Trevali Significantly Increases Resources at Santander Zinc-Lead-Silver Project in Peru
Deposits Remain Open for Expansion
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire - Nov. 2, 2010) - Trevali Resources Corp. ("Trevali" or the "Company") (TSX: TV) (PINK SHEETS: TREVF) (FRANKFURT: 4TI) is pleased to announce the results of its November 2010 mineral resource estimate update for the Santander zinc-lead-silver mine project in west-central Peru (Table 1: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tv-tbl1.pdf and Figure 1: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tvfig1.pdf).
- Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.858 million tonnes with an average grade of 3.86% zinc, 1.35% lead, 44 g/t silver and 0.08% copper for an estimated in-situ metal inventory of 498 million lbs. zinc, 174 million lbs. lead, 8.25 million oz. silver and 9.7 million lbs. copper at 3% ZnEQ* cut-off.
- Inferred Mineral Resource of 4.806 million tonnes grading 5.08% zinc, 0.44% lead, 21 g/t silver and 0.07% copper for an estimated in-situ metal inventory of 538 million lbs. zinc, 46 million lbs. lead, 3.19 million oz. silver and 7.8 million lbs. copper at a 3% ZnEQ* cut-off.
- Mineralization remains open for expansion in all five deposits identified to date – Magistral North, Central and South, Puajanca South and the Santander Pipe (Figure 2: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tv-fig2.pdf).
The updated resource estimate is based on 171 diamond drill holes (with a combined length of approx. 33,240 metres). The resource estimate was conducted by and under the supervision of Kevin Palmer P.Geo., an independent qualified person and Senior Resource Geologist at Golder Associates Ltd. of Burnaby, Canada and utilized a 3% ZnEQ* cut-off grade – which is the nominal base case estimated grade of material that can be mined and processed considering all applicable costs.
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
* Significant increases in contained in-situ metal in all resource categories – Indicated: Zn (lbs) +51%; Pb (lbs) +41%; Ag (oz) +49% -- Inferred: Zn (lbs) +605%; Pb (lbs) +216%; Ag (oz) +488% at the 3% ZnEQ* cut-off grade.
* Discovery costs of approximately US$0.004 per in-situ pound of base metal excluding silver.
* Identification and independent confirmation of very significant upside remaining in the historic Santander Mine – inferred resources of 3.321 million tonnes returning 5.78% Zn, 0.01% Pb, 0.08% Cu and 16 g/t Ag.
To view "Table 1: November 2010 Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources (capped) at Santander Project", please visit:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tv-tbl1.pdf.
"The resource estimate greatly increases the size of Santander and highlights the growing potential of the Company's flagship project," stated Dr. Mark Cruise, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "Given the anticipated compressed time-frame to production we are well poised to benefit from forecast base metal, and in particular zinc, price increases going forward due to increasing global demand coupled with the slated closure of several marquee mines worldwide."
A comparison of the maiden 2009 Resource estimate and the latest November 2010 Resource estimate is tabulated below (Table 2). A break-down of the resource estimate by deposit is documented in Table 3.
*ZnEQ equals ((Ag Price(g) x Ag Recovery x Ag Grade) + (Pb Price(t) x Pb Recovery x (Pb Grade(%)/100)+(Zn Price(t) x Zn Recovery x (Zn Grade(%)/100)))/Zn Price(t). Golder utilized the three year rolling average price for all three metals. Price for silver is ($14.90/oz) and that for Pb ($2,174), Zn ($2,079) and Cu ($6,504) is per tonne. A recovery of 85% was applied to Ag, 90% for Pb, 85% for Zn and 60% for Cu for calculating the ZnEQ formula. The pounds metal are in-situ and have not had any mining factors applied to them.
The mineral resources identified in Table 1 are based on Ordinary Kriged (OK) capped values. Capping of samples has been applied in order to reduce the effect of high grade sample outliers. The resource block model was generated using Datamine Studio 3 software and utilized a parent block-size of 10m (x) by 10m (y) by 5m (z) based primarily on drill-hole spacing.
To view "Table 2: Comparison of March 2009 and November 2010 Resource Estimates", please visit: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tv-tbl2.pdf.
To view "Table 3: November 2010 Resources by deposit", please visit:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tv-tbl3.pdf.
SANTANDER PROJECT
The Santander zinc-lead-silver mine project is located approximately 215 km by road from Lima, in the western extent of Peru's Central Polymetallic Belt. Site infrastructure includes a fully refurbished 200-man camp and the Tingo hydroelectric power-station located 17 km down-valley to the west. The Company commenced exploration at Santander in November 2007 discovering four new high-grade silver-lead-zinc replacement and massive sulphide bodies to date. Mineralization remains open in all three Magistral Deposits, the Puajanca South Deposit and the past-producing Santander Pipe, and numerous high-priority targets remain to be tested.
To view "Figure 2: Trevali's 44km2 Santander silver-lead- zinc mine project in west-central Peru", please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/TVfig2.pdf
Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance
EurGeol Dr. Mark D. Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Cruise is not independent of the Company, as he is an officer and shareholder.
The work programs at Santander were designed by, and are supervised by, Mark D. Cruise, President & CEO, Trevali, and Tim Kingsley (Senior Geologist), who together are responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance program. On-site personnel at the project rigorously collect and track samples which are then security sealed and shipped to ACME Laboratories, Vancouver, for assay. ACME's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025: 1999. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples. Quality control is further assured by the use of international and in-house standards. Blind certified reference material is inserted at regular intervals into the sample sequence by Trevali personnel in order to independently assess analytical accuracy. Finally, representative blind duplicate samples are routinely forwarded to ACME and an ISO compliant third party laboratory for additional quality control.
ABOUT TREVALI RESOURCES CORP.
The Company in conjunction with its partner, Glencore International A.G., has entered into a definitive development agreement for the Santander silver-lead-zinc project in west-central Peru that will see Glencore provide and operate on the property, a 2,000-tonne-per-day concentrate plant, undertake mining operations on a 'contractor/toll basis' and enter into a long-term concentrate offtake agreement with the Company for 100% of the Santander project's production at benchmark terms.
Additionally, through its wholly owned subsidiary Trevali Renewable Energy Inc., the Company is undertaking a significant upgrade of the Tingo run-of-river hydroelectric generating facility along with transmission line upgrades and extensions to allow, in addition to supplying power to the mining operation on the property, the potential sale of surplus power into the Peruvian National Energy Grid.
The common shares of the Company are currently listed on the TSX (symbol TV). For further details on the Company, readers are referred to the Company's web site (www.trevali.com) and to Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of TREVALI RESOURCES CORP.
Mark D. Cruise
President
THIS NEWS RELEASE CONTAINS "FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS" WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE UNITED STATES PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995 AND "FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION" WITHIN THE MEANING OF APPLICABLE CANADIAN SECURITIES LEGISLATION. STATEMENTS CONTAINING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION EXPRESS, AS AT THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE COMPANY'S PLANS, ESTIMATES, FORECASTS, PROJECTIONS, EXPECTATIONS, OR BELIEFS AS TO FUTURE EVENTS OR RESULTS AND THE COMPANY DOES NOT INTEND, AND DOES NOT ASSUME ANY OBLIGATION TO, UPDATE SUCH STATEMENTS CONTAINING THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION. SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO STATEMENTS AS TO: THE ACCURACY OF ESTIMATED MINERAL RESERVES AND RESOURCES, ANTICIPATED RESULTS OF FUTURE EXPLORATION, AND FORECAST FUTURE METAL PRICES, ANTICIPATED RESULTS OF FUTURE ELECTRICAL SALES AND EXPECTATIONS THAT ENVIRONMENTAL, PERMITTING, LEGAL, TITLE, TAXATION, SOCIO-ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, MARKETING OR OTHER ISSUES WILL NOT MATERIALLY AFFECT ESTIMATES OF MINERAL RESERVES. THESE STATEMENTS REFLECT THE COMPANY'S CURRENT VIEWS WITH RESPECT TO FUTURE EVENTS AND ARE NECESSARILY BASED UPON A NUMBER OF ASSUMPTIONS AND ESTIMATES THAT, WHILE CONSIDERED REASONABLE BY THE COMPANY, ARE INHERENTLY SUBJECT TO SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS, ECONOMIC, COMPETITIVE, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL UNCERTAINTIES AND CONTINGENCIES.
THESE STATEMENTS REFLECT THE COMPANY'S CURRENT VIEWS WITH RESPECT TO FUTURE EVENTS AND ARE NECESSARILY BASED UPON A NUMBER OF ASSUMPTIONS AND ESTIMATES THAT, WHILE CONSIDERED REASONABLE BY THE COMPANY, ARE INHERENTLY SUBJECT TO SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS, ECONOMIC, COMPETITIVE, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL UNCERTAINTIES AND CONTINGENCIES. MANY FACTORS, BOTH KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS TO BE MATERIALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS THAT ARE OR MAY BE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE AND THE COMPANY HAS MADE ASSUMPTIONS AND ESTIMATES BASED ON OR RELATED TO MANY OF THESE FACTORS.
SUCH FACTORS INCLUDE, WITHOUT LIMITATION: FLUCTUATIONS IN SPOT AND FORWARD MARKETS FOR SILVER, ZINC, BASE METALS AND CERTAIN OTHER COMMODITIES (SUCH AS NATURAL GAS, FUEL OIL AND ELECTRICITY); FLUCTUATIONS IN CURRENCY MARKETS (SUCH AS THE PERUVIAN SOL VERSUS THE U.S. DOLLAR); RISKS RELATED TO THE TECHNOLOGICAL AND OPERATIONAL NATURE OF THE COMPANY'S BUSINESS; CHANGES IN NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, LEGISLATION, TAXATION, CONTROLS OR REGULATIONS AND POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN CANADA, THE UNITED STATES, PERU OR OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE THE COMPANY MAY CARRY ON BUSINESS IN THE FUTURE; RISKS AND HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUSINESS OF MINERAL EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT AND MINING (INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS, INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS, UNUSUAL OR UNEXPECTED GEOLOGICAL OR STRUCTURAL FORMATIONS, PRESSURES, CAVE-INS AND FLOODING); RISKS RELATING TO THE CREDIT WORTHINESS OR FINANCIAL CONDITION OF SUPPLIERS, REFINERS AND OTHER PARTIES WITH WHOM THE COMPANY DOES BUSINESS; INADEQUATE INSURANCE, OR INABILITY TO OBTAIN INSURANCE, TO COVER THESE RISKS AND HAZARDS; EMPLOYEE RELATIONS; RELATIONSHIPS WITH AND CLAIMS BY LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS; AVAILABILITY AND INCREASING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH MINING INPUTS AND LABOUR; THE SPECULATIVE NATURE OF MINERAL EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT,INCLUDING THE RISKS OF OBTAINING NECESSARY LICENSES AND PERMITS AND THE PRESENCE OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS THAT MAY IMPOSE RESTRICTIONS ON MINING,; DIMINISHING QUANTITIES OR GRADES OF MINERAL RESERVES AS PROPERTIES ARE MINED; GLOBAL FINANCIAL CONDITIONS; BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY BE PRESENTED TO, OR PURSUED BY, THE COMPANY; THE COMPANY'S ABILITY TO COMPLETE AND SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATE ACQUISITIONS AND TO MITIGATE OTHER BUSINESS COMBINATION RISKS; CHALLENGES TO, OR DIFFICULTY IN MAINTAINING, THE COMPANY'S TITLE TO PROPERTIES AND CONTINUED OWNERSHIP THEREOF; THE ACTUAL RESULTS OF CURRENT EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES, CONCLUSIONS OF ECONOMIC EVALUATIONS, AND CHANGES IN PROJECT PARAMETERS TO DEAL WITH UNANTICIPATED ECONOMIC OR OTHER FACTORS; INCREASED COMPETITION IN THE MINING INDUSTRY FOR PROPERTIES, EQUIPMENT, QUALIFIED PERSONNEL, AND THEIR COSTS. INVESTORS ARE CAUTIONED AGAINST ATTRIBUTING UNDUE CERTAINTY OR RELIANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. ALTHOUGH THE COMPANY HAS ATTEMPTED TO IDENTIFY IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY, THERE MAY BE OTHER FACTORS THAT CAUSE RESULTS NOT TO BE AS ANTICIPATED, ESTIMATED, DESCRIBED OR INTENDED. THE COMPANY DOES NOT INTEND, AND DOES NOT ASSUME ANY OBLIGATION, TO UPDATE THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS OR INFORMATION TO REFLECT CHANGES IN ASSUMPTIONS OR CHANGES IN CIRCUMSTANCES OR ANY OTHER EVENTS AFFECTING SUCH STATEMENTS OR INFORMATION, OTHER THAN AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
For more information, please contact
Trevali Resources Corp.
Steve Stakiw
Manager - Corporate Communications
(604) 488-1661
(604) 408-7499 (FAX)
sstakiw@trevali.com
www.trevali.com