Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Wed, March 9, 2011
Tue, March 8, 2011 Casablanca Mining Ltd. Announces Progress Report on Copper Sulfate Plant
SAN DIEGO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--CASABLANCA MINING LTD. (OTCBB: CUAU) announced today the following progress milestones of Casablanca Mininga™s majority owned copper sulfate subsidiary, Sociedad Sulfatos Chile S.A. (aSulfatos Chilea). Sulfatos Chile is a copper sulfate production project that owns the Anica Copper Mines. Casablanca Mining, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Santa Teresa Minerals, S.A., owns 60% of the equity of Sulfatos Chile.
In February 2011, a mining exploitation concession was granted to Sulfatos Chile and recorded in the mine custody department of Illapel. This concession protects the area being developed by Sulfatos Chile for the raw materials to be processed at the Sulfatos Chile plant. On February 15, 2011 the concession was published in accordance with local mining requirements.
On February 21, 2011, a lease offer with purchase option agreement was formalized between Sulfatos Chile and the property owners of the plant site. The lease with option to purchase has a term of 10 years and includes the water rights of 2 liters per second. The property was selected from a list of five proposed sites suitable for the construction of the Sulfatos Chile copper sulfate production facility.
On February 14, 2011, geologists Igor Urqueta and Maritza Rojas, together with Ricardo Arias, conducted a geological inspection visit of Sulfatos Chilea™s Anica Copper Mine, pursuant to which they concluded that additional studies should be conducted due to the possibility of greater mineral mining resources to fulfill the project requirements than was previously expected.
Also in February, Sulfatos Chile invited private bids from mining industry-related companies for the purpose of constructing and managing a copper sulfate production facility for Sulfatos Chile. After a technical analysis of each proposal and the corresponding specifications, as well as a review of the bidding companiesa™ commercial and financial backgrounds, Sulfatos Chile determined to accept the bid of Ingefribra-RCG for the construction and industrial plant startup procedures.
The scope of the offer to build the copper sulfate production facility includes designing the facility, constructing the plant and equipment necessary to meet Sulfatos Chilea™s projected production needs, and transporting the necessary components and equipment to the plant site. The bid also includes services such as installation and operational testing of all equipment, training personnel to operate the plant, and developing operational manuals. The bid price was US $1,150,000 plus any applicable value-added tax, and is payable in 6 installments based on certain developmental milestones. The plant is scheduled to be complete and operational by late October 2011. Casablanca Mining estimates that the completed plant in full production, including all needed capital equipment, in total will cost approximately $6.2 million.
In connection with the bid, Ingefribra-RCG and Sulfatos Chile have obtained certain approvals and prepared certain guidelines to promote compliance with Chilean health, safety and environmental standards.
About Casablanca Mining, Ltd.:
Casablanca Mining, through its wholly owned subsidiary Santa Teresa Minerals, S.A., engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in South America. Its gold and copper mining operations are based near Santiago, Chile. Santa Teresa Minerals currently has, directly and indirectly through various equity interests, mining rights in a producing gold mine, aFree Gold,a and in an exploration project, the aCasuto Project,a consisting of Los Azules 1-3, Tauro 1-6, and Los Chipi 1-16. These projects include 30 different mining and mineral exploration properties including gold, copper and copper sulfate. Santa Teresa Minerals also owns a 60% equity position of Sociedad Sulfatos Chile S.A., a copper sulfate production project, the Anico Project, that owns the Anica Copper Mines, and a 60% equity position in a company with the rights to a revolutionary mining technology that extracts gold, silver and copper from raw mining materials using a proprietary and patented electrolysis method of electromining.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This press release contains forward-looking statements, including expected industry patterns and other financial and business results and estimates that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results or estimates expressed or implied by this press release. Such risk factors include, among others: whether Casablanca Mining can successfully execute its operating plan, including mining and exploration projects; results of exploration, project development and capital costs of mineral properties; volatility of market prices for gold, copper and copper sulfate; Casablanca Mininga™s ability to integrate acquired companies and technology; Casablanca Mininga™s ability to retain key employees; general market conditions; and other factors discussed under aRisk Factorsa in our current report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 7, 2011. Furthermore, estimates of mineralized material are based upon estimates made by us and our consultants. Until mineralized material is actually mined and processed, it must be considered an estimate only. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements in this press release. Casablanca Mining does not undertake any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.
