- Exploration Licence Area on Strike From Producing Third-Party Mine
- Confirms TVI's Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise Can be Awarded Exploration Rights in China
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Oct. 10, 2007) - TVI Pacific Inc.
(TSX:TVI) (the "Company") announced today that the Ministry of Land and
Resources in Beijing has awarded an exploration licence to TVI's
wholly-owned subsidiary, Hunan Pacific Geological Exploration Inc.
("HPGEI"). The 5.23 square kilometre exploration licence is located
within the Golden Triangle region of south-west China. The Golden
Triangle is a metallogenic province hosting many Carlin-style gold
deposits, including Sino Gold's Jinfeng (Lannigou) deposit, where
production has now started. HPGEI has approximately 2,400 square
kilometres of land under application in China in the Golden Triangle and
in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The exploration licence is along strike from a small producing mine
where a stratabound, replacement, Carlin-style gold mineralisation
target horizon has been identified. This mine operates under a mining
licence that is adjacent to HPGEI's exploration licence. The producing
mine hosts a drill target and HPGEI has signed a letter of intent with
the mine owners to negotiate the joint exploration and development of
the mine.
"TVI believes that the lands covered by this exploration licence are
geologically prospective, with potential for a Carlin-style discovery,"
said TVI Pacific Inc. CEO, Cliff James. "The receipt of the exploration
licence demonstrates that foreign-owned companies in China, including
TVI's Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise, can be awarded exploration rights
as well as Chinese companies."
TVI believes that the newly granted exploration licence and its
Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise status add value to its portfolio of
exploration prospects in China. TVI is currently reviewing strategic
options regarding its exploration activities in China and has received
several expressions of interest regarding HPGEI and its exploration
prospects.
Technical discussion
HPGEI geologists have identified both Carlin and epithermal
vein-style gold mineralisation on the exploration licence. The gold
mineralisation within the area is mainly of Carlin, replacement style.
It is hosted in a favourable stratigraphic horizon that represents the
main target in the area. The most important gold mineralisation lies
within a 30-meter thick stratabound lens of altered and mineralised
calcareous sandstone and breccia, in contact with an unaltered, barren,
limestone unit. Strike and dip extensions to the mineralisation have
been identified and determined the siting of the exploration licence.
The local presence of epithermal, vein-style gold and the particularly
widespread distribution of silicified calcareous units or "jasperoids",
are geologically anomalous for this metallogenic province, and represent
a second type of exploration target within the area covered by the
exploration licence.
The exploration licence is in an area along strike from a producing
underground mine, and HPGEI's systematic channel sampling at uniform
one-metre intervals has returned results considered encouraging by TVI.
Prior to filing the exploration licence application in 2005, HPGEI
collected 61 channel samples. Results ranged from 0.01 grams per tonne
("gpt") to 13.6 gpt gold ("Au") with an average of 1.95 gpt Au. This
release should be read in conjunction with the release issued on August
10, 2005, "TVI Pacific's Chinese Subsidiary Files Exploration Licence
Applications to Secure Potential Along Strike Extensions to Drill -
Target in the Golden Triangle."
Results from 53 composite channel samples, taken from the target horizon, averaged 2.25 gpt Au and include the following:
- 8m @ 7.4 gpt Au across a silica-clay-pyrite altered calcareous
sandstone inside the main adit to the small underground operation.
- 9m @ 2.85 gpt Au across the same silica-clay-pyrite altered
calcareous sandstone unit located approximately 5m stratigraphically
higher than the first channel, above the main adit.
- 8m @ 3.47 gpt Au across an inferred, altered and mineralised subvertical structure 5m wide.
Readers are invited to consult the maps associated with this news release (posted on TVI's website, at tvi2014.q4web.com) for the location of the exploration licence as well as the location of samples.
The small producing mine adjacent to the lands covered by the HPGEI
exploration licence operates under a mining licence allowing the licence
holder to mine up to 50 tonnes per day. TVI has been advised that an
application can be made to increase these levels as discoveries are made
and the reserve/resource base increases.
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 the Philippines and other Asian countries. TVI
holds its interest in the Canatuan Mine and its other Philippine assets
through its affiliate, TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Ltd.
("TVIRD"). TVI's most advanced project, the Canatuan Mine, currently
produces gold and silver dore.
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 Canatuan sulphide project includes a copper-zinc bearing massive
sulphide zone underlying the gossan zone currently being mined at
Canatuan. Construction activities for the sulphide project, including
engineering and dam construction, are underway and TVI plans to be in
production in mid-2008. The Company is currently arranging financing for
the sulphide project.
TVIRD also holds a 2.5% net smelter royalty on the Philippine-based
Rapu Rapu project operated by Lafayette Mining Ltd. as well as other
significant land positions in the Philippines. TVIRD is focusing its
exploration efforts on expanding the mineral resource base near the
Canatuan Mine and on the Balabag project, for which TVI recently
released a resource estimate that has been filed on SEDAR.
TVI's drilling business operates a fleet of 21 drill rigs, providing
contract drilling services to TVI's exploration projects and to third
parties. The drilling business provides TVI with priority access to
drilling equipment at low costs and the opportunity to generate cash
flow from third party contracts.
Glenn Sheldon, President of HPGEI and AUSIMM member, is serving as
TVI's "Qualified Person" for purposes of National Instrument 43-101 -
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Deposits ("NI-43-101") on this
project and has reviewed this News Release and verified the data set out
herein. Mr. Sheldon is a geologist and has more than 15 years of
relevant experience in the metalliferous mining and exploration
industry.
All samples collected were a minimum weight of 2 kg. All samples
were sent complete to the Northwest Nonferrous Geological Research
Institute Laboratory in Xian City, Shaanxi, China. This laboratory has
international ISO9001-2000 and domestic GB/T19002-2000 accreditation and
was the same laboratory used by Sino Gold Limited for the Jinfeng
(Lannigou) resource drilling campaign in 2003 and 2004. All sample
preparation was conducted at this laboratory. A 50 gm pulp was prepared
for each sample and fire assay used for the decomposition pre-treatment
with the final determination conducted by AAS/ICP-MS. Standards,
duplicates and blanks were used for all batches and all returned values
within reasonable limits.
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 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 negotiations with the owners of the mine adjacent to the HPGEI
exploration licence (respecting joint exploration and development of
such mine) is based upon the letter of intent signed with the
third-party mine owners and discussions to date with the third-party
mine owners.
Forward-looking information respecting the anticipated
timing of production from the sulphide zone underlying the gossan
reserves at Canatuan, is based upon the status of the Company's efforts
to obtain financing for the sulphide project, the status of TVIRD's
program to source equipment for the expansion of the Canatuan mine,
progress made to date in the construction of the sulphide plant at
Canatuan, management's experiences with the construction of the gossan
processing facility at Canatuan, the current business plan developed by
the Company and the Company's current budget and overall strategy for
the Canatuan mine, which plans, budget and strategy 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 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.