Normabec: Highlights From the 43-101 Report on the Real de Catorce Silver Mining District
Wednesday June 28, 9:53 am ET
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ST-BRUNO, CANADA--(CCNMatthews - June 28, 2006) - Normabec Mining Resources Ltd. ("Normabec") (TSX VENTURE:NMB - News) is pleased to provide additional information on the exploration potential, reserve estimate and tailings extracted from the 43-101 technical report on the Real de Catorce Silver Property which has a production history of 230 million ounces of silver.
The mining history of the area goes back to the mid-eighteenth century where the first significant silver mineralization was reported in 1773. During the 1800s, the Real de Catorce area became one of the foremost silver mining districts in Mexico. Mining suffered ups and downs during turbulent periods in Mexico's history but production was almost continuous from discovery up to 1990. At that time, operations closed due to low silver prices.
As previously released, Normabec retained Micon International Limited ("Micon") with the objective among other things of reviewing and assessing the potential for the property to host economic silver mineralization including the mine tailings. In the 43-101 technical report, Micon states that "historical mining has concentrated on the known quartz-carbonate veins exposed on surface and the few secondary "hidden or blind" veins discovered underground close to the previously known veins during mining."
They also add: "Very little exploration has been conducted on the property to adequately determine the true extent of the mineralization laterally or at depth on the existing veins or been focused on exploring further "hidden or blind "veins which do not have a surface expression."
The strike length of the individual mineralized veins varies and in some cases may exceed 1,000 meters up to 2,500 meters, while the vertical extent of individual mineralized shoots is generally 200 to 400 meters. Their thickness varies greatly from a few centimetres to "bonanzas" 10 metres in width.
They conclude on the exploration potential: "NORMABEC is in a unique position of having optioned the greater portion of a major historical silver mining district in Mexico that has not been subjected to modern exploration concepts and technology. The property holds the potential for the discovery of silver mineralization of similar character and grade as that exploited in the past, even after two centuries of mining."
The two major operations during recent times have been the Santa Ana mine and the San Augustin mine. In both cases, there is potential to find further areas of potentially economic mineralization along the strike extensions of the veins and at depth below the old workings. These areas remain largely untested and present a major exploration target for NORMABEC. There has been very limited mining and virtually no exploration below the water table in the Real de Catorce mining district and this area has great potential to host further shoots of mineralization.
Furthermore, at the time of cessation of operations in 1990, there remained delineated reserves in place underground totaling 533,000 tonnes averaging 275 g/t Ag. However, the reserve estimate does not qualify under NI 43-101 since it was prepared before the new standards requirements. In the report, the authors specify: "Micon considers the 1990 historical estimate to be still relevant today and that is reasonable for NORMABEC to rely on it..."
Moreover, they write: "The property also contains tailings of variable grade, some of which may be amenable to further processing." The previous operator estimates that the current tailings heaps consist of about 2 million tonnes from which 1 million grades 100 g/t Ag, and a similar amount grades about 60 g/t Ag.
MRB will commence the first stage of exploration in the next few weeks, to better define high-priority targets for drilling. NORMABEC will now apply its systematic approach on this advanced property, and move towards pre-feasability stage in order to maximize the property's potential as well as shareholder value.
Normabec is a junior mining exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol NMB and is currently exploring the Pitt Gold Property located in the Rouyn-Noranda Mining Camp.
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
Contact:
Robert Ayotte
Normabec Mining Resources Ltd
President
(450) 441-9177
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Source: NORMABEC MINING RESOURCES LTD. |
