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March 3, 2008
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Zincore Increases Inferred Resources at Yanque by 55% RESOURCE ESTIMATE OUTLINES 10.3 MILLION TONNES AT 5.3% ZINC AND 5.3% LEAD
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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 3, 2008) - Zincore Metals Inc. (TSX:ZNC) ("Zincore" or "the Company") announces the results of an independent mineral resource estimate completed on the Yanque deposit, a near surface zinc oxide deposit at the south end of Zincore's 100%-owned Accha-Yanque belt in southern Peru. At a 4.5% combined (zinc plus lead) cut-off grade, inferred mineral resources total 10.3 million tonnes grading 5.3% zinc and 5.3% lead for 1.2 billion pounds of contained zinc and an additional 1.2 billion pounds of contained lead.
This interim estimate was completed after drilling the first 21 holes or 2,560 metres of a planned 10,000-metre drill program. The new estimate represents a 55% increase in tonnes and an 88% increase in contained metal over the previous inferred mineral resource estimate. All of the resources are near surface and amenable to open pit mining.
Zincore President and CEO Timo Jauristo stated: "Both the size and the grade of the inferred mineral resource have increased significantly in the short time we have been working at Yanque. In particular the 50% increase in lead grade and the doubling of the contained lead starts to confirm that both lead and zinc will be economically important at Yanque."
He added: "Yanque is shaping up as a big mineral system and we are still in the early days of exploration. We remain excited about the potential to continue to grow our resource base both at Yanque and other targets in the Accha-Yanque belt. The Accha-Yanque belt now hosts global resources totaling 2.3 billion pounds of zinc, which puts us well on our way to defining sufficient resources for a dedicated zinc refinery."
This National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") compliant Yanque mineral resource estimate was completed by Pincock, Allen & Holt ("PAH") based on the results of 21 diamond holes drilled by Zincore in 2007, 13 historical holes completed by a previous holder of the property, and trenches completed on the property. Lead-zinc mineralization at Yanque occurs as both replacements in hydrothermal breccias, and cross-cutting veins and fractures.
Zincore is currently conducting additional exploration, including mapping and geophysics, at Yanque and nearby targets in advance of the next phase of drilling that will commence in March. Metallurgical studies are under way at Mintek Laboratories in Johannesburg under the supervision of Green Team International ("GTI"). Initial work is being conducted on two metallurgical samples taken from the first 21 drill holes. Further metallurgical sampling and test work will be ongoing during the next phase of drilling.
A summary of the mineral resource estimates at various cut-off grades is tabulated below. A Yanque deposit plan is available on Zincore's website at www.zincoremetals.com.
Yanque Deposit Inferred Mineral Resource Estimates (1)(2)(3)
Tonnes Average zinc Average lead Contained Contained
(4) grade grade zinc (5) lead (5)
Cut-off grade (000s) (%) (%)(million lbs) (million lbs)
- zinc plus
lead (%)
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6.0 7,520 6.22 6.33 1,032 1,048
5.5 8,498 5.85 5.92 1,096 1,109
5.0 9,621 5.44 5.58 1,153 1,183
4.5 10,258 5.28 5.34 1,195 1,208
4.0 11,113 5.05 5.08 1,237 1,244
3.5 12,361 4.74 4.74 1,291 1,293
3.0 13,720 4.41 4.46 1,333 1,348
(1) All mineral resources have been calculated in accordance with the
standards of the CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and
Mineral Reserves, as required by NI 43-101.
(2) Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated
economic viability. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially
affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation,
sociopolitical or other relevant issues.
(3) Inferred mineral resources are that part of a mineral resource for which
quantity and grade can be estimated on the basis of geological evidence
and limited sampling and reasonably assumed. It is uncertain if further
exploration will result in upgrading them to an indicated or measured
mineral resource.
(4) Density utilized in the mineral resource estimates was 2.5 tonnes per
cubic metre.
(5) Contained zinc and contained lead represent estimated metal contained in
the ground and have not been adjusted for metallurgical or other
recovery factors.Quality Control
Zincore has implemented a quality control program to ensure best practice in litho geochemical sampling and analysis of rock chips, trench, tunnel and drill core samples.
All samples are shipped in security sealed bags via a private trucking company directly to the ALS Peru Laboratories facility in Lima. All samples are digested using a three acid digestion and analyzed by two packages. Zinc and lead are determined by Atomic Absorption and if the results exceed 30% they are re-assayed by volumetric methods. All samples are also assayed by ICP for 25 elements (also using the three acid digestion for complete dissolution).
The Company submits its own standards and blanks as a measure of the accuracy of the analysis. All pulps and coarse rejects are being recovered and stored. Prior to a new resource calculation, 10% of all samples used in the resource calculation will be re-assayed at a second laboratory using the same analytical techniques described above. Both a re-assay of the pulp and of a new pulp prepared from the coarse reject will be used.
Qualified Person
The mineral resource estimate was prepared by PAH under the direction of Mr. Aaron McMahon, Geologist of PAH, a professional geologist and an independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. A technical report detailing the mineral resource estimate will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com within 45 days. Mr. McMahon has reviewed this news release.
About Zincore
Zincore's strategy is to become a leading, low-cost zinc producer with the immediate objective of advancing its 100% owned Accha-Yanque property toward a development decision through a disciplined process of exploration, drilling and resource definition, and technical studies. Zincore holds a portfolio of other zinc exploration properties in southern Peru and intends to pursue additional zinc opportunities elsewhere in Latin America.
About Accha-Yanque
The Accha-Yanque property consists of 56 concessions over a 30-kilometre distance in southern Peru. At the north end of the property is the Accha deposit, where indicated mineral resources total 5.1 million tonnes grading 8.15% zinc and 0.9% lead for 911 million pounds of contained zinc and 97 million pounds of contained lead. In addition, inferred mineral resources total 1.4 million tonnes grading 5.9% zinc and 0.7% lead for 186 million pounds of contained zinc and 21 million pounds of contained lead. At the south end of the property is the Yanque deposit, which hosts inferred mineral resources of 10.3 million tonnes grading 5.3% zinc and 5.3% lead for 1.2 billion pounds of contained zinc and an additional 1.2 billion pounds of contained lead. A number of zinc prospects with limited prior exploration occur between the Accha and Yanque deposits.
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 26, 2007 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.
Information Concerning Mineral Resource Estimates
This news release uses the term "inferred 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 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. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, or economic studies except for preliminary assessments as defined under NI 43-101.
To view the map associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/zincore-map.pdf.
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