Tara Minerals Outlines Aggressive Production and Exploration Plan
CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 06/18/12 -- Tara Minerals Corp. (OTCBB: TARM) (BERLIN: 6T3) is pleased to announce it is implementing an aggressive path for growth with near-term iron ore production as its initial focus. This aggressive time line is now possible through the leverage of up to $35.6 million to be received from the sale of the Picacho concessions to Yamana Gold Inc. An initial payment of $7.5 million has already been received (goo.gl/e7YO4) and is being utilized.
The initial focus of Tara's strengthened technical team is to produce and sell iron ore from the 370 acres Champinon property within calendar year 2012. The host structure has been estimated, through surface mapping and sampling, to be at least 40 m wide, 1.5 km in length and open in all directions. Surface grab samples, from the high-grade zone, returned assays ranging from 62.0% to 68.9% iron ore. Initial analysis indicates the potential for favorable operating margins and substantial growth in the available tonnage through systematic exploration guided by current knowledge of the structure. Work is ongoing to gather additional data and enhance the understanding of the structure.
David Barefoot, Chief Operating Officer at Tara Minerals, commented, "It's a very exciting time for Tara Minerals. The recent closing of the Yamana transaction has resulted in us having the cash resources to expedite our first iron ore project in Mexico. Demand for iron ore remains strong with Chinese imports of the material during May of this year rising nearly 11% over April. There are multiple iron ore buyers in the region and they are watching our progress."
Tara Minerals also owns the El Oro iron ore project near the Don Roman mine. El Oro has previously sampled as high as60+% iron ore, 6 g/t gold and 4% copper. El Oro has the potential for substantial tonnage within the aggregate structure length of 5+km identified with an expected depth of 150+ m.
In addition, Tara Minerals owns the 25,400 acres gold, silver, zinc, lead Don Roman mine and owns the centrally located 360 tonnes per day Don Roman mill.
The Don Roman regional holdings have numerous structures with substantial tonnage potential. More than 30 distinct gold/silver/zinc/lead/copper structures, within 8km diameter of the mill, have been discovered and can be mined to feed the mill. These visible veins have been assayed to confirm the existence of high-grade material and our experienced technical and geological team has estimated that the existing plant can be put back into production within a short time frame. There are currently three parallel circuits, each with 120 tonnes per day capacity, in place. Previous engineering work has confirmed that the capacity can be expanded to 2,000+ tonnes per day over time. Tara and others have mined the area for 1-20 years.
Within the Don Roman regional holdings, Tara has outlined multiple distinct structures assaying: i) 309 g/t silver, 9% zinc, and 3% lead; ii) 770 g/t silver, 27% zinc, and 11% lead; iii) 1.47 g/t gold, 400 g/t silver, 7.48% zinc, 4.92% lead; iv) 10.06 g/t gold and 149.85 g/t silver; and numerous other structures which will be systematically developed through the utilization of the revenue derived from the iron ore production.
Mr. Francis Biscan, Jr., President of Tara Minerals, commented, "Our technical and geological team is already on the ground in Mexico doing the work necessary for us to achieve our goals. We expect to share our progress as our expanded team meets its milestones. We now have the funds needed to take the next step in our corporate development. I am confident we will be producing from our first property this year and will leverage this knowledge, and cash flow, to further advance our other near term production projects. We look forward to updating our progress to shareholders on a regular basis."
About Tara Minerals Corp. (http://www.TaraMinerals.com)
Tara Minerals Corp. is focused on advancing its gold/silver/zinc/lead Don Roman mine and mill and its iron ore projects located in Mexico. Management is creating long-term shareholder value and deploying its capital to advance its projects by enhancing resources, further outlining new discoveries/targets, and acquiring additional strategic assets. Tara's strength in recognizing value early and strategy of reducing risk through a foundation of cash flow, positions it for low-risk value creation.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained herein which are not historical are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain delays beyond the Company's control with respect to market acceptance of new technologies or products, delays in testing and evaluation of products, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Please read the full disclaimer at www.TaraMinerals.com (http://taraminerals.com/English/General/Disclaimer/default.aspx).
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David Barefoot
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