Sydney, Mar 17, 2008 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Tamaya Resources (ASX: TMR)(PNK: TMAYF) has signed an Option to Acquire ("Option") a strategically and commercially important lease ("Mina Grande"), contiguous with its 100% owned Filipina Grande project in Region III in Chile.
The Option has been agreed on a cash and royalties basis (refer Terms below). Mina Grande has a copper resource inventory based on previous estimates and 4,600 metres of drilling, of 9 Mt at 0.6% Cu of oxide copper mineralisation overlying about 4 Mt of sulphidic copper-gold-iron oxide mineralisation..
Including these mineralisation estimates at Mina Grande, the Filipina Grande project in its entirety now includes an inventory of 27 million tonnes of mineralisation, representing about 250,000 t copper in situ.
Tamaya Executive Chairman Mr Hugh Callaghan said that Tamaya views this as an outstanding deal for strategically important ground contiguous to its advanced exploration project at Filipina Grande.
"Mina Grande represents good value to Tamaya in a region of growing interest to copper companies. Through the Option agreement, and based on previous estimates, from day one we have the potential to add 177 million pounds of copper to our inventory at a price equivalent to around US$0.01 per pound," Mr Callaghan said.
Terms
The Option agreement is with a local landowner. Key terms of the Option include:
1. Option payments: US$600,000 in total
a. US$100,000 immediately upon signature,
b. US$150,000 6 months after signature,
c. US$350,000 12 months after signature
2. Royalty paid in two parts:
a. Holding cost for the period between option execution (12 months) and commercial production of US$150,000 payable every 6 months (US$300,000/year)
b. Once in commercial production, a royalty is paid as the greater amount of US$250,000 per year and 2% NSR, for up to five years 2008 program
Tamaya will drill Mina Grande as part of the recently announced 140,000 metre drilling program for 2008/2009; to
a. Confirm the Company's intention to exercise the Option
b. Prove up the resources to a JORC standard, and
c. Add additional tonnes and grade to the resource.
The Mina Grande drilling program will initially consist of 2,500 metres over 15 holes, and will run in conjunction with the much larger Filipina Grande campaign over the next six months. This early exploration work will focus on verifying historical resources and raising the resource to JORC standards.
Following this work, should the Mina Grande inventory be proven to a JORC compliant resource, Tamaya will have added 177 million pounds of copper to the inventory, at a price equivalent to US$0.01 per pound.
A series of bottle roll tests will also be performed to test the metallurgy for heap leach characteristics.
Notes on Mina Grande
The sector known as Mina Grande occupies an area of 86 hectares. It is thought to represent a northern extension of the copper ore body which lies underneath the old Filipina mine, in the eastern part of the Filipina Grande project. The geology, which is consistent with Filipina and Caminada, comprises andesite volcanics and minor marine sediments emplaced within a prominent N40oW structural trend, which places it within cross fault structures between two branches of the ancient (Mesozoic) Atacama Fault Zone.
Mina Grande has 4,592 metres of historical drilling in 16 holes. Magnetic surveys have shown coincidence between the mineralisation and a series of magnetic anomalies, which is supported by the drilling.
Contact
Michael Fischer, Managing Director
Tamaya Resources Limited
Telephone +61 2 9223 2088
Facsimile +61 2 9223 3088
Media:
Fortbridge: +612 9331 0655
Bill Kemmery: +61400 122 449
| ||
|
