Zincore Receives Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment Recommending Azod Project Proceed to Pre-Feasibility
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/13/11 -- Zincore Metals Inc. (TSX: ZNC)(BVLAC: ZNC) ('Zincore' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce it has received a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment ('PEA') for the development of its Accha Zinc Oxide District project ('AZOD') in southern Peru. At the AZOD, the Company is pursuing a district strategy with a single pyrometallurgical facility (Waelz kiln) to process zinc and lead oxide material from all AZOD deposits to produce a high grade zinc-lead oxide concentrate. The PEA considered two scenarios for the production of final products for sale. A Base Case investigated further processing of the concentrate by the Company to produce a special high grade zinc ingot and lead sulphate, by-product, while an alternate scenario, the Fume Case, considered selling the zinc-lead oxide concentrate to a third-party refinery.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PEA INCLUDE:
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NPV NPV IRR IRR Cash Cost/
Pre- After- Pre- After- Payback Pound
Tax Tax Tax Tax CAPEX Period of Zn
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Base Case US$232M US$140 20.3% 16.5% US$330M 4.1 years US$0.18
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Fume Case US$271M US$176 30.1% 24.3% US$194 3.3 years US$0.40
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Assumptions
- Zinc price of US$0.95/lb and Lead price of US$0.87/lb
- 8% discount rate
- 20% contingency applied to CAPEX Direct and Indirect Cost
estimates
- Tax rate of 30% Fume Case - 80% payability of zinc oxide and
60% payability of lead oxide
- Cash Cost/Pound of Zinc payable is net of lead credits and
includes US$0.05/lb premium for super high grade cathode
In addition to AMECs recommendation for a pre-feasibility study on the AZOD Project, AMEC constructed a mineral resource model for the Yanque Deposit portion of AZOD for use in the PEA. The new Mineral Resource estimate, which replaces the previous estimate announced by Zincore in 2008, totals 12.5 Mt of Inferred Mineral Resources with an average grade of 3.5% Zn and 3.7% Pb within a Mineral Resource pit shell constructed considering a zinc price of US$ 1.08/lb Zn and US$ 1.00/lb Pb. Mineral Resources were estimated by Chris Wright, P.Geo. of AMEC, a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101, and have an effective date of 31 May, 2011.
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, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves as they do not have demonstrated economic viability.
The final PEA technical report will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days. To view a fact sheet summary of the PEA, please click here: http://www.zincoremetals.com/en/common/reports.php
Zincore President and CEO, Jorge Benavides, commented 'The robust economics detailed in this PEA report are fantastic news for our Company. Not only does the report recommend that we proceed to Pre-Feasibility based on the economic analysis of two initial scenarios, it also suggests a number of areas where we may be able to further improve on the report findings. It also includes a sensitivity analysis which demonstrates how the project economics could dramatically improve with increases in the underlying prices of zinc and lead. Given that we continue to believe there is a coming supply shortage of these two commodities by the 2015 date we would expect to be in production, the sensitivity analysis is particularly important. The bottom line is that markets may be depressed now, but it takes many years to bring a new zinc operation into production and we don't see how enough new zinc production can be brought on-line in time to meet global demands a few years out.'
Summary of AZOD Project Economic Sensitivity to Zinc and Lead Prices (Pre-Tax)
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Base Case (-20%) (-10%) Base Case 20% 40%
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Zn Price (US$/lb) 0.76 0.86 0.95 1.14 1.33
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Pb Price (US$/lb) 0.70 0.78 0.87 1.04 1.22
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NPV 8% (US$M) 9 120 232 455 679
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IRR% 8.6 14.9 20.3 30.1 39.1
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Fume Case (-20%) (-10%) Fume Case 20% 40%
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NPV 8% (US$M) 105 188 271 437 604
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IRR% 17.4 24.0 30.1 41.3 51.7
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Assumptions
- 8% discount rate
- Zinc price of US$0.95/lb and Lead price of US$0.87/lb
- Fume Case - 80% payability of zinc oxide and 60% payability
of lead oxide
- It should be noted that a buyer of the lead-zinc oxide
concentrate from the Fume Case, which would give the assumed
level of payability, has not been identified.
- Cost assumptions used in the economic analysis are
preliminary and are likely to change in the prefeasibility
study.
Opportunities for Investigation to Further Improve AZOD Project Economics
The Company is considering undertaking further evaluations of several aspects of the project that may extend the life and/or profitability of the project that include:
-- Expanding the resource base and confidence levels on both the Accha and
Yanque deposits
-- Conducting further exploration and drilling on other known zinc/lead
oxide deposits within the AZOD, which may lead to the development of
further mines to supply ore to the central processing facility
-- Further detailed pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical test work to
optimize the economics of the planned metallurgical process route
-- Further studying and evaluating improvement of mine design and logistics
relating to the transport of ore and oxide fume
-- Further evaluating the planned refinery at the port of Mattarani and
considering the option of finding a strategic partner for the
development of the refinery
-- ZNC believes the refinery will be strategic to the sourcing of other
oxide concentrate feed from third parties.
Christopher Wright, P.Geo. Consulting Manager, Geology and Mining for AMEC (Peru) S.A., is the overall author of the PEA report and is the Qualified Person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101, responsible for Yanque Deposit resource estimate. He has read this news release and approves of its contents.
Marcello Hernando, Registered Member of the Comision Calificadora de Competencias en Recursos y Reservas Mineras de Chile, Principal Mining Engineer for AMEC Engineering and Construction, Chile, is the Qualified Person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101, responsible for the Mine Plan contained in the PEA report. He has read this news release and approves of its contents.
William Colquhoun, FSAIMM, Principal Metallurgical Consultant, AMEC (Peru) S.A. is the Qualified Person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101, responsible for the Metallurgical and Processing sections and the Economic analysis contained in the PEA report. He has read this news release and approves of its contents.
Thomas C. Stubens, P.Eng., of Micon International is the Qualified Person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101, responsible for Accha Deposit resource estimate. He has read this news release and approves of its contents.
Vernon Arseneau, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration for Zincore has prepared or supervised the preparation of the information contained in this news release and is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 for this news release.
About the Accha Zinc Oxide District
The Accha Zinc Oxide District project is comprised of Zincore's 100%-owned, 50,000 hectare property package in southern Peru, located near Tintaya, Las Bambas, Haquira and Constancia. It has access to excellent infrastructure and currently hosts NI 43-101 compliant Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources at its Accha and Yanque deposits. Mineralization has also been identified at other District project targets.
About AMEC
AMEC (LSE: AMEC) is a focused supplier of high-value consultancy, engineering and project management services to the world's oil and gas, minerals and metals, clean energy, water and environmental sectors. With annual revenues of almost GBP 3 billion, AMEC designs, delivers and maintains strategic and complex assets for its customers. The company employs some 22,000 people in around 40 countries worldwide.
AMEC's global Mining & Metals business develops some of the most challenging projects in the world. AMEC is recognized for a unique combination of excellent project delivery, industry-leading mining and process expertise, and full project life cycle capability. AMEC is an industry leader in providing consulting services for a broad range of commodities from base and precious metals, to diamonds, iron ore, coal, uranium and fertilizers.
Since 1995, AMEC has provided study, design, project management and construction management services to international and domestic mine developers in Peru.
About Zincore
Zincore is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration company focused mainly on zinc and related base metal opportunities in the Americas, namely Peru, Mexico and Canada. The Company's common shares trade on both the Toronto and Lima Stock Exchanges under the symbol ZNC. For more information, please see our website at www.zincoremetals.com.
Forward-looking Statements: Statements in this release that are forward-looking, in particular with regards to the potential of the Accha Zinc Oxide District project, are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading 'Risk Factors' and elsewhere in the Annual Information Form of Zincore dated March 18, 2011 which is filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available.
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, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves as they do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Contacts:
Zincore Metals Inc.
Adam Ho, Manager
Investor Relations
(604) 669-6611 ext.106
aho@zincoremetals.com
www.zincoremetals.com