LIMA, PERU--(Marketwired - Dec 23, 2014) - Minera IRL Ltd. ("Minera IRL" or the "Company") (TSX:IRL)(AIM:MIRL)(BVL:MIRL), the Latin America gold mining company, provides an update on its activities relating to ongoing financing discussions for the development of the Ollachea Gold Mine in southern Peru.
"The Ollachea Gold Project has all the key permits in place to commence development. Project financing discussions are at an advanced stage and we look forward to bringing these discussions to conclusion during the first quarter of 2015," stated Courtney Chamberlain, Executive Chairman.
As at 30 September 2014, the Company had a cash balance of $5.4 million and, as announced on 12 November 2014, the Company has sufficient funds together with the expected cash flows from Corihuarmi to meet its cash requirements to the end of the first quarter of 2015 by which time the Company expects to have project financing in place for its flagship Ollachea Gold Project.
With project financing in place during the first quarter of 2015, the Company expects production to commence at Ollachea during the fourth quarter of 2016.
The Ollachea Gold Project
The Ollachea orogenic gold deposit, located in southern Peru, was discovered by Minera IRL in late 2008 after acquiring the property from Rio Tinto in 2006. Since that time, the Company has completed more than 81,000 metres of surface diamond drilling in 208 holes, resulting in the delineation of significant gold mineral resources and reserves at Ollachea. The project has strong community support, as evidenced by a 30-year surface rights agreement.
In November 2012, the Company completed a Definitive Feasibility Study on the Minapampa deposit. The results of a subsequent optimization process were announced on 4 June 2014. These studies reported the details of a robust underground mining operation with Probable Mineral Reserves of 9.2 million tonnes grading 3.4 grams of gold per tonne of material ("g/t Au") containing 1.0 million ounces.
The Ollachea Gold Mine has scheduled production of 930,000 ounces over an initial nine-year mine life at an average site cash operating cost of $507 per ounce of gold produced.
The up-front capital cost is estimated at $177 million (including IGV, which is recoverable) with a total life-of-mine capital cost estimate of $220.0 million.
The following table reports the key performance measures of the Ollachea Project over a range of gold prices on a total project basis that is equity financed:
| | $1,100 | | $1,200 | | $1,300 | | $1,400 | | $1,500 | |
| 0% | 231 | | 289 | | 344 | | 399 | | 453 | |
| 5% | 135 | | 177 | | 218 | | 259 | | 299 | |
| 7% | 107 | | 144 | | 181 | | 217 | | 253 | |
| 10% | 72 | | 104 | | 135 | | 166 | | 197 | |
| IRR (post-tax) | 20.3 | % | 24.4 | % | 28.2 | % | 31.9 | % | 35.4 | % |
| Payback (years) | 4.0 | | 3.4 | | 3.1 | | 2.7 | | 2.4 | |
Exploration and resource infill drilling has defined Indicated Mineral Resources of 10.1 million tonnes grading 4.0 g/t Au containing 1.3 million ounces at a 2.0 g/t Au cut-off, plus Inferred Mineral Resources totalling 12.1 million tonnes grading 3.0 g/t Au containing 1.1 million ounces at a 2.0 g/t Au cut-off. Significant open-ended potential exists to increase mineral resources both along strike and at depth as evidenced by underground drilling results along the eastern extension of the Minapampa deposit (reported in the Press Release dated 2 April 2013).
Minera IRL Ltd. is an AIM, TSX and BVL listed precious metals mining and exploration company with operations in Latin America. Minera IRL is led by a management team with extensive operating experience in South America. In Peru, the Company operates the Corihuarmi Gold Mine and is advancing its flagship Ollachea Gold Project towards production. For more information, please visit www.minera-irl.com.
No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in this news release.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
Certain information in this news release, including information about the Company's financial or operating performance and other statements expressing management's expectations or estimates of future events, performance and exploration and development programs or plans constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements often, but not always, are identified by words such as "seek", "believe", "expect", "do not expect", "will", "will not", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "plan", "schedule" and similar expressions of a conditional or future oriented nature identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are, necessarily, based upon a number of estimates and assumptions. While considered, by management, to be reasonable in the context in which they are made forward-looking statements are inherently subject to political, legal, regulatory, business and economic risks and competitive uncertainties and contingencies.
The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Minera IRL's actual financial results, future performance and results of exploration and development programs and plans to be materially different than those expected or estimated future results, performance or achievements and that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, results or achievements.
Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Minera IRL assumes no obligation, except as may be required by law, to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Risks, uncertainties and contingencies and other factors that might cause actual performance to differ from forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in the price of precious metals and commodities, changes in the relative exchange rates of the US dollar against the Peruvian nuevo sol and the Argentinean peso, interest rates, legislative, political, social or economic developments both within the countries in which the Company operates and in general, contests over title to property, the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, operating or technical difficulties in connection with the Company's development or exploration programs, increasing costs as a result of inflation or scarcity of human resources and input materials or equipment. Known and unknown risks inherent in the mining business include potential uncertainties related to the title of mineral claims, the accuracy of mineral reserve and resource estimates, metallurgical recoveries, capital and operating costs and the future demand for minerals. For additional information, please consult the Company's most recently filed MD&A and Annual Information Form.
Qualified Persons
The preparation of the technical information contained herein was supervised by Courtney Chamberlain, Executive Chairman, BSc and MSc Metallurgical Engineering, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM), who is recognized as a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, and who has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release.
The preparation of geological and resource information contained herein was supervised by Donald McIver, VP Exploration of the Company, MSc Exploration and Economic Geology, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM), as well as the Society of Economic Geologists (FSEG), who is recognized as a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, and who has reviewed and approved the resource information in this press release.
Non-IFRS Measures
"Site operating cash costs" and "total cash costs" are non-IFRS measures that do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP or IFRS and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other gold mining companies.
"Site operating cash costs" include costs such as mining, processing and administration, but are exclusive of royalties, workers' profit participation cost, depreciation, amortization, reclamation, capital, development, exploration and other non-site costs (transport and refining of metals, and community and environmental). These costs are then divided by ounces produced to arrive at "site cash operating costs per ounce".
This measure may vary from one period to another due to operating efficiencies, waste-to-ore ratios, grade of ore processed and gold recovery rates in the period.
Management believes this information is useful to investors because this measure is considered to be a key indicator of a company's ability to generate operating earnings and cash flow from its mining operations. This data is furnished to provide additional information and is a non-GAAP and non-IFRS measure that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP or IFRS. It should not be considered in isolation as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS, and is not necessarily indicative of operating costs presented under IFRS.
