- Published: 01 June 2009
- Written by Editor
Hana Mining Ltd. Reports an Inferred Resource of 2.9 Billion Pounds of Copper and 51.5 Million Ounces of Silver for Its Ghanzi Copper-Silver Deposit in Botswana
Hana Mining Ltd. ("Hana Mining") (TSX VENTURE:HMG)(FRANKFURT:4LH) is pleased to announce the completion of an independent National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 compliant inferred resource estimate for its Ghanzi Copper-Silver deposit in Botswana. The estimate for the global resource is 2.9 billion pounds of copper and 51.5 million ounces of silver from 163.5 million tonnes. This resource is based on a 0.30% Cu cutoff and averages 0.82% Cu and 9.8 g/t Ag.
At a cutoff of 0.75% Cu the resource totals 60.4 million tonnes containing 2.0 billion pounds copper and 34.9 million ounces silver with an average grade of 1.51% Cu and 17.98 g/t Ag. No adjustments have been made for mining recoveries or production yields.
This resource estimate is based largely on a 15 month drilling program that included 98 core holes totaling 15,000 metres and 50 RC holes totaling 6,600 metres.
Drill holes were typically designed to test at 150 metres vertical depth, reflecting the initial objective to initially define a surface mineable resource. The drilling program reflects work on 16 kilometers of strike length, while the total cumulative strike length of the property extends to an estimated 600 kilometers due to repeated folding. Of this total target strike length, future drill plans call for work on approximately 20 kilometres of the most prospective targets. As such, this will reflect drilling on 6% of the total known strike length on the property. Results of the resource estimate are shown in Table 1, below.
TABLE 1.
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NI 43-101 Inferred Resource Details
at 150 Metre Depth & Various Cut-Off Grades
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Copper Silver
Copper Resource -------------------------------------------------
Cut-Off Grade Tonnes PPM Grade Pounds(i) Grade Ounces(i)
(%) (metric) (%) (g/t)
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0.30 163,544,571 8,226 0.82 2,965,865,108 9.81 51,561,367
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0.50 82,980,580 12,620 1.26 2,308,736,868 14.86 39,634,579
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0.75 60,381,070 15,149 1.51 2,016,533,032 17.98 34,912,312
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(i)Note: Metal estimates are in-situ, and are not adjusted for mining losses
or production yields.
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Hana Mining's President, Peter Wilson commented as follows:
"We are very pleased with our recent drill results and the results of the resource estimation contained in the report. Our initial goal has been to reach a resource size of 100 million tonnes and a 1% copper grade. We believe our initial goal has already been exceeded by our first NI 43-101 resource estimate, and we still have multiple target zones to drill on the property. The resource remains open along strike and down-dip in the zones we have been working, offering further opportunity for resource expansion. These results confirm to us that we are on the right track for the discovery of a major new copper district in Botswana. Botswana is viewed as a very favorable area for conducting business and government support for developing mining diversification. Our next goal is to expand this resource to 200-400 million metric tonnes, and we are designing the current exploration program to achieve this result."
The mineralization at the Ghanzi Copper-Silver property is classified as a sediment-hosted copper-silver deposit. Among the best known deposits of similar type is the vast Kuperschiefer deposit in Poland. Mineralization at Kuperschiefer occurs to a vertical depth of at least 700 meters and is open. The ore zones average 4 to 6 meters in width and range from 1.5 to 2.0% Cu and up to 80 g/t Ag; the deposit is mined underground. This deposit accounts for 6% of annual global copper production and contains 30% of world copper reserves. This type of copper deposit can generate a resource that is both very large and of attractive grade, making for world scale mining opportunities.
"As next steps, we intend to commission a metallurgical study and will proceed directly with a resource expansion drilling program. These new drill programs will include work on Banana Zone and Zone 3. Numerous drill-ready targets have been defined by widely spaced core, reverse circulation and percussion drill holes as well as soil sampling," states Wilson.
Further discussion of resource estimate results:
Resource mineralization is confined to a redox horizon that occurs immediately above an oxidized sandstone sequence. The resource has been divided into two classifications, Core and Non-Core, reflecting the continuous nature of a portion of the resource from section to section and the change in grade above and below the Core. This segmentation can be seen in Table 2.
TABLE 2.
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Core vs. Non Core Inferred Resource Details
at a 0.5% copper Cut-Off Grade, 150 Metre Depth
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Copper Silver
Grade Resource -----------------------------------------------
Zone Tonnes PPM Grade Pounds(i) Grade Ounces(i)
(metric) (%) (g/t)
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Core Zone
Resource 53,638,695 15,783 1.58 1,866,374,714 19.09 32,929,090
Non-Core Zone
Resource 29,341,885 6,838 0.68 442,362,154 7.11 6,705,489
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Total (in situ) 82,980,580 12,620 1.26 2,308,736,868 14.86 39,634,579
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(i)Note: Metal estimates are in-situ, and are not adjusted for mining losses
or production yields.
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The three categories in the table above are defined as follows:
1. The Core zone resource. The grades were picked (and hard boundaried) when they were above 0.5% Cu and continuous. A break in grade below 0.5% would prompt a hard boundary even if high grade is found lower or higher in the hole.
2. The non-core resource. This is tonnage outside the core zone, is also above 0.5% Cu but includes material that could not be included in the core zone, based on the definition of continuity as defined above.
3. The Total (in-situ) category is a summation of the two sub-categories.
The resource as presently included in the NI 43-101 estimate occurs in three separate zones, Banana, Zone 5 and Zone 6. At the Banana Zone the resource lies in four areas; Fold Nose, North Limb, South Limb and New Discovery. Collectively these areas comprise 66% of the total resource. Zone 5 is 60 kilometers northeast of the Banana Zone and the resource occurs over a 2 kilometer strike length. Zone 6 is 35 kilometers north of Zone 5 and 95 kilometers north of Banana Zone and the resource occurs over a 2.6 kilometer strike length.
The following table 3 summarizes the various resource areas at a 0.75% Cu cutoff.
TABLE 3.
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NI 43-101 Inferred Resource Details
at 0.75% Cut-Off Grade and 150 Metre Depth
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Copper Silver
Resource ------------------------------------------
Exploration Tonnes Grade Pounds(i) Grade Ounces(i)
Zone (metric) (%) (g/t)
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Banana 40,680,696 1.47 1,317,611,862 21.66 28,337,998
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Zone 5 13,427,196 1.66 492,029,638 12.11 5,227,238
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Zone 6 6,273,178 1.50 206,891,532 6.68 1,347,076
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Total 60,381,070 1.51 2,016,533,032 17.98 34,912,312
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(i)Note: Metal estimates are in-situ, and are not adjusted for
mining losses or production yields.
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The three mineralized zones included in the 43-101 estimate of resources can be seen in position to one another in Figure 1, shown below:
To view Figure 1, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/hmg530.pdf
Qualified Persons
Joseph Arengi, M.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Hana Mining is the qualified person for the company as defined in NI 43-101 and has reviewed the technical information in this press release. The resource was calculated by Mr. Deon van der Heever of GeoLogix Mineral Resource Consultants (Pty) Ltd., an independent Qualified Person, as defined by the National Instrument 43-101. Mr. van der Heever has reviewed and approved the contents of this release. A technical report providing details of the estimate will be filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) within 45 days. All metal calculations are in situ and do not include allowance for metallurgical recoveries.
About the Ghanzi Copper-Silver Project in Botswana
The Ghanzi Project is located in northwestern Botswana. The property consists of five license blocks covering 2,200 square kilometres. The area is host to widespread sediment-hosted copper-silver mineralization. The property has been explored intermittently since 1962 by numerous companies. This exploration work was done when copper prices were lower than today and regional infrastructure was not as advanced as at present. Power is available from the town of Maun (town with population of 50,000), situated on the northern end of the property, and the paved trans-Kalahari highway which runs from Namibia to South Africa, passes within 10 km of the north end of the property as well.
About Hana Mining
Hana Mining is a Canadian junior mineral explorer headquartered in Vancouver, BC, seeking to acquire, explore and develop precious, base metal and other mineral exploration projects worldwide. Hana is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange ("HMG") and the Frankfurt Exchange ("4LH"). Hana Mining has recently raised about $3.2 million in funding as part of a financing announced on May 26, 2009 and May 29, 2009 and will now work towards enhancing the value of the deposit by commissioning a metallurgical study, completing power and infrastructure studies and expanding the resource base through testing of drill ready targets.
Joseph Arengi, M.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Hana Mining is the qualified person as defined in NI 43-101 and has reviewed the technical information in this press release.
Statements in this press release, other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: Hana Mining Ltd.
Hana Mining Ltd. Peter G. Wilson President (604) 676-0824 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
