RENO, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Silver Predator Corp. (SPD.V) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has recently signed confidentiality agreements with five parties, including several major diversified international companies, to advance discussions relating to signing a joint venture agreement for development of the Company’s 100% owned Springer Tungsten Mine and Mill located in Nevada, USA. The Company has granted select parties access to the Springer Mine and Mill facilities to conduct due diligence. Since 2007, the Springer Mine and Mill has benefited from over $38 million in expenditures from previous operators, including significant mill refurbishment and modernization. With a return to production, Springer would become the only significant operating tungsten mine in the United States.
“The level of interest in the Springer Tungsten Mine and Mill is consistent with the asset quality and its robust economics. Considering the nature of the tungsten market, with concern about first world supply constraints, Springer is a special asset that could be fast-tracked to production within 12 months,” stated William M. Sheriff, Chairman of Silver Predator Corp.
2013 Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”)
The 2013 PEA identified an initial five year mine life based on current NI 43-101 compliant resources. The stated mine life is expected to yield a net present value of USD $22.8 million, based on an after-tax IRR of 47% and restart capital of $29.8 million. The project is anticipated to generate more than USD $17 million per year in EBITDA with production within 12 months of funding. A copy of the report is available for download under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.(1)(2)
The preliminary economic analysis 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 a mineral reserve and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic analysis will be realized.
Additional Springer Resource Potential
In addition to the 2013 PEA, the Company has completed conceptual 12 and 20 year mine plans based on potential conversion of historic resources. The most recent historic estimate completed by General Electric (“GE”) in 1984 identified approximately four times more mineralized material at the same cut-off grade than the current resource estimate. GE spent over USD $70 million at Springer and identified the historic resource of 10.72 million tons at an average grade of 0.45% WO3.**
** The historical resource estimate of 10.7 Mt at 0.45% tungsten is based on data and reports prepared by the previous operators, General Electric and Utah International Inc in 1984. The Company has not completed the work necessary to have the historical estimate verified by a QP and therefore it is NOT included in the PEA. Furthermore, the Company is not treating the estimate as a current NI 43-101 compliant defined resource and the historical estimate should not be relied upon. The property will require further work to substantiate this data.
Tungsten Overview
Tungsten is a hard industrial metal with primary uses in steel alloys, cemented carbide products and military applications. China accounts for over 85% of total mine production but has increasingly restricted exports due to rising domestic demand and decreasing supplies. The United States, Europe and Japan consume over 50% of the world’s tungsten but have minimal production. To increase supply available to the West, the United States has increasingly sold stockpiles to meet industrial demand but these stockpiles have decreased significantly. In 2012, the British Geological Survey identified tungsten, along with rare earth elements, as being the economic minerals most at risk for available future supplies.
In particular, Japan is dependent on Chinese production and consumes approximately 50% of China’s total exports. With Japanese-Chinese relations rapidly deteriorating over the South China Sea, Japan, among other western nations, is seeking strategic non-Chinese sources of supply. Both China and Japan have escalated military spending to increase naval and air defense capabilities while political relations have deteriorated.
Elsewhere, the United States and Germany, two of the largest producers of tungsten products, lack any significant source of mine production and are reliant on imports and secondary sources such as scrap recycling. US tungsten stockpiles, a key secondary source of supply, have decreased from nearly 30,000 tons in 2002 to less than 15,000 tons in 2012. As a result, the US government may become a net buyer of tungsten to eventually replace replenish depleted stockpiles. US scrap recycling has also been an integral source of non-Chinese tungsten supply. Since 2002, US scrap recycling has increased by more than 200% but further growth appears to be limited as total secondary production from recycling continues to decrease.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mark Abrams, MSc, CPG, a Consultant to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
Silver Predator Corp.
Silver Predator’s corporate mandate is to advance the previously operated Nevada-based Taylor silver project and work towards the identification of a gold target. The Taylor project hosts a current resource estimate, is open to expansion, and is located in a district that has identified the potential for discovery of additional silver and gold deposits. Silver Predator is also committed to securing a joint venture partner to advance the Springer Tungsten Mine and Mill. With quality assets in a world-class jurisdiction, and an exploration team with a history of success in Nevada, Silver Predator is positioned to advance new and existing discoveries.
For additional information:
William M. Sheriff, Chairman
or
Nathan A. Tewalt, Chief Executive Officer
(208) 635-5415
info@silverpredator.com
www.silverpredator.com
(1) National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report; Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Springer Tungsten Mine Pershing County, Nevada, by Associated Geosciences Ltd. dated December 31, 2013 (and effective August 20, 2012) filed on SEDAR;
(2) Silver Predator Corp. NR14-05.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This press release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and Silver Predators’ plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, Silver Predator assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.