Goldcorp Announces 9% Increase in Gold Reserves
GOLDCORP INC. (TSX: G)(NYSE: GG) today announced that proven and probable gold reserves increased 9% in 2007 to 43.4 million ounces as of January 1, 2008. Proven and probable silver reserves increased 37% to 1.1 billion ounces.
Significant drivers of the gold reserve increase included a net addition of 3.1 million ounces at the Penasquito project in Mexico and 1.1 million ounces at Los Filos mine in Mexico. Acquiring full ownership of the Porcupine and Musselwhite mines in Canada added nearly 2 million gold ounces to reserves, offset by the disposition of Peak, Amapari and La Coipa during the year.
The following accounts for the changes in gold reserves year over year:
Proven and probable reserves as of January 1, 2007 39.75 moz Net acquisitions and property dispositions 1.03 Mined ounces during 2007 (2.63) Discovered ounces during 2007 5.23 ————————————————– —– Proven and probable reserves as of January 1, 2008 43.38 moz
Measured and indicated gold resources increased 30% to 21.31 million ounces in 2007. Measured and indicated silver resources increased 47% to 463.7 million ounces.
In 2007, Goldcorp invested $134 million into exploration, of which $91 million was capitalized. Finding costs for proven and probable plus measured and indicated gold ounces amounted to less than $15.00 per gold ounce.
“Exploration investment across our portfolio of existing mines and projects continues to drive organic growth,” said Kevin McArthur, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our 2007 focus to drill in the shadows of our own headframes has delivered low cost gold ounces, not only in terms of discovery costs, but also in terms of incremental capital required to develop the resources. This strategy will serve to maximize shareholder value.”
Goldcorp expects to invest an additional $150 million in exploration in 2008, with the goal of further increasing reserves and resources. Exploration priorities include:
– Increased drilling at Red Lake, with an emphasis on the under-explored Party Wall Zone in 2008. The Company has begun work on a 1,000 metre exploration drift above the Red Lake High Grade Zone that will allow for more concentrated drilling to the 57 level in 2009.
– Exploring the strike extent and depth potential of the ore zones at Eleonore in Quebec. Recent strong drilling results to the north and west of the Roberto Zone support accelerated drilling effort.
– Continued study of deep underground concepts at Penasquito, including concurrent high grade underground mining beneath the open pits and investigation of block caving scenarios.
– Building on recent exploration successes at Porcupine and Musselwhite mines in Ontario.
– Continued regional work around many of the Company’s mines and projects.
Complete reserve and resource information for all metals, including tonnage, grade, accompanying metals price assumptions-is available at www.goldcorp.com. Summary reserve and resource data is as follows:
GOLDCORP RESERVES AND RESOURCES SUMMARY TABLE As of December 31, 2007, unless noted otherwise —————————————————————— Reserves Contained Gold (m oz) Contained Silver (m oz) —————————————————————— Proven 18.2 541.5 —————————————————————— Probable 25.2 523.6 —————————————————————— Proven & Probable 43.4 1,065.1 —————————————————————— —————————————————————— Resources —————————————————————— Measured 3.9 75.8 —————————————————————— Indicated 17.4 387.9 —————————————————————— Measured & Indicated 21.3 463.7 —————————————————————— Inferred 27.7 713.8 ——————————————————————
Complete reserves and resources information are as follows:
———————————————————————– – GOLDCORP INC. PROVEN AND PROBABLE RESERVES(1),(4),(5),(6) AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2007 Based on attributable ounces ————————————————————————- million million GOLD tonnes g Au/t ounces ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mill Mexico 807.10 0.48 12.40 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 71.71 3.14 7.25 ————————————————————————- Los Filos Mexico 277.47 0.63 5.64 ————————————————————————- Red Lake Canada 6.87 20.42 4.51 ————————————————————————- Porcupine Canada 58.67 1.53 2.88 ————————————————————————- Marlin Guatemala 15.56 4.50 2.25 ————————————————————————- Alumbrera (37.5%) Argentina 142.50 0.45 2.04 ————————————————————————- Musselwhite Canada 9.74 6.32 1.98 ————————————————————————- Marigold (66.7%) United States 56.44 0.70 1.26 ————————————————————————- Nukay Mexico 4.51 6.28 0.91 ————————————————————————- San Dimas Mexico 4.68 5.41 0.81 ————————————————————————- Penasquito Heap Leach Mexico 110.50 0.18 0.65 ————————————————————————- El Sauzal Mexico 7.10 2.51 0.57 ————————————————————————- Wharf United States 8.12 0.84 0.22 ————————————————————————- TOTAL GOLD 43.38 ————————————————————————- million million SILVER tonnes g Ag/t ounces ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mill Mexico 807.10 30.8 799.5 ————————————————————————- Penasquito Heap Leach Mexico 110.50 18.1 64.4 ————————————————————————- San Dimas Mexico 4.68 381.2 57.3 ————————————————————————- Marlin Guatemala 15.56 112.5 56.3 ————————————————————————- Los Filos Mexico 277.47 5.9 52.5 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 67.98 16.1 35.1 ————————————————————————- TOTAL SILVER 1,065.1 ————————————————————————- million million COPPER tonnes % Cu pounds ————————————————————————- Alumbrera (37.5%) Argentina 142.50 0.43% 1,348 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 67.98 0.10% 144 ————————————————————————- TOTAL COPPER 1,492 ————————————————————————- million million LEAD tonnes % Pb pounds ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mill Mexico 807.10 0.33% 5,876 ————————————————————————- TOTAL LEAD 5,876 ————————————————————————- million million ZINC tonnes % Zn pounds ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mill Mexico 807.10 0.72% 12,806 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 67.98 0.69% 1,036 ————————————————————————- TOTAL ZINC 13,842 ————————————————————————- ————————————————————————- GOLDCORP INC. MEASURED AND INDICATED RESOURCES(1),(2),(3),(4),(5),(7) AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2007 Based on attributable ounces ————————————————————————- million million GOLD tonnes g Au/t ounces ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mexico 678.46 0.22 4.73 ————————————————————————- Porcupine Canada 73.38 1.66 3.91 ————————————————————————- Eleonore Project Canada 10.78 7.23 2.51 ————————————————————————- Red Lake Canada 3.89 18.39 2.30 ————————————————————————- Imperial Project United States 82.76 0.58 1.53 ————————————————————————- Los Filos Mexico 84.37 0.54 1.47 ————————————————————————- Cerro Blanco Guatemala 2.52 15.64 1.27 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 9.87 2.69 0.85 ————————————————————————- Marigold (66.7%) United States 30.94 0.70 0.69 ————————————————————————- Musselwhite Canada 3.00 5.94 0.57 ————————————————————————- Dee (40%) United States 6.51 2.40 0.50 ————————————————————————- San Nicolas (35%) Mexico 27.99 0.48 0.43 ————————————————————————- Wharf United States 7.86 0.73 0.18 ————————————————————————- Nukay Mexico 0.90 5.41 0.16 ————————————————————————- Marlin Guatemala 2.91 1.50 0.14 ————————————————————————- El Sauzal Mexico 0.91 2.14 0.06 ————————————————————————- TOTAL GOLD 21.31 ————————————————————————- million million SILVER tonnes g Ag/t ounces ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mexico 678.46 18.9 413.3 ————————————————————————- San Nicolas (35.0%) Mexico 27.99 29.0 26.1 ————————————————————————- Los Filos Mexico 47.47 5.7 8.6 ————————————————————————- Cerro Blanco Guatemala 2.52 72.0 5.8 ————————————————————————- Marlin Guatemala 2.91 46.8 4.4 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 9.87 9.6 3.0 ————————————————————————- Dee United States 6.51 11.7 2.5 ————————————————————————- TOTAL SILVER 463.7 ————————————————————————- million million COPPER tonnes % Cu pounds ————————————————————————- San Nicolas (35.0%) Mexico 27.99 1.33% 819 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 9.87 0.05% 12 ————————————————————————- TOTAL COPPER 831 ————————————————————————- million million LEAD tonnes % Pb pounds ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mill Mexico 678.46 0.20% 2,942 ————————————————————————- TOTAL LEAD 2,942 ————————————————————————- million million ZINC tonnes % Zn pounds ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mill Mexico 678.46 0.53% 7,917 ————————————————————————- San Nicolas (35.0%) Mexico 27.99 1.84% 1,137 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 9.87 0.15% 32 ————————————————————————- TOTAL ZINC 9,086 ————————————————————————- ————————————————————————- GOLDCORP INC. INFERRED RESOURCES(1),(2),(3),(4),(5),(7) AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2007 Based on attributable ounces ————————————————————————- million million GOLD tonnes g Au/t ounces ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mexico 1,220.00 0.23 9.02 ————————————————————————- Red Lake Canada 6.41 18.26 3.76 ————————————————————————- Porcupine Canada 43.94 1.67 2.35 ————————————————————————- San Dimas Mexico 17.55 3.29 1.85 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 19.67 2.82 1.78 ————————————————————————- Marigold (66.7%) United States 122.53 0.43 1.68 ————————————————————————- Nukay Mexico 8.84 5.70 1.62 ————————————————————————- Los Filos Mexico 73.49 0.56 1.33 ————————————————————————- Eleonore Canada 5.63 6.47 1.17 ————————————————————————- Musselwhite Canada 3.86 6.19 0.77 ————————————————————————- El Limon (21.2%) Mexico 6.50 3.27 0.68 ————————————————————————- Cerro Blanco Guatemala 1.35 15.31 0.67 ————————————————————————- Imperial Project United States 43.83 0.40 0.56 ————————————————————————- Marlin Guatemala 2.21 4.06 0.29 ————————————————————————- Wharf United States 4.01 0.82 0.11 ————————————————————————- San Nicolas (35%) Mexico 2.46 0.37 0.03 ————————————————————————- Dee (40%) United States 0.22 0.70 0.01 ————————————————————————- El Sauzal Mexico 0.02 2.38 0.00 ————————————————————————- TOTAL GOLD 27.68 ————————————————————————- million million SILVER tonnes g Ag/t ounces ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mexico 1,220.00 13.0 509.9 ————————————————————————- San Dimas Mexico 17.55 324.4 183.0 ————————————————————————- Marlin Guatemala 2.21 146.7 10.4 ————————————————————————- Los Filos Mexico 18.59 5.4 3.2 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 19.67 4.2 2.7 ————————————————————————- Cerro Blanco Guatemala 1.35 59.6 2.6 ————————————————————————- San Nicolas (35.0%) Mexico 2.46 23.8 1.9 ————————————————————————- Dee United States 0.22 3.4 0.0 ————————————————————————- TOTAL SILVER 713.8 ————————————————————————- million million COPPER tonnes % Cu pounds ————————————————————————- San Nicolas (35.0%) Mexico 2.46 1.28% 69 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 19.67 0.03% 13 ————————————————————————- TOTAL COPPER 82 ————————————————————————- million million LEAD tonnes % Pb pounds ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mill Mexico 1,220.00 0.07% 1,883 ————————————————————————- TOTAL LEAD 1,883 ————————————————————————- million million ZINC tonnes % Zn pounds ————————————————————————- Penasquito Mill Mexico 1,220.00 0.50% 13,448 ————————————————————————- San Nicolas (35.0%) Mexico 2.46 1.43% 78 ————————————————————————- Pueblo Viejo (40.0%) Dominican Republic 19.67 0.02% 10 ————————————————————————- TOTAL ZINC 13,536 ————————————————————————- Goldcorp EOY07 Reserve and Resource Reporting Notes: (1) All Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources have been calculated in accordance with the standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and National Instrument 43-101, or the AusIMM JORC equivalent. (2) All Mineral Resources are reported exclusive of Mineral Reserves. (3) Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. (4) Reserves and Resources are reported as of December 31, 2007, with the following conditions or exceptions; 1 Reserves and Resources for Alumbrera are reported as of June 30, 2007. 2 Reserves and Resources for Pueblo Viejo are as reported by Barrick, in their press release of February 22, 2007. 3 Reserves and Resources for El Limon are reported as of November 3, 2004. (5) Qualified Persons for the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates as defined by National Instrument 43-101 are as follows: 1 Red Lake Gold Mines Stephan Blais, P.Eng., Red Lake Gold Mines Dean Crick, P.Geo., Red Lake Gold Mines 2 San Dimas Reynaldo Rivera, MAusIMM, Luismin S.A. de C.V. 3 Nukay Reynaldo Rivera, MAusIMM, Luismin S.A. de C.V. 4 Los Filos Reynaldo Rivera, MAusIMM, Luismin S.A. de C.V. 5 El Limon as per Teck Cominco report of November 3, 2004 6 Alumbrera Luis Rivera, MAusIMM, Minera Alumbrera Ltd. 7 Wharf Robert H. Bryson, MMSA, Goldcorp Inc. Fred H. Brown, CPG, PrSciNat 8 Porcupine Stephen Price, P.Geo., Porcupine Gold Mines Patti Nakai-Lajoie, P. Geo, Porcupine Gold Mines Imola Gotz, P.Eng., Porcupine Gold Mines 9 Musselwhite Andrew Cheatle, P.Geo., Musselwhite Mine Tim Sanford, P.Eng., Musselwhite Mine 10 Pueblo Viejo as per Barrick February 22, 2007 press release 11 Penasquito Robert H. Bryson, MMSA, Goldcorp Inc. Fred H. Brown, CPG, PrSciNat Reynaldo Rivera, MAusIMM, Luismin S.A. de C.V., Steven Ristorcelli, P.Geo., Mine Dev. Assoc. 12 Marigold Patricia A. Maloney, P.Eng., Marigold Mining Co. Robert H. Bryson, MMSA, Goldcorp Inc. 13 El Sauzal Steven Ristorcelli, P.Geo., Mine Dev. Assoc. Robert H. Bryson, MMSA, Goldcorp Inc. 14 Marlin Mike Hester, P.E., Independent Mining Consultants 15 Cerro Blanco Robert H. Bryson, MMSA, Goldcorp Inc. 16 Imperial Project Robert H. Bryson, MMSA, Goldcorp Inc. 17 Dee Project Robert H. Bryson, MMSA, Goldcorp Inc. 18 Corporate Overview Robert H. Bryson, MMSA, Goldcorp Inc. (6) Mineral Reserves are estimated using appropriate recovery rates and US$ commodity prices of $550 per ounce of gold, $10 per ounce of silver, $1.25 per pound of copper, $0.40 per pound of lead, and $0.80 per pound of zinc, unless otherwise noted below; 1 Penasquito $525/oz gold 2 Alumbrera $500/oz gold 3 Marigold $300 to $450/oz gold depending on deposit 4 Wharf $650/oz gold 5 Pueblo Viejo $475/oz gold, $8.50/oz silver, $1.50/lb copper (7) Mineral Resources are estimated using appropriate recovery rates and US$ commodity prices of $650 per ounce of gold, $13 per ounce of silver, $1.80 per pound of copper, $0.50 per pound of lead, and $1.00 per pound of zinc, unless otherwise noted below; 1 Cerro Blanco $450/oz gold 2 Dee $575/oz gold 3 El Limon $400/oz gold 4 El Sauzal $850/oz gold 5 Imperial Project $400/oz gold 6 Marigold $525/oz gold 7 Pueblo Viejo $525/oz gold, $9.00/oz silver 8 San Nicolas $300/oz gold, $5.00/oz silver, $0.90/lb copper, $0.50/lb zinc
Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources: These tables use the terms “Measured”, “Indicated” and “Inferred” Resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. “Inferred Mineral Resources” have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.
Mr. Robert H. Bryson, MMSA, Vice President, Engineering of Goldcorp, who is a “qualified person” as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release.
Goldcorp is the world’s fastest growing, lowest-cost multi-million ounce gold producer with operations throughout the Americas. Gold production and reserves from the Company’s strong portfolio of mines and projects remains 100% unhedged.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements”, within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Goldcorp. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future price of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, hedging practices, currency exchange rate fluctuations, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. Generally, these forward-looking statements 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 state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Goldcorp to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the integration of acquisitions; risks related to international operations; risks related to joint venture operations; actual results of current exploration activities; actual results of current reclamation activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc; possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled “Description of the Business – Risk Factors” in Goldcorp’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2006, available on www.sedar.com, and Form 40-F for the year ended December 31, 2006 on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.
Although Goldcorp has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Goldcorp does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Contacts: Goldcorp Inc. Jeff Wilhoit VP, Investor Relations (604) 696-3074 (604) 696-3001 (FAX) Email: info@goldcorp.com Website: www.goldcorp.com
SOURCE: Goldcorp Inc.