Silver Bull Provides 2013 Corporate Year-End Review and Outlines
Work Program and Key Milestones for 2014 Calendar Year
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan 21, 2014) -
Silver Bull Resources, Inc. (TSX:SVB)(NYSEMKT:SVBL) ("Silver Bull")
is pleased to provide a 2013 year-end review and 2014 road map to
its shareholders. The company is focused on advancing the company's
flagship Sierra Mojada silver-zinc project, located in the historic
Sierra Mojada mining district in the state of Coahuila, northern
Mexico.
Despite very challenging market conditions in 2013, the Silver
Bull team was extremely successful in continuing to advance the
Sierra Mojada project with a significant increase in the silver and
zinc resources and the completion of a Preliminary Economic
Assessment ("PEA") assessing the economics of the project.
As a result, we feel we are well positioned to continue to move
the Sierra Mojada project towards possible future production.
2013 Technical Achievements
- Our team completed a 6,500 meter underground drill program
extending high grade silver and zinc mineralization as well as
confirming the validity of a 39,000 meter historical drilling data
set.
- In March we released the 4th in a series of NI 43-101 Resource
Estimate reports, which showed a 99% increase in the indicated
silver resource from the preceding estimate to 71.1 million tonnes
with an average grade of 71.5g/t silver totaling 163.4Moz silver at
the 25g/t cutoff grade. The indicated zinc resource also increased
to 71.1 million tonnes with an average grade of 1.34% zinc totaling
2.1 billion pounds zinc using the same silver cutoff grade,
representing a 91% increase from the previous resource
estimate.
- In November we filed a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA)
Report on the Sierra Mojada Project. The Base case study outlined
an 8,500 tonne per day processing plant with an 18 year mine life
producing on average 5.5Moz silver and 65.4 million pounds of zinc
per annum with a pre-production CAPEX of $297.2M (including a 15%
contingency). Base Case assumptions include market prices at $23.50
per silver ounce and $0.95 per zinc pound. This resulted in a
before tax NPV (5% discount rate) of $641.1 million and IRR of
26.9%, and average silver production cost of $6.58/oz (net of
byproducts).
- Our team developed a metallurgical flow sheet for processing
the silver and zinc mineralization through the efforts of our
continued metallurgical program. Work particularly focused on
assessing the viability of the "SART" (Sulphidization,
Acidification, Recycling & Thickening) process which showed we
could produce a high quality zinc sulphide concentrate in addition
to silver dore, and regenerate up to 98% of the cyanide consumed,
which significantly reduces overall processing costs for the
project.
- We completed an exploration program targeting underground
workings that lie outside of the zone of mineralization defined in
the PEA. Approximately 440 meters of underground workings were
sampled along the eastern extension, 330 meters along the northern
extension, and 160 meters along the western extension. Of the 527
channel samples taken, 82 samples recorded values over 100g/t
silver with a peak value of 1620g/t silver, 142 samples recorded
values over 3% zinc with a peak value of 45% zinc, and 53 samples
recorded values over 5% lead with a peak value of 19.75% lead and
suggests there is significant upside to what has already been
defined in the area.
2013 Corporate Achievements
- In February 2013 Silver Bull closed a public offering of units
for net proceeds of $8.1 million USD. The units were sold at a unit
price of $0.40, with each unit including one share of common stock
and one-half of one common stock purchase warrant, with each whole
warrant exercisable at $0.55 for a term of 18 months.
- We reported a 2013 closing cash balance of just under $5M US -
expected to be enough to carry the company into 2015.
- We streamlined and optimized the company's expenditures to
maximize the preservation of the treasury while we continue to
experience difficult capital markets conditions.
- The company signed a letter of intent to sell the company's
Ndjole License in Gabon, which if consummated, will add a further
$1.5M in non-dilutive capital to be to the company's treasury to
advance the Sierra Mojada Project.
- We continued to strengthen ties with the local communities by
remaining one of the largest employers in the area, holding regular
community events, and contributing to a local mining museum.
The Road Forward in 2014
Management remains very cognizant of the continuing challenging
capital markets and the need to remain as efficient as possible
with the existing treasury. Consequently we have prioritized the
key tasks that will continue to advance the project forward in a
meaningful way and maximize shareholder value.
The major focus in 2014 at Sierra Mojada will be on de-risking
the project through securing the permits required to proceed with
mine construction, if warranted. Subject to improving market
conditions, the company may also test a number of other prospects
in the immediate area for their mineral potential.
The main permits that will be targeted in 2014 include; water
rights, the issuance of surface title (presently much of the
project sits on Federal land), and continued work on environmental
permitting. Although the full environmental permit cannot be issued
until the project has a full feasibility study and is ready for
construction, many of the individual studies needed for the permit
can begin at the project's current stage. This work will allow the
Company to reduce the time required to complete a pre-feasibility
study if market conditions improve.
Technical work at Sierra Mojada will largely focus on metallurgy
with the aim of increasing value by improving the recovery of the
zinc in particular, and further refining the SART process. There
may also be a need for geotechnical drilling to assess the
potential pit slopes and stability.
The company also plans to internally assess the potential of a
smaller 4,000 tonne per day operation at Sierra Mojada rather than
the 8,500 tonne per day facility highlighted in the PEA. The aim of
this study would be to model out the potential increase in overall
grade mined by targeting only the highest grade portions of the
deposit, and to significantly lower the overall CAPEX by building a
smaller operation. One of the great strengths of the project is the
orientation of higher grade silver mineralization that can be
targeted early in the mine life, which buffers the operation
against lower metal prices and allowing for a fast payback on
initial capital expenditures. The smaller operation may also retain
the optionality to scale up production in a higher metal price
environment.
Exploration Upside Remains at Sierra Mojada
Sierra Mojada remains a project with significant upside
potential. The success of the channel sampling program during 2013
suggests that there is significant resource upside immediately
adjacent to the Shallow Silver Zone. However, with an indicated
resource already over 160 million ounces of silver and a mine life
of 18 years we believe there is little value to be gained in
current market conditions by adding additional ounces to the
resource.
Any drilling in 2014 is dependent on market conditions and will
focus on a number of prospects outside of the main mineralized
zone, most notably "Palamos Negros" - a historic mining zone 9
kilometers to the west of the Shallow Silver Zone and also hosted
on the Sierra Mojada fault. Positive geochemical results paired
with extensive historic mine workings (similar to those seen at the
Shallow Silver Zone) make this an exciting prospect that has never
been drilled.
Outlook for
2014
At Silver Bull, we remain extremely bullish on the fundamentals
for both silver and zinc. The challenge of unwinding the loose
monetary policy seen in recent times and the future threat of
inflation means silver (along with gold) should continue to be a
haven for wealth preservation. Furthermore, with the closing of a
number of major zinc mines expected in the next 3 years, coupled
with both a lack of new zinc mines coming on line to replace this
lost production and an expected increase in zinc demand, we
anticipate a tightening in the zinc supply over the short to medium
term. This squeeze on the supply of zinc is now starting to be
recognized by the market, with the price of zinc per pound
increasing from $0.84 to as high as $0.95 over the last 2
months.
The Sierra Mojada project is one of the largest undeveloped
silver deposits in Mexico. It has excellent infrastructure; it lies
3 hours from an international airport with a paved road right to
site, it has a functioning railway right to site, runs on grid
power, and it has a skilled mining work force to draw upon in the
local area. The resource provides exposure to both the precious and
base metals markets and has the potential to be scaled in size
depending on metal prices. In short, we believe there are not many
projects like this in the world.
It is also very significant that many countries around the world
are becoming less and less viable for mining and exploration
activities due to increasing political risk. Mexico, however,
remains one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your
ongoing support of Silver Bull Resources and we look forward to the
continued advancement of Sierra Mojada during 2014. As always, we
invite you to stay informed about Silver Bull by contacting us by
email at info@silverbullresources.com or by calling 1-604-687-5800.
The technical information of this news release has been reviewed
and approved by Tim Barry, MAusIMM Chartered Professional, a
qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument
43-101.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Tim Barry, CPAusIMM
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors concerning estimates of
Indicated and Inferred Resources: This press release uses
the terms "indicated resources" and "inferred resources" which are
defined in, and required to be disclosed by, NI 43-101. We advise
U.S. investors that these terms are not recognized by the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The
estimation of indicated resources involves greater uncertainty as
to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of
proven and probable reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to
assume that indicated mineral resources will be converted into
reserves. The estimation of inferred resources involves far greater
uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the
estimation of other categories of resources. U.S. investors are
cautioned not to assume that estimates of inferred mineral
resources exist, are economically minable, or will be upgraded into
measured or indicated mineral resources. Under Canadian securities
laws, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the
basis of feasibility or other economic studies.
Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted
disclosure under Canadian regulations, however the SEC normally
only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not
constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in place tonnage and
grade without reference to unit measures. Accordingly, the
information contained in this press release may not be comparable
to similar information made public by U.S. companies that are not
subject NI 43-101.
Cautionary note regarding forward looking statements:
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding
future events and Silver Bull's future results that are subject to
the safe harbors created under the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the "Securities Act"), and the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and applicable Canadian
securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, among others,
statements regarding our anticipated activities at the Sierra
Mojada project during 2014, drilling plans and targets, the
acquisition of necessary permits and surface rights, metallurgical
work, plans to model a smaller possible mining operation, and
future commodity prices. These statements are based on current
expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about Silver
Bull's exploration projects, the industry in which Silver Bull
operates and the beliefs and assumptions of Silver Bull's
management. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "targets,"
"goals," "projects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks,"
"estimates," "continues," "may," variations of such words, and
similar expressions and references to future periods, are intended
to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, including such
factors as the results of exploration activities and whether the
results continue to support continued exploration activities,
unexpected variations in ore grade, types and metallurgy,
volatility and level of commodity prices, the availability of
sufficient future financing, potential changes to royalties and
taxes imposed by the Mexico government and other matters discussed
under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2013, as amended, and our
other periodic and current reports filed with the SEC and available
at www.sec.gov and with the Canadian securities commissions
available at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and that actual results or developments may differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Any
forward-looking statement made by us in this release is based only
on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the
date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly
update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that
may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new
information, future developments or otherwise.
Silver Bull Resources, Inc.Matt HallaranInvestor Relations+1 604
336 8096info@silverbullresources.com
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