Hana
Announces Completion of Non-Brokered Financing and Investment by Strategic
Shareholder
Hana Mining Ltd. ("Hana" or
the "Company") - (TSX-V: HMG) (Frankfurt: 4LH) is pleased to report that it has closed
the non-brokered private placement previously announced on January 26, 2012.
The private placement consists of 11,054,648 common shares at a price of
Cdn$1.35 per share for gross proceeds of Cdn$14,923,775. Shares issued pursuant
to the private placement will be subject to a 4 month hold period expiring on
June 4, 2012.
Cupric Canyon Capital LP ("Cupric"), which is owned by its management
and the Barclays Natural Resource Investments division of Barclays Capital,
acquired 6,250,000 of the newly issued shares and now holds 10% of the
Company's issued and outstanding shares. Cupric is focused on acquiring
interests in undeveloped copper assets with a known resource and adding value
to them by assisting in the advancement of the projects through the development
process. The management of Cupric, all of whom are former senior executives
with major mining companies including Phelps Dodge Corporation, has decades of
experience in the exploration, development and operation of world-class copper
assets.
Hana Mining's CEO and Chairman, Marek Kreczmer, commented as follows:
"This agreement is the culmination of many months of building a
relationship between the Company and Cupric. Cupric's
management team brings valuable experience in the development and operation of
copper projects in North America, South America and Africa, most notably the
world-class Tenke Fungurume
copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I look forward to
working with the management of Cupric towards the development of the Ghanzi Project. With this financing in place we are able to
proceed with our Cdn$18 million budget for 2012. In addition to completing the
PEA, we will submit the Feasibility Study to the Botswana Ministry of Minerals,
Energy and Water Resources and will allocate Cdn$5 million for a multiphase
regional exploration campaign outside of the Banana Zone at Ghanzi.
"
"I also wish to acknowledge the other five long term shareholders who have
participated in this placement."
The CEO of Cupric, Dennis Bartlett, commented as follows:
"We are pleased to have an opportunity to participate in this private
placement by Hana Mining. With this investment, we look forward to
collaborating with Marek and his team in an effort to
further advance the Ghanzi Project, which we believe
is one of the most highly prospective undeveloped copper resources in the world
today."
Proceeds from this placement will be used to complete both the Preliminary
Economic Assessment and the Feasibility Study and to advance the regional
exploration and development of the Ghanzi project and
related working capital and general corporate purposes.
Finders' fee of approximately 2.9%, payable in cash, will be paid on the
private placement.
The private placement has been conditionally accepted by the TSX Venture
Exchange.
About Hana Mining's Ghanzi Copper-Silver Project
in Botswana:
The Ghanzi Project is located in the center of the
Kalahari Copper Belt in northwestern Botswana. The Ghanzi
property covers 2,149 square kilometres, and contains
sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits with a demonstrated cumulative tested
strike length of 70 kilometres. This favorable
geology extends over an estimated strike length of 600 kilometres.
Hana Mining released results of its most recent NI 43-101 compliant resource
estimate for the Ghanzi Project on December 20, 2010,
announcing an Indicated mineral resource of 585 million pounds of copper and 12
million ounces of silver from 19.7 million tonnes at
a grade of 1.35% copper and 19.7 g/t silver. All of the Indicated resources are
from the Banana Zone. There are also Inferred resources of 2.4 billion pounds
of copper and 40.6 million ounces of silver from 91.2 million tonnes. This Inferred mineral resource estimate consists of
69.9 million tonnes grading 1.10% Cu and 14.98 g/t Ag
in the Banana Zone, 13.4 million tonnes grading 1.66%
Cu and 12.11 g/t Ag in Zone 5, 6.3 million tonnes
grading 1.5% Cu and 6.7 g/t Ag in Zone 6, and 1.6 million tonnes
grading 0.85% Cu and 6.4 g/t Ag in the Chalcocite Zone; all at a cut-off grade
of 0.75% Cu.
The Banana Zone exhibits certain areas of higher grade Cu and Ag
mineralization, particularly between sections 49700 to 52000 on the North limb
and sections 63000 to 71000 on both the North and South limbs, which represent
an opportunity to locate starter pits and mine initial tonnages at higher than
average grades. These higher grade pockets tend to be well within open pit
depth parameters and represent opportunities to improve early cash flow and
overall returns in development.
The project will benefit from proposed rail and power infrastructure
expansions, along with proximity to local population centers and workforce. A
feasibility study is currently underway (funded by the World Bank and the
governments of Botswana and Namibia) to support completion of a rail line link
that would connect Botswana with the Namibian port of Walvis Bay, on the
Atlantic coast. The closest existing railhead to port is at Gobabis,
in Namibia, approximately 550 km from our property. Construction has begun on
the 600MW expansion of the government-owned Moropule
Power Plant, having secured US$825 million project funding in May 2009. The Ghanzi Copper- Silver Project is currently accessed by the
paved Trans-Kalahari highway, which passes within 15 km of the property.
The Ghanzi property is one of Africa's premier future
copper-silver resources.