Conference call to discuss results today at 5:30 p.m. ET
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Dec 17, 2009 (Marketwire via COMTEX News
Network) -- HudBay Minerals Inc. ("HudBay", the "company") (TSX:HBM)
today announced additional drill results as an update to its September
22, 2009 announcement of the discovery of a Copper-Gold zone at its 100%
owned Lalor deposit near its Snow Lake concentrator in the Flin Flon
Greenstone Belt.
Notable results intersected in the Copper-Gold
zone included DUB263W05, which assayed 9.62 g/t Au, 29.01 g/t Ag, 6.46%
Cu, and 0.40% Zn over 30.94 meters from 1261.68 to 1292.62 meters and in
drill hole DUB263W03, which assayed 11.75 g/t Au, 35.36 g/t Ag, 5.89%
Cu and 0.43% Zn over 32.78 meters from 1253.36 to 1288.14 meters. Please
refer to the map entitled "Lalor Cu-Au Zone - Plan View", available on
HudBay's web site and at
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/hudbaylalor.pdf for drill hole intersection locations (the "Drill Plan Map").
The
Copper-Gold intersection in hole DUB263W05
intersected the 30.94 meters of mineralization approximately 21 meters
down plunge to the north from the previously disclosed DUB263W02 (the
"Discovery Hole") (13.35 g/t Au, 27.98 g/t Ag, 5.33% Cu and 0.35% Zn
over 34.54 meters from 1253.08 to 1287.62 meters). The intended target
for this hole was 50 meters down plunge to the north.
The
Copper-Gold intersection in hole DUB263W03 was a metallurgical wedge cut
located approximately two meters away from the Discovery Hole. In
addition to this wedge cut, HudBay has completed six of the nine holes
announced in the company's October 8, 2009 news release, including
DUB246DPN, DUB249DPN, DUB263W04, DUB263W05, DUB265, and DUB266.
Previously completed holes have also had assay results returned,
including DUB252, DUB252W02 and DUB263W01.
"We are encouraged by
these drill results which demonstrate that the Copper-Gold zone remains
open
down plunge and we will continue exploration to further define the
zone," said W. Warren Holmes, HudBay's executive vice chairman. "A
mining contractor has been selected, crews have been mobilized and ramp
development is underway with the aims of providing an advanced
exploration platform and pre-development opportunities."
The
narrow widths and/or low grade results from assays on drill holes
DUB252W02, DUB252 and DUB263W01 as shown in Table 1 suggest they define
the Copper-Gold zone eastern margin. Drill hole DUB263W04 was intended
to test 50 meters down plunge of the Discovery Hole. However, it did not
reach its intended target. Assays are pending on this hole and HudBay's
management believes it would also limit the extent of the eastern
boundary due to the absence of significant visual copper mineralization.
Evaluation of gold content is pending assay results.
Hole
DUB265 was intended to intersect the Copper-Gold zone at 150 meters down
plunge of the Discovery Hole to the north. This hole did not intersect
its intended target and drifted to the east. While assays remain
pending, no notable visual copper mineralization was observed. However, a
Crone borehole electro-magnetic survey taken from DUB265 indicates a
strong off-hole conductor approximately 50 to 60 meters to the west,
coincident with the original target.
Deflecting the diamond drill
hole wedge cuts away from the parent diamond drill hole using
directional drilling technology has proven to be successful at Lalor;
however at depths greater than 1,000 meters, accurately intersecting
proposed targets is more difficult.
The western boundary of the
Copper-Gold zone is not as well defined as the east. A narrow zone
intersected in DUB249DPN suggests a western limit to the zone.
Assay results are pending from DUB246DPN; however no notable copper
mineralization was observed. Evaluation of gold content is pending assay
results. DUB189, which was previously released on March 3, 2008, may
represent a limit of possible extension to the west in the northern
portion of the favorable target area as shown on the Drill Plan Map. A
Crone borehole electro-magnetic survey is scheduled for this hole to
help guide the drilling program.
HudBay currently has two drills
operating on the Copper-Gold zone targeting the favorable target area.
One drill is targeting the continuity of mineralization between
DUB252W01 and the Discovery Hole. The other drill is targeting the down
plunge extension of the mineralization 150 meters to the north of the
Discovery Hole. Pending the results of this drilling future targets will
be assessed. The exploration down plunge to the north and
the evaluation of the possibility of other lenses associated with the
Copper-Gold zone remain exploration priorities.
Table 1: New Drill Results From Copper-Gold Zone Exploration
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOLE From To Core Length Au g/t Ag g/t Cu% Zn%
meters meters meters(1)(2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB249DPN 1226.20 1227.00 0.80 2.40 18.88 0.91 0.02
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB252 1138.60 1139.35 0.75 6.41 13.81 0.11 0.09
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
and
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB252 1175.09 1175.29 0.20 152.43 170.40 7.89 0.54
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB263W03 1255.36 1288.14 32.78 11.75 35.36 5.89 0.43
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
includes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1267.24 1278.82 11.58 24.30 82.78 11.08 0.87
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1270.00 1271.00 1.00 110.67 79.00 11.36 0.73
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB263W05 1261.68 1292.62 30.94 9.62 29.01 6.46 0.40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB252W02 Assays complete - No Notable Mineralization
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB263W01 Assays complete - No Notable Mineralization
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB246DPN Assays Pending - No Notable Copper Mineralization
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB263W04 Assays Pending - No Notable Copper Mineralization
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB265 Assays Pending - No Notable Copper Mineralization
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB266 Assays Pending - No Notable Copper Mineralization
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Lengths are core lengths and not true thicknesses.
(2) Intersection assays are a composite of assays calculated from interval
weighted assays over the intersection length
Table 2: Coordinate Location of Copper-Gold zone Intersections
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Core Length East North Depth
HOLE From To meters(1) meters(2) meters(2) meters(3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB249DPN 1226.20 1227.00 0.80 426744 6081303 -1220
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB252 1138.60 1139.35 0.75 426838 6081303 -1123
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
and
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB252 1175.09 1175.29 0.20 426835 6081224 -1159
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB263W03 1255.36 1288.14 32.78 426793 6081490 -1253
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
includes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1267.24 1278.82 11.58 426792 6081489 -1254
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1270.00 1271.00 1.00 426792 6081489 -1254
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB263W05 1261.68 1292.62 30.94 426792 6081508 -1258
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB252W02 1125.00 1126.00 1.00 426817 6081202 -1099
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB263W01 1275.00 1276.00 1.00 426836 6081476 -1230
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB246DPN 1215.00 1216.00 1.00 426763 6081375 -1207
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB263W04 1260.00 1261.00 1.00 426838 6081431 -1232
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB265 1385.00 1386.00 1.00 426861 6081635 -1369
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUB266 1275.00 1276.00 1.00 426919 6081469 -1259
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Lengths are core lengths and not true thicknesses.
(2) Coordinates are stated in UTM NAD83 Zone 14
(3) Depth is vertical distance from the collar of the hole to the center of
the intersection.
Work continues at Lalor on a priority basis to delineate and
confirm the continuity between intersections in the Gold zone and on
completion of the pre-feasibility study. HudBay's board of directors has
approved total exploration expenditures of $41.7 million in 2010, of
which approximately $6.8 million will be dedicated to the Chisel Basin.
ABOUT LALOR
The
Lalor deposit was discovered in March 2007. The deposit is located in
the Chisel Basin portion of the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt and is
believed to be the largest VMS deposit found in this region to date.
Zinc
rich base metal zone: Mineralization occurs in six separate stacked
lenses of zinc rich polymetallic near solid to solid sulphide
mineralization approximately 570 meters to 1,170 meters below surface.
In October 2009 an Indicated Resource of 12.3MT 1.6 g/t Au, 24.2 g/t Ag,
0.66% Cu, 8.70% Zn, and an
Inferred Resource of 5.0MT 1.4 g/t Au, 25.5 g/t Ag, 0.57% Cu, 9.39% Zn
were disclosed.
Gold zone: Low sulphide precious metal
intersections associated with chalcopyrite and galena. In January 2009,
HudBay reported the discovery of a new gold zone with the potential to
have principal credits derived from gold mining and on October 8, 2009
announced a conceptual estimate of the potential gold zone, interpreted
as five discrete mineralized lenses that can contact the near solid
sulphide zinc rich mineralization.
Copper-Gold zone: Disseminated
to near solid chalcopyrite with lesser pyrrhotite and minor pyrite,
sphalerite and galena located to the north of Gold zone 27 at
approximately 15 to 20 degrees down plunge and at vertical depths of
between 1,200 and 1,300 meters.
For more details on the Lalor
deposit, including the resource estimate for the zinc-rich base metals
zone and the conceptual estimate of the potential Gold zone, please
refer to the NI 43-101 compliant technical report for Lalor dated
October 8, 2009 and the company's September 22, 2009 and October 8, 2009
news releases, available at www.SEDAR.com.
The
Lalor deposit is approximately 15 kilometers from HudBay's concentrator
in Snow Lake, Manitoba, an area that is a significant past producer of
gold. The ongoing evaluation, exploration and development of the Lalor
deposit is a primary focus for the company, as the Lalor deposit could
be of significant financial benefit to HudBay and support substantial
long term activity in the Snow Lake area.
Conference Call and Webcast
W.
Warren Holmes, executive vice chairman, Tom Goodman, senior vice
president, operations, David S. Bryson, senior vice president and chief
financial officer, and Cashel Meagher, director, exploration
and technical services will host a conference call to provide a market
update on the Lalor project on Thursday, December 17 2009. The
conference call and webcast details are as follows:
Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009
Time: 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Webcast: www.hudbayminerals.com
Dial in: 416-644-3414 or 1-800-814-4859
Replay: 416-640-1917 or 877-289-8525
Replay Passcode: 4193048#
The conference call replay will be available until midnight
(Eastern Time) on December 24, 2009. An archived audio webcast of the
call also will be available on HudBay's website.
HudBay Minerals Inc.: Strength to Build the Future
HudBay
Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM) is a Canadian integrated mining company with
assets in North and Central America principally focused on the
discovery, production and marketing of base metals. The company's
objective is to maximize shareholder value through efficient operations,
organic growth and accretive acquisitions, while maintaining its
financial strength. A member of the S&P/TSX Composite Index and the
S&P/TSX Global Mining Index, HudBay is committed to high standards
of corporate governance and sustainability.
QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL
Exploration
core drilling was NQ size. The core was logged and
mineralized intersections were marked for sampling and assaying by
geologists and geotechnicians employed by HudBay's Hudson Bay
Exploration and Development Company Limited (HBED) subsidiary. 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 HudBay's Hudson Bay
Mining and Smelting Co., Limited (HBMS) subsidiary's assay laboratory in
Flin Flon, Manitoba where it was dried, crushed and pulverized and a
250-gram sample was prepared for assaying at Acme Analytical
Laboratories Ltd., an independent company in Vancouver, B.C., or the
HBMS assay laboratory. 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, 30 grams was removed for gold
determination by fire assaying with an ICP-AES or gravimetric finish at
the Acme laboratory or an Atomic Absorption or gravimetric finish at the
HBMS laboratory.
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
that was check assayed at a different laboratory, either the HBMS
laboratory in Flin Flon or at the Acme laboratory in Vancouver, B.C.
This news release provides core lengths and estimates of vertical
thickness only. 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.
QUALIFIED PERSON
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 NI 43-101, with the
ability and authority to verify the authenticity and validity of the
data.
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 concerning HudBay's interpretation of
exploration results at Lalor, mineral resource estimates and potential
plans for Lalor as well as HudBay's exploration and development plans
and its strategies and
future prospects. 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
statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could",
"would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved".
Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of
management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number
of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and
other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Many
of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not
within
the control of HudBay and there is no assurance they will prove to be
correct.
Factors that could cause actual results to vary
materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking information
include changes in market conditions, variations in ore grade or
recovery rates, risks relating to international operations, fluctuating
metal prices and currency exchange rates, economic factors, government
regulation and approvals, environmental and reclamation risks, costs,
timing and amount of future production, capital expenditures and
requirements for additional capital, changes in project parameters, the
possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and
expenses, permitting timelines, labour disputes and the availability of
skilled labour, results of exploration and other risks of the mining
industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as
anticipated, as well as those risk factors discussed in the Annual
Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2008 for HudBay
Minerals Inc. available at www.sedar.com.
Although HudBay has attempted to identify important factors that could
cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those
described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors
that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated
or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information
will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such information. HudBay
undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if
circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except
as required by applicable securities
laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance
on forward-looking information.
(HBM-G)
SOURCE: HudBay Minerals Inc.
HudBay Minerals Inc.
John Vincic, Vice President,
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
(416) 362 0615
john.vincic@hudbayminerals.com
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