding mining methods, metallurgical recoveries, cost structure and other key components that will allow us to put together a comprehensive plan for East Boulder. At the same time we are completing the drilling and test mining, we will be continuing with underground infrastrastructure construction.
``At the Stillwater Mine we are making good progress to eliminate the bottlenecks that have arisen due to the emphasis on development footage and the resulting tremendous number of tons that are being generated,'' said Nettles. ``During the quarter we changed our blasting schedule to alleviate ventilation issues that arose as a result of increased blasting. This change, along with the previously announced bottlenecks, is expected to impact second quarter production by up to 15% compared to the first quarter of this year. As more development is being completed and as contract mining continues, cash costs of production are expected to be higher.'' He added, ``Development footage achieved on a monthly basis continues to be at historically high levels, which is the cornerstone for our ramp-up in production.''
Stillwater Mining Company is the only U.S. producer of palladium and platinum and the only significant primary producer of platinum group metals outside of South Africa. The Company is traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol SWC. Information on Stillwater Mining can be found at its web site: www.stillwatermining.com. |
