Pan American Silver announces that Barrick's new Peruvian gold project includes land optioned from Pan American
VANCOUVER, Apr 30, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- (All dollar amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars)...Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS, TSE: PAA) is pleased to announce that claim blocks that form part of the Quiruvilca property, are adjacent to, or surrounded by Barrick Gold Corp.'s Alto Chicama property in Peru. Pan American optioned these claims to Barrick two years ago. On April 23rd, Barrick announced a "significant gold discovery" on their Alto Chicama property with estimated inferred resources of 3.5 million ounces of contained gold in the Laguna Norte deposit, which lies 3 to 4 kilometers north of Pan American's optioned Los Angeles claims. Pan American's Quiruvilca land package includes the operating Quiruvilca silver-zinc mine, which produced 3.26 million ounces of silver in 2001, and the Tres Cruces gold project, which contains a gold resource of over 1.6 million ounces. (For a property map, please visit the news release section of Pan American's website: www.panamericansilver.com.)
The option agreement, between Barrick Gold Corp. and Pan American's Peruvian subsidiary dated April 7, 2000, calls for annual cash payments of $100,000 until 2005 ($200,000 paid to date) and $200,000 per year thereafter plus annual exploration expenditures of at least $500,000. Barrick may purchase the 34.7 km2 property upon making a construction decision by paying Pan American $5 per ounce of proven and probable gold reserves defined on the property at that time and by granting Pan American a 3 percent net smelter return royalty on any additional reserves defined. Barrick has spent over $1 million so far exploring Pan American's ground and is allocating $20 million to further explore the Alto Chicama project this year.
Quiruvilca lies approximately midway between Newmont's Yanacocha mine and Barrick's Pierina mine, and the host rocks and mineralization systems on the projects are similar. A grassroots gold discovery immediately outside the Quiruvilca land boundary in 1996 resulted in the formation of a 50:50 joint venture between Pan American Silver and Oroperu Resources on a combined land package called the Tres Cruces gold project. Subsequent work by Oroperu in 1997, and Battle Mountain Gold Company, which optioned the project in 1998 and 1999, included over 34,000 meters of drilling, and extensive metallurgical test work. In July 1999, Battle Mountain Gold calculated a "Total In-situ Resource" of 30.4 million tonnes of ore grading 1.65 grams of gold per tonne (1.613 million ounces of contained gold). Of this amount, 22.1 million tonnes at a grade of 1.7 grams of gold per tonne is an indicated resource and 8.3 million tonnes grading 1.52 grams of gold per tonne is an inferred resource. Pan American believes this resource estimate to be relevant and reliable. Much of the contained gold at Tres Cruces may require high-cost processing to recover, and the project was deemed uneconomic at depressed gold prices. Pan American and the restructured New Oroperu Resources are discussing ways to reactivate the project in light of today's higher gold price and Barrick's nearby Laguna Norte discovery.
Ross J. Beaty, Chairman or Rosie Moore, VP Corporate Relations
604-684-1175
CAUTIONARY NOTE
Some of the statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, such as estimates of future production levels, expectations regarding mine production costs, expected trends in mineral prices and statements that describe Pan American's future plans, objectives or goals. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on such factors as changes in general economic conditions and financial markets, changes in prices for silver and other metals , technological and operational hazards in Pan American's mining and mine development activities, uncertainties inherent in the calculation of mineral reserves, mineral resources and metal recoveries, the timing and availability of financing, governmental and other approvals, political unrest or instability in countries where Pan American is active, labor relations and other risk factors listed from time to time in Pan American's Form 40-F.
SOURCE Pan American Silver Corp.
CONTACT: Ross J. Beaty, Chairman or Rosie Moore, VP Corporate Relations,
604-684-1175
(PAA. PAAS) |
