Inmet Doubles Reserves at its Troilus Gold Mine
2003-03-26 15:46 (New York)
TORONTO, March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Inmet Mining Corporation (IMN-
TSX) announced today that the gold reserves at its Troilus mine in northern
Quebec have increased to over 1.0 million recoverable ounces, almost double
the previous reserves. The increase in reserves is the result of significant
operational improvements as well as additional in-fill drilling.
Richard Ross, Inmet's President and Chief Executive Officer, says: "The
new life-of-mine plan has tremendous potential to generate significant value
for Inmet by adding nearly half a million ounces of gold to Troilus' reserve
and essentially doubling the remaining life of the operation."
Troilus has substantially enhanced its operation through a series of
improvements including a significant increase in the average daily mill
throughput rate from 10,000 tonnes to 16,000 tonnes per day, better mining
efficiency in the pit and improved grade controls. Additional in-fill drilling
was recently completed on the J-4 zone, a satellite deposit located
approximately 1,000 metres from the main 87 open pit. Troilus has also
processed more than 800,000 tonnes from the J-4 open pit with better than
expected results for grade and metallurgical recovery.
In light of these developments, the resource model and pit boundaries
were revised. These revisions resulted in a new life-of-mine plan with an
additional 490,000 ounces of recoverable gold and cash costs on average over
the life of the mine of U.S.$240 per ounce, slightly better than the previous
mine plan. Additional capital expenditures in the new life-of-mine plan,
included in the cash breakeven cost of U.S.$270 per ounce, are primarily for
replacement of mining equipment in light of the longer mine life.
Comparison of Troilus' New Life-of-Mine Plan
with Previous Life-of-Mine Plan
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New Previous
Life-of-Mine Plan(1) Life-of-Mine Plan(2)
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Reserves (million tonnes) 42.5 22.6
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Waste-to-Ore Ratio 1.3:1 1.2:1
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Gold Grade (grams per tonne) 0.9 0.9
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Mill Recoveries for Gold 83 82
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Recoverable Gold (ounces) 1,040,000 550,000
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Copper Grade (%) 0.09 0.10
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Mill Recoveries for Copper (%) 88 88
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Recoverable Copper (tonnes) 32,000 18,000
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Final Year of Production 2010 2006
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Years of Operation 8 4
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Average Cash Cost (U.S.$/ounce) $240 $245
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Cash Breakeven Cost (U.S.$/ounce) $270 $260
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Inmet has sold forward 396,000 ounces of future gold production from
Troilus at an average price of U.S.$340 per ounce.
(1) Troilus' revised reserves as at December 31, 2002 are 42.5 million
tonnes at 0.9 grams per tonne of gold and 0.09 per cent copper,
(proven - 4.7 million tonnes; probable - 37.8 million tonnes). The
new pit designs are based on a gold price of U.S.$325 per ounce and a
copper price of U.S.$0.90 per pound. A mining dilution factor of five
per cent was incorporated into the mine plan. The reserve estimate
was prepared by Inmet employees under the supervision of Eric
Lamontagne, PhD, P. Eng., Chief Engineer, Troilus, in accordance
with National Instrument 43-101 promulgated by the Canadian
Securities Administrators. Dr. Lamontagne is a qualified person for
the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. The sample preparation of
the core from the J-4 in-fill drilling was conducted on site using a
screen-metallic protocol. The assays of the samples were performed by
the Troilus laboratory using certified standards for quality control.
Five per cent of the assays were sent to Chimitec, an independent
certified laboratory, for cross-checks.
Inmet retained Roscoe Postle Associates (RPA) to provide assistance
in developing the resource models. Resource calculations were
prepared by employees of Inmet under the supervision of Luke Evans,
M.Sc., P. Eng., Consulting Geological Engineer, RPA, in accordance
with National Instrument 43-101 promulgated by the Canadian
Securities Administrators. Mr. Evans is a qualified person for the
purposes of National Instrument 43-101. The resource has been
calculated on a block modeling basis, using blocks of 10 by 10 by 10
metres and a cut-off grade of 0.45 grams per tonne of gold.
(2) The previous life-of-mine plan was based on Troilus' reserves as at
December 31, 2001, reconciled to Troilus' 2002 production. As at
December 31, 2001, Troilus had proven and probable reserves of
858,000 contained ounces of gold before metallurgical recovery of 82
per cent. Troilus produced 165,000 ounces of gold in 2002. As at
December 31, 2002, prior to the revision, Troilus had proven reserves
of 8.2 million tonnes at 0.8 grams per tonne gold and 0.1 per cent
copper and probable reserves of 14.4 million tonnes at 1.0 grams per
tonne of gold and 0.1 per cent copper. Total proven and probable
reserves were 22.6 million tonnes at 0.9 grams per tonne of gold and
0.1 per cent copper or 669,000 contained ounces of gold before
metallurgical recovery of 82 per cent.
About Inmet - Inmet is a Canadian based international mining company.
Inmet's mining operations and investments produce copper, zinc and gold, and
Inmet's growth strategy is focused on finding quality base metal reserves.
Inmet's operating base consists of four competitive mining operations: Cayeli,
Troilus, Pyhasalmi and Ok Tedi.
This press release is also available at www.inmetmining.com.
SOURCE Inmet Mining Corporation
-0- 03/26/2003
/CONTACT: Richard Ross, President and Chief Executive Officer,
(1) 416-860-3974; Jochen Tilk, Executive Vice-President, (1) 416-860-3972;
To request a free copy of this organization's annual report, please go to
newswire.ca and click on reports@cnw./
(IMN.) |
