Cambior and Golden Star Resources - Gross Rosebel Mining Reserves Increase to 1.8 Million Ounces.MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 1997-- Cambior (ME, TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). , AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange CBJ CBJ Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL team) CBJ Central Bank of Jordan CBJ Conflict-Directed Backjumping CBJ Circuit Board Jack CBJ Code-Breakers Journal CBJ Class Broker for Java CBJ Color Bubble Jet .) Golden Star (TSE GSC GSC gas-solid chromatography. ., AMEX GSR See Gigabit Switch Router. .) Cambior Inc. and Golden Star Resources Ltd. announce an increase in estimated mining reserves at the Gross Rosebel project in Suriname. Proven and probable mining reserves at Gross Rosebel are now in excess of 35 million tonnes grading 1.6 g Au/t, representing approximately 1.8 million ounces of gold in situ In place. When something is "in situ," it is in its original location. , a 32 percent increase over the September 1996 estimate at a higher grade.
March 1996 September 1996 May 1997
__________ ______________ ________
Hard Rock (1)
Tonnage
(000 tonnes) 3,459 8,590 11,700
Grade (g Au/t) 1.8 1.8 2.0
Soft Rock (2)
Tonnage
(000 tonnes) 20,594 21,860 23,750
Grade (g Au/t) 1.3 1.3 1.4
Total (3)
Tonnage
(000 tonnes) 24,053 30,450 35,450
Grade (g Au/t) 1.4 1.5 1.6
Ounces in situ 1,088,000 1,389,000 1,845,000
Strip Ratio 2.9:1 2.8:1 2.9:1
(1) Hard rock cutoff grade of 0.7 g Au/t
(2) Soft rock (saprolite ore) cutoff grade of 0.4 g Au/t
(3) Reserve calculation was based on a gold price of $400/oz
Note: All amounts in US dollars. The reserves estimate is based on results from 814 diamond drill holes for a total of over 85,500 metres, 5,054 Auger holes for a total of 35,000 metres and 45 kilometres of trenches. Approximately two-thirds of the mining reserves identified to date are in soft rock (saprolite sap·ro·lite n. Soft, partially decomposed rock rich in clay and remaining in its original place. saprolite and laterite laterite Soil layer rich in iron oxide and sometimes aluminum, derived from a wide variety of rocks by leaching. It forms in tropical and subtropical regions where the climate is humid. ). The concession consists of two blocks: the North and South blocks. The focus of exploration has been on expanding reserves in the North Block that hosts the Pay Caro and Koolhoven deposits. The South block contains the Mayo, Royal Hill and Rosebel deposits. A breakdown of the current proven and probable mining reserves in the North and South blocks is, as follows:
Area Hard Rock(1) Soft Rock(2) Total(3) Ounces Strip
(000 tonnes (000 tonnes (000 tonnes of gold Ratio
at g Au/t) at g Au/t) at g Au/t) in situ
________ ___________ ___________ ____________ _______ _____
NORTH BLOCK
___________
Pay Caro 9,868 at 2.0 7,413 at 1.5 17,281 at 1.8 995,000 3.4:1
Koolhoven 1,097 at 2.2 2,547 at 1.5 3,644 at 1.7 198,000 3.4:1
SOUTH BLOCK
___________
Mayo 439 at 1.7 5,077 at 1.4 5,516 at 1.4 245,000 2.3:1
Royal Hill 291 at 1.9 6,827 at 1.3 7,118 at 1.3 303,000 1.4:1
Rosebel 6 at 1.9 1,882 at 1.7 1,888 at 1.7 104,000 4.4:1
TOTAL 11,701 at 2.0 23,746 at 1.4 35,450 at 1.6 1,845,000 2.9:1
(1) Hard rock cutoff grade of 0.7 g Au/t
(2) Soft rock (saprolite ore) cutoff grade of 0.4 g Au/t
(3) Reserve calculation was based on a gold price of $400/oz
GEOLOGY AND SAMPLING The Gross Rosebel concession lies within the Lower Proterozoic Guiana Shield The Guiana[1] Shield (Spanish: Guayana) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion year old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. that stretches from the Amazon River Amazon River Portuguese Rio Amazonas River, northern South America. It is the largest river in the world in volume and area of drainage basin; only the Nile River of eastern and northeastern Africa exceeds it in length. in Brazil to the Orinoco River Orinoco River Major river, South America. It rises on the western slopes of the Parima Mountains along the border between Venezuela and Brazil. It flows in a giant arc through Venezuela for about 1,700 mi (2,740 km) and enters the Atlantic Ocean near the island of Trinidad. in Venezuela. The Surinamese portion of the shield consists of three distinct belts of metamorphic rocks separated by large areas underlain un·der·lain v. Past participle of underlie. by granitoids and gneisses. Primary gold mineralization Mineralization The process by which the body uses minerals to build bone structure. Mentioned in: Rickets mineralization, n the bioprecipitation of an inorganic substance. occurs mostly in quartz and quartz- carbonate veins which are generally restricted to lithological contacts, fold closures and sub-vertical shear corridors. The gold typically occurs as free grains of native gold, often precipitated close to vein margins or interlaced Refers to a display system or image that uses interlacing and does not render contiguous lines one after the other. See interlace and interlaced GIF. in pyrite pyrite (pī`rīt) or iron pyrites (pīrī`tēz, pə–, pī`rīts), pale brass-yellow mineral, the bisulfide of iron, FeS2. crystals in veins or in potassic alteration haloes in adjoining country rocks. Prolonged chemical weathering has produced a laterite/saprolite profile as deep as 100 metres. A transition zone of variable thickness made up of partly weathered bedrock can often be found below the saprolitic cover. The laterite cover lying over the ore zones is usually enriched in gold. Most of the exploration work followed a systematic sequence of regional prospecting and mapping followed by extensive augering and diamond drilling over promising targets. Trenches spaced one hundred metres (100 m) apart over the mineralized min·er·al·ize v. min·er·al·ized, min·er·al·iz·ing, min·er·al·iz·es v.tr. 1. To convert to a mineral substance; petrify. 2. To transform a metal into a mineral by oxidation. 3. zones provided abundant structural information. Computer modeling of each deposit was done with the latest geological and economic data and mineable geological reserves were computed using the inverse distance squared method. Potential for reserve increases is excellent at depth and along strike of the known orebodies and in the largely untested zones found throughout the concession. All samples were sent to CanTech Laboratories Inc. located in Paramaribo, Suriname. Check assays were performed internally by the laboratory. The accuracy of the sampling and assay procedures of the CanTech Laboratory was verified by sending a set of coarse reject samples for check assaying to Cambior's Omai Laboratory in Guyana, and to Activation Laboratories in Ontario, Canada. LOCATION AND ACCESS The property lies some 80 km south of the capital city of Paramaribo and covers 170 square km in an area of small hills covered with tropical rain forest, separated by discontinuous discontinuous /dis·con·tin·u·ous/ (dis?kon-tin´u-us) 1. interrupted; intermittent; marked by breaks. 2. discrete; separate. 3. lacking logical order or coherence. savanna savanna or savannah (both: səvăn`ə), tropical or subtropical grassland lying on the margin of the trade wind belts. . The concession is accessible by a 30 km paved road connecting Paramaribo to Paranam and then by an all weather gravel road leading to the exploration camp. The village of Nieuw Koffiekamp, with a population of about 400, is the nearest settlement and is located within the concession, only 2 km from the Golden Star/Cambior exploration camp. The town of Brokopondo is some 35 km east of the concession by road. OWNERSHIP Golden Star Resources Ltd. acquired a five-year Right of Exploration to the Gross Rosebel property in the Preliminary Mineral Agreement between Golden Star, Grasshopper grasshopper, name applied to almost 9,000 different species of singing, jumping insects in two families of the order Orthoptera. Grasshoppers are long, slender, winged insects with powerful hind legs and strong mandibles, or mouthparts, adapted for chewing. Aluminum Company N.V. (Grassalco) - a state-owned mineral company - and the Government of Suriname dated May 8, 1992. The final tripartite agreement among Golden Star, Grassalco and the Republic of Suriname was signed on April 7, 1994. Cambior entered into an agreement with Golden Star on June 7, 1994, granting Cambior the option to earn 50 percent of Golden Star's interest in the Gross Rosebel Agreement and the Gross Rosebel Property. The agreement provided that Cambior would become entitled to exercise the option by funding approximately $6.1 million in exploration and development expendi- tures on the Gross Rosebel project by June 30, 1996. Expenditure requirements were met and the option was exercised by Cambior on January 10, 1996. A feasibility study "A Feasibility Study" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 13 April, 1964, during the first season. It was remade in 1997 as part of the revived The Outer Limits series with a minor title change. , on the basis of current mining reserves, was tabled yesterday with the Government of Suriname in order to obtain the required approvals and commitments to begin construction in the second half of the year. In order to proceed with construction of the project, several issues which are the subject of ongoing discussions must be resolved, including: -- Agreement with the Government of Suriname and Grassalco on the form and structure of the operating company operating company A business that engages in transactions with outsiders. ; -- ability to secure foreign investment insurance; -- availability of financing from banks and other financial institutions; -- relocation of the Koffiekamp village; -- increase in mining reserves to a minimum of 2.0 million ounces. The Surinamese government has established a committee to study and make recommendations with respect to the relocation of the Koffiekamp village. Grassalco has an option to acquire 20 percent participating interest in the project at cost upon approval of the feasibility study and the granting of the right of exploitation. FEASIBILITY STUDY AND OUTLOOK Definition drilling, for an amount of approximately $2 million, will continue on the Pay Caro, Koolhoven, Mayo and Royal Hill deposits until sastisfactory resolution of the above issues and approval by the boards of Directors of Cambior and Golden Star that are currently scheduled for the end of June 1997. The immediate objective of continued definition, step-out and exploration drilling at Gross Rosebel is to increase mining reserves to 2 million ounces of gold. The feasibility study was prepared on the basis of a milling capacity of 12,000 tonnes per day with a subsequent increase to 15,000 tonnes per day. Production levels are estimated at 200,000 to 275,000 ounces of gold annually at a cash cost of $230 to $240 per ounce. Construction costs to bring the mine into production are estimated at $170 million. Cambior is a major diversified gold producer with operations, development projects and exploration activities in North and South America. Cambior shares ("CBJ") are listed on the Toronto, Montreal and American (AMEX) stock exchanges. Golden Star Resources Ltd. is a gold and diamond exploration company which holds 30 percent equity interest in the Omai gold mine in Guyana, one of the largest gold mines in South America. Golden Star also holds significant gold and diamond exploration interests in South America and Africa. Golden Star is listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) Canada's largest stock exchange, trading approximately 1,200 company stocks and 33 options. (symbol "GSC") and the American Stock Exchange American Stock Exchange (AMEX) Stock exchange in the U.S. Originally known as “the Curb,” it began as an outdoor marketplace in New York City c. 1850. It moved indoors to its present location in the Wall Street area in 1921. (symbol "GSR"). The above forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including those relating to exploration, the establishment of reserves, the approval of the feasibility study, potential mine development and the recovery of any reserves. Please refer to a discussion of these and other factors in Golden Star's 10-K, 10-Q and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. CONTACT: CAMBIOR INC. Geoffrey King (Media Relations), 514/ 878-8206 514/ 878-3324 (FAX) http://www.cambior.com info@cambior.com or CAMBIOR INC. Robert LaValliere (Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. ), 514/ 878-1282 514/ 878-3324 (FAX) http://www.cambior.com info@cambior.com or CAMBIOR INC. Victoria Putnam (Investor Relations), 514/ 878-3166 514/ 878-0635 (FAX) http://www.cambior.com info@cambior.com or GOLDEN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED Richard A. Winters, 303/ 830-9000 1-800-553-8436 or GOLDEN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED Gordon J. Bell, 303/ 830-9000 1-800-553-8436 |
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