TVI Pacific Inc. Receives Environmental Compliance Certificate for Balabag Gold-Silver Property
TSX: TVI OTCQX: TVIPF
CALGARY, Oct. 16, 2013 /CNW/ - TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX:TVI) (OTCQX:TVIPF) (TVI or the Company) announced today that its Philippine affiliate, TVI Resource Development (Phils.), Inc. (TVIRD), has received the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for the proposed Balabag Gold-Silver Project to be located at Sitio Balabag, Brgy.Depore, Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur.
Receipt of the ECC confirms the Company has satisfied the requirements of Presidential Decree 1586, and its issue comes upon recommendation of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB). This marks a critical milestone towards starting development of the Balabag Gold-Silver Project, which will commence once approval is received of the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (DMPF) by the Philippines Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Based on results of drilling completed to the end of June 2011 and as included in the Balabag NI 43-101 technical report dated June 23, 2012, the current indicated mineral resource is estimated to be 1.78 million tonnes averaging 2.34 grams per tonne of gold and 72.3 grams per tonne of silver, containing 134,262 ounces of gold and 4,148,196 ounces of silver. The resource is currently being updated following a reconnaissance geological survey, soil grid sampling, and underground sampling from the mining area once occupied by illegal miners. This is expected to improve the accuracy of the resource model. The Balabag NI 43-101 technical report, entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Balabag Gold Project, Zamboanga Province, Philippines" is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on TVI's website at www.tvipacific.com.
Pilot plant test work has been continuing, as previously announced by the Company on June 26, 2013, to confirm the results obtained in previous laboratory leaching test, optimize the metallurgical processing under an environment that more closely resembles actual operations, provide design parameters for engineering, and to train personnel in operations and metallurgical process control. Lower grade ore containing 2.7 g/t Au and 98 g/t Ag, which more closely represents the initial mining schedule, was fed into the pilot plant. The results confirm high extraction rates of 94% Au and 92% Ag after 36 hours in CIL.
The Company has announced earlier also that a nonbinding term sheet was signed with Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company to provide financing in the form of a US $20 million term loan facility (the "Facility") and a US $3 million Letter of Credit ("LOC"). The purpose of the Facility is to support the development of the proposed Balabag Mine by providing additional working capital funding for construction and commissioning activities and to support mining and processing activities.
TVIRD continues to progress with success the critical elements to advance the development of the Balabag project which the Company has previously reported to include:
| a. | The removal of all remaining illegal miners from the property in October 2012 through enforcement of the Cease and Desist Order (CDO) issued by the DENR and the inter-agency efforts of the Provincial Government, MGB, EMB, the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the clean-up of mine waste and tailings left behind by the illegal miners. |
| b. | Completion of an all-weather 16km access road to the mine as part of the pre-development work. This road will serve as the main access for equipment and product transport. |
| c. | On-going design work on the revision of the leach circuit from CIP-Merrill-Crowe to CIL based on the favorable test results. Completion of plant design and equipment sizing. This was part of an update of the internal feasibility study that was previously submitted to the MGB. |
| d. | Confirmation of community and Local Government Units' (LGU) acceptance and support through the continuing establishment of Community Relations and Development Programs. |
Qualified Person
Enrico C. Nera, President and Chief Operating Officer of Minercon International Inc., Member AusIMM, is the qualified person under NI 43-101 who has approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.
About TVI Pacific Inc.
TVI Pacific Inc. is a Canadian resource company focused on the production, development, exploration and acquisition of resource projects in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. The Company produces copper and zinc concentrates from its Canatuan mine and is advancing its Balabag Gold-Silver project. TVI is a participant/operator in several joint venture projects in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea and also has an interest in an offshore Philippine oil property.
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Concurred:
(signed)
ENRICO C. NERA
ASEAN Eng, APEC Eng., MSMEP, MSME-AIME
MAusIMM, CP for Metallurgy PMRC
QP for Metallurgy
The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this news release constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "schedule" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of TVI as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information received from or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and that information received from or disseminated by third parties is reliable, it can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties (known and unknown) that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied. These factors include, but are not limited to, such things as general economic conditions in Canada, the United States, the Philippines and elsewhere; volatility of prices for precious metals, base metals, oil and gas; commodity supply and demand; fluctuations in currency and interest rates; inherent risks associated with the exploration and development of mining properties; inherent risks associated with the exploration of oil and gas properties; ultimate recoverability of reserves; production, timing, results and costs of exploration and development activities; political or civil unrest; availability of financial resources or third-party financing; new laws (domestic or foreign); changes in administrative practices; changes in exploration plans or budgets; and availability of personnel and equipment (including mechanical problems). Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance upon the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and such forward-looking statements should not be interpreted or regarded as guarantees of future outcomes.
Forward-looking statements regarding expectations that the Company will be able to find additional ore in the new permit area are based upon current and previous exploration activities, management's experience with other exploration programs undertaken in the Philippines and elsewhere, management's current and previous experience with mining and processing activities at Balabag, and the Company's overall plans, budget and strategy (which are all subject to change).
The forward-looking statements of the Company contained in this news release are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement. Various risks to which TVI and its affiliates are exposed in the conduct of their business are described in detail in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2012, which was filed on SEDAR on March 19, 2013, and is available at www.SEDAR.com. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly revise the forward-looking statements included in this news release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
SOURCE TVI Pacific Inc.
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