ESIA completion ceremony led by Governor
Uñac demonstrates support from
Argentine government and marks important milestone on the pathway
to developing Josemaria copper-gold-silver project
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 23, 2021 /CNW/ - Josemaria Resources
Inc. (TSX: JOSE) (OMX: JOSE) (OTCQB: JOSMF) ("Josemaria
Resources" or the "Company"), a 100% owned copper-gold project with
proven and probable mineral reserves of 6.7 billion lbs copper, 7
million ounces of gold, and 30.7 million ounces of silver, is
pleased to announce the completion and presentation of the
Environmental Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") to Governor
Sergio Uñac at a ceremony held in
San Juan Province, Argentina
today. View PDF
Adam Lundin, CEO, commented: "We
are proud to present Governor Uñac with the completed ESIA today as
it is an important milestone in our partnership with the people of
San Juan. The ESIA brings us a step closer to achieving our goal of
developing Josemaria into a large-scale copper producer in time to
meet rising worldwide demand and ensuring the surrounding
communities and stakeholders receive direct and indirect benefits
from the Project. Haciendo que el futuro cobre vida! (We make the
future come to life!)".
The Josemaria project, optimally located in the San Juan
province of Argentina, is on track
to become one of the next major copper-gold
project developments globally. Project Construction is
expected to create over 4,000 jobs and over 1,000 operations jobs
once in production.
Governor of San Juan Province Sergio Uñac commented:
"There are many benefits to working alongside a company like
Josemaria. They have demonstrated reliability and their positive
goals with regards to the environment and the community are in
alignment with ours in San Juan. Their planned investment of
$3B in our San Juan province,
would be the engine for improving the livelihoods of the
stakeholders and the local communities. It will contribute
significantly to the economic diversification of San Juan by
creating more formal jobs and stable incomes for the workforce, and
increasing the sales of goods and services of our local suppliers.
Josemaria will provide a very significant social and economic
contribution to our province, and will double our provincial
exports and increase mining employment by over 30%".
Alfredo Vitaller of Josemaria Resources presents Governor of San
Juan, Sergio Unac with the company's Environment, Social Impact
Assessment (ESIA).
Live Stream
President and CEO, Adam Lundin will speak with Josemaria's
Argentina General Manager, Alfredo Vitaller, live on Thursday, February 25th at
8am PST to recap the highlights of
the presentation ceremony. Tune in to Josemaria's Facebook,
Twitter, Linkedin or YouTube channel to view this exclusive
live stream. For a reminder, subscribe to Josemaria's investor
alerts here.
About Josemaria Resources
Josemaria Resources Inc. is
a natural resources company focused on developing its advanced
stage, 100% owned Josemaria Copper-Gold Project in the San Juan
province of Argentina. A recently
published Feasibility Study (see "NI 43-101 Technical Report,
Feasibility Study for the Josemaria Copper-Gold Project, San Juan
Province, Argentina" dated
November 5, 2020) demonstrates a
simple and conventional open pit copper-gold project with robust
economics and a rapid payback period. Josemaria is a Lundin
Group company and works in partnership with the Lundin Foundation
to execute best practices in responsible mineral development in
Argentina where the Lundin's have
a 30-year track record of value creation.
Table 1 - The mineral reserve statement for the Josemaria
Project, San Juan Province, Argentina, 28 September
2020
Category
|
Tonnage
|
Grade
|
Contained
Metal
|
(Mt)
|
Cu (%)
|
Au (g/t)
|
Ag (g/t)
|
Cu lbs
(Millions)
|
Au oz
(Millions)
|
Ag oz
(Millions)
|
Proven
|
197
|
0.43
|
0.34
|
1.33
|
1,844
|
2.14
|
8.43
|
Probable
|
815
|
0.27
|
0.19
|
0.85
|
4,861
|
4.87
|
22.29
|
Total Proven and
Probable
|
1,012
|
0.30
|
0.22
|
0.94
|
6,705
|
7.02
|
30.72
|
Notes to accompany
Josemaria Mineral Reserve statement:
|
1.
|
Mineral reserves have
an effective date of 28 September 2020. The Qualified Person for
the estimate is Mr. Robert McCarthy, P.Eng.
|
2.
|
The mineral reserves
were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy
and Petroleum (CIM), Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and
Reserves, as prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve
Definitions and adopted by CIM Council.
|
3.
|
The mineral reserves
were based on a pit design which in turn aligned with an ultimate
pit shell selected from a WhittleTM pit optimization
exercise. Key inputs for that process are:
|
|
· Metal prices of $3.00/lb Cu,
$1,500/oz Au; $18.00/oz Ag
|
|
· Variable Mining cost by bench and
material type. Average costs are $1.351/t, $1.36/t and $1.65/t for
ore, NAG waste and PAG waste, respectively.
|
|
· Processing costs vary by
metallurgical zone, ranging from $3.77/t tonalite ore milled to
$3.71/t supergene.
|
|
· Infrastructure On and Off-site $0.43/t
milled
|
|
· Indirect
Costs $0.46/t miled
|
|
· Sustaining capital costs of
$0.54/t
|
|
· Pit
overall slope angles varying from 33° to 45°
|
|
· Process
recoveries for Cu and Au are based on grade. The average recovery
is estimated to be 85% for Cu and 63% for Au. Ag recovery is fixed
at 72%.
|
4.
|
Mining dilution is
accounted for by averaging grades in adjacent blocks across a
thickness of 2.5 m into each block (5.0 m per block
contact).
|
5.
|
The mineral reserve
has an economic cut-off for prime mill feed, based on NSR, of
$5.22/t, $5.21/t, $5.18/t and $5.16/t milled for tonalite,
rhyolite, porphyry and supergene material respectively and an
additional $0.53/t for stockpiled ore.
|
6.
|
There are 991 Mt of
waste in the ultimate pit. The strip ratio is 0.98
(waste:ore).
|
7.
|
All figures are
rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate. Totals
may not sum due to rounding as required by reporting
guidelines.
|
QUALIFIED PERSONS AND TECHNICAL REPORT
The technical
information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by
Mr. Bob Carmichael, P. Eng. (BC), the Company's Vice President
of Exploration, and Mr. Dustin Smiley, P. Eng. (BC), the
Company's Engineering Manager. Both Mr. Carmichael and Mr. Smiley are Qualified Persons under National
Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The information was submitted
for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out
below, on February 23, 2021
00:01 EST.
On behalf of Josemaria Resources,
Adam Lundin,
President and CEO
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes certain "forward-looking
information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without
limitation, the future price of copper, gold and silver; the
results of the Feasibility Study and expected timelines; the timing
and amount of estimated future production; net present values and
internal rates of return at the Josemaria Project; recovery rates;
payback periods; costs of production; capital expenditures; costs
and timing of the development of the Josemaria Project; mine life;
the potential future development of the Josemaria Project and the
future operating or financial performance of the Company; the
impact of COVID-19 on the Company's operations, hyperinflationary
accounting, the effect of government regulations (or changes
thereto) with respect to restrictions on production, export
controls and duties, income taxes, royalties, expropriation of
property, repatriation of profits, environmental legislation, land
use, water use, mine safety, approval processes and the receipt of
necessary permits are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such
as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates",
"potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements
that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or
"should" occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements may
also include statements regarding perceived merit of properties;
exploration plans and budgets; mineral reserves and resource
estimates; work programs; capital expenditures; timelines;
strategic plans; market prices for precious and base metals; or
other statements that are not statements of fact. In addition,
statements relating to "mineral resources" and "mineral reserves"
are deemed to be forward-looking information, as they involve the
implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions that
the mineral resources and mineral reserves described can be
profitably produced in the future.
Forward-looking statements involve various risks and
uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the Company's expectations include the Company's
ability to finance the development of the Josemaria Project;
commodity price fluctuations; assumptions and discount rates being
appropriately applied to the Feasibility Study, uncertainty as to
whether there will ever be production at the Company's Josemaria
Project and any other future mineral exploration and development
properties; risks related to the Company's ability to commence
production and generate revenues or obtain adequate financing for
its planned exploration and development activities; risks related
to lack of infrastructure including but not limited to the risk
whether or not the Josemaria Project will receive the requisite
permits and, if it does, whether the Company will build the
Josemaria Project; risks related to inclement weather which may
delay or hinder activities at the Company's mineral properties;
risks related to the Company's dependence on third parties for the
development of its projects; uncertainties relating to the
assumptions underlying resource and reserve estimates; mining and
development risks, including risks related to infrastructure,
accidents, equipment breakdowns, labor disputes, bad weather,
non-compliance with environmental and permit requirements or other
unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in development,
construction or production; the geology, grade and continuity of
the Company's mineral deposits; the uncertainties involving success
of exploration, development and mining activities; permitting
timelines; risks pertaining to the outbreak of the global
pandemics, including COVID-19; government regulation of mining
operations; environmental risks; unanticipated reclamation
expenses; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and
services; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling
results and geological tests and the estimation of mineral reserves
and mineral resources; the need for cooperation of government
agencies and indigenous groups in the development and operation of
properties including the Josemaria Project; unanticipated variation
in geological structures, metal grades or recovery rates;
fluctuations in currency exchange rates; unexpected cost increases
in estimated capital and operating costs; the need to obtain
permits and government approvals; uncertainty related to title to
the Company's mineral properties, anticipated use of proceeds from
financings including the financing completed on August 18, 2020, the ability of the Company to
satisfy the conditions of the terms and conditions of the
debentures issued pursuant to credit facilities, including
repayment thereof upon their respective maturity dates and the
issuance of Common Shares thereunder and the timing and success in
obtaining requisite regulatory (including TSX) approvals and other
risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's periodic filings
with Canadian securities regulators and in other Company reports
and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory
authorities from time to time, including the Company's Annual
Information Form available under the Company's profile at
www.sedar.com. In addition, these statements involve assumptions
made with regard to the Company's ability to develop the Josemaria
Project and to achieve the results outlined in the Feasibility
Study; the ability to raise the capital required to fund
construction and development of the Josemaria Project; and the
results and impact of future exploration at the Josemaria Project.
The Company's forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs,
opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made. The
Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking
statements or beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors,
should they change, except as required by law.
SOURCE Josemaria Resources Inc.