POSITIVE SCOPING STUDY FOR 2.3 MILLION
OUNCES OF ��PLER GOLD SULFIDES RECEIVED BY ANATOLIA
December 21,
2007: Anatolia
Minerals Development Limited ("Anatolia") [TSX:ANO] is pleased to announcereceipt of a positive scoping stage
Preliminary Assessment under National Instrument 43-101 ("Scoping
Study") for its 100%-owned ��pler Gold
Project in Turkey.� The Scoping
Study, which assumes production from sulfide
resources, located primarily below the oxide reserves, following
depletion of ��pler's 1.8 million ounce oxide
mine, estimated an initial capital cost of $161 million for sulfide processing facilities, with average $385 per
ounce cash operating costs for 2.3 million ounces of gold produced over a
12-year life, thus potentially extending the mine life to over 20 years
at assumed production rates.
Based upon the results
of this Scoping Study, Anatolia plans to
proceed with follow-up engineering, metallurgy and other work in order to
develop a Preliminary Feasibility Study within the next few years. If
subsequent work confirms favorable economics, Anatolia could consider initiating development
within a few years after the planned oxide mine reaches full commercial
production, or could wait until the oxide reserves are depleted, as
assumed in the study. Either could have a positive financial impact on Anatolia.
Anatolia's President Richard Moores commented, "Anatolia
is gratified to have received such positive results from the ��pler Sulfide Scoping
Study. We look forward to further refining this aspect of our ��pler gold deposit and continuing to add value for
our shareholders. This Scoping Study indicates the sulfides
could net a quarter of a billion dollars for the company at $574 per
ounce gold and triple that at current prices.� Additionally, during 2007, Anatolia completed almost 33,000 meters
of drilling at ��pler and anticipates positive
impacts for both oxides and sulfides in our
next resource update, expected by the end of the first quarter of
2008."
The Scoping Study represents an unoptimized, technically feasible design undertaken
for Anatolia by Pennstrom
Consulting, Easton Process Consulting, Inc. and Resource Development Inc.
All dollar references herein are in U.S. dollars.�
The Scoping
Study
The Scoping Study includes the open-pittable sulfide portion of
the ��pler gold deposit, with a total sulfide resource of 35.0 million tonnes at 2.3 gpt gold, containing approximately 2.6 million ounces
of gold, at a gold price of $475/oz (see Table 1). The potential
benefit of some 8.5 million ounces of silver and approximately 70 million
pounds of copper associated with the gold is given no value in this
study; future work will assess these and other potential upsides. Total
gold recovered over a twelve-year mine life is estimated to be
approximately 2.3 million ounces gold.
The Scoping Study contemplates a
large-scale, 8,000 tonnes per day ("tpd")
open pit mine.� Mill throughput, of
which 5,000 tpd at 1.81 gpt
gold undergoes flotation and 3,000 tpd at 3.11 gpt gold provides feed to a
4,000 tpd POx
autoclave. Life of mine strip ratio will be 1.7:1 with annual production
averaging approximately 189,490 ounces of gold. The mine is
designed for 8,000 tpd mill feed, or 2.92
million tonnes per year.
Initial
project economics for the Scoping Study (pre-tax, 100% equity) estimate
total capital costs of $161 million including direct and indirect capital
costs (optimization, detailed design, EPCM, commissioning, contingency,
etc.). Sustaining capital and owner's costs are not provided. Capital
costs estimates are plus or minus 30%. Cash operating costs including
contract mining are $25.01 per tonne of ore treated in the POx plant, with cash operating costs estimated to be
$385/oz gold produced, with no byproduct
credits. Total estimated production costs are $456/oz gold, yielding an unoptimized pre-tax internal rate of return of 17.8%
at a gold price of $574 per ounce (based on average gold price over the
past 3 years). Payback occurs 4.5 years after initial production. Gold
recovery averages 87.9%.
Table
1
Mineral
Reserves & Resource Estimates
(from
Technical Report, dated April 30, 2007)
with
Breakout of Oxide and Sulfide Materials
Mineral Reserves����������������������������������������������������
Process Category
|
Proven
|
Probable
|
Proven & Probable
|
Ktonnes
|
Gold
g/t
|
Silver
g/t
|
Ktonnes
|
Gold
g/t
|
Silver
g/t
|
Ktonnes
|
Gold g/t
|
Silver
g/t
|
Contained Au KOzs
|
Mill Ore -
Oxide
|
11,935
|
2.682
|
7.62
|
5,017
|
2.070
|
1.37
|
16,952
|
2.501
|
5.77
|
1,363
|
Mill Ore -
Sulfide
|
622
|
3.923
|
23.60
|
548
|
4.416
|
7.63
|
1,170
|
4.154
|
16.12
|
156
|
Total Mill
Ore
|
12,557
|
2.762
|
8.65
|
5,565
|
2.261
|
1.45
|
18,122
|
2.608
|
6.44
|
1,519
|
Leach Ore -
Oxide
|
15,485
|
0.674
|
0.58
|
9,163
|
0.940
|
2.17
|
24,648
|
0.773
|
1.17
|
612
|
Leach Ore
- Sulfide
|
4,386
|
2.176
|
9.17
|
5,145
|
2.154
|
8.51
|
9,531
|
2.164
|
8.81
|
663
|
Total
Leach Ore
|
19,871
|
1.093
|
2.97
|
14,308
|
1.255
|
3.76
|
34,179
|
1.161
|
3.30
|
1,275
|
Total Reserves
|
32,428
|
1.739
|
5.17
|
19,873
|
1.536
|
3.12
|
52,301
|
1.662
|
4.39
|
2,794
|
Note:
Total
Sulfides within Reserves
|
5,008
|
2.39
|
10.96
|
5,693
|
2.154
|
8.43
|
10,701
|
2.382
|
9.61
|
819
|
Mineral Resources in Addition
to Reserves
|
Measured
|
Indicated
|
Measured &
Indicated
|
Material
Type
|
ktonnes
|
Gold g/t
|
Silver g/t
|
ktonnes
|
Gold g/t
|
Silver g/t
|
ktonnes
|
Gold g/t
|
Silver g/t
|
Contained Au KOzs
|
Oxide
Resource Remaining
|
8,819
|
0.493
|
1.23
|
10,484
|
0.854
|
1.10
|
19,303
|
0.689
|
1.16
|
428
|
Sulfide Resource Remaining
|
3,087
|
1.622
|
6.13
|
9,769
|
1.716
|
7.17
|
12,856
|
1.694
|
6.92
|
700
|
Total
|
11,906
|
0.785
|
2.50
|
20,253
|
1.27
|
4.03
|
32,159
|
1.09
|
3.46
|
1,128
|
|
Inferred
|
Material
Type
|
ktonnes
|
Gold g/t
|
Silver g/t
|
Contained Au KOzs
|
Oxide
Resource Remaining
|
29,331
|
1.336
|
2.07
|
1,260
|
Sulfide Resource Remaining
|
14,272
|
2.493
|
5.31
|
1,144
|
Total
|
43,603
|
1.715
|
3.13
|
2,404
|
As detailed in Table 1, above,
global sulfide reserves plus resources plus
inferred at ��pler total 37.8 million tonnes at
2.19 gpt gold. During economic analysis, some
of the lower grade sulfide material did not
support the full sulfide processing costs and
was removed from the sulfide resource base. For
the purposes of this study, approximately 2.8 million tonnes averaging
0.80 gpt gold was reclassified as waste,
increasing the strip ratio by 13.3%, to 1.7 to 1 and increasing the grade
of the remaining 35.0 million tonnes of processible
material by 5% to 2.30 gpt
gold, as shown below in Table 2.�
Table
2
Sulfide
Facility Feed Tons and Grade
Ore Classification
|
Ktonnes Feed
|
Gold
gpt
|
Sulfur Content %S
|
Sulfide Content %S
|
Carbonate
Content Wt % CO2
|
Flotation
Feed Ore
|
21,900
|
1.81
|
2.2
|
1.94
|
2.0
|
Direct
Feed Ore
|
13,140
|
3.11
|
4.6
|
4.06
|
2.0
|
Table 3
provides a financial sensitivity analysis for gold price, initial capital
cost and operating cost.
Table
3
Financial
Sensitivity Analysis
IRR (pre-tax, 100%
equity)
|
Percent of Base
Case
|
Gold Price
|
Initial Capital
Cost
|
Operating Cost
|
70%
|
7.7%
|
26.9%
|
30.6%
|
85%
|
14.8%
|
21.7%
|
24.5%
|
100%
|
17.8%
|
17.8%
|
17.8%
|
115%
|
20.9%
|
14.7%
|
10.1%
|
130%
|
26.5%
|
12.1%
|
0.4%
|
Moving
Forward
is
proceeding with studies for process optimization, mine planning
optimization and additional engineering design for the ��pler Sulfide Gold Project
open pit mining and processing operation. Trade-off studies will include
different processing options and mining schedules. Anatolia
will continue with further metallurgical testing to optimize process
parameters and project economics.
Consulting
Engineers
Anatolia
retained William J. Pennstrom of Pennstrom Consulting and Christopher Easton of Easton
Processing Consulting Inc., who prepared the process and infrastructure
design and capital and operating costs and integrated the work of other
consultants, including Independent Mining Consultants as filed on SEDAR
April 30, 2007, (mineral reserves, resource estimation and mine
planning), and Deepak Malholtra of Resource
Development Inc. (metallurgical testing).
Qualified
Persons
Mr. William
J. Pennstrom of Pennstrom
Consulting is the "qualified person" as defined by National
Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators ("NI
43-101") and is responsible solely for the contents of the Scoping
Study. Mr. Christopher Easton of Easton Processing Consulting Inc. is the
"qualified person" for the process design, Mr. Malholtra of Resource Development Inc. is the
"qualified person" for metallurgy and Mr. John Marek, P.E. of Independent Mining Consultants is the
"qualified person" for the resource estimate and ore reserves,
as per the SEDAR 43-101 document filed April 30, 2007. Messrs. Pennstrom, Easton,
Malholtra and Marek
are not responsible for the contents of this news release. The Scoping
Study is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources
that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic
considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized
as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary
assessment will be realized. Additional drilling will be required and is
planned to better categorize these mineral resources. A technical report
summarizing the Scoping Study and meeting the requirements of NI 43-101
will be filed with the appropriate regulatory authorities within 45
calendar days of this news release.
Anatolia is
developing its 100%-owned ��pler Gold Project
in Turkey.
The current phase of development anticipates mining the open-pittable oxide portion of the deposit over a 10-year
period, producing 1.8 million ounces gold and 2.2 million ounces silver. Additionally,
Anatolia is among Turkey's
leading minerals exploration companies, targeting numerous potentially
large-scale base metals and gold opportunities.
Anatolia
currently has 83.1 million common shares issued and outstanding, 99.0
million fully diluted. For more information: Richard C. Moores, President, (303) 670-9945/9947 (fax), or
Douglas Tobler, Chief Financial Officer, (303)
292-1299/297-0538 (fax), or visit www.anatoliaminerals.com. Anatolia
trades on the Toronto
Stock Exchange as ANO.
This news
release may contain forward-looking statements in respect of various
matters including upcoming work programs and events. The results or
events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ
materially from actual results or events. Anatolia
disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. Assays are performed by ALS-Chemex, Vancouver, BC, Canada, with quality control of sampling,
preparation and assaying overseen by Anatolia,
whose President, Richard C. Moores,
is a "qualified person" for the purposes of applicable Canadian
securities regulations. Mr.
Moores reviewed this press release.
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