TVI Pacific Inc. Receives Environmental Compliance Certificate for
Balabag Gold-Silver Property
TSX: TVI? OTCQX: TVIPF
CALGARY, Oct. 16, 2013 /CNW/ - TVI Pacific Inc. (TSX:TVI)
(OTCQX:TVIPF)
(TVI or the Company) announced today that its Philippine affiliate,
TVI
Resource Development (Phils.), Inc. (TVIRD), has received the
Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for the proposed
Balabag
Gold-Silver Project to be located at Sitio Balabag, Brgy.Depore,
Bayog,
Zamboanga del Sur.
Receipt of the ECC confirms the Company has satisfied the
requirements
of Presidential Decree 1586, and its issue comes upon
recommendation of
the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).? This marks a
critical
milestone towards starting development of the Balabag
Gold-Silver
Project, which will commence once approval is received of the
Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (DMPF) by the Philippines
Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of the
Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR).
Based on results of drilling completed to the end of June 2011 and as
included in the Balabag NI 43-101 technical report dated
June 23, 2012,
the current indicated mineral resource is estimated to be 1.78
million
tonnes averaging 2.34 grams per tonne of gold and 72.3 grams per
tonne
of silver, containing 134,262 ounces of gold and 4,148,196 ounces
of
silver.?The resource is currently being updated following a
reconnaissance geological survey, soil grid sampling, and
underground
sampling from the mining area once occupied by illegal miners.?
This is
expected to improve the accuracy of the resource model.? The
Balabag NI
43-101 technical report, entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on
the
Balabag Gold Project, Zamboanga Province, Philippines" is available on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on TVI's website at
www.tvipacific.com.
Pilot plant test work has been continuing, as previously announced
by
the Company on June 26, 2013, to confirm the results obtained in
previous laboratory leaching
test, optimize the metallurgical processing under an environment
that
more closely resembles actual operations, provide design parameters
for
engineering, and to train personnel in operations and
metallurgical
process control.? Lower grade ore containing 2.7 g/t Au and 98 g/t
Ag,
which more closely represents the initial mining schedule, was fed
into
the pilot plant.? The results confirm high extraction rates of 94%
Au
and 92% Ag after 36 hours in CIL.
The Company has announced earlier also that a nonbinding term sheet
was
signed with Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company to provide
financing in
the form of a US $20 million term
loan facility (the "Facility") and a
US $3 million Letter of Credit
("LOC").? The purpose of the Facility is
to support the development of the proposed Balabag Mine by
providing
additional working capital funding for construction and
commissioning
activities and to support mining and processing activities.
TVIRD continues to progress with success the critical elements
to
advance the development of the Balabag project which the Company
has
previously reported to include:
a.
|
The removal of all remaining illegal miners from the property in
October
2012 through enforcement of the Cease and Desist Order (CDO) issued
by
the DENR and the inter-agency efforts of the Provincial
Government,
MGB, EMB, the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau
of
Investigation (NBI) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and
the
clean-up of mine waste and tailings left behind by the illegal
miners.
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b.?
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Completion of an all-weather 16km access road to the mine as part
of the
pre-development work.? This road will serve as the main access
for
equipment and product transport.
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c.?
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On-going design work on the revision of the? leach circuit from
CIP-Merrill-Crowe? to CIL based on the favorable test results.?
Completion of plant design and equipment sizing.? This was part of
an
update of the internal feasibility study that was previously
submitted
to the MGB.
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d.
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Confirmation of community and Local Government Units' (LGU)
acceptance
and support through the continuing establishment of Community
Relations
and Development Programs.
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Qualified Person
Enrico C. Nera, President and Chief
Operating Officer of Minercon
International Inc., Member AusIMM, is the qualified person under
NI
43-101 who has approved the scientific and technical information
in
this news release.
About TVI Pacific Inc.
TVI Pacific Inc. is a Canadian resource company focused on the
production, development, exploration and acquisition of
resource
projects in the Philippines and
Southeast Asia. The Company
produces
copper and zinc concentrates from its Canatuan mine and is
advancing
its Balabag Gold-Silver project.? TVI is a participant/operator
in
several joint venture projects in the
Philippines and Papua New
Guinea
and also has an interest in an offshore Philippine oil
property.
Connect with us www.tvipacific.com
Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/tvipacific
"Like" us at www.facebook.com/tvipacific
Concurred:
(signed)
ENRICO C. NERA
ASEAN Eng, APEC Eng., MSMEP, MSME-AIME
MAusIMM, CP for Metallurgy PMRC
QP for Metallurgy
The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved
of the
information contained herein.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this news release constitute
forward-looking
information. Forward-looking statements are often, but not
always,
identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate",
"plan",
"continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend",
"could",
"might", "should", "believe", "schedule" and similar
expressions.
Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and
expectations
of TVI as at the effective date of such statements and, in
certain
cases, information received from or disseminated by third
parties.
Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in
such
forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions
and
that information received from or disseminated by third parties
is
reliable, it can give no assurance that those expectations will
prove
to have been correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to
certain
risks and uncertainties (known and unknown) that could cause
actual
outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied.
These
factors include, but are not limited to, such things as general
economic conditions in Canada,
the United States, the Philippines and
elsewhere; volatility of prices for precious metals, base metals,
oil
and gas; commodity supply and demand; fluctuations in currency
and
interest rates; inherent risks associated with the exploration
and
development of mining properties; inherent risks associated with
the
exploration of oil and gas properties; ultimate recoverability
of
reserves; production, timing, results and costs of exploration
and
development activities; political or civil unrest; availability
of
financial resources or third-party financing; new laws (domestic
or
foreign); changes in administrative practices; changes in
exploration
plans or budgets; and availability of personnel and equipment
(including mechanical problems). Accordingly, readers should not
place
undue reliance upon the forward-looking statements contained in
this
news release and such forward-looking statements should not be
interpreted or regarded as guarantees of future
outcomes.
Forward-looking statements regarding expectations that the
Company will
be able to find additional ore in the new permit area are based
upon
current and previous exploration activities, management's
experience
with other exploration programs undertaken in the Philippines and
elsewhere, management's current and previous experience with mining
and
processing activities at Balabag, and the Company's overall
plans,
budget and strategy (which are all subject to change).
The forward-looking statements of the Company contained in this
news
release are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this
cautionary
statement. Various risks to which TVI and its affiliates are
exposed in
the conduct of their business are described in detail in the
Company's
Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2012, which was
filed on SEDAR on March 19, 2013, and
is available at www.SEDAR.com. Subject to applicable securities
laws, the Company does not undertake
any obligation to publicly revise the forward-looking
statements
included in this news release to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances, except as required by law.
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SOURCE TVI Pacific Inc.