Tintina Reports New Indicated & Inferred Copper-Cobalt-Silver Resources at the Black Butte Copper Property (formerly 'Sheep Creek'), Montana-Company Expands Scope of PEA
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/30/11 -- Tintina Resources Inc. ('Tintina' and/or the 'Company') (TSX VENTURE: TAU)(OTCQX: TINTF) is pleased to announce that it has completed in-fill drilling and an updated NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate on one of the several copper deposits on its Black Butte Copper Project ('Black Butte'), formerly called 'Sheep Creek', located in Central Montana, USA (see Figure 1).
Highlights:
-- The Johnny Lee Zone (formerly called 'the Upper Copper Zone at
Strawberry Butte') contains an Indicated Resource of 8.48 million metric
tonnes ('MMT') grading 2.96% copper (Cu), 0.12% cobalt (Co), and 16.9
g/tonne silver (Ag) and an Inferred Resource of 1.26 MMT grading 2.64%
Cu, 0.10% Co, and 16.4 g/t Ag, both at a 1.60% Cu cut-off grade and an
assumed copper price of $2.75/lb.
Jerry Zieg, Vice President of Exploration, said, 'We are very pleased with the results to date from the drill program on the Johnny Lee deposit. The outcome exceeded expectations. We have not only upgraded all of the previously reported Inferred Resource to Indicated Resource, but have also improved the overall average copper grade to 2.96% and increased the amount of contained copper in the Johnny Lee deposit from 366 million pounds in the Inferred Resource first announced on January 6, 2011 to 553 million pounds in the Indicated Resource category in this new estimate, representing a 51% increase. In addition to the Johnny Lee Zone, favorable drilling results have been obtained from the Lowry Zone (formerly called 'The Middle Copper Zone at Strawberry East') and the Lower Copper Zone. I have great confidence that Tintina is well on its way to meeting its objective of identifying a billion pounds of copper on the Black Butte Copper project.'
Tables 1 & 2 show a range of Indicated & Inferred Resources, at various cut-off grades, for the Johnny Lee Zone.
Table 1 - Johnny Lee Zone Undiluted Indicated Mineral Resources
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Estimated Metal Grades Contained Metal
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Cu Cutoff Tonnes Ag Ozs
(%) (000) Cu (%) Co (%) Ag (g/t) Cu Lbs (M) Co Lbs (M) (000)
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0.00 16,145 2.06 0.10 16.0 733 36 8,305
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0.40 15,956 2.08 0.10 16.1 731 35 8,259
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0.80 14,394 2.23 0.11 16.5 707 35 7,636
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1.20 11,284 2.57 0.11 16.6 639 27 6,022
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1.60 8,483 2.96 0.12 16.9 553 22 4,609
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2.00 6,137 3.41 0.14 16.9 461 19 3,335
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2.40 4,782 3.76 0.14 16.9 396 15 2,598
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2.80 3,735 4.09 0.15 16.4 337 12 1,969
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Table 2 - Johnny Lee Zone Undiluted Inferred Mineral Resources
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Estimated Metal Grades Contained Metal
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Cu Cutoff Tonnes Ag Ozs
(%) (000) Cu (%) Co (%) Ag (g/t) Cu Lbs (M) Co Lbs (M) (000)
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0.00 2,489 1.89 0.09 16.4 104 5 1,312
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0.40 2,484 1.89 0.09 16.4 103 5 1,310
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0.80 2,301 1.99 0.09 16.5 101 5 1,221
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1.20 1,806 2.26 0.10 16.3 90 4 946
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1.60 1,257 2.64 0.10 16.4 73 3 663
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2.00 886 2.99 0.11 16.2 58 2 461
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2.40 620 3.33 0.12 16.1 46 2 321
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2.80 423 3.67 0.13 16.0 34 1 218
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(i) It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Resource will
be upgraded to an Indicated Resource, or that an Indicated Mineral Resource
will be upgraded to a Measured Resource, as a result of continued
exploration. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves because there are
insufficient studies to demonstrate economic viability. Mineral Resources
are global undiluted in situ totals. Mineral Resource numbers have been
rounded and may not add up in the above table. A new NI 43-101 Technical
Report for the Black Butte Copper Property, which will include the new
Mineral Resource estimate, will be filed on SEDAR within the next 45 days.
The Johnny Lee deposit is a shallow tabular layer of copper-cobalt-silver mineralization with bands of massive chalcopyrite concentrated within a fine-grained massive pyritic sulfide layer hosted by shale and debris flow conglomerate. The deposit lies at depths ranging from 30 to 210 meters below the surface and ranges in thickness between 1.2 and 13.1 meters. All drill hole intersections represent approximate true thicknesses in the gently dipping mineralized zones. Historic resources calculated by earlier operators are non-compliant with NI 43-101 standards and are not being relied upon for resource estimation purposes. There is potential for additional resource in the Johnny Lee deposit and in the five other Cu-Co-Ag deposits identified on the property to date.
The Company had released an Inferred Resource estimate for the Lower Copper Zone at Strawberry Butte (see the Company's news release dated August 17, 2011), being one of the five Cu-Co-Ag deposits, of 2.46 MMT containing 4.71% Cu, 0.06% Co, and 5.1 g/tonne Ag containing 256 Million pounds of copper at a 1.5% Cu cut-off grade. The Company expects to release a resource estimate for the Lowry deposit (formerly 'Middle Copper Zone at Strawberry East') in the first half of 2012. The Mineral Resource estimate for the Johnny Lee deposit was prepared by Mike Lechner, President of Resource Modeling Inc., who is an independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. The drill hole database that was used to estimate Mineral Resources consists of 19 drill holes completed by Cominco American Inc., Utah International, BHP, and 54 drill holes completed by Tintina Resources Inc. totaling 16,595.76 meters. The Mineral Resource estimate was completed by constructing a three dimensional computer block model with a block size of 5 m X 5 m in the X and Y dimensions and 1 m in the Z dimension. Three-dimensional wireframes were constructed representing the Johnny Lee mineralized zones and the Volcano Valley Fault. One-meter-long drill hole composites were generated from the assay data after capping high-grade outliners and were subsequently used to estimate copper, cobalt, gold, and silver grades using a dynamic anisotropy search strategy and inverse distance weighting. The block grades were validated visually and by comparing the inverse distance grades with a nearest neighbor model.
Jerry Zieg, Vice President of Exploration for the Company is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the information of a scientific or technical nature contained in this news release.
PEA scope expanded
In the first quarter of 2011, the Company initiated a Preliminary Economic Analysis (PEA) focused solely on the original Inferred Resource at the Johnny Lee deposit. As a result of over 20,000 meters of infill and expansion diamond drilling in the Johnny Lee and Lower Copper Zones over the course of 2011, the identified resources outlined above expanded and displayed remarkably high grades in the Inferred Resource in the Lower Copper Zone (2.46 MMT grading 4.71% Cu, 0.06% Co, 5.1 g/t Ag, and 0.35 g/t Au at a cut-off grade of 1.50% Cu). Given the robustness of the stacked mineralized zones (see Figure 2) coupled with anticipated resource increases, the Company has decided to expand the scope of the PEA. This new study will model higher annual throughputs at grades nearly 50% higher than those contemplated in the original PEA and should be available early in the third quarter of 2012.
About Tintina Resources Inc.
Tintina Resources Inc. is a growth company focused on the exploration and development of base and precious metal properties around the world. The Company's experienced Board of Directors and Management Team are focused on advancing the Black Butte Cu-Co-Ag property in Montana towards a production decision. The Company is also exploring an impressive portfolio of gold and base metal projects in Alaska, including the Colorado Creek gold project located in southwest Alaska in the same region as the 40 million ounce Donlin Creek project.
About Black Butte Copper
The Black Butte Copper Project is located approximately 17 miles north of White Sulphur Springs and within two miles of U.S. Highway 89 along a well-maintained gravel road. The Black Butte Copper property consists of approximately 12,225 acres of fee simple lands and mining claims in central Montana. The property contains sediment-hosted zones of massive sulfide mineralization originally explored by Cominco American Inc. and BHP during the 1980s and early 1990s. Historical drilling encountered significant zones of strata-bound copper sulfide with associated cobalt and silver mineralization in multiple, bedded massive pyrite horizons in the lower part of the Precambrian Belt Supergroup. This same stratigraphic unit hosts the famous Sullivan zinc-lead-silver deposit in southeastern B.C. In a short period of time the Company has been able to establish Indicated and Inferred Resources on the Johnny Lee Zone and an Inferred Resource on the Lower Copper Zone at Strawberry Butte (please see the Company news release dated August 17, 2011). The Company continues to evaluate several tabular mineralized zones along a trend at least three kilometers strike length. The Company has completed over 30,000 meters of drilling over the course of 2011.
The Company is preparing an advanced underground exploration proposal which includes an evaluation decline and ancillary facilities, all located on private land in Meagher County, for presentation to the State's appropriate authorities. This proposal is expected to be filed by the spring of 2012.
About Mining in Montana
Montana has been known as a mining state for a well over 100 years. Today, more than two dozen mining operations are active making mining a cornerstone contributor to the State's GDP. Tintina has met with State regulators and looks forward to presenting the Black Butte Copper project as an underground mine with a small footprint located on private land. The project continues to benefit from broad local community support.
To view Figures 1 and 2 associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tau1130i.pdf.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Louis A. Lepry, Jr., President & CEO
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosure in this release, including statements regarding resource estimates, the Company's plans for and intentions and objectives with respect to exploration of the Company's Black Butte Copper property, the filing of a new NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Black Butte Copper property, the release of a resource estimate for the Lowry deposit, the content and timing of a Preliminary Economic Analysis and the filing of an advanced underground exploration proposal for the Black Butte Copper Project constitutes 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities legislation. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the key assumptions and parameters on which the resource estimates are based are reasonable, the Company is able to obtain any government or other regulatory approvals and any financing required to complete the Company's planned exploration and other activities, that the Company is able to procure equipment, personnel, supplies and any required financing in sufficient quantities, at reasonable cost and on a timely basis to enable the Company to meet its exploration objectives and to complete the filing of a new NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Black Butte Copper property, the release of a resource estimate for the Lowry deposit, the preparation of a Preliminary Economic Analysis and the filing of an advanced underground exploration proposal for the Black Butte Copper Project as planned, that the Company's exploration activities on the Black Butte Copper property will not be affected by actions of environmental activists or other special interest groups, that actual results of exploration activities will be consistent with management's expectations.
However, the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to Tintina's operations as a mineral exploration company and the Black Butte Copper property that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and risks include, among others, that data and assumptions underlying the resource estimates may prove to be inaccurate, incomplete or to have been incorrectly interpreted, the general risk of unexpected variations in mineral resources, and grade or recovery rates, actual results of the Company's exploration activities being different than those expected by management, uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and geological tests,delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals or financing, interference with Tintina Resource's exploration activities by environmental activists or other special interest groups, inability to procure equipment, personnel and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, equipment breakdowns and bad weather. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Tintina does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Tintina Resources Inc.
Philippe Van Nieuwenhuyse
Investor Relations
604-628-1162 ext. 236
604-628-1163 (FAX)
philvann@tintinaresources.com
www.tintinaresources.com