Feb 21 2013
Swingplane Ventures, Inc. (the "Company" or "Swingplane") is pleased to update information pertaining to the Algarrobo property.
Swingplane Venture Inc.'s (the "Company") Algarrobo Property (the "Property") is an Iron Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) property located approximately 850 km north of Santiago, in the III Region, Province of Copiapo, Chile. The city of Copiapo is located approximately 43 km to the southeast of the Property, with the small port city of Caldera 25 km to the east. The Property consists of 32 tenures, comprising a total of 6,161 ha (15,224 acres).
The Company is developing a program to undertake additional exploration, development and increase production on the Property in 2013. The Property currently has limited, preliminary production from a total of six developed drifts comprising approximately 145 ha of the 6,161 ha available. Management believes considerable opportunity exists to identify, and subsequently develop, additional well mineralized, high grade copper veins on, and throughout, the Property. Therefore, the Company proposes to undertake both exploration and further development on the Property, ideally culminating in increased production.
Exploration
The Company is currently undertaking mapping of the veins exposed on, and immediately adjacent to, the Property to establish continuity and grade of the veins at surface. Mapping will be accompanied by additional sampling to further assess the nature of mineralization characterizing each vein exposure. In addition, sampling will include analysis for Rare Earth Elements (REE) and Platinum Group Elements (PGE), together with cobalt, gold, molybdenum and silver to evaluate the potential for these metals as co-products and/or by-products to primary copper production.
The Company has also been evaluating a proposal for a Gryphon airborne geophysical survey of the Property, which would include electromagnetic (EM), magnetic, radiometrics, gravity gradiometry and LIDAR (see News Release dated February 12, 2013). The Company tentatively plans to have the survey flown in April or May or 2013, resulting in a comprehensive, and integrated, dataset with which to guide subsequent exploration.
The Company is developing a program with which to follow-up the results of the above work. Trenching, for near surface evaluation, and/or drilling, for sub-surface evaluation, will be undertaken, particularly on the largely sand covered Angela tenures, to further evaluate high grade, well mineralized copper veins sufficiently for subsequent development.
Development
To date, a total of six drifts have been developed on the Property. Three of the drifts, the "Veta Gruesa Centre," "Exploration" and "Veta Gruesa East" drifts, have been developed along a single vein, the Veta Gruesa, separated by a minimum of 150 m. The remaining three, False Estaca and Descubridora I and II, are developed along interpreted extensions of Major Veins. Recent work has developed a second drift on the Descubridora Vein, approximately 40 m farther west and at slightly lower elevation. The Descubridora II Drift was developed to further exploit very high grade copper ore (up to 50% Cu) exposed in the initial, Descubridora I Drift.
At the current time, an additional 11 high grade copper mineralized veins have been exposed, with a minimum of 8 additional sites proposed, for subsequent development. Additional occurrences of high grade, well mineralized copper veins suitable for development are expected to be identified as a result of the exploration initiatives outlined above.
As previously reported above, and previously (see News Releases dated January 31 and February 14, 2013), the Management believes potential exists for production of other metals and/or minerals in addition to copper, including, but not limited to: cobalt, gold, molybdenum, Platinum Group Elements (PGE), Rare Earth Elements (REE) and/or silver.
Therefore, the Company proposes to recover large samples (to 200 kg) of low grade material (1 to 3% Cu), Direct Shipping Ore (approximately 12% Cu) and high grade (approximately 25% Cu) for the purposes of metallurgical analysis. The results of metallurgical analyses are expected to provide the information necessary to optimize recovery of copper, as well as evaluate potential for other metals and/or minerals.
In addition, magnetite content in the sand underlying a high proportion of the Angela tenures is estimated to range between 15 and 20% by volume. A large sample of sand will also be submitted for testing and evaluation for identification of a cost effective means of separating magnetite from the sand for production of a magnetite concentrate.
Production
Production is currently limited due to the fact that the Company is not yet in possession of the ENAMI license required for sale of ore. The Company anticipates receipt of the license within a month.
Once in production, the Company intends to acquire, through rent, lease and/or purchase, the necessary equipment, with accompanying personnel, sufficient to support safe development of additional drifts on, and throughout, the Property for the purposes of increased production.
Furthermore, test shipments of low grade material recently shipped to the ENAMI facility at Copiapo returned a range of payments, based on initial copper grade of each shipment, between $1.33 and $2.10 per pound of copper. Given that copper prices varied between approximately $3.60 and $3.75 for the same period of time (source: Kitcometals.com), the Company will be further evaluating methods for increasing the grade of each shipment submitted for sale to ENAMI.
In the short term, the Company has committed to the purchase of additional heavy equipment to replace less efficient (i.e. smaller) equipment currently on-site. In addition, the Company will be evaluating methods of streamlining production to minimize the number of times the ore is handled. Finally, the Company plans to investigate Dense Media Separation (DMS) to replace visual hand sorting for grade.
The content of this news release has been reviewed by Rick Walker, B.Sc., M.Sc., P. Geo., a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101, with the ability and authority to verify the authenticity and validity of the data herein.
Michel Voyer
President and Director