VANCOUVER, Aug. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Bear Creek
Mining (TSX Venture: BCM / BVL: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the
"Company") is pleased to provide an update on its development and
exploration programs in Peru. The
Company maintains an aggressive generative exploration program
while steadily advancing the development of the Corani
silver-lead-zinc mine. A negotiated settlement remains the focus of
the Santa Ana silver project and the Company remains hopeful that a
resolution will be reached with the government which will place
this important investment for Peru
back on the development track.
Importantly, the Company has approximately US $75M in cash and expenditures will decrease
significantly upon submission of the Corani ESIA in the third
quarter, allowing sufficient funding to continue all of Bear
Creek's planned activities well into 2014 without jeopardizing
development timelines. Further financing is not envisioned until
the decision is made to commence construction of Corani. If
necessary, additional measures can be taken to preserve cash beyond
2014.
Corani Silver-Lead-Zinc Deposit - The
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") is on schedule
for submission in September
2012. The second formal public hearing will be
scheduled in September once the ESIA submission date is
confirmed. ESIA approval is anticipated by year-end
2013. The company holds 95% of the required surface titles
and the remaining surface rights are being negotiated.
Additionally, the first public hearings for the substation and
power line right of ways have been successfully
completed. Social and community programs are advancing
very well with the recent completion of two new schools and three
additional schools to be completed in the coming year in the
surrounding communities. Community support for the project is
strong and the Company is very comfortable with the timing for
commencement of the permitting process and maintaining the
anticipated production start-up in 2015 with full-scale production
of 14M ounces silver per year in 2016.
Mr. Andrew Swarthout, CEO,
states, "We are very pleased with the progress at Corani and the
favorable conditions for proceeding with permitting. The
project design has been optimized to provide for a smaller
footprint in order to further reduce the affected area and expedite
the ESIA review and approval process. Social programs have
been strengthened and the project's benefits have been successfully
communicated to the sparse populations as far as 50 kilometers
distant. Community support is very strong for the project.
Importantly, water-related issues are minimal and are being
mitigated so as to provide better and more consistent access to
clean water for the local communities. I am very proud of our
engineering, social and environmental teams who have worked hard in
establishing these favorable conditions."
Santa Ana Silver Deposit - Santa
Ana remains under the conditions of the Supreme Decree issued in
June 2011. The Company remains
committed towards a negotiated settlement to resolve the issue and
reinitiate the permitting process. While there has been
progress in reaching a resolution, particularly with respect to
even broader local community support in surrounding, indirectly
affected populations, the Company continues to vigorously pursue
legal remedies in order to protect its rights under Peruvian law
and the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement.
Regarding Bear Creek's exploration programs Mr.
Swarthout stated, "While the widely-spaced drilling at Tassa is
insufficient for resource calculations, significant mineralized
intercepts over the 1 km by 4 km target area have been
encountered. The results are being analyzed prior to planning
future drilling. Presently, the Company is focusing its
efforts and expenditures on the Corani ESIA and recovery of Santa
Ana. Importantly, Bear Creek holds approximately US
$75M in cash which more than covers
the Corani permitting, Santa Ana legal costs and corporate overhead
while still allowing for exploration activity. While
aggressive exploration by our talented teams continues, we are
focused upon capital preservation pending advancement of our
development projects."
Tassa Silver-Gold Prospect - Tassa (100% BCM) is
located approximately 160 kilometers northwest and 230 kilometers
south of the Company's Santa Ana and Corani projects respectively
and 16 kilometers from the Goldfield's Chucapaca/Canahuiri deposit
containing reported resources of 132.7 MT averaging 1.4 g/t Au and
10.8 g/t Ag (6M oz Au and 46M oz Ag).
Phase I drilling at Tassa conducted in 2010
encountered numerous mineralized intercepts including 60 meters
averaging 224.2 g/t silver from 24 to 84 meters depth and 40 meters
averaging 110.7 g/t silver from 2 to 42 meters depth as well as
scattered anomalous gold intercepts with up to 1.24 g/t gold over 2
meters (see News Release dated December 6,
2010).
Phase II drilling consisted of 11 (eleven)
diamond drill holes totaling 4,255 meters completed between
October 2011 and June 2012. Drilling focused on new targets
defined within a 4 kilometer by 1 kilometer area where two-meter
wide surface sampling had identified anomalous outcrops containing
up to 2.51 g/t gold in silicified outcrops and 5.36 g/t gold
in structures (assay values range from
