Scottsdale, Arizona, June 24, 2008 � International Minerals Corporation (TSX and SWX: �IMZ�) reports high-grade drill results (including 2.2 meters (�m�) at 30.8 grammes per tonne (g/t) gold from veins within the western part of the Bolivar Zone at its 100%-held Rio Blanco gold-silver project in Ecuador.
The east-west trending vein system in the Bolivar Zone (see attached map) is approximately 1.5km in strike length and is located only 350m north of the Alejandra North vein, where a proposed underground mining operation is currently in the permitting stage, with approval of such permits pending the implementation of a proposed new mining law in Ecuador (see IMZ news releases dated April 22, 2008 and April 25, 2008 for further details).
IMZ has received assay results from 35 additional core holes (totaling 9,736m) from the Bolivar Zone. Highlights of the drill results in the Bolivar West area (all uncut assays and estimated true widths) include:
- 3.2m grading 9.0 grams/tonne (�g/t�) gold and 235 g/t silver in drill-hole BC380
- 3.6m grading 8.6 g/t gold and 78 g/t silver in drill-hole BC391
- 3.6m grading 12.1 g/t gold and 52 g/t silver in drill-hole BC394
- 2.2m grading 30.8 g/t gold and 531 g/t silver in drill-hole BC402
Significant drill intercepts from all of the recent drill holes in the Bolivar Zone are shown in Appendix 1 attached.
The Bolivar West area covers approximately 500m of the known 1.5km strike length of the vein system in the Bolivar Zone and mineralization remains open to the west and at depth. These new drill results show that the mineralization is continuous across multiple drill cross-sections and is in relatively close proximity to the planned underground development for the proposed Alejandra North mine. A resource estimate to define an initial inferred resource for the Bolivar West area is expected to be announced in the third calendar quarter of 2008.
To date at Rio Blanco, IMZ has estimated Proven and Probable Reserves for the Alejandra North deposit of 605,000 ounces of gold and 4.3 million ounces of silver contained within 2.15 million tonnes at average grades of 8.8 g/t gold and 62 g/t silver as shown in the table below (also see IMZ news release dated October 12, 2006 and the related NI 43-101 Technical Report for further details).
|
|
Gold |
Silver |
Reserve Category |
Tonnes |
Grade (g/t) |
Contained
Ounces |
Grade
(g/t) |
Contained Ounces |
Proven |
142,560 |
10.8 |
49,000 |
90 |
410,000 |
Probable |
2,004,888 |
8.6 |
555,000 |
60 |
3,896,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proven and Probable |
2,147,448 |
8.8 |
605,000 |
62 |
4,307,000 |
The mineral reserves are estimated using a 4 g/t gold cut-off and a $475/oz gold price. Numbers are rounded to reflect the precision of a reserve estimate.
The drilling program at Rio Blanco is currently on hold due to the April 18, 2008 Ecuadorian government�s Mining Mandate, which temporarily suspended all exploration activity in Ecuador for a period of up to six months, pending the implementation of a new mining law.
Drilling was carried out by Paragon Drilling Ecuador S.A. (now owned by Major Drilling), of Cuenca, Ecuador. Sample preparation was carried out by ALS Chemex in Quito, Ecuador using standard industry practices. Analytical work was carried out at the ALS Chemex laboratory in Lima, Peru, using conventional fire assay methods for gold and silver. For quality control purposes, analytical standards with known metal values were included with IMZ�s samples sent to ALS Chemex and show good reproducibility. The overall drilling program was supervised by IMZ�s Qualified Person, Technical Manager Nick Appleyard, who reviewed the technical disclosure in this release.
Antabamba Project, Peru
The Antabamba silver-gold property is located in southern Peru, approximately 65km northeast of the Pallancata silver mine, jointly owned by IMZ (40%) and Hochschild Mining plc (60%). Based on a thorough evaluation of the drill results from the last core drilling program, carried out in October 2007, IMZ has decided to return the Antabamba property to its joint venture partner and property owner, the Peruvian subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation. IMZ�s drilling program identified high-grade, but narrow, mineralized zones (shoots) within the known veins on the property and management considers that the overall potential to develop significant tonnage and ounces is limited.
For additional information, contact Wendy Yang at Tel: (303) 357-4863
Internet Site: http://www.intlminerals.com E-mail:information@intlminerals.com