Tintina Appoints Bob Jacko as VP Operations and Launches Infill Drilling Program on its 100% Owned Lowry Deposit, Black Butte Copper Project, Montana, USA
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/01/12 -- Tintina Resources Inc. ("Tintina" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: TAU)(OTCQX: TINTF) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Bob Jacko as Vice President of Operations. Mr. Jacko had previously held the position of Project Manager of the Company's Black Butte Copper ("Black Butte") Project, Montana, USA.
Bob Jacko has more than thirty years of mining experience. During that time Bob has worked for Falconbridge, Cominco (Teck Cominco) and Thompson Creek. He has spent 14 years as General Manager at a number of mines including the Polaris Mine and Sullivan Mine in Canada for Cominco Ltd., and the Red Dog Mine and Pogo Mine in Alaska for Teck Cominco Ltd. in the USA. During his career he has been involved with three startups; the most recent was the Pogo Mine in Alaska.
Mr. Jacko stated, "I am excited about being part of the great team at Tintina and to be in a position to lead the development of the Black Butte high grade copper deposit through to being a producing mine."
Raj Chowdhry CEO and Executive Chairman stated, "Bob's underground mining experience from both an operating mine and startup perspective make him the ideal person to lead the development of the Black Butte copper project. His appointment adds to the strength of our organization and future development of the Company. I look forward to working closely with Bob and the rest of our leadership team to advance the Black Butte project through feasibility, permitting, construction and start-up. This is an exciting project and we aim to maximize shareholder value by advancing Black Butte Copper through to production."
Lowry Deposit Infill Drilling Program
The Company is also pleased to announce the commencement of an infill drilling program on the Lowry copper deposit (Fig. 2) on its 100% owned Black Butte project located in central Montana, USA. The Lowry Middle Zone Inferred Resource, with its 5.139 million tonnes containing 2.60% Cu, 0.12% Co, and 14.6 gpt Ag is based on 14 core holes totaling 9,072 meters of drilling. The purpose of the planned 8,000 meter, 16 hole infill drill program is to upgrade the Lowry Deposit inferred resource to an indicated resource. The drill program is scheduled for completion in December, 2012.
Jerry Zieg, Vice President of exploration for Tintina, stated, "The Lowry deposit is an important member of the family of Black Butte deposits. It has high copper concentrations across zones that are over 50 meters of thicknesses. It is my expectation that the infill program will demonstrate the continuity of this well mineralized zone and allow conversion to Indicated Resource status and eventual inclusion in future engineering studies."
About the Black Butte Copper Project
Geologists with Cominco American Inc. and joint venture partners Utah International and BHP discovered the deposits during exploration programs in the 1980s. In 1993, Cominco turned the property back over to the ranch owners and the deposits lay dormant until 2010 when members of the original discovery team now with Tintina re-established contact with the property owners. In May of 2010 Tintina completed mining leases on over 5,000 acres of private ranch lands which contain all currently identified resources at Black Butte. Present land holdings consist of 3,109.7 hectares (7,684.28 acres) of private ranch lands and 1,837.7 hectares (4,541 acres) of Federal mining claims. Tintina has completed over 46,000 meters of drilling since September of 2010, and from this work, as well as approximately 37,500 metres of previous historic drilling, has achieved resource estimates on the Johnny Lee and Lowry deposits (described below). At least five additional copper mineralized zones have been identified in the resource area.
The Johnny Lee Deposit (Fig. 2) lies 3.2 km (2 miles) west of U.S. Highway 89, and is comprised of the Johnny Lee Deposit Upper Zone and the Johnny Lee Deposit Lower Zone. Both zones consist of tabular layers of copper-cobalt-silver mineralization as bands of massive chalcopyrite concentrated within fine-grained massive pyritic sulfide layers hosted by shale and conglomerate. The Johnny Lee Deposit Upper Zone deposit lies at depths ranging from 30 to 210 meters below the surface and is up to 29.17 meters thick. The Johnny Lee Deposit Lower Zone lies at depths ranging from 340 to 500 meters below surface and is up to 13.05 meters thick. Portions of both the Upper and Lower Zones are faulted away and have yet to be located. Additional sulfide zones lie above the Johnny Lee Upper Zone and contain variable concentrations of zinc and copper. The deposit has an Inferred Resource of 329 million lbs. of copper (Cu) at an average grade of 4.0% and Indicated resources of 553 million lbs. of (Cu) at an average grade of 2.96% Cu. On August 31, 2012, the Company filed on SEDAR a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Johnny Lee deposit on the Black Butte copper property entitled "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Black Butte Copper Project, Montana" dated August 30, 2012.
The Lowry Deposit (Fig. 2) lies 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) west of U.S. Highway 89 and consists of at least five mineralized copper zones. Of these, the Lowry Deposit Middle Zone is a tabular layer of copper-cobalt-silver mineralization reaching up to 52 meters thick with high concentrations of chalcopyrite (copper-iron sulfide) concentrated within fragmental, silicified and dolomitized shale and carbonate. The deposit dips gently to the south, lies at depths ranging from 265 to 718.5 meters below surface, and measures 600 meters by 300 meters in plan. The northeast trending Rose fault down drops the southeast portion of the zone, where two holes extend the zone by about 100 meters. These holes have not been offset further east nor south. The deposit has an Inferred resource of 294 million lbs. of copper (Cu) at an average grade of 2.6% Cu.
These deposits are amenable to underground mining (See Fig. 3), an approach consistent with the desires of the landowners and community. Community and regional support for the project is high due to the strong desire for jobs in this economically challenged rural Montana area. Permitting activities are ongoing using highly knowledgeable Montana-based consulting groups together with the in-house team. Base-line and other key studies for permitting are carried out in close cooperation with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to ensure high quality and complete permit applications.
2012 Work and 2013 Development Plans
During 2012, the Company announced indicated and inferred resource estimates for the Johnny Lee Deposit and an inferred resource estimate for the Lowry Deposit based on drilling in 2011 (see Company news release dated March 19, 2012). The Company has subsequently completed infill drilling programs on both the Johnny Lee Upper Zone and Lower Zone deposits and is working toward further upgrading of these resources based on these new results. Construction of a new measured-indicated and inferred model is currently underway. The Company also completed a PEA on the Johnny Lee Upper and Lower Zones (see Company news release dated July 17, 2012) and based on these encouraging results continues engineering, geotechnical, hydrological, and metallurgical studies, and baseline environmental studies in preparation for permit applications. The Company plans to submit an application for an Exploration Decline (Fig. 2) to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in Q4, 2012 with the approval expected in Q2, 2013. The Company also expects to complete a Feasibility Study by late 2013.
(i) Please see the Cautionary Note Regarding the PEA
Qualified Persons
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 nature contained in this news release.
About Tintina Resources Inc.
Tintina Resources Inc. is a well-funded Vancouver based resource company focused on the development and mining of its 100% owned Black Butte high grade copper project (Fig. 1) in central Montana. Black Butte is the third highest grade copper deposit in development in North America. Tintina's Black Butte copper project has an Inferred Resource of 623 million lbs. of copper (Cu) at an average grade of 3.2% and Indicated resources of 553 million lbs. of (Cu) at an average grade of 2.96%. On August 31, 2012, the Company filed on SEDAR a PEA for the Johnny Lee deposit on the Black Butte copper property entitled "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Black Butte Copper Project, Montana" dated August 30, 2012. The Company is also conducting infill drilling on the Lowry deposit at Black Butte with the objective of upgrading existing Inferred resources to Indicated resources and plans to update the PEA to include the Lowry Deposit, which was not included in the PEA filed on August 31, 2012.
Tintina is led by a highly experienced executive management team that has an impressive track record of successfully building shareholder value through exploration, corporate finance and mine development.
About Mining in Montana
Montana has been 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.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Raj Chowdhry, CA, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO
Cautionary Note Regarding the PEA:
The PEA 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. Furthermore, there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Readers are encouraged to read the technical report, which discloses the basis for the preliminary economic assessment and the qualifications and assumptions made by the authors of the report.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain disclosures in this release, including statements regarding the Company's plans for and intentions with respect to advancement of the Company's Black Butte Copper Project to production resource estimates, the upgrading of resource estimates, the PEA, including estimates of capital and sustaining costs, anticipated internal rates of return, mine production, estimated recoveries, mine life, estimated payback period, and net present values, planned exploration activities and the results thereof, development activities, including the receipt of approvals and permits, the preparation of an updated preliminary economic analysis and a feasibility study and other plans and objectives of the Company with respect to the Black Butte Project and surrounding area constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "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 Company is able to obtain any government or other regulatory approvals and any financing required to complete the Company's planned exploration and development activities, that the Company is able to procure equipment and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, that the Company's exploration and development activities on the Black Butte Copper Project will not be affected by actions of environmental activists or other special interest groups, that actual results of exploration activities are consistent with management's expectations, that the proposed mine plan and recoveries will be achieved, that capital costs and sustaining costs will be as estimated, that the assumptions underlying mineral resource estimates are valid and that no unforeseen accident, fire, ground instability, flooding, labor disruption, equipment failure, metallurgical, environmental or other events that could delay or increase the cost of development will occur.
However, the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to Tintina's operation as a mineral exploration company and the Black Butte Copper Project 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, 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's exploration or development activities by environmental activists or other special interest groups, inability to procure equipment and supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis, the risk of unexpected variations in mineral resources, grade or recovery rates, of failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, of accidents, labor disputes, and unanticipated delays in obtaining governmental approvals and completing other development activities, the risk that estimated costs will be higher than anticipated and the risk that the proposed mine plan and recoveries will not be achieved, 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.
To view the Figures associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tau-1101-figs.pdf.
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Contacts:
Tintina Resources Inc.
David Fry
Corporate Development
604.628.1162
info@tintinaresources.com
www.tintinaresources.com