TSX: TVI
CALGARY, April 7 /CNW/ - TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX: "TVI" or the "Company")
announced today that it has received an updated National Instrument 43-101
("NI 43-101") report (the "Updated Report") respecting the Sulphide Project at
the Canatuan mine, located in the Philippines. A copy of the Updated Report
has been filed with certain securities regulatory authorities in Canada and is
available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. The Updated Report, entitled
43-101 Technical Report for the Sulphide Resources at the Canatuan Project of
TVI Pacific Inc. and dated April 5, 2008, was prepared by P.J. Lafleur
Géo-Conseil Inc. ("PJLGCI"), an independent consulting group providing
specialized services to the mining and geosciences industries.
The Updated Report presents incremental improvements to the previous
feasibility study prepared by Norwest Corporation, entitled Independent
Technical Report on the Canatuan Massive Sulphide Project, Philippines
("Norwest Report" - filed on SEDAR on July 13, 2006), as a result of new
drilling data (collected by TVI Resource Development (Phils) Inc. in 2006),
resource estimates and cost and metals prices. The Updated Report confirms
management's view of the economics of the sulphide project at Canatuan,
recommends that TVI Resource Development (Phils) Inc. proceed with its plans
to complete the sulphide plant and assumes commissioning of the plant in
September 2008 and full production by the end of 2008.
Significant information and assumptions (base case cash flow model) set
out in the Updated Report include the following:
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NPV @10%: $79.1 million
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IRR (Before Tax): 306%
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Mineral Reserves(*): 3.0 million tonnes @ 1.35% copper (Cu),
1.05% zinc (Zn), 0.75 g/t gold (Au) and 36
g/t silver (Ag)
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Mining Rate: 1,300 dry metric tonnes per day (dmtpd) up
to 1,850 in year 4
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Payable Metal Over Mine Estimated at 62.9 million lbs Cu, 18,200
Life: tonnes Zn, 19,700 oz Au and 1.2 million oz Ag
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Mine Life: 6.0 years
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Production Start: Commissioning - Sept. 2008; production -
Dec. 2008
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Capital Cost Remaining: $15.4 million
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Average Operating Cost: $29.40 per tonne of ore milled over the life
of the mine
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Operating Cash Cost: $0.98 per lb Cu Equivalent
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(*) the report assumes copper prices of $3.30/lb in 2008, $3.15/lb in
2009, $3.00/lb in 2010, $2.85/lb in 2011, $2.70/lb in 2012, $2.50/lb
in 2013 and metal prices of $1.10/lb zinc, $900/oz gold and $17/oz
silver
The foregoing is a summary only of information contained in the Updated
Report. Readers should refer to the full Updated Report for additional details
concerning the information summarized in this news release. For example, the
Updated Report includes additional information relating to data verification,
the interpretation of exploration information, a summary description of the
geology of the Canatuan area and details of additional assumptions, parameters
and methods used to estimate mineral reserves at Canatuan. The information set
out in the table above and detailed in the Updated Report represents an
estimate only and actual results may differ materially.
"We are very pleased with the results of the updated report on the
sulphide project at Canatuan," said Clifford M. James, TVI President and CEO.
"The significant improvement in the sulphide project's net present value and
estimated future cash flows noted in the report is a direct result of an
improved pricing environment for base metals in general, as well as
refinements made to prior studies of the sulphide project at Canatuan. Along
with the recommendation in the updated report to complete our construction
activities at Canatuan, it suggests that we continue to explore the 37,000
hectare area immediately surrounding the Canatuan mine as it continues to
represent an opportunity for the discovery of additional economic mineral
resources."
Additional Information
The main objective of PJLGCI was to produce an updated and optimized
43-101 technical report on the Canatuan sulphide mineral resources
incorporating new information which included additional definition drilling
results, current costs and metal prices. A new resource estimate was derived
using Ordinary Kriging estimation techniques to acquire grade models for
various mineral elements, including the four payable metals shown in the table
below and certain other penalty elements found in the deposit (penalty
elements are those commonly found in sulphide concentrates which add to
smelter costs). This in turn has significantly enhanced overall mine planning
for the sulphide project.
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GRADE GROUP Tonnage CU PCT ZN PCT AU GT AU GT
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T Grade Grade Grade Grade
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greater than
2.00 % Cu 606,644 3.28 1.59 1.48 68.70
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1.00 - 2.00 826,251 1.42 1.43 0.86 41.10
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0.50 - 1.00 930,114 0.72 0.72 0.50 20.82
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0.40 - 0.50 257,017 0.45 0.45 0.33 15.54
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0.30 - 0.40 276,920 0.35 0.37 0.29 21.83
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0.20 - 0.30 244,637 0.25 0.33 0.23 14.25
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0.10 - 0.20 346,165 0.14 0.28 0.13 12.40
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0.05 - 0.10 273,809 0.08 0.29 0.09 5.26
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0.00 - 0.05 26,412 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.33
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Total 3,787,969 1.10 0.87 0.62 30.17
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The infill drilling completed by TVI Resource Development (Phils) Inc. in
late 2006 not only confirmed the grade and tonnage reported in the Norwest
Report, but improved the classification of mineral reserves (using CIM
Definition Standards). In addition, advanced metallurgical testing has
confirmed the feasibility of the process to extract metals from the sulphide
ore at Canatuan. These results were also used to optimize the mill design to
ensure the production of commercial grades of copper and zinc concentrates,
while minimizing the report of penalty elements. Using 5% mining dilution and
95% mining recovery in ore, the total sulphide reserves, in the proven and
probable categories, are estimated at 3,034 Mt averaging 1.35% Cu, 1.05% Zn,
0.75 gpt Au and 36 gpt Ag. The Updated Report concludes that the optimized pit
to extract this ore would also contain 4.357 Mt of waste for an average
stripping ratio of 1.4.
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Head Grades
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Mill
Ore Processed Au Cu Ag Zn Cu:Zn As
Type Tonnes g/t % g/t % Ratio ppm
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High Cu 271,405 1.06 2.05 70 0.19 10.98 510
Cu-Zn 1,850,216 0.76 1.42 36 0.91 1.56 303
High Zn 912,763 0.65 1.00 27 1.58 0.64 261
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Total 3,034,383 0.75 1.35 36 1.05 1.29 309
Several parameters, for pit optimization and mine plan scheduling, were
used in the Updated Report to generate cash flow models reflecting adjusted
mining, milling and operating costs (largely due to changing foreign exchange
rates) and increasing labour, commodities and consumable prices. Sensitivity
analyses were performed to test the economics of the sulphide project in four
pricing forecast scenarios as summarized in the following table.
TVI CANATUAN SULPHIDE PROJECT
Impact of Metal Prices on Cash Flow and NPV
On Sulphide Cash Flow Model
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Whittle Model Low Base Market
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Year Cu $/lb Cu $/lb Cu $/lb Cu $/lb
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2008 (Yr1) $3.00 $3.00 $3.30 $3.80
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2009 (Yr2) $2.00 $2.85 $3.15 $3.60
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2010 (Yr3) $2.00 $2.70 $3.00 $3.40
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2011 (Yr4) $2.00 $2.55 $2.85 $3.19
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2012 (Yr5) $2.00 $2.40 $2.70 $3.00
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2013 (Yr6) $2.00 $2.25 $2.55 $2.85
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Au $/oz $625(Yr1)/$550 $850.00 $900.00 $950.00
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Ag $/oz $12.00(Yr1)/$9.50 $16.00 $17.00 $19.00
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Zn $/lb $1.50(Yr1)/$1.04 $1.00 $1.10 $1.14
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Sulphide Cash Flow Model Results (000's)
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Net Cash $56,321 $83,331 $107,357 $135,862
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NPV @10% $40,523 $61,695 $79,071 $100,201
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IRR @10% 182% 248% 306% 396%
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Sensitivity to Changes in Metal Prices (000's)
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Change $50 Au $1 Ag $0.10 Zn $0.30 Cu
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Net Cash $947 $1,111 $3,845 $18,124
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NPV @10% $675 $803 $2,569 $13,329
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About TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX: TVI)
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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 the Philippines. The Company's interest in the Canatuan Mine and
its other Philippine assets are held through its affiliate, TVI Resource
Development (Phils.) Ltd. ("TVIRD"). TVI's most advanced project, the Canatuan
Mine, currently produces gold and silver doré. On March 13, 2008, the Company
signed a definitive US$15 million bridge financing agreement with an arms
length party for the purpose of providing working capital funding for TVIRD,
including funds to restart construction of the sulphide project at Canatuan.
TVIRD has been advised that a majority of the conditions contemplated by the
loan agreement have been fulfilled and the parties are waiting only for the
completion of the registration process and the signing and delivery of related
loan documents to enable first drawdown to proceed.
Mr. Pierre-Jean Lafleur, P. Eng. of P.J. Lafleur Géo-Conseil Inc., has
served as the "Qualified Person" (for the purposes of National Instrument
43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Deposits) in respect of the NI
43-101 technical report for the Canatuan sulphide resources. Mr. Lafleur has
reviewed this news release at the request of TVI. Mr. Lafleur is independent
of TVI Pacific for purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the
information contained herein.
For further information: Clifford M. James, President and CEO, (403)
265-4356; Paul Moon, Director, Corporate Communications, (403) 265-4356