Latin American Minerals Advances Its Paraguay Gold Pilot Plant Closer to Operation
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 09/21/11 -- Latin American Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE: LAT) (the 'Company') announces that the final module of the new gold concentrator plant has been shipped from Canada to Paraguay, and the implementation timetable for pilot plant operation at the Paso Yobai Gold Project is being finalized. Engineering and site construction is advanced and is ready to accept the plant components upon arrival. Plant operation is expected to start by the end of November.
The Paso Yobai Gold Project, located in Paraguay, includes the Discovery Trend where coarse epithermal gold mineralization occurs within an intrusive dike extending over approximately 4.5 km length. High-grade mineralization occurs at surface, permitting significant resource development through open-pit assessment work, and continues to greater than 100m depth.
Miles Rideout, President and CEO of Latin American Minerals, said, 'Our Discovery Trend operation will be the first official gold production from modern Paraguay and underscores the immense opportunity we have in this emerging country.'
Elaborating on the Company's strategy, he adds, 'The Pilot Operation is primarily designed to advance our assessment of the Paso Yobai Discovery Trend in an effective and economical manner. Our plan contemplates exposing veins and ore shoots for mapping and sampling to assist with our determination of a resource and head grade. The shallow material we remove for this task will be processed in the plant, demonstrating gold recovery rates for the project. Any net proceeds from the Pilot Plant will subsidize the company's current $8 million in capital, furthering our ability develop the Discovery Trend and five new gold targets in this 100 sq. km epithermal system.'
The pilot operation has been designed to achieve low cost operation. The open-pit mine method will employ conventional earth-moving machinery to extract approximately 1 metre of soil and 15 metres of soft, weathered mineralized rock (saprolite), without resorting to drilling and blasting. The mineralized component of this shallow material can be processed through the pilot plant, in the majority without crushing. The pilot plant will apply scrubbing to remove clay, followed by milling. The mineral then passes through centrifugal concentrators to produce a primary concentrate. The underlying ore shoots will be exposed for mapping and grade analysis, assisting in the determination of a resource for the Discovery Trend. This work will also advance the planning and infrastructure development for an eventual full-scale hard-rock operation, should the economics of the project be demonstrated.
Recent site photos and diagrams and description of the pilot equipment and operation are presented in this news release posted at www.latinamericanminerals.com.
About the Company:
Latin American Minerals Inc. is a well-financed mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of projects in emerging mineral districts within South America. In 2007, the Company identified Paraguay as a significant country for grassroots exploration. The multiple new mineral systems identified in this stable democratic country demonstrate a tremendous breadth of mineral wealth. The Company's Paso Yobai Gold Project, the Itapoty Diamond Project and the Chiriguelo Rare Earths / Niobium Project are all located in Paraguay.
Dr. Waldo Perez is the Company's internal 'Qualified Person' under the requirements of National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.
The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts contain forward-looking information that involves risk and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, which address Latin American Minerals' expectations, should be considered forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's exercise of business judgment as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. When used in this document, the words 'may', 'will', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'estimate', 'expect', 'intend' and words of similar import, are intended to identify any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current view of future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties as contained in Latin American Minerals' filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation, and do not intend, to update, revise or otherwise publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events, unless required under applicable securities laws. Although we believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will materialize.
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:
Latin American Minerals Inc.
Miles Rideout
President and CEO
Argentina: (54-261) 439-9268
Toronto: (1-416) 360 1921 or 902-8558
www.latinamericanminerals.com
Andreas Curkovic
Investor Relations
416-577-9927