CANATUAN MINE OPERATIONS UPDATE:
TVI RELEASES SECOND QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS FOR CANATUAN MINE
. Metal
Production of 15,437 Ounces - 16% Increase from First Quarter
. Record Mill
Throughput - 10% Higher than First Quarter; 46% Increase From Q2 2006
. Record Gold
Recovery Of 91.1%
. Silver
Recovery Approaching Target Of 60.0%
TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX: "TVI" or the "Company) today
released second quarter operating statistics for the Canatuan Mine,
located in the southern Philippines, which is owned by its affiliate, TVI
Resource Development (Phils) Inc. ("TVIRD"). The Canatuan
mine significantly improved its operating performance compared with the
first quarter, setting records for gold recovery and mill throughput.
During the second quarter, the Canatuan mine produced 15,437 gold
equivalent ounces ("AuEqOz") of metal, an increase of 16% from
the first quarter of 2007 and comparable to the same period during 2006.
On a year-to-date basis, the Canatuan Mine has increased production to
28,745 AuEqOz of metal compared with 27,278 AuEqOz produced during the
first half of 2006. Production during the second quarter consisted of
10,587 ounces of Gold (Au), up 19% from the first quarter, and 243,296
ounces of Silver (Ag), up 14% from the first quarter.
As a result of the changing feed grade and the higher mill
throughput, the Canatuan Mine produced significantly more silver compared
with prior periods, thereby offsetting the decrease in gold production.
For the second quarter, the Canatuan Mine produced 243,296 oz of silver,
an increase of 57% from the same quarter in 2006, while gold production
decreased 16% compared with the prior year.
Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes
forward-looking information, including information relating to the
anticipated timing of production of copper and zinc concentrates from the
sulphide zone underlying the gossan reserve. Readers should review
the cautionary statement respecting forward-looking information that
appears at the end of this News Release.
"We are very pleased with the continued performance
improvements at the Canatuan mine," said Clifford M. James, TVI
President and CEO. "Our goal is to implement further productivity
improvements and achieve significant cost reductions in the coming months
as we continue to position the mine to begin producing copper and zinc
concentrates from the underlying massive sulphide reserves in
mid-2008."
The following table summarizes the Canatuan Mine's operating
statistics since the beginning of 2006.
During the second
quarter, the Canatuan Mine set a production record for mill throughput,
averaging 2,086 dry metric tonnes per day (2,000 dry metric tonnes on a
year-to-date basis). Compared with the prior year, the Canatuan Mine has
increased mill throughput by nearly 50%. The Canatuan Mine plans to
continue optimizing mill production and is targeting to exceed 2,200 dry
metric tonnes per day by the end of 2007.
Feed grade during
the second quarter of 2007 was 1.90 grams per tonne ("gpt") of
gold and 67.46 gpt of silver, compared with 3.39 gpt of gold and 60.96
gpt of silver during the second quarter of 2006. Gold content has been
relatively stable over the past three quarters and the silver content
during the first six months of 2007 was higher than during 2006.
Over the past year, the feed grade has changed because the chalcocite and
sulphide content of the gossan ore increases as mining operations
approach the massive sulphide zone underlying the gossan reserves. By
increasing mill throughput volumes, and by blending gossan ore from
different areas within the current pit, TVI has been able to optimize and
sustain metal production levels (on a gold equivalent basis) in response
to these changes in the feed grade.
Gold recovery
reached a record high, averaging 91.08%, and silver recovery averaged
59.10% during the second quarter compared with gold recovery of 89.17%
and silver recovery of 60.89% during the same period last year. Both gold
and silver recoveries have improved compared with the first quarter of
2007 and the Canatuan Mine is targeting to further improve silver
recovery in the near term.
For additional
information on the Canatuan Mine, please refer to the National Instrument
43-101 ("NI 43-101") technical report prepared by Geostat
Systems International Inc. ("Geostat"), which was filed with
certain securities regulatory authorities in Canada on August 21, 2006
and is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. The Geostat
report assesses the gossan mineral reserves and resources at the Canatuan
deposit.
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. The Company owns 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 dor�.
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 of
the sulphide project is 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 the Company recently released a resource
estimate that has been filed on SEDAR.
Through a
wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary, the Company has 2,394 km2 of land under
application in China in the Golden Triangle and in the Tibet Autonomous
Region.
TVI's drilling
business operates a fleet of 21 drill rigs, providing contract drilling
services to the Company's exploration projects and to third parties. The
drilling business provides the Company with priority access to drilling
equipment at low costs and the opportunity to generate cash flow from
third party contracts.
Further
Information: Clifford M. James, President and CEO
Paul Moon, Director, Corporate Communications (403) 265-4356
Andrew Bradfield
BSc, P.Eng., Vice President, Operations of TVI Pacific Inc., serves as
TVI's "Qualified Person" (for purposes of National Instrument
43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Deposits) on the Canatuan
project and has reviewed this News Release.
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 by 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
production of copper and zinc from the sulphide zone underlying the
gossan reserves at Canatuan, is based upon the status of negotiations
concerning financing of 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.
2000, 736 - 6 Avenue S.W. Calgary, Alberta T2P
3T7
Tel: (403) 265-4356 Fax: (403) 264-7028
Website: http://www.tvipacific.com E-mail:
tvi-info@tvipacific.com
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