Estrella Gold Clarifying/Retracting Its Technical Disclosure on the Website
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 03/05/13 -- Estrella Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE: EST) ("Estrella" or the "Company") has updated its technical disclosure on its website and retracted certain documents.
As a result of a review by the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Company is issuing the following news release to clarify its disclosure.
The Company performed a review of all its technical disclosure on the Company's website and determined that certain of its previously disclosed fact sheets and corporate presentations were not completely in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties (NI 43-101).
In the Company's May 2012 technical presentation, the Company inappropriately disclosed an economic analysis including cash flow and Net Present Value estimates from its Colpayoc property in Peru. This disclosure violated National Instrument 43-101, Part 2.3(1)(b), that states that "An issuer must not disclose the results of an economic analysis that includes or is based on inferred mineral resources or an estimate permitted under 2.3(2) or section 2.4". The Company hereby retracts the disclosure of the economic analysis, including the cash flow and NPV analysis. In addition, the Company was in violation of National Instrument 43-101, Part 2.3(3) as this economic analysis (i.e. cash flow and NPV) was not supported by a preliminary economic assessment (i.e. PEA). The Company does not intend on completing a PEA in the foreseeable future. The Company has deleted these estimates and removed all such references to these estimates from our presentations and website. The Company's only NI 43-101 report on the Colpayoc property is the "Colpayoc Gold Project Technical Report dated December 21, 2011" and this report remains current and is available on the Company's website.
The definition of a "preliminary economic assessment" in NI 43-101 is "a study, other than a pre-feasibility study or feasibility study, which includes an economic analysis of the potential viability of mineral resources". The Company's estimates do not meet the conditions and definition of a preliminary economic assessment. Given that a preliminary economic assessment was never prepared, the investors should not rely on these estimates in this earlier presentation.
In addition, the Company did not specify the category of the gold resource in its Colpayoc property on its website, more specifically in its July 2012 and January 2013 fact sheets and technical and corporate presentations. The Company corrected such deficiencies by retracting these disclosures and updated the website with the latest fact sheet and corporate presentation, clearly identifying that the estimated resource at the Colpayoc property is all in the "inferred" category. The Company also retracted all other resource information on its adjacent properties that the Company did not have proper references.
The definition of "Inferred Mineral Resource" is that part of a mineral resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from location such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes which may be of limited or uncertain quality and reliability.
The Company further retracted its technical presentation on the La Estrella property that could be misinterpreted as a potential exploration target which was unsupported since the volume and grade disclosed in the earlier presentation were conceptual in nature only. The Company failed to provide the necessary cautionary language needed in the earlier disclosure. The current presentation and website have removed such disclosure completely.
The Company also corrected some potentially misleading disclosure in our earlier fact sheets and presentations related to the Colpayoc property such as "minimum gold resource", "+313,000 oz Gold" and "the resource can be rapidly increased" by retracting such disclosures and updating our website with the latest fact sheet and corporate presentation. The Company's estimated resource estimates are in the "inferred" category and due to the low level of confidence, such resource number can be increased or decreased.
Finally, the Company did not disclose who the qualified person was approving the technical information on its website and certain presentations. The Company's former Chief Executive Officer was the qualified person reviewing the previously disclosed technical information. The Company has since corrected this deficiency by updating its website as well as its fact sheet and presentation to clearly identify that our newly appointed Chief Executive Office is the qualified person who has approved, prepared or supervised the preparation of the revised technical information.
About Estrella Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE: EST) - Exploration is risky and Estrella is seeking to increase the chances of success as a "Prospect Generator" focused on gold exploration in Latin America. Estrella identifies and acquires new mineral properties, and then conducts initial, low-cost exploration to define a potential new deposit. Once defined, Estrella forms joint ventures with other companies that will provide funding and reduce Estrella's risk and expenditures. The Prospect Generator business model allows Estrella to aggressively seek a major discovery. Estrella has twenty-three (23) active exploration properties in Peru, with five (5) held in venture agreements. The Company has 31.6 million shares issued and outstanding, and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE: EST).
Mr. John R. Wilson, BSc. MS., is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators, and has prepared, reviewed and verified the technical information contained in this news release. Further information is available at Estrella Gold's website: www.estrellagold.com.
STATEMENTS IN THIS NEWS 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.
NEITHER 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:
Estrella Gold Corporation
John R. Wilson
President and CEO
(604) 687-3520
(888) 889-4874 (FAX)
www.estrellagold.com