Vancouver, May 26, 2009 � Scorpio Mining Corporation (TSX:SPM) is pleased to provide an operations update for April 2009 for the 100% owned Nuestra Se�ora mine, Sinaloa State, Mexico.
Peter J. Hawley, Chairman, CEO reports, �April 2009 continued to be another productive and cost-efficient month for the Company. With the new 2009 revised budget costs, mine planning and advanced mine development now scheduled into 2010, the Company has aggressively prepared itself to immediately ramp up mill and mining rates as overall metal prices increase.�
The Nuestra Se�ora operational details for the month of April are as follows:
April 2009 Concentrate Synopsis
Concentrate Shipped |
2009 April |
Contained Silver Ounces |
Lead Concentrate (tonnes) |
414 |
54,444 |
Zinc Concentrate(1) (tonnes) |
549 |
2,117 |
Copper Concentrate (tonnes) |
0 |
0 |
Total |
963 tonnes |
56,561 ounces |
(1) Zinc concentrate shipped in lots of 250 tonnes or greater.
Concentrate Inventory at Month End |
2009 April |
Contained Silver Ounces |
Lead Concentrate (tonnes) |
36 |
4,518 |
Zinc Concentrate (tonnes) |
5 |
12 |
Copper Concentrate (tonnes) |
280 |
34,118 |
Total |
321 tonnes |
38,648 ounces |
Concentrate Produced During the 17 Days of April Mill Operations |
2009 April |
Contained Silver Ounces |
Calculated Lead Concentrate (tonnes) |
220 |
26,667 |
Calculated Zinc Concentrate (tonnes) |
369 |
1,451 |
Calculated Copper Concentrate (tonnes) |
94 |
10,126 |
Total |
683 tonnes |
38,254 ounces |
Total Tonnes Mined & Milled |
2009 April |
2009 Budget |
|
|
Revised |
Original * |
Tonnes Mined |
6,778 |
6,704 |
5,750 |
Tonnes Milled |
12,078 |
12,000 |
11,500 |
Days Milling |
17 |
17 |
* Initial 2009 budget forecast which has been increased as a result of recent higher metals prices
Average Mill Recoveries |
2009 April |
2009 Budget** |
Silver (%) |
88.8 |
84 |
Lead (%) |
75.1 |
78.5 |
Copper (%) |
55.3 |
50 |
Zinc (%) |
77.1 |
79 |
** New 2009 budgeted recoveries based on first quarter 2009 recoveries
April 2009 Update
- The Scorpio Mining team has completed a yearly revised budget for 2009 based on the capacity and production done in the first quarter of 2009. The budget was completed along with mine planning which will carry the operation well into 2010 with the actual working areas opened and currently being mined. Balancing ore grade and lower grade material is being done in order to improve efficiency at the mill and the production of metals. Development for the month of April stands at 129.7 metres. Ore tonnage produced was 6,778 tm in the cut & fill stopes and ore moved to the mill was 9,774 tm.
- Mexican cash operating costs for mining, milling and administration for April 2009, were US$42.62 per tonne (1) (revised budget cost were US$48.33 per tonne).
- The new up ramp from the main Nuestra Senora Mine access ramp has broken through into the developed Candelaria Mine which is situated approximately 150 metres vertically above the Nuestra Senora deposit. The Company will now resample the high-grade Candelaria surface stock pile and calculate the contained tonnage in preparation for blending this high-grade material with the Nuestra Senora ore. In addition, various mining methods will be evaluated for extraction of ore from the various levels of the Candelaria Mine.
- In preparation for anticipated future increases in metal prices, the Hoag Zone long hole bulk mining area of the Nuestra Senora deposit now has approximately 73,000 tonnes of ore either broken or drilled off for explosive charges which can be supplied to the mill facility as required.
- Mill throughput in April reached 12,078 tonnes (new upgraded budget was 12,000 tonnes) for the 17 days of milling, or 710.5 tonnes per day.
- Recoveries at the mill were 75.1% for lead (78.5% budgeted), 55.3% for copper (50% budgeted), 77.1% for zinc (79% budgeted) and 88.8% for silver (83.5% budgeted).
- High-grade ore extracted from the Nuestra Senora mine totalled 6,778 tonnes and was mixed at a 3:2 ratio with lower-grade development ore. At month end, total stockpiled ore was 38,373 tonnes including 32,150 tonnes of development ore in stockpile #1 and 6,223 tonnes of high-grade ore in stockpile #2.
- A total of 38,254 ounces of silver were recovered for the month in addition to lead, zinc and copper credits.
- A total of 56,561 ounces of silver were shipped for the month in addition to lead, zinc, and copper credits.
- On May 4th, 2009, Penoles informed the Company that it could resume shipments of lead concentrate to its smelter in Torreon, M�xico following resolution of strike action at the smelter. Under the terms of the current contract, due to expire May 31st, 2009, Penoles and the Company have agreed that the current contract will be extended by one month and will now expire on June 30th, 2009. The Company, through its concentrate brokers, is currently negotiating with Penoles for a one year contract to smelt the lead concentrate at the Torreon facility. The Company recommenced shipments of its lead concentrate to Penoles on May 12th, 2009.
- The Company completed its commitment to deliver 1,500 wet metric tonnes of zinc concentrate for shipment to a second smelter facility in China in April 2009.
- The Company has finalized six month (May to October 2009) off-take contracts for its other concentrates of copper and zinc for delivery to the loading facility in Manzanillo, Mexico. These agreements are effective May 14th, 2009.
- On March 30th, 2009, an underground Diamond drilling program was initiated to better define future high-grade cut and fill stopes. These stopes are scheduled for mining in the next few months and will provide more flexibility for mixing with lower-grade stopes and/or assuring constant production when ongoing stopes reach their backfill cycle. During the month of April, a total of 531 metres of drilling was completed with one air drill working one shift per day. Although assays are still pending, the highlight of the ongoing drilling to date was the unexpected continuity of the high-grade silver vein above the current Level 8.
- The Company continues to aggressively look at near-term development and/or operating mining assets located in Mexico for potential acquisition..
Further information is available on the Company�s web site at: www.scorpiomining.com.
President, Mr. D. Roger Scammell, PGeo, is the Company�s Qualified Person for the Nuestra Se�ora project and has reviewed the content of this release.
ON BEHALF OF SCORPIO MINING CORPORATION
Peter J. Hawley
Chairman & CEO
For further information contact:
Rich Kaiser, YES International: 1-800-631-8127; 001-757-306-6090 (outside North America)
Email: yes@yesinternational.com
(1) Cash operating costs per tonne is a non GAAP measure. The Company believes that, in addition to cost of sales, cash operating costs per tonne is a useful and complementary benchmark for performance and is well understood and widely reported in the silver mining industry. However, cash operating costs per tonne does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by Canadian GAAP. Investors are cautioned that cash operating costs per tonne should not be construed as an alternative to cost of sales determined in accordance with Canadian GAAP as an indicator of performance. The Company�s method of calculating cash costs per tonne may differ from the methods used by other entities and, accordingly, the Company�s cash operating costs per tonne may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities. Cash operating costs per tonne is calculated as the cost of sales adjusted for change in inventories.
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed �forward-looking statements� within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to concentrate shipments, mining plans and Scorpio Mining Corporation�s commitment to, and plans for developing the Nuestra Se�ora Project. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the forward-looking terminology such as �plans�, �expects� or �does not expect�, �is expected�, �budget�, �scheduled�, �estimates�, �projects�, �intends�, �anticipates�, or �does not anticipate�, or �believes�, or �variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results �may�, �can�, �could�, �would�, �might�, or �will� be taken�, �occur� or �be achieved�. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Scorpio Mining Corporation to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the exploration and development of the Nuestra Se�ora mine, risks related to international operations, the actual results of current exploration, development and production activities, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future prices of silver, zinc, copper, lead and gold, as well as those factors discussed in the sections relating to risk factors of our business filed in Scorpio Mining Corporation�s required securities filings on SEDAR, including its Annual Information Form dated March 27, 2009. Although Scorpio Mining Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended.
There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements will prove accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Scorpio Mining Corporation does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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