Dear
Shareholder:
This year represents a very important milestone for Hana Mining Ltd.
(the "Company"), in that we have issued our very first NI
43-101 compliant resource estimate on our Ghanzi copper-silver property
in Botswana, initially announced on June 23, 2009 (see initial press
release dated June 1, 2009) and finalized on August 4,2009. While the
full technical report is available on SEDAR, I wanted to write all
shareholders directly to draw your attention to a few key findings.
Current Resource Size
An independent engineering firm, GeoLogix Mineral Resource Consultants
(Pty.) Ltd. ("Geologix") of Potchefstroom, South Africa had
available a total of 407 drill holes from Company drilling programs and
from prior work. This drill hole inventory represents detailed exploration
on only 16 kilometers or 3% of the overall mineralized horizon on the
property. Numerous other mineralized targets are evident, although they
are less explored at this time. GeoLogix considered 303 of these drill
holes in their modeling, and applied 225 hole assay results and
Datamine software to arrive at an inferred resource on the property.
That resource, at varying Cu cut-off grades, was estimated by GeoLogix
as follows:
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>From the table, you can see how the various copper cut-off grade
assumptions influence both overall resource tonnage and average
resource copper grades. We do not yet know what cut-off will prove
optimum from an economic perspective. This parameter is influenced by
many factors, including:
- Total resource
tonnage,
- Detailed open pit mine
planning work (including strip ratios, recoveries, etc.), and
- Initial and long term
copper price levels.
Our neighbor in Botswana, Discovery Metals, has
adopted a 0.6% cut-off for their tonnage and resource discussions while
we have been using a more conservative 0.75% cut-off. We continue
gathering information to support the most appropriate cut-off figure to
apply long term.
Characteristics of the Deposit
Through our drilling work we have found the deposit to be fairly
predictable in its behavior. Mineralization thickness ranges from 4 to
15 metres and dip is 5◦ to 60◦ from horizontal.
Mineralization thickness varies by zone, and as the table below
illustrates, is impacted by cut-off grade as well.
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Within these resource zones we have found significant areas of
mineralization where the grade (at a 0.75% cut-off) is considerably
above 1.51% Cu. The best grades (+2% Cu) typically are in areas where
the original rock porosity was best developed or where the mineralized
'blanket' is folded, and copper has been remobilized into thicker
lenses. These high grade, +2% Cu "pockets" offer the
opportunity to locate starter pits and achieve better overall economics
than the average numbers would otherwise suggest. Early economics are
further aided by the fact that the top 30 metres of overburden is a
soft Kalahari sand, easily stripped prior to mining. The size and
nature of these high grade Cu pockets is illustrated by the following
table:
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By analyzing the resource with the application of higher cut-off
grades, the location of the high grade pockets is more evident. The
north fold closure, along the northern end of the Banana Zone,
currently exhibits the largest high grade tonnage at 11 MT of +2% Cu,
and 20 MT of +1.7% Cu. This high grade area occurs over 1,000 metres of
surface strike length and extends to 200 metres depth, making it an
attractive early target for surface recovery.
Note also, our resource data shows we have high grade areas in each of
the segments of the Banana Zone and in the other two Zones where we
have a 43-101 compliant resource figure as well. We have only a few
data points throughout the property on mineralization below 200 metres,
but what we do have indicates higher grades and thicknesses at depth.
Detail on the Banana Zone and Zone 3, with the existing (and future)
drilling sites identified, is shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1. Banana Zone and Zone 3 Diagram
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Next Steps and Work Plan
The Banana Zone, combined with Zone 3, is our most prospective area
based on our NI 43-101 resource and historic drill results, and will
constitute the focus of the Company's drilling work during 2009, and
much of 2010. The Company has outlined 20 km of prospective strike
length in these two zones that form our next set of drill targets (see
areas identified in Figure 1 above), supported by soil anomalies and
percussion drilling work.
Our Q3/Q4 work plan focuses on this area as follows:
- Percussion drilling
work (6,000 metres), to specify additional RC/diamond drilling
targets,
- RC/diamond resource
drilling (12,000 metres),
- Completion of a water
study, and
- Initiation of a
metallurgy study focused on recoveries, milling, smelting and
refining behaviors for our resource.
We
intend to have enough new assay results from the 2009 drilling campaign
to update our NI 43-101 resource estimate in Q1 2010, still at an
inferred designation. For more information on our strategy and plans
for the future, you can go to our website (www.hanamining.com) and download
our latest PDF, "Investor Briefing-August 2009".
We remain very excited about the prospects for the Ghanzi Project as
the property is part of a known mineralized system that potentially
represents the largest sediment-hosted, open-pittable copper-silver
deposit in Africa.
Marek Kreczmer, M.Sc., P.Eng.
CEO
Hana Mining Ltd.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Contact:
Peter G. Wilson
President & Director
Hana Mining Ltd.
Tel: (604) 676-0824
Email: info@hanamining.com
Website: www.hanamining.com
The TSX Venture Exchange has not
reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. Statements in this press release, other than
purely historical information, including statements relating to the
Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, may include
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on
numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and
uncertainties inherent in resource exploration and development. As a
result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements.