Silver Wheaton Exercises Right to Acquire 12.5% of Life of Mine Silver Production From the Loma de La Plata Zone of the Navidad
26 Febbraio 2010 - 12:39AM
PR Newswire (US)
VANCOUVER, February 25, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Silver
Wheaton Corp. ("Silver Wheaton" or the "Company") (TSX, NYSE: SLW)
is pleased to announce that it has elected to convert its debenture
with Pan American Silver Corp. ("Pan American") into an agreement
to acquire an amount equal to 12.5% of the life of mine silver
production from the Loma de La Plata zone of the Navidad project
("Navidad"). Navidad is located in the Province of Chubut,
Argentina, and is one of the largest undeveloped silver deposits in
the world. The Loma de La Plata zone contains approximately 25% of
the measured and indicated silver resources within the Navidad
deposit (see Aquiline Resources Inc. ("Aquiline") press release
dated April 16, 2009). Pan American inherited the debenture as a
result of its recent CDN$626 million acquisition of Aquiline, the
previous owner of the Navidad project (see Pan American press
releases dated October 14, 2009 and January 26, 2010). Silver
Wheaton and Pan American expect to finalize the definitive terms of
the silver purchase agreement by the end of 2010. TRANSACTION TERMS
Subject to finalizing the definitive terms of the agreement, Silver
Wheaton will pay Pan American upfront cash payments totaling
US$32.4 million to acquire an amount equal to 12.5% of all payable
silver produced from the Loma de La Plata zone at Navidad for the
lesser of US$4.00 or the prevailing market price per ounce of
silver delivered. The upfront payments will be made on an
installment basis and will commence following the satisfaction of
certain conditions, including receipt of all necessary permits to
proceed with construction. Silver Wheaton will not be required to
contribute to further capital or exploration expenditures. "It is
very exciting to have a silver stream on one of the top five silver
deposits in the world to be developed by Pan American, a leading
North American silver company. This now gives Silver Wheaton a
stake in the production from three of the world's five largest
silver deposits, a considerable achievement for a company that was
formed just over five years ago," said Peter Barnes, Chief
Executive Officer of Silver Wheaton. "Once in production, Navidad
has the potential to increase our long-term silver production by
approximately two million ounces per annum." "Navidad is a
world-class silver project and a flagship growth asset for Pan
American. With eight operating mines in the Americas, Pan American
has demonstrated an exceptional track record of successfully
building and operating mines, including the Manantial Espejo mine,
commissioned in 2009 and located in Argentina. We are confident
that the Navidad project will deliver long term value for our
shareholders." ABOUT NAVIDAD Navidad is located in the Province of
Chubut, Argentina, and is one of the largest undeveloped silver
deposits in the world. It is made up of eight zones, seven of which
should be amenable to mining in a series of open pits. The Loma de
La Plata zone is one of the highest grade zones within the Navidad
deposit and represents approximately 25% of the project's measured
and indicated silver resources. Metallurgical testing has indicated
that this zone is more receptive to conventional flotation
processing than several of the surrounding zones with forecast
silver recoveries of approximately 80% (see Aquiline October, 2008
preliminary economic assessment). There is currently a law in the
Province of Chubut prohibiting open-pit mining and the use of
cyanide. However, based on Pan American's public disclosure, they
believe that they are uniquely positioned to develop Navidad due to
their successful operating and development experience in Argentina,
their exemplary community and government relations, and their
strong environmental and safety record. The silver resources
contained within the Loma de La Plata zone, of which 12.5% would be
attributable to Silver Wheaton, are as follows:
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RESOURCE Tonnage Grade Contained CLASSIFICATION Mt g/t Moz
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Indicated 29.1 169.0 158.1
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Inferred 1.3 76.0 3.2
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Mr. Randy V.J. Smallwood, P.Eng., President of Silver Wheaton, is a
"qualified person" as such term is defined under National
Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the contents of
this news release. 1. Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources have
been calculated in accordance with the standards of the Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and National
Instrument 43-101.2. 2. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral
Reserves, do not have demonstrated economic viability. 3. Mineral
Resources are estimated as of April 16, 2009 and are as disclosed
by Pan American Silver Corp. in their press release of October 14,
2009. 4. Pamela De Mark, B.Sc., P.Geo., MAusIMM, Senior Consultant
(Snowden Mining Industry Consultants) is the Qualified Person
responsible for the resource estimation. 5. Mineral Resources are
reported above a silver equivalent cut-off of 50 g/t which has been
calculated using metal prices of $12.52/oz Ag and US$0.50 /lb Pb
without considering variable recoveries for the two metals.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING-STATEMENTS The
information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.
Forward-looking statements, which are all statements other than
statements of historical fact, include, but are not limited to,
statements with respect to the future price of silver and gold, the
estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the realization of
mineral reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated
future production, costs of production, reserve determination and
reserve conversion rates. Generally, these forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is
expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts",
"intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes",
or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or
"will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking
statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of
activity, performance or achievements of Silver Wheaton to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to:
fluctuations in the price of silver and gold; the absence of
control over mining operations from which Silver Wheaton purchases
silver or gold and risks related to these mining operations
including risks related to fluctuations in the price of the primary
commodities mined at such operations, actual results of mining and
exploration activities, economic and political risks of the
jurisdictions in which the mining operations are located and
changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and
differences in the interpretation or application of tax laws and
regulations; as well as those factors discussed in the section
entitled "Description of the Business - Risk Factors" in Silver
Wheaton's Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at
http://www.sedar.com/ and in Silver Wheaton's Form 40-F on file
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington,
D.C. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management
believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to: the
continued operation of the mining operations from which Silver
Wheaton purchases silver or gold, no material adverse change in the
market price of commodities, that the mining operations will
operate and the mining projects will be completed in accordance
with their public statements and achieve their stated production
outcomes, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein.
Although Silver Wheaton has attempted to identify important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors
that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will
prove to be accurate. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. Silver Wheaton does not
undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are
included or incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance
with applicable securities laws. CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE REGARDING
RESERVES AND RESOURCES For further information on Mineral Reserves
and Mineral Resources and on Silver Wheaton more generally, readers
should refer to Silver Wheaton's Annual Information Form for the
year ended December 31, 2008, and other continuous disclosure
documents filed by Silver Wheaton since January 1, 2009, available
on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com/. Silver Wheaton's Mineral
Reserves and Mineral Resources are subject to the qualifications
and notes set forth therein. Mineral Resources which are not
Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of
Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources: The information
contained herein uses the terms "Measured", "Indicated" and
"Inferred" Mineral Resources. United States investors are advised
that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian
regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
does not recognize them and expressly prohibits U.S. registered
companies from including such terms in their filings with the SEC.
"Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as
to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility.
It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral
Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian
rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the
basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States
investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of
Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted into
Mineral Reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to
assume that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource exists,
or is economically or legally mineable. United States investors are
urged to consider closely the disclosure in Silver Wheaton's Form
40-F, a copy of which may be obtained from Silver Wheaton or from
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. For further information: Brad Kopp,
Vice President, Investor Relations, Silver Wheaton Corp., Tel:
+1-800-380-8687, Email: , Website: http://www.silverwheaton.com/
DATASOURCE: Silver Wheaton Corp. CONTACT: For further information:
Brad Kopp, Vice President, Investor Relations, Silver Wheaton
Corp., Tel: +1-800-380-8687, Email: , Website:
http://www.silverwheaton.com/
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