TSX-V: SRD
TORONTO,
Oct. 30, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Strait
Minerals Inc. ("Strait" or "the Company") has deferred drilling at
its Alicia copper-gold property in Peru pending approval of the exploration
permit by the Ministry of Mines to start the program. Teck Peru S.A. ("Teck Peru"), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited ("Teck"), is funding the
$2-million exploration program under
an option agreement with the Company.
Drilling will start upon receiving approval as
required under new regulations put into effect on June 6, 2012. In June, a supreme decree was
published amending procedures for the granting of mineral
exploration permits in Peru and
requiring the government to consult with indigenous people in the
community prior to granting of permits. This consultation process
starts after the permit is submitted for approval. In February,
2012, the Company received approval from the Ministry of Mines to
begin up to 10,000 metres of drilling to be funded by Teck Peru. In May, 2012, the Company submitted
modifications to that permit to increase the drill program to
24,000 metres. Approval of this permit modification is pending and
subject to the new regulation.
"Given the early stage of the Alicia project,
the non-disruptive nature of the proposed drill program and the
support of the community as detailed in our community agreement, we
are in a good position to receive approval as soon as possible,"
said Strait President Jim Borland.
"However, we understand that this new regulation has added to the
backlog of exploration permits for approval, so at this point we
cannot predict a start-up date."
A community agreement outlining local
employment, procurement and social commitments to be made by the
Company was reached earlier this year through ongoing consultation,
dialogue and engagement with the local community. This agreement
covers work on the project to February
2014.
Teck Peru has
spent approximately $700,000 on the
project to the end of September, 2012, conducting detailed mapping,
sampling and geophysical surveys and has advised the Company it is
fully committed to incurring an initial $2
million in exploration expenditures, including a 6,000 meter
drill program.
If Teck Peru
completes $4 million of work, it can
elect to acquire a 45% interest in the project by exercising three
million warrants. The warrants allow Teck to purchase Strait shares
at $0.25 per share if exercised on or
before Dec. 16, 2012, or at
$0.35 if exercised before the end of
2013.
The 6,000-metre program of core drilling planned
with Teck Peru has been designed to
test the property's porphyry potential. A 2,000-metre program at
Alicia completed by the Company in 2011 intersected mineralized
skarn material in all 15 holes drilled, generally on the perimeter
of the exposed porphyry, as reported in news releases dated
January 10 and March 29, 2011. Intersections from that program
that intersected porphyry material included: 129.5 metres
(94.25 metres true width) grading 0.33% copper, 0.04 grams per
tonne (g/t) gold and 1.8 g/t silver in Hole ALC10-08; 134.0 metres
grading 0.29% copper, 0.03 g/t gold and 1.8 g/t silver in Hole
ALC11-16 (true width is not applicable); and 198.5 metres grading
0.16% copper, 0.02 g/t gold and 1.7 g/t silver in Hole ALC11-17
(true width not applicable).
Under the terms of its option agreement with the
Company, Teck must spend $30 million
on exploration (or spend $10 million
on exploration plus deliver a prefeasibility study) to earn a 75%
interest in the property.
Quality Control and Quality Assurance
All sampling was supervised by Strait Minerals personnel. Samples
were securely stored in a locked room prior to transportation to
Cusco by Strait Minerals personnel. Samples were delivered to the
ALS Chemex office in Cusco and forwarded by ALS Chemex to Arequipa
for sample preparation. The resulting pulps were sent to its
laboratory in Lima, for analysis.
ALS Chemex is an ISO 9001:2000 registered laboratory. Samples were
analyzed for gold by fire assay followed by atomic absorption
spectroscopic (AAS) finish and by gravimetric finish for samples
exceeding the upper limit of analysis (over limit). Silver, copper,
molybdenum, lead and zinc, together with 30 other elements, were
assayed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry
(ICP-AES) following aqua regia dissolution. Strait Minerals
routinely carries out a program of quality assurance/quality
control (QA/QC) that includes insertion of blanks.
All of the Company's exploration programs are
prepared by, or prepared under the supervision of, Dr. Roger Moss, P.Geo., who serves as the Qualified
Person as defined by NI 43-101 and is a director of the Company.
Dr. Moss has reviewed and approved the technical content of this
news release.
About Strait Minerals Inc.
Strait Minerals Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company
active solely in Peru since 2003
and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. It holds a 55% interest
with an option to increase that interest to 100% in the Alicia
copper-gold property which lies within the Andahuaylas-Yauri copper
belt approximately 500 km southeast of Lima. Strait has granted Teck Peru S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Teck Resources Limited, an option to earn up to a 75% interest in
the property by, among other things, spending $30 million on exploration or by spending
$10 million on exploration and
delivering a pre-feasibility study. The Company also holds an
option to earn a 100% interest in the Caribe copper-molybdenum
property approximately 80 km west of Alicia and holds a 100%
interest in both the Letra Rumi South base metals property and the
Culebrilla precious metals property approximately 250 km north of
Lima. The Company continuously
reviews exploration opportunities in Peru and is actively seeking additional
projects. Please visit our web site at www.straitminerals.com.
Forward Looking Statement: Some of the
statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements which
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Without
limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and
resources, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of
the Company are forward looking statements that involve various
risks. The following are important factors that could cause
the Company's actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward looking statements: changes in
the world wide price of mineral commodities, general market
conditions, risks inherent in mineral exploration, risks associated
with development, construction and mining operations, the
uncertainty of future profitability and the uncertainty of access
to additional capital. There can be no assurance that
forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual
results and future events may differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Strait undertakes no
obligation to update such forward-looking statements if
circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change,
except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place
undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Strait Minerals Inc.