Miramar Announces $16m 2005 Program for Hope Bay Project.VANCOUVER, British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography -- Miramar Mining Corporation (TSX TSX Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE before April, 2002) TSX Transfer from Stack Pointer to Index TSX True Space Extension :MAE (1) (Metropolitan Area Exchange) Originally known as Metropolitan Area Ethernets, MAEs are junction points on the Internet where data is exchanged between carriers. See IXP and NAP. )(AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :MNG MNG Multiple-image Network Graphics (PNG-like image format supporting multiple images, animation and transparency) MNG Mongolia (ISO Country code) MNG Multinodular Goiter MNG Meet 'n Greet ) - Goal is to Upgrade Gold Resources to Support Feasibility Study The analysis of a problem to determine if it can be solved effectively. The operational (will it work?), economical (costs and benefits) and technical (can it be built?) aspects are part of the study. Results of the study determine whether the solution should be implemented. for Extended & Expanded Production Miramar Mining Corporation today announced plans for the 2005 exploration season at its 100% controlled Hope Bay project in Nunavut. The Company intends to spend approximately $13 million on drill programs designed to upgrade gold resources at the Boston, Doris and Madrid deposits to technical levels which, if results are positive, would be incorporated into feasibility studies in 2006. These programs will total approximately 29,000m of drilling and utilize six to eight drill rigs. In addition, approximately $2.0 million will be spent on permitting the Doris North project and community relations 1. The relationship between military and civilian communities. 2. Those public affairs programs that address issues of interest to the general public, business, academia, veterans, Service organizations, military-related associations, and other non-news media entities. , and a further $1.0 million on work related to preparing the feasibility studies discussed herein. "Now that we have established substantial gold resources on the Hope Bay belt, we need to accelerate our efforts to incorporate these resources into feasibility studies that will support our goal for the phased development of the belt," said Tony Walsh Tony Walsh was an Irish soccer player during the 1950s and 1960s in the League of Ireland. Walsh was a forward who spent 1 season (1959/60) at Bohemians where he made 8 appearances, scoring just once. , Miramar's President & CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . "Our objective is to deliver a plan for the integrated development of the Hope Bay belt in the latter part of 2006. We intend to demonstrate the opportunity for the significant sustained gold production to follow on from the Doris North project, a small scale, high grade mining operation currently in the permitting process." Drilling at Doris and Madrid has already commenced, while work at Boston and on other areas of the Hope Bay belt will follow later. Strategic Objectives Miramar aims to become an intermediate gold producer through the integrated development of the Hope Bay belt. In order to achieve this objective, while minimizing potential dilution potential dilution The decrease in the proportional equity position of a share of stock that will occur eventually if additional authorized shares are actually issued. and risk to shareholders, Miramar has developed a phased approach to maximizing gold production from the Hope Bay belt:
Phase 1: Short Term: Develop a small scale, high grade, low cost,
high return gold mine at Doris North with the objective
of generating significant cash flow, after capital
payback, to advance the subsequent phases while
minimizing equity dilution. Doris North is projected to
produce 155,000 oz of gold per year for two years.
Phase 2: Medium Term: To extend and expand production levels by
developing the higher grade, more accessible areas of
the Boston, Doris and Madrid deposits, with a target
production level of approximately 200,000 oz of gold
per annum, generating cash flow to complete Phase 3.
Phase 3: Longer Term: To further expand gold production by
maximizing the potential of the very large Madrid
deposit, and the remainder of the Boston and Doris
deposits, to generate sustained production in the range
of 350,000 to 400,000 oz of gold per annum.
In parallel with these activities, Miramar intends to continue the exploration programs at Hope Bay to discover new deposits to contribute to a sustained intermediate production profile, while conducting grassroots exploration in cooperation with strategic partners. 2005 Madrid Program Approximately 18,500m of drilling is planned for the Madrid area, more than 50% of which is directed towards upgrading the upper portion of the western Madrid resource, which lies within 250m of surface, to the indicated category, a confidence level which would be required for inclusion in 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. for the proposed phase 2 development of the Hope Bay belt. The remaining drilling will be focussed on continuing to expand the Madrid resource, and evaluating opportunities to identify potential new resource areas within the core 2km strike of the Madrid system “Madrid Agreement” redirects here. For other uses, see Madrid Agreement (disambiguation). The Madrid system for the international registration of marks, also conveniently known as the Madrid system or simply Madrid . "Over the past three years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time Madrid deposit has emerged as the largest identified gold system on the Hope Bay belt," said Mr. Walsh. "Given the substantial thicknesses of 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. identified, we believe Madrid offers excellent potential for the development of a large-scale, sustained mining operation supplemented by higher grade feed from other deposits on the belt. Our near-term objective is to move a significant portion of the Madrid resources towards inclusion in economic studies that support (1) the extension of the operating life of the proposed facilities at Doris North, and (2) the expansion of the overall production level during Phase 2. Ultimately, we believe that, when blended with the higher grade resources from the rest of the belt, the Madrid area will offer a very substantial production base from which to reach our goal of intermediate producer status during Phase 3." 2005 Doris Central Program Drilling prior to 2004 in the Doris Central area, located approximately 1km south of the Doris North project defined an indicated resource of 201,000oz at a grade of 14.9g/t gold and an additional inferred resource of 59,000oz at a grade of 16.0g/t gold. Approximately 4,500m of drilling are planned to upgrade the confidence level of the current Doris Central resource to the indicated category and to potentially expand the overall resource in this area. Doris Central could then be included in a feasibility study for development of the wider Hope Bay belt providing, along with the Boston deposit, higher grade feed to blend with the bulk tonnage TONNAGE, mar. law. The capacity of a ship or vessel. 2. The act of congress of March 2, 1799, s. 64, 1 Story's L. U. S. 630, directs that to ascertain the tonnage of any ship or vessel, the surveyor, &c. potential of the Madrid deposit. Other 2005 Programs Details of the 2005 Boston program have not been finalized See finalization. , but are expected to focus on continuing to upgrade the confidence in the Boston resource as part of the on-going work to support a future feasibility study on the wider Hope Bay resources. Approximately 6,000m of drilling have been set aside to assist in: defining stope stope n. An excavation in the form of steps made by the mining of ore from steeply inclined or vertical veins. tr.v. stoped, stop·ing, stopes To remove (ore) from or mine by means of a stope. outlines; upgrading inferred resources to the indicated category within mining areas; and potential high impact resource additions. Limited belt-wide exploration activities will focus on meeting the assessment work requirements in order to maintain the Hope Bay property in good standing. Maximus Explorations Inc., which has an option to earn an interest in the Eastern Contact and Twin Peaks areas of the Hope Bay belt, is also expected to carry out an exploration program in the areas it has under option. Feasibility Studies The purpose of the 2005 work will be to upgrade the resources at the Doris Central, Madrid and Boston deposits to a level which could be included in a feasibility study. Miramar will assess the results of the 2005 work to determine how to proceed with future feasibility studies in support of the Phase 2 medium term objective. Permitting On February 18, 2005 Miramar announced that it had filed its preliminary project description for the Doris North project with the Nunavut Impact Review Board. NIRB NIRB Near Infrared Background NIRB NIMA-IMINT Review Board has written to the Minister of INAC INAC Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (government) INAC Instituto Nacional de Aviación Civil (Spanish) INAC Instituto Nacional de Carnes (Spanish: National Meat Institute, Uruguay) requesting direction to conduct a review of the project in accordance with Part 5 of the NLCA NLCA Nunavut Land Claims Agreement NLCA New Life Christian Academy NLCA Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators NLCA Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association NLCA Norwegian Lutheran Church of America NLCA Nantucket Lightship Closed Area . Miramar is committed to working with all stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. to strive for success in permitting the Doris North project. Hope Bay Resources As announced February 25, 2005, the updated resource estimate for the Hope Bay belt that takes into account the 2004 drilling is summarized below. Miramar's objective for its extended and expanded production scenario, which is the subject of on-going studies, is to allow blending of these various sources of potential feed through an integrated approach to development that could result in an average grade close to the overall average grade of the Hope Bay belt, in the range of 7-9g/t gold.
Hope Bay Project Mineral Resource Estimates as at December 31, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(Includes Mineral Reserves at Doris North)
Category/Deposit Tonnes Gold Grade Contained Gold
(000s) (g/t) (000s oz)
-------------------- ------ ---------- --------------
Measured & Indicated
Resources
--------------------
Boston 1,387 15.4 687
Doris 763 23.9 586
Madrid 4,703 5.5 838
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub-total Measured &
Indicated Resources 6,853 9.6 2,111
Additional Inferred
Resources(i):
--------------------
Boston 2,574 10.9 901
Doris 1,675 14.7 795
Madrid 14,959 5.4 2,602
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub-total Additional
Inferred Resources(i) 19,208 7.0 4,298
(i) Inferred resources are in addition to measured and indicated
resources.
See the February 25, 2005 news release for details on these resource estimates, and background on the assumptions used therein. Quality Assurance The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements Regulatory requirements are part of the process of drug discovery and drug development. Regulatory requirements describe what is necessary for a new drug to be approved for marketing in any particular country. set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed by John Wakeford, P. Geo. Vice President, Exploration for Miramar Mining Corporation. Miramar Mining Corporation Miramar is a Canadian gold mining company that controls Hope Bay which contains one of the largest, best-grade undeveloped gold deposits in Canada. The Hope Bay project extends over 1,000 sq. km. and encompasses one of the most prospective undeveloped greenstone belts Greenstone belts are zones of variably metamorphosed mafic to ultramafic volcanic sequences with associated sedimentary rocks that occur within Archaean and Proterozoic cratons between granite and gneiss bodies. in Canada. Miramar's goal is to build an intermediate gold production profile by maximizing the development potential of the substantial gold resources defined on the Hope Bay belt. To this end, Miramar believes that the cash flow generated by the proposed Phase 1 Doris North mine could be used as a springboard to fund the phased development of a long life, larger scale mining operation eventually producing in excess of 350-400,000oz of gold per year. Conceptually, Miramar believes the Doris Central, upper Boston and western Madrid resources might provide sufficient reserves to support second phase long life operation, blending bulk tonnage Madrid production with higher grade feed from other deposits. Subsequently, a further expansion could be warranted to maximize the enormous potential of the remaining Madrid resources, and thereby achieving intermediate producer status. Miramar's goal is to have Doris North as the infrastructure centre for the entire Hope Bay belt, thereby minimizing the overall environmental impact and the capital requirements Capital requirements Financing required for the operation of a business, composed of long-term and working capital plus fixed assets. , and optimizing the return on future development areas. In parallel with these development activities, Miramar plans to increase the total gold resources on the belt through the expansion of the known deposits and discoveries of new ones. A decision to proceed with mining at Doris North would be subject to the availability of permits and financing and a variety of other contingencies. Any plans for extending and expanding the life of the Doris North operation would be subject to the successful completion of additional drilling, economic studies and permitting procedures. For more information on Miramar Mining Corporation and its projects, visit our website at www.miramarmining.com. To view the attached maps, please click on the following link: http://www2.ccnmatthews.com/database/fax/2000/mae329a.pdf Forward Looking Statements Statements relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc exploration work at the Hope Bay project and the expected results of this work are forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. within the meaning of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "satisfies," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur. Information inferred from the interpretation of drilling results and information concerning mineral resource estimates may also be deemed to be forward looking statements, as it constitutes a prediction of what might be found to be present when and if a project is actually developed. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to fluctuations in gold prices; uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing to fund the planned work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in planned work resulting from weather, logistical lo·gis·tic also lo·gis·ti·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to symbolic logic. 2. Of or relating to logistics. [Medieval Latin logisticus, of calculation , technical or other factors; the possibility that results of work will not fulfill expectations and that the actual results of work will not identify mineral deposits that permit satisfaction of Miramar's objectives or goals or realize the perceived potential of the Company's properties; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and other tests and the estimation of gold reserves and resources; the possibility that required permits may not be obtained on a timely manner or at all; the possibility that capital and operating costs operating costs npl → gastos mpl operacionales may be higher than currently estimated and may preclude commercial development or render operations uneconomic; the risk of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns Noun 1. cost overrun - excess of cost over budget; "the cost overrun necessitated an additional allocation of funds in the budget" cost - the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor or unanticipated expenses in the work program; the risk of environmental contamination or damage resulting from Miramar's operations and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Miramar's Annual Report on Form 40-F for the year ended December 31, 2003 and Reports on Form 6-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Miramar's management on the date the statements are made. Miramar undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. This news release has been authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: by the undersigned un·der·signed adj. 1. Having signatures or a signature at the bottom or end. Used of documents. 2. Signed or having signed at the bottom or end of a document: on behalf of Miramar Mining Corporation. Anthony P. Walsh, President & CEO Miramar Mining Corporation (TSX:MAE) (AMEX:MNG) |
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