Timmins Gold Corp. Completes Acquisition of 100% Interest in Past Producing San Francisco Gold Mine, Sonora Mexico
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Timmins Gold Corp. has completed the acquisition of 100% of the past producing San Francisco gold mine in Sonora, Mexico as well as the gold plant and equipment and infrastructure. The purchase price for the mineral concessions and other rights was the payment of USD$5,000,000 and the issuance of a total of ten million common shares of Timmins Gold to arm's length parties. The San Francisco mine is a past producing, open pit heap leach operation. Operations were terminated in 2001 due to the low price of gold.
USD$2,500,000 was paid on closing and a further USD$2,500,000 is due by October 31, 2007. The purchase price for the gold plant and equipment as well as the other infrastructure is a further USD$3,500,000 which may be paid at any time over the next three years without interest.
The shares of Timmins Gold issued for the acquisition are subject to a hold period that will expire on September 9, 2007 as well as a pooling agreement which allows for their release from pool in equal increments over a three year period, and a voting trust agreement The vendor has the right to appoint a nominee to the board of directors of Timmins Gold during the term of the pooling agreement. To date, Timmins Gold has expended approximately USD$1,700,000 on exploration and development of the San Francisco project, mainly on drilling.
On January 18, 2007, Timmins Gold announced the independent mineral resource estimate on the San Francisco property. The estimate, completed by Independent Mining Consultants, Inc. of Tucson, Arizona (IMC), was prepared using the current CIM definitions for mineral resources as required by National Instrument 43-101. The mineral resource, based on a US$500 per ounce gold floating cone with 64% recoveries, US$1.00 per tonne mining cost (reflecting projected owner mining costs) and 0.23 g/t gold cutoff grade is:
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Tonnage Gold
Resource (x 1 million Grade (thousand
Classification tonnes) (g/t Au) troy oz)
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Measured Mineral Resource 5.35 0.91 156.9
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Indicated Mineral Resource 22.30 0.78 559.9
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Total Measured + Indicated 27.65 0.81 716.8
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Inferred Mineral Resource 2.51 0.79 63.5
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The mineral resource estimate is based on a total of 116,000 meters of core and reverse circulation drilling from 1,133 holes completed by both Timmins Gold and previous operators, most notably Geomaque de Mexico and Fresnillo. Timmins Gold completed approximately 8,778 meters of drilling in 28 core and 43 RC holes during its 2005 and 2006 drill campaigns.
Micon International Limited, along with IMC has completed a technical report using the guidelines contained in NI 43-101, supporting the mineral resource estimate. The report has been filed on Sedar. Micon is also in charge of new metallurgical studies designed to increase recoveries. These studies are nearing completion.
Sol & Adobe, Ingenieros Asociados S.A. de C.V ("Sol") have been commissioned to complete the underlying work for a pre-feasibility study on the San Francisco project. The pre-feasibility study is currently focused on evaluating the viability of exploiting the 716,800 ounce measured and indicated and 63,500 inferred gold mineral resource on the property. While several elements of the study are nearing completion management is also assessing the viability of alternative extraction processes to improve upon historical recoveries in light of the current price environment. In addition management believes there is significant opportunity to expand the resource both in the immediate area of the current resource and in other satellite deposits and targets on the 40,000 hectare property.
For further information, contact:
Bruce Bragagnolo, LLB.,
Director
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Tel: 604-417-9517
bruce@timminsgold.com
Darcy Krohman, P.Geo., C.A.
Senior Vice-President & CFO
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Tel: 604-682-4002
darcy@timminsgold.com
For Investor Relations, contact:
Leighton Bocking
Corporate Development
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Tel: 604-682-4002
leighton @timminsgold.com
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements which relate to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential", or "continue or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
While these forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect out current judgment regarding the direction of our business, actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggests herein. Except as required by applicable law the Company does not intend to update any forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.
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