Coro Submits an Update to Its Approved Environmental Impact Study for the San Jorge Project
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/30/12 -- Coro Mining Corp. ("Coro" or the "Company") (TSX: COP) is pleased to announce that it has submitted an update to its approved Environmental Impact Study ("EIS") to the government of Mendoza, Argentina, in relation to the San Jorge Bi-provincial Leach Project ("the SJBP Leach Project"). The results of the Company's Preliminary Feasibility Study for this Project were announced in our news release dated March 5th 2012.
The SJBP Leach Project comprises a rock quarrying operation in Mendoza province together with a processing plant located in San Juan province, for the production of up to 25,000 tonnes per year of copper in cathode. The update describes the impacts and operation of the proposed railway line to transport ore from the San Jorge quarry to a planned solvent extraction/electro-winning plant located in San Juan. The aspects of the approved EIS related to the original San Jorge flotation project are unchanged and will be held in abeyance until such time as that project is able to proceed. The Company is confident that the SJBP Leach Project can be executed in an environmentally responsible manner to the lasting economic and social benefit of the Provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. In addition, the project has the potential to more than satisfy Argentina's current consumption of copper, and thus could be developed in accordance with the country's policy of reducing imports.
Alan Stephens, President and CEO of Coro commented, "The SJBP Leach Project can be operated in full compliance with all existing laws and regulations in both provinces, and applicable royalties will be paid to the province of Mendoza. Additionally, as no mineral processing will take place in Mendoza, no substances banned by the 7722 law will be employed there. We look forward to the expeditious approval of this simple update by the Mendoza authorities, so that we can then prepare and submit a further EIS for the proposed plant facilities in San Juan province. For clarification, San Jorge is located at an elevation of approximately 2,600m and is not in the high Andes; therefore it will not be affected by the recent Argentinean legislation designed to protect the country's glaciers."
San Jorge Legal Update
As stated in our news release of April 17th 2012, the Company requested that Oikos, a local environmental NGO opposed to the project, issue a public retraction of certain defamatory remarks made by it during the EIS approval process in 2011 and make a donation to a charity of our choosing. Unfortunately, no such retraction was forthcoming and so Minera San Jorge has initiated legal proceedings against Oikos and its representative, Eduardo Sosa, for defamation and libel, and is seeking consequential damages. Coro maintains its rights to seek legal redress and compensation from the Mendoza government and certain other individuals, resulting from the unlawful denial of the ratification of the Company's valid and approved EIS in August 2011.
The 7722 law, which required the ratification of the Company's approved EIS, is currently subject to legal challenges of its constitutionality by Coro and several other parties. These lawsuits are now approaching the final stages of court proceedings and the Company continues to anticipate a judgment in the second half of 2012. In the event that the courts find that the law is indeed unconstitutional, the denial of legislative ratification of the Company's EIS for the San Jorge flotation project may be deemed to be null and void.
CORO MINING CORP.
Alan Stephens, President and CEO
About Coro Mining Corp.:
The Company was founded with the goal of building a mining company focused on medium-sized base and precious metals deposits in Latin America. The Company intends to achieve this through the exploration for, and acquisition of, projects that can be developed and placed into production. Coro's properties include the advanced San Jorge copper-gold project, in Argentina, and the Berta, El Desesperado, Chacay, Llancahue, and Celeste copper exploration properties located in Chile.
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements or information, including but not limited to those with respect to the prices of copper, estimated future production, estimated costs of future production, permitting time lines, legal challenges and proceedings, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such factors include, among others, the actual prices of copper, the factual results of current exploration, development and mining activities, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the securities regulators in the Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Contacts:
Coro Mining Corp.
Michael Philpot
Executive Vice-President
(604) 682 5546
investor.info@coromining.com
www.coromining.com