Nov 24 2010
Hana Mining Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:HMG)(FRANKFURT:4LH) has announced its most recent drilling results from the completion of 44 infill diamond drill holes from the Banana Zone at its Ghanzi sediment hosted Copper-Silver Project in Botswana.
Infill drilling was carried out within the South Limb area (between sections 63300 to 65100 on the South Limb to assist Hana's technical team in converting a substantial amount of the NI 43-101 compliant resources within this area into the Measured and Indicated (M&I) category from the Inferred category.
The results are from new holes and are in addition to those used in the most recent NI 43-101 compliant Inferred mineral resource calculation. The mineralization remains open at depth.
Highlights of recent drilling results:
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Drilling is progressing as scheduled. Total drilling to date is approximately 68,100 metres.
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These latest results confirm a strike length of approximately 2 km between section lines 63300 to 65100 on the South Limb.
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High grade intercepts of 1.45% Cu and 29.0 g/t Ag over 15.0 metres (including 2.75% Cu and 56.0 g/t Ag over 7.0 metres) in hole HA-207-D, 2.55% Cu and 21.0 g/t Ag over 7.0 metres (including 3.16% Cu and 28.0 g/t Ag over 5.3 metres) in hole HA-223-D, 1.50% Cu and 22.0 g/t Ag over 10.0 metres (including 1.62% Cu and 24.0 g/t Ag over 9.1 metres) in hole HA-225-D, and 1.89% Cu and 29.0 g/t Ag over 8.3 metres (including 2.77% Cu and 43.0 g/t Ag over 5.0 metres) in hole HA-226-D.
Discussion of Results:
The recently completed infill drilling program at the South Limb has confirmed the previous drilling results between section lines 63300 to 65100 on the South Limb and is expected to allow the conversion of resources to M&I from Inferred. Engineering and modeling have already commenced and the results are expected to be incorporated into the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which is expected to be completed by the end of calendar year 2010. Drilling was also carried out so as to evaluate the potential for open pit mining operations within the South Limb area.
Development Update:
The following engineering and consultation activities are ongoing to fulfill the goal of completion of a PEA by Q1 2011:
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Preliminary mine open pit modeling has been carried out using the April 2010 resource as a basis to define the parameters to be used. A revised model will be completed after the 2010 drilling has been incorporated;
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Resource modeling is progressing as expected;
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Metallurgical (column leaching) work, which is being carried out by Metcon Research in Tucson, Arizona, on the Chalcocite Zone is ongoing. Results are expected to be available by the end of the year;
Field work for water exploration is ongoing;
Hana Mining's CEO and Chairman, Marek Kreczmer, commented as follows:
"We are pleased with the latest drilling results, which contain some very impressive copper and silver grades, from the South Limb area. Like the New Discovery and Northeast Fold areas, the South Limb area also exhibits very good mineralized continuity. We expect that with more infill drilling at the South Limb that a significant amount of mineralized material could be upgraded into the Measured and Indicated category. Based on the above results, we are optimistic that the South Limb Area could host open pit mining activities."
Qualified Person and Quality Assurance/Quality Control
The drilling program and results are reviewed and approved by Vivian Park, P.Geo., Senior Geologist/Database Manager for Hana. She is the qualified person as defined in NI 43-101 and has reviewed the technical information in this press release.
Drill core is logged and photographed. Mineralized intervals are split in half by sawing, and sampled at site. The remainder of the core is kept as a permanent record. Samples are placed into labelled bags, closed and packed into sealed bags that are shipped to ALS Chemex Laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa. Hana has implemented an industry-standard QA/QC program that includes the blind insertion of certified standards, duplicates and blanks into the sample stream.
About Hana Mining's Ghanzi Copper-Silver Project in Botswana:
The Ghanzi Project is located in the center of the Kalahari Copper Belt in northwestern Botswana. The Ghanzi property covers 2,169 square kilometres, and contains sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits with a demonstrated cumulative tested strike length of 70 kilometres. This favorable geology extends over an estimated strike length of 600 kilometres. Hana Mining released results of its most recent NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Ghanzi Project on April 21, 2010, announcing an inferred mineral resource of 3.9 billion pounds of copper and 62.1 million ounces of silver from 177 million tonnes. This mineral resource estimate consists of 73.5 million tonnes grading 1.5% Cu and 19 g/t Ag in the Banana Zone, 13.4 million tonnes grading 1.7% Cu and 12 g/t Ag in Zone 5, 6.3 million tonnes grading 1.5% Cu and 7 g/t Ag in Zone 6; all at a cut-off grade of 0.75% Cu. Also included is 83.6 million tonnes grading 0.46% Cu and 3.6 g/t Ag at a cut-off grade of 0.30% in the Chalcocite Zone.
The Banana Zone exhibits certain areas of higher grade Cu and Ag mineralization, particularly between sections 49700 to 52000 on the North limb and sections 63000 to 71000 on both the North and South limbs, which represent an opportunity to locate starter pits and mine initial tonnages at higher than average grades. These higher grade pockets tend to be well within open pit depth parameters and represent opportunities to improve early cash flow and overall returns in development.
The project will benefit from proposed rail and power infrastructure expansions, along with proximity to local population centers and workforce. A feasibility study is currently underway (funded by the World Bank and the governments of Botswana and Namibia) to support completion of a rail line link that would connect Botswana with the Namibian port of Walvis Bay, on the Atlantic coast. The closest existing railhead to port is at Gobabis, in Namibia, approximately 550 km from our property. Construction has begun on the 600MW expansion of the government-owned Moropule Power Plant, having secured US$825 million project funding in May 2009. The Ghanzi Copper- Silver Project is currently accessed by the paved Trans-Kalahari highway, which passes within 15 km of the property.
The Ghanzi property is one of Africa's premier future copper-silver resources.