Seafield Resources Provides Update on Miraflores and Tesorito
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/30/12 -- Seafield Resources Ltd. ("Seafield" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE: SFF) is pleased to provide an update on the progress of the Company's technical work program at its Quinchia Gold Project, located in the Risaralda Department of Colombia.
The Company has commenced activities towards producing a Feasibility Study by Q4 2013 at the Miraflores advanced-stage gold deposit and plan to commence a drill program to test its newly discovered drill target, Tesorito.
HIGHLIGHTS
1. Milestones to completion of feasibility study for Miraflores
-- November 30, 2012: The Company will make its final option payment
and exercise its option to acquire 100% interest in the Miraflores
Gold Deposit
-- Q2 2013: The Company will complete its current 8,000-metre infill
drilling program at Miraflores consisting of:
-- 1,500 metres of underground drilling targeting the high-grade
vein system within the Miraflores breccia pipe to commence in
December 2012
-- 6,500 metres of infill drilling from surface commenced in
November 2012
-- Q2 2013: PEA will be updated based on the additional 8,000-metre
drill program plus the 5,000-metres of drilling completed in 2012
-- Q4 2013: Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") to be delivered to
the Colombian regulatory authorities
2. Drilling at new target, Tesorito
-- A 1,500-metre drill program at the Company's newly discovered
porphyry-style drill target, Tesorito, is scheduled to commence by
the end of 2012
DETAILS
Using proceeds from the the recently closed private placement (see Company's press release dated November 2, 2012), Seafield has commenced key critical path items required to complete a feasibility study and submit an EIA to the Colombian authorities for Miraflores.
"Seafield has designed an aggressive work program with the intention to advance and de-risk the Miraflores project by the end of 2013", commented Dave Prins, Seafield's COO. "We are currently advancing critical path items and plan to complete the feasibility by the end of 2013."
MIRAFLORES:
The Company's critical path items with respect to the further exploration and development of the Miraflores deposit are outlined below:
1) Miraflores Option Payment
A final option payment of US$1.67 million (COP $3,000,000,000) will be paid to the Asociacion de Mineros de Miraflores on November 30, 2012, at which point Seafield will exercise its option to earn 100% interest in the deposit along with the existing mining title.
2) Surface and Underground Drill Programs at Miraflores
An 8,000-metre drilling program at Miraflores is scheduled to be completed by Q2 2013. Three diamond drill rigs are drilling at Miraflores and two additional rigs will be mobilized to site by the end of November. A sixth rig is available to the Company should it be required to meet the aggressive drilling schedule. The infill drill program is designed to deliver the drill density required to achieve the confidence level necessary to complete the Miraflores feasibility study.
Seafield is currently constructing lateral extensions to the existing underground access tunnel at Miraflores. Four underground drill stations will be constructed to facilitate a 1,500-metre underground drill program that is scheduled to commence in December 2012. The underground drill program will be aimed at further defining the high-grade vein system that has been identified within the Miraflores breccia pipe.
The combined 8,000-metres of drilling data from Seafield's underground and infill drill program plus the 5,000 metres drilled in 2012 will be incorporated into a new NI 43-101 resource estimate in Q2 2013 and used for the feasibility study.
3) PEA Update and Critical Test Work
SRK Consulting ("SRK") of Denver, Colorado has been commissioned to conduct trade off studies and other activities following the findings and recommendations of the April 2012 PEA (see press release dated April 23, 2012). These work packages also include the development of an integrated project schedule, optimization work for the location of critical infrastructure and the delivery of an updated PEA in Q2 2013, which will be based upon the resource estimate including the additional 13,000-metres of drilling.
Critical test work programs, including metallurgical and acid rock drainage ("ARD") test work, geotechnical and hydrogeological programs, are in the final stages of design. Test work for the tailings geochemical program commenced in November 2012.
The Company would like to highlight that its metallurgical, geotechnical and hydrogeological programs will commence by year's end and will be undertaken to feasibility level standard.
4) Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental baseline studies have been ongoing since January 2012. Seafield expects that all baseline data required for submitting an EIA to the Colombian authorities will be complete in Q3 2013, allowing for an environmental permit submission in Q4 2013.
5) Feasibility Study
Seafield will soon commence work on the feasibility study engineering and other activities that have not already commenced. Based on the current project schedule, the feasibility study is targeted for completion in Q4 2013, pending the technical review of identified tailings sites. The Company is currently arranging the incremental financing required to complete the feasibility study.
TESORITO:
Seafield recently announced the discovery of a porphyry-style anomaly located 800 metres southeast of Miraflores (see press release dated September 27, 2012). The Tesorito target zone covers an area of 500 metres by 700 metres. Rock sampling in the target zone returned 18.0 metres of 1.03 g/t Au and 0.09% Cu and 16.0 metres of 1.0 g/t Au and 0.02% Cu. The Company plans to commence a 1,500-metre drill program by the end of 2012 to test the anomaly at depth. Seafield expects to receive assay results from the initial drilling at Tesorito in Q1 2013.
About Seafield Resources Ltd.
Seafield Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: SFF) is a mineral exploration company currently focused on advancing its Miraflores Gold Deposit towards feasibility level. Seafield's 6,757-hectare Quinchia Gold Project is located in the Department of Risaralda of Colombia. SRK Consulting Inc's (Denver) Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Miraflores Deposit indicates robust economics with a pre-tax internal rate of return of 50% and a pre-tax net present value (8%) of $249M (see corporate PEA presentation at http://bit.ly/MFeL7q). Miraflores currently has a NI 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated resource estimate of 1,925,542 ounces gold at 0.8 g/t Au (77Mt at a cut-off of 0.3 g/t Au) and an Inferred resource estimate of 103,043 ounces gold at 0.6 g/t Au (5.5Mt at a cut-off of 0.3 g/t Au). Additionally, the Company has a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for its Dosquebradas Deposit, also part of the Quinchia Gold Project, with an Inferred resource estimate totalling 920,772 ounces gold at 0.5 g/t Au (57Mt at a cut-off of 0.3 g/t Au). Seafield Resources Ltd. trades its shares on the Toronto Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under the symbol SFF and in the United States using CUSIP 81173R101. For more details on the Company, please visit www.sffresources.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under Canadian securities laws. Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and resources, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various degrees of risk. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current views with respect to possible future events and conditions and, by their nature, are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific to the Company. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements. The following are important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: changes in the world wide price of commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in exploration, risks associated with development, construction and mining operations, the uncertainty of future profitability and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. Additional information regarding the material factors and assumptions that were applied in making these forward-looking statements as well as the various risks and uncertainties we face are described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of our annual and interim Management's Discussion and Analysis of our financial results and other continuous disclosure documents and financial statements we file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update this forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. The Company relies on litigation protection for forward-looking statements.
Neither 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:
Seafield Resources Ltd.
David MacMillan
Investor Relations
(416) 361-3434 ext. 202
dmacmillan@sffresources.com
www.sffresources.com