Winnipeg, Manitoba - March 20, 2007 - HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX: HBM)
(HudBay) today announced results from its first Lalor Lake surface drill
hole DUB 168 located 2.4 km from its Chisel North mine site and 15 km
from its Snow Lake concentrator, in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt.
The Crone Geophysics deep penetrating Pulse Electromagnetic anomaly at
Lalor Lake was modelled and a relatively large tabular flat dipping
mineralized conductor was indicated at approximately 800 meters depth.
Drill hole DUB 168 was drilled almost vertically to test the anomaly and
intersected a band of conductive mineralization between 781.74 and
826.87 meters (45.13m), which included an interval of near massive
sulphide from 781.74 to 790.20 meters (8.46m), and an interval of
massive sulphide from 790.2 to 798.19 meters (7.99m).
Assay results include:
- 0.30% Cu, 7.62% Zn over 45.13 meters including:
- 0.19% Cu, 17.26% Zn over 16.45 meters
Included within the 16.45 meter intersection of 17.26% zinc is a massive sulphide intersection of 7.99 meters of 31.93% zinc.
The mineralization includes coarse grained pyrite and sphalerite similar
to that at the nearby Chisel North mine at approximately the same
geological horizon. The mineralization is immediately underlain by a
thick zone of intense hydrothermal alteration with varying
concentrations of pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite
stringers.
"Our 2007, $45.2 million exploration program is returning exceptional
results," said Peter Jones, President & CEO. "The first
intersection at Lalor Lake is very encouraging and I look forward to the
next group of holes to confirm the results of the first intersection
and hopefully define a substantial and new high grade zinc deposit."
Today's announcement follows the previously announced Talbot Lake drill
intersection of 12.44% copper and 3.50% zinc over 9.65 meters, located
83 km from the Snow Lake concentrator.
As also previously announced, HudBay's 2007 exploration plan includes an
$8.5 million advanced exploration program and feasibility study
expenditure on the Bur deposit, approximately 22 km from the Snow Lake
concentrator. Good progress is being made on this project with permits
now in place for road access, site preparation and underground
excavation. Installation of the access road is underway.
HudBay's concentrator in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt at Snow Lake has
an annual capacity of approximately 1.2 million ore tonnes. The
concentrator has available capacity to process ore from new mineral
deposits as well as to continue to process ore from the Chisel North
mine.
One priority of HudBay's strategy is a focus on organic growth and in
2007, $45.2 million is being invested in exploration largely within the
Flin Flon Greenstone Belt, which is one of the most prolific in Canada.
HudBay's exploration properties include approximately 380,000 hectares
in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt of Manitoba and Saskatchewan and
approximately 20,000 hectares in the Balmat district of New York State.
In addition, HudBay owns both the Tom and Jason zinc/lead mineral
deposits in the Yukon.
HudBay Procedures
Exploration core drilling was BQ size. The core was logged and
mineralized intersections were marked for sampling and assaying by
HudBay's subsidiary Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Company
Limited ("HBED") employed geologists. The marked intersections or
intervals were sawn in half by a diamond saw and one half of the core
was placed in plastic bags and tagged with unique sample numbers, while
the second half was returned to the core box and stored.
Each bagged core sample was transported to the assay laboratory in Flin
Flon, Manitoba operated by HudBay's Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co.,
Limited subsidiary where it was dried, crushed and pulverized and a
250-gram sample was prepared for assaying. From each 250 gram sample
0.25 grams was removed and leached in aqua regia and analyzed by ICP-AES
for Ag, Cu, Zn, As, Pb, Ni and Fe. Also from the 250-gram sample, 15
grams was removed for gold determination by fire assaying with Atomic
Absorption finish.
Assaying integrity is monitored internally with a quality control
program, which includes the use of assay sample standards, blanks,
duplicates and repeats and externally through national and international
programs. In addition, within each group of 20 core samples, one core
sample has a second 250 gram split collected for check assaying at Acme
Analytical Laboratories Ltd. in Vancouver, B.C.
The news release provides core lengths and true widths are not provided.
Where metal assays are provided for intersections they are either a
single assay of a sample of the entire intersection length or a
composite of assays calculated from interval weighted assays over the
intersection length.
The data herein and the contents of this news release have been reviewed
by Kelly Gilmore, B.Sc. P. Geo., Chief Exploration Geologist with HBED,
who is a Qualified Person, within the meaning of National Instrument
43-101, with the ability and authority to verify the authenticity and
validity of the data.
About HudBay Minerals Inc.
HudBay Minerals Inc. is an integrated mining company that operates
mines, concentrators and a metal production complex in northern Manitoba
and Saskatchewan. The company also owns a zinc oxide production
facility in Ontario, the White Pine Copper Refinery in Michigan and the
Balmat zinc mine in New York state.
HudBay is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
For further information:
Brad Woods
Director, Investor Relations
Tel: (204) 949-4272
Brad.woods@hbms.ca
www.hudbayminerals.com
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the
meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking
information includes, but is not limited to, information with respect
HudBay's exploration plans and spending and the success of such
activities. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by
the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", or
"does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or
"believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will
be taken", "occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is
subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that
may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or
achievements of HudBay, to be materially different from those expressed
or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks
associated with the mining industry such as economic factors as they
effect exploration, actual results of current exploration activities,
government regulation, environmental risks, success of exploration
activities, , permitting time lines, capital expenditures, changes in
project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as those
factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in HudBay's
Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2005, available
on www.sedar.com. Although HudBay
has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such
forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance
on forward-looking information. HudBay does not undertake to update any
forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable
securities laws.