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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire -
April 20, 2010) - Zincore Metals Inc. (TSX:ZNC) ("Zincore" or
the "Company") announced today that it has received positive
results from lab testing of a pyrometallurgical method to process zinc
and lead oxide ores from its Accha and Yanque projects in Peru. All
laboratory tests were conducted by Mintek of South Africa under the
supervision of our metallurgical consultant Michael Valenta, Pr. Eng.
(Intl) of Metallicon Process Consulting.
Zincore President and CEO, Jorge Benavides, stated, "These results
are excellent and demonstrate that reductive roasting can be used to
achieve high percentage recoveries of zinc and lead from the oxide ores
at both our Accha and Yanque projects to produce high purity, high grade
zinc and lead oxide concentrate. This information moves our Company
closer to realizing its vision of a single processing facility which
can treat all of the zinc and lead oxide ores at our Accha Zinc Oxide
District. Given the favorable results of these tests, we have started
the pilot test scale work on Accha ore and will soon do the same with
Yanque ore. This will allow us to better define the economics of this
process and advance our goal of monetizing the significant zinc and
lead assets in the Accha Zinc Oxide District."
The Accha Zinc Oxide District hosts combined 43-101 inferred and
indicated resources of 3.6 billion pounds of zinc and lead at the Accha
and Yanque projects.(1) The District also hosts eight other prospective
showings which have had limited exploration to date.
Highlights of the Metallurgical Tests -- A high grade concentrate (greater than 90% zinc oxide) was achieved in the laboratory for the Accha and Yanque ores -- Extraction of zinc and lead from the Accha ore was 96.6% and 87.6% respectively at 1150 degrees Centigrade over four hours in the laboratory -- After roasting for four hours at 1050 degrees Centigrade, the Yanque ore yielded extraction of 75.8% zinc and 20% lead -- Initial evidence indicates that longer roasting times may improve the zinc recovery from Yanque ores -- Higher temperatures resulted in significant improvements of up to 88% in the extraction of lead from Yanque ores -- A second stage, involving calcining of the Accha fume product, resulted in significant reduction of fluorine and chlorine from 0.13% and 0.11% to 0.085% and 0.006% respectively -- Lead extraction in the reductive roast of Yanque ores varied from 20% to 90% and the opportunity exists to produce a lead by-product. This opportunity was not the focus of the preliminary study and must be considered in future lab and pilot plant testing.
Test Work Background
Earlier testing of the Accha District ores focused on producing a
flotation concentrate and met with limited success. With the Company's
change in leadership in mid-2009, a fresh perspective was brought to
the challenge, including experience with a reductive roasting process
that was being successfully used to process zinc oxide ores at the
Corianta plant in Peru. The Corianta plant is 64% owned by a subsidiary
of Inversiones Pacasmayo SA, Zincore's largest shareholder.
With this advantage and direct operational experience available,
Zincore set out to test if this same Waelz kiln process could be
deployed to process the zinc and lead oxide ores at its properties in
the Accha District. Our results to date suggest that this process will
be successful.
Recommendations and Conclusions from the Tests
The test work successfully demonstrated the application of reductive
roasting as a method to achieve high percentage recovery of zinc from
the Accha and Yanque ores. The results warrant proceeding to pilot
plant testing to confirm the preliminary findings and better define a
number of issues. Specifically:
-- Would longer roasting times improve the zinc extraction from the Yanque ore -- Would a staged approach with higher temperature roasting of the Yanque ores yield a significantly higher extraction of lead
Pilot
plant testing will also generate an operating cost for the Waelz kiln
process and produce a bulk product for test work to define the
requirements of further downstream refining and processing.
All test work was done at the Mintek research facility in Randburg,
South Africa. Mintek is a globally recognized metallurgical research
institute with a track record in pyrometallurgical research. In
addition, Zincore utilized the consulting services of Michael Valenta
Pr. Eng. (Intl) and Metallicon Process Consulting (Pty) Ltd of
Hartbeespoort, South Africa, near Randburg. Metallicon is an
independent consulting firm that provides specific, technical expertise
in the area of mineral processing. Mr. Valenta is a metallurgical
engineer and an internationally registered Professional Engineer under
the Washington Accord. He has significant experience in laboratory,
pilot testing and full-scale refinery metallurgical practice and
processes.
Vernon Arseneau, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration for Zincore has
prepared or supervised the preparation of the information contained in
this news release and is the Qualified Person as defined under National
Instrument 43-101 for this news release.
A summary of the original Mintek report has been prepared by Metallicon
Process Consulting and is available on our website at www.zincoremetals.com.
About Zincore
Zincore is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration company focused mainly
on zinc and related base metal opportunities in the Americas, namely
Peru, Mexico and Canada. The Company's common shares trade on the TSX
under the symbol ZNC.
Forward-looking Statements Statements in this release that are forward-looking
are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific
factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and
elsewhere in the Annual Information Form of Zincore dated March 12,
2010 which is filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and
available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment
as of the date hereof based on information currently available. Zincore
does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking
statements.
(1) For further details on the resources at our Accha and Yanque
projects, please see the technical reports dated June 9, 2008 and April
14, 2008 respectively and available at our website (www.zincoremetals.com)
or on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
Information Concerning Mineral Resource Estimates - This news release
uses the term "inferred mineral resources". Zincore advises
investors that although this term is required and recognized by
Canadian regulations (under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects), the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission does not recognize it. Investors are cautioned not to assume
that any part or all of the mineral deposits in this category will ever
be converted into reserves. In addition, "inferred mineral
resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence
and economic feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any part of an
inferred mineral resource will be upgraded to a higher category.
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