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Seven
additional drill holes have been completed since the discovery news release
and base metal assays for three of these holes have been received.
Significant intersections from the three assayed holes include:
� 20 metres at 3.47% copper (including 7 metres at 5.48% copper) in hole
PSK48;
� 39 metres at 2.59% copper (including 11 metres at 7.02% copper) in hole
PSK48-1; and
� 13 metres at 4.14% copper in hole PSK50-2.
Surface exploration drilling has continued to intercept a thick massive
sulphide lens underlain by extensive stockwork sulphides, now delineated over
an area exceeding 800 x 300 metres. The sulphide deposit is currently
constrained by only one hole on the western side, three widely spaced holes on
the eastern side and is completely open to the north and south. Please see
Attachment A for further information.
Neil O'Brien, Senior Vice President of Exploration and New Business
Development for Lundin Mining commented "Our drilling has now intersected
strong sulphide mineralization in 16 holes, six of which contain very
significant copper mineralization.
"While we have lots of drilling yet to do, Semblana is growing into the
type of high-grade resource that can significantly contribute to future copper
production.
"Combined with the current copper resources and nearly 100 million
tonnes of zinc resources, the future of Neves Corvo as a leading, long-life
copper-zinc producer looks very good" Dr. O'Brien said.
(Note: as disclosed in August 31, 2010 news release, as of June 30, 2010
total zinc resources at Neves Corvo were 58,047,000 tonnes grading 6.2% zinc
in the Measured category, 13,929,000 tonnes grading 6.9% zinc in the
Indicated category and 26,791,000 tonnes grading 4.9% zinc in the Inferred category)
Neves-Corvo Development
Neves-Corvo has two processing plants capable of treating copper and zinc
ores. It has a single shaft that is responsible for hoisting of all ore and
waste. Shaft capacity has recently been increased to an estimated 4.6 million
tonnes per annum and this remains as the strategic constraint to production
volume.
Potential future production from Semblana, and any further new discoveries,
has to be considered in light of this shaft constraint. Whilst incremental
increases may be possible, until significant new infrastructure is
constructed the development of Semblana will need to be co-ordinated with
existing production and the on-going development of Lombador, potentially
necessitating production choices on the basis of highest net return.
Mine development studies, including consideration of the need for a second
shaft, are presently constrained by the knowledge available on Lombador,
Semblana and other near-mine resources. Lundin Mining's exploration effort is
now being significantly increased to obtain a better understanding of the
ultimate potential of Neves-Corvo in order to facilitate these mine
development studies.
Neves-Corvo Exploration Strategy
Exploration effort at Neves-Corvo over the last three years has been focussed
on the discovery of new copper resources to supplement and replace mature
producing orebodies. This has been successful in replacing mined production
and adding new copper resources and reserves as well as rapidly expanding the
zinc resources in the higher-grade Lombador deposit.
However, Neves-Corvo remains under-explored, particularly at deeper levels
(greater than 700 metres below surface), and the ability to plan longer-term
infrastructure development is restricted as a result. Drilling from surface
accurately to these depths is expensive and slow. It is considered uneconomic
to drill at a close enough spacing from surface to support resource estimates
on which mine plans can be assessed.
To support long-term mine development and expansion studies, Lundin Mining is
pursuing a three-fold exploration strategy at Neves-Corvo as follows:
� The access ramp to the Lombador orebody is being accelerated to reach a
depth of 900 metres below surface by Q1 2012. Exploration drives from the
ramp will allow in-fill drilling of the copper and zinc resources for
detailed mine planning. It will also allow cost effective further exploration
that will be key to gaining a full understanding of the zinc, and more
importantly copper, mineralisation associated with Lombador.
There remain high-priority exploration targets at Lombador where
drill-testing could discover significant additional new resources that would
further impact these mine development studies.
In order to fund the development of the ramp, a small upper section of
Lombador South has been under-going feasibility studies and is expected to be
complete in Q1 2011.
� Semblana is being explored initially from surface with five drill rigs. An
80,000 metre surface drilling program is planned for 2011 which will deliver
an initial resource estimate for Semblana prior to the end of 2011. Drilling
will be focused on step-out holes to determine the ultimate limit of this
large deposit and to search for additional copper-zinc rich zones as well as
on in-fill holes to provide data for the resource estimate.
Once Semblana is better understood, access options can be assessed to ensure
maximum utilisation of existing infrastructure.
� The discovery of Semblana will significantly contribute to future copper
production at Neves Corvo and it has also opened up new target areas for
exploration. Accordingly a 24 square kilometre high resolution 3D seismic
survey, to cover the entire near-mine area is planned, which will attempt to
detect other nearby massive sulphide lenses.
An earlier seismic survey, carried out in 1996, was able to clearly detect
the large Lombador massive sulphide lens at depths exceeding 1000 metres.
It is estimated that this program may take as long as three years to complete
and that infrastructure development options will be evaluated in parallel to
this.
Commenting on the exploration programme at Neves-Corvo Mr. Phil Wright,
President and CEO said "We continue to view Neves-Corvo as
under-explored and are very encouraged by the results to-date.
"Our efforts over the last few years have enabled us to replace mined
copper production and add to reserves. However, this has generally been at
lower-grade which means we have to move more tonnes in order to maintain
copper production.
"Semblana is the first time we have seen something enriched in copper at
a significant scale that offers the potential of a rejuvenation of
Neves-Corvo's copper business.
"We remain very optimistic on the longevity of our copper and zinc
production at Neves-Corvo" Mr. Wright said.
Sampling and Analytical Protocol:
NQ sized drill core was logged, cut in half with a diamond saw and sampled by
Company personnel at its facilities at the Neves-Corvo mine. Mineralized
intervals are analyzed for a suite of elements including Zn, Cu, Pb and Sn at
the Neves-Corvo laboratory using XRF methods. Bob Carmichael, P.Eng., General
Manager, Resource Exploration, is the Qualified Person as defined by National
Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information
contained in this release.
About Lundin Mining
Lundin Mining Corporation is a diversified base metals mining company with
operations in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Ireland, producing copper, zinc,
lead and nickel. In addition, Lundin Mining holds a development project
pipeline which includes expansion projects at its Zinkgruvan and Neves-Corvo
mines along with its equity stake in the world class Tenke Fungurume
copper/cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On Behalf of the Board,
Phil Wright
President and CEO
For further information, please contact:
Sophia Shane, Investor Relations North America: +1-604-689-7842
John Miniotis, Senior Business Analyst: +1-416-342-5565
Robert Eriksson, Investor Relations Sweden: +46 8 545 015 50
Forward Looking Statements
Certain of the statements made and information contained herein is
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of the Ontario
Securities Act. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks
and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from
those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without
limitation, risks and uncertainties relating to foreign currency
fluctuations; risks inherent in mining including environmental hazards, industrial
accidents, unusual or unexpected geological formations, ground control
problems and flooding; risks associated with the estimation of mineral
resources and reserves and the geology, grade and continuity of mineral
deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining
results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; the potential
for and effects of labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with
or shortages of labour or interruptions in production; actual ore mined
varying from estimates of grade, tonnage, dilution and metallurgical and
other characteristics; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost
estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity
price fluctuations; uncertain political and economic environments; changes in
laws or policies, foreign taxation, delays or the inability to obtain
necessary governmental permits; and other risks and uncertainties, including
those described under Risk Factors Relating to the Company's Business in the
Company's Annual Information Form and in each management discussion and
analysis. Forward-looking information is in addition based on various
assumptions including, without limitation, the expectations and beliefs of
management, the assumed long term price of copper, nickel, lead and zinc;
that the Company can access financing, appropriate equipment and sufficient
labour and that the political environment where the Company operates will
continue to support the development and operation of mining projects. Should
one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially
from those described in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are
advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Attachment A
Attachment to Lundin Mining Corporation Exploration Update Dated November 29,
2010: Additional Details On Exploration At Semblana
Lundin Mining announced on October 27, 2010 that surface exploration drilling
near its Neves-Corvo mine in southern Portugal had discovered a sixth deposit
to add to the existing Neves, Corvo, Gra�a, Zambujal and Lombador sulphide
deposits. This new deposit was named Semblana and is located only 1.3 km northeast
of the Zambujal orebody in an area which has not previously been drilled.
(See attached maps).
Since the initial release on October 27, 2010, surface exploration drilling
has continued to intercept a thick massive sulphide lens underlain by
extensive stockwork sulphides, currently delineated over an area exceeding
800 x 300 metres. The deposit is currently constrained by only one hole on
the western side, three widely spaced holes on the eastern side and is
completely open to the north and south.
The Semblana massive sulphide lens is currently up to 68 metres thick. The
massive sulphide intersections to date are primarily pyrite with moderate
grade zinc intervals but only minor concentrations of copper sulphides.
However, it is noted that all of the Neves-Corvo massive sulphide lenses are
principally composed of pyrite with ore deposits formed as discreet,
high-grade copper and/or zinc zones within the larger pyrite envelope. As
ongoing drilling provides a better understanding of the grade distribution
within the Semblana sulphide deposit, additional base metal zones are likely
to be encountered. Silver assays have so far only been received for three
holes including hole PSJ44 (8 metres at 4.5% zinc and 124 gpt silver) and
hole PSK50-1 (11 metres at 94 gpt silver with low base metal values).
The high-grade copper intersections lie within the stockwork mineralization
underlying the massive sulphide lens which is common in the Neves-Corvo
deposits. Tin is commonly enriched in these high-grade copper intervals, as
noted in the table below, and indium is also elevated.
All drill results are summarized in the table below:
(For complete pressrelease, including attachments, maps and tables, see
attached file)
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