BALABAG EXPLORATION UPDATE:
- Most Recent Drilling Results Include:
-- 5.40 m averaging 3.91 gpt Au, 259.08 gpt Ag or 8.38 gpt AuEq
-- 4.00 m averaging 6.32 gpt Au, 106.37 gpt Ag or 8.16 gpt AuEq
-- 2.70 m averaging 1.99 gpt Au, 40.23 gpt Ag or 2.68 gpt AuEq
-- 2.65 m averaging 1.10 gpt Au, 52.55 gpt Ag or 2.01 gpt AuEq
- Project Scoping Study Completion Anticipated In The Third Quarter Of 2007; Preliminary Results Expected In Early August
- Newly Discovered Vein Exposures Potentially Extend Mineralized Zones
-- Orebody Appears Open Laterally And At Depth
-- 4.00 m averaging 6.32 gpt Au, 106.37 gpt Ag or 8.16 gpt AuEq
-- 2.70 m averaging 1.99 gpt Au, 40.23 gpt Ag or 2.68 gpt AuEq
-- 2.65 m averaging 1.10 gpt Au, 52.55 gpt Ag or 2.01 gpt AuEq
- Project Scoping Study Completion Anticipated In The Third Quarter Of 2007; Preliminary Results Expected In Early August
- Newly Discovered Vein Exposures Potentially Extend Mineralized Zones
-- Orebody Appears Open Laterally And At Depth-->
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - July 30, 2007) - TVI Pacific Inc.
(TSX:TVI) (the "Company") announced today that its Philippine affiliate,
TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. ("TVIRD"), has received
additional positive assay results from the exploration infill drilling
program on the Tinago-Miswi-Lalab vein system at its Balabag Property.
The Balabag Property is located on the Zamboanga Peninsula in Southern
Philippines approximately 75 km east-northeast of TVIRD's producing
Canatuan Mine. The drill program was designed to provide further
delineation of the local epithermal gold vein system and to determine
the consistency and continuity of reported mineral values. This news
release should be read in conjunction with the release issued on June
27, 2007, "TVI Provides Initial Balabag Prospect Resource Estimates".
To date, assays have been received for a total of 99 holes drilled
into the Tinago-Miswi-Lalab vein system, which have a total aggregate
meterage (total depth of holes) of 10,803.85 metres. The new data
reported in this news release includes the results of the most recent
five holes for which assay results have been received by TVIRD. The
recent drilling results are summarized in the assay table set out below.
Certain statements in this News Release constitute forward-looking
statements, including statements respecting ongoing exploration
activities and the timing of the scoping study to assess the
Tinago-Miswi-Lalab mineralized zone. Readers should refer to the
cautionary statement that appears at the end of this News Release.
"Following our recent announcement of a resource estimate at
Balabag, we are pleased to see more positive results from our ongoing
exploration efforts and recently completed drilling campaign," said TVI
CEO, Cliff James. "The newly discovered vein exposures potentially
extend the mineralized zones. With the veins open to depth and with the
lateral extension potential it appears that there is the opportunity 'to
grow the deposit' with further work. In addition, we expect to see
preliminary results from the ongoing scoping study in the near term.
These developments are very encouraging."
A scoping study to assess the Tinago-Miswi-Lalab mineralized zone at
Balabag is underway and is expected to be completed in the third
quarter of 2007. The scoping study assessment is being undertaken at
this stage of the project to provide an economic analysis of the
potential of the Balabag Project becoming a stand alone, commercial
mining operation based on currently known mineral resources. It is
anticipated the scoping study will lead into a full feasibility
assessment and detailed engineering of the project.
The Balabag mineral resource estimate, announced on June 27, 2007,
which was prepared by P.J.Lafleur Geo-Conseil Inc., is based on the 76
hole drill program completed to the end of February, 2007. Indicated
resources showed 1.37 million tonnes ("Mt") averaging 2.9 grams per
tonne ("gpt") Au and 84.3 gpt Ag, or 203,700 gold equivalent ounces
("AuEqOz"), with Inferred resources amounting to 1.96 Mt averaging 2.6
gpt Au and 55.2 gpt Ag, or 234,200 AuEqOz, using a greater than 0.5 g/t
grade group. An updated National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101")
Technical Report, detailing the project and Mineral Resource estimate
protocols is expected to be filed on SEDAR within the required 45 day
filing period. Readers are cautioned that such estimates remain
conceptual in nature and mineral resources which are not mineral
reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
As previously announced, continuing exploration work by TVIRD has
identified two new vein occurrences which occur up to 150 metres east of
previously interpreted mineralized zones at Balabag. Recent drilling
has also indicated the presence of structures and economic grade
mineralization at depth; however these intercepts are far apart and
would require additional infill drilling for resources to be
substantiated. Further data collection, including the continued assaying
of trench samples, is anticipated to yield additional results which are
expected to be the subject of a future news release complete with
tables, updated images and maps.
TVIRD's 2007/08 exploration program will focus on expanding the
Balabag gold deposit and on up-grading the Inferred resource to the
Measured and Indicated resource categories. A minimum infill drilling
program (25-m spacing) of 5,000 meters for the Balabag Property
commenced January 9, 2007 and will likely be extended during the second
half of 2007. Drilling services have been provided by TVI's Subsidiary,
Exploration Drilling Corporation ("EDCO").
Latest Assay Results
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DH-ID No. From To Interval Au Ag AuEq Target Remarks
(US$650Au,
US$13.50Ag)
(m) (m) (m) (gpt) (gpt) (gpt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-95 26.35 29.00 2.65 1.101 52.547 2.008 Tinago
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-95 47.30 50.00 2.70 1.989 40.231 2.684 Tinago With a 1.70-
meter zone
with 4.15
g/t AuEq
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-95 62.7 64.15 1.45 1.300 18.45 1.620 Tinago
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-96 57.2 58.2 1.00 0.589 26.3 1.043 Miswi
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-97 15.3 15.9 0.60 0.66 96.3 2.321 Miswi
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-97 32.7 37.55 4.85 1.113 16.54 1.399 Miswi
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-97 53.9 59.3 5.40 3.907 259.08 8.382 Miswi With a 1.00-
meter zone
with 23.01
g/t AuEq
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-97 67.3 67.9 0.60 2.64 129.80 4.884 Miswi
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-98 35.1 39.1 4.00 6.32 106.37 8.156 Tinago With a 1.00-
meter zone
with 26.095
g/t AuEq
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-98 50.0 50.85 0.85 0.52 29.10 1.020 Tinago
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BDDH-07-99 15.85 19.0 3.15 1.26 30.01 1.777 Tinago
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the purpose of calculating gold equivalent values a gold price of US$
650 per oz and silver US$ 13.50 per oz were used. Au and Ag equivalent
calculations reflect gross metal content and have not been adjusted for
metallurgical recoveries. True widths are approximately 85% of the reported
lengths.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Technical Review - Tinago-Miswi-Lalab Vein System
The Balabag Property is centred on a 1.5 km by 1 km structurally
controlled area consisting of a series of vein bodies occurring in
tuffaceous agglomerate and andesitic rocks, bordered to the north and
south by NW-SE regional faults displaying sinistral displacement and
inducing dilational jogs along a prominent fracture set. Data collected
to date suggests an en echelon system of sigmoidal veins that are
stacked together running east-westerly and gently dipping to the north.
The vein system also shows post mineralization faulting that slightly
offsets the veins. At Balabag, gold mineralization mainly occurs within
quartz carbonate ferrigenous veins hosted in the tuffaceous agglomerate.
This volcanic assemblage lies some three km to the east of a local
dioritic intrusive where copper anomalies have been reported in the
past. Such intrusives are often associated with epithermal gold deposits
around the Pacific Rim.
The Tinago vein appears to be the largest and most strongly
mineralized structure. The mineralization appears to be the strongest
from section 4E to 4W (some 400m along strike) where the vein swell is
greatest. Latest interpretation based on detailed mapping and infill
drilling suggests that the Miswi vein is likely the eastern extension of
the Tinago system that appears truncated and displaced by faulting. The
Miswi vein remains open to the east and at depth. The Lalab vein system
appears to be smaller and thinner, somewhat sub-parallel to the Tinago
vein. The Tinago and Lalab veins remain open to the west and at depth,
yet appear to decrease progressively further west.
Concession Status
TVIRD holds an option on the Balabag Property which was granted
under an agreement with Zamboanga Minerals Corporation ("ZMC"). Balabag
lies approximately 75 km east-northeast of the TVIRD's mining operation
at Canatuan and immediately adjacent to the extensive tenement
applications filed by TVIRD in early 2005, which cover an area of
1,257.12 km2. The Mineral Production Sharing Agreement ("MPSA") under
which ZMC obtained its rights to the Balabag property covers an area of
47.79 km2. The agreement between TVIRD and ZMC provides TVIRD with an
exclusive period, ending in May 2008, to assess the mineral potential of
the property. Should TVIRD so elect, the property may be purchased for
US$350,000 with ZMC retaining a 2.5% net smelter royalty on the
property.
A technical report (prepared in accordance with NI 43-101) setting
out additional details relating to the prior sampling program at Balabag
was filed (on SEDAR) with certain securities regulatory authorities in
Canada on September 27, 2005. Additional information concerning the
geology, mineral occurrences and nature of mineralization found at
Balabag is also set out in the September 27, 2005 report.
About TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX:TVI)
TVI Pacific Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian mining company
focused on exploring for and producing precious and base metals within
district scale systems in Asia.
In the Philippines, TVI's most advanced project, the Canatuan Mine
(the first foreign-invested, new, mining project in the Philippines
since the passage of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995), began mining
and milling operations in mid-2004, producing gold and silver dore
through its affiliate TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Ltd. ("TVIRD").
In 2006, TVIRD received a completed NI 43-101 feasibility study on the
Canatuan Sulphide project prepared by Norwest Corporation. The report
has been filed with certain securities regulatory authorities in Canada
and is available through the SEDAR website at
www.sedar.com.
The Norwest study addresses the copper-zinc bearing massive sulphide
zone, or lower portion of the Canatuan Deposit. Construction of the
Sulphide Project at Canatuan is now underway. In addition, TVIRD holds a
2.5% NSR on the Philippine-based Rapu Rapu project operated by
Lafayette Mining Ltd. Exploration in the Philippines is being conducted
at Canatuan, in an effort to expand TVIRD's mineral resource base and to
find new deposits, at Balabag and at other areas which management of
TVI view as compelling exploration properties.
In China, TVI's wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary, Hunan Pacific
Geological Exploration Inc. ("HPGEI"), was the first foreign mining
company to be granted both WOFE status and a Qualified Explorer License.
The exploration program in China is focused primarily within the Golden
Triangle area, a prospective metallogenic region in China's
south-western provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi Autonomous
Region, and prospective areas in the Tibet Autonomous Region. HPGEI has
2,394 km2 of land under application in China in the Golden Triangle and
in the Tibet A.R.
TVI also has a Drilling Segment consisting of Exploration Drilling
Corporation ("EDCO"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of TVI Pacific Inc.
based in the Philippines, and Hunan Pacific Drilling ("HPD"), a segment
of HPGEI based in China, which generates revenue from contract drilling.
Carl L. Caumartin BSc, P.Eng., MBA, Vice President, Exploration of
TVI Pacific Inc. is serving as TVI's "Qualified Person" (as contemplated
by National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects)), for purposes of the Balabag exploration project. Mr.
Caumartin has reviewed and approved this news release and has verified
the data, including sampling, analytical and test data, set out in this
news release. The Canatuan Assay Lab, Philippines, an accredited
laboratory, performed the sample preparation and assaying for the
current sampling phase (since the beginning of 2007) of the exploration
project at Balabag. Gold analysis was by 50 gm fire assay fusion; where
gold values were greater than 3 ppm assay values were by gravimetric
finish and by AAS where the values were less than that threshold. Silver
was determined by AAS after an HCL-HNO3-HClO4 digest. Pulp and coarse
duplicate results were included in the analytical report. A blank and a
standard sample were included for each batch of 50 samples for quality
control. A replicate assay was done on every 20th sample and certified
reference materials were used in every 20 samples. As part of the
laboratory's internal QA/QC, TVIRD is routinely submitting duplicate
samples to McPhar laboratory of Manila, Philippines, an ISO 9001/2000
accredited laboratory, on average every 20th sample.
Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes
forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are often, but
not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate",
"plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend",
"could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations
of management of the Company, as at the effective date of such
statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated
by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable
assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is
reliable, it can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to
have been correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties (known and unknown) that could cause actual
outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited
to, such things as the volatility of prices for precious metals and base
metals, commodity supply and demand, fluctuations in currency and
interest rates, inherent risks associated with the exploration and
development of mining properties, ultimate recoverability of mineral
reserves, timing, results and costs of exploration and development
activities, availability of financial resources or third-party
financing, new laws (domestic or foreign), changes in administrative
practices and changes in exploration plans or budgets. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance upon the forward-looking
statements contained in this News Release and such forward-looking
statements should not be interpreted or regarded as guarantees of future
outcomes.
Forward-looking information respecting the anticipated
timing of filing of an updated technical report relating to the mineral
resource estimate for the Balabag prospect and the completion of the
scoping study to assess the Tinago-Miswi-Lalab mineralized zone, is
based upon advice received to date from the author of those reports, the
Company's experience with prior technical reports prepared in relation
to Philippines mining properties, filing deadlines prescribed by
National Instrument 43-101, results of prior exploration activities at
Balabag, timing expectations relating to completion of the next phase of
the exploration program at Balabag and the results of that program,
prior experiences with scoping studies undertaken in respect of
Philippines exploration properties, the current exploration plan
developed by the Company and the Company's current budget and overall
strategy for exploration in the Philippines, the plans, budget and
strategy of which are all subject to change. Forward-looking information
concerning the possible development of the Balabag prospect and
additional exploration activity at Balabag is based upon the Company's
experiences with the development of the Canatuan mine in the
Philippines, the current exploration plan developed by the Company and
the Company's current budget and overall strategy for exploration in the
Philippines, the timing of completion of various elements of the
exploration plan and the proposed scoping study, the plans, budget and
strategy of which are all subject to change, The forward-looking
statements of the Company contained in this News Release are expressly
qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement. Various
risks to which the Company is exposed in the conduct of its business
(including exploration activities) are described in detail in the
Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2006,
which was filed on SEDAR on March 29, 2007 and is available under the
Company's profile at
www.SEDAR.com.
Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake
any obligation to publicly revise the forward-looking statements
included in this News Release to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.