Farallon Announces First Quarter Production Results and Conference Call
Posted on: Tuesday, 21 April 2009, 15:15 CDT
VANCOUVER, April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Dick Whittington, President and CEO of Farallon Resources Ltd. ("Farallon" or the "Company") (TSX:FAN) is pleased to announce the production results for the first quarter of 2009 at the G-9 Mine in Guerrero State, Mexico. The mine produced zinc, copper and lead concentrates containing 16.9 million pounds of zinc, 3.7 million pounds of copper, 0.3 million pounds of lead, 229,500 ounces of silver and 3,300 ounces of gold. The Company will host a conference call tomorrow, Wednesday April 22nd, at 11:00 AM Eastern Time (8:00 AM Pacific Time) to discuss the First Quarter Production results. The call in details are provided below.
The Company remains on track to achieve its key production targets and goals for the balance of the year. Key highlights from operating results for the First Quarter of 2009 at the G-9 Mine are as follows:
- Commenced mining activity in the high-grade Southeast zone and
ramped-up the mine and mill operations to design throughput rates of
1,500 tpd. As a result of access to the main mining area, a step-
change improvement was made in mine and mill production during the
month of March and commercial production was declared effective,
April 1, 2009 (see news release dated April 6, 2009).
- Produced 14,800 tonnes of zinc concentrate, 3,000 tonnes of copper
concentrate and 650 tonnes of lead concentrate. Concentrates are
trucked to the Port of Manzanillo and the Company receives advance
payments from Trafigura totaling 90% of the value on a regular basis.
- Completed concentrate shipments of approximately 10,800 tonnes of
zinc concentrate, 2,100 tonnes of copper concentrate and 1,300 tonnes
of lead concentrate. The Company received provisional payments for
100% of the value of the concentrates from these shipments which were
made in vessels loaded at the Port of Manzanillo. The Company also
initiated silver sales to Silver Wheaton, totaling approximately
57,000 ounces.
In addition to these production highlights, two further key highlights
completed during and subsequent to the first quarter were as follows:
- Completed two equity placements totaling CDN $13.3 million at
CDN $0.20/share with no associated warrant. The funds were used to
repay the CDN $7.75 million in October promissory notes and for
working capital.
- Resolved the outstanding litigation matters including successfully
defending the mineral property interests at Campo Morado from a civil
case launched by David Hermiston. These cases are now closed. As
such, the Company received a refund of $375,000 from Silver Wheaton
which was a portion of a waiver fee being held pending resolution of
these matters.
President and CEO Dick Whittington stated "I am very pleased to start reporting production results at the G-9 Mine, as we are now a fully operational mining company. The major components of our operation are currently working well, however, we still have work to do to improve on some of the by-product recovery levels. With a plan in place and improving operational experience at the site we anticipate that we will meet our design targets in all areas of the mine and mill in the near future."
Mining Operations
During the period, the mine accessed and began mining mineralized material from the high-grade Southeast zone. As a result, mine grades improved consistently over the quarter and averaged 11.9% Zn, 1.7% Cu, 1.2% Pb and 190 g/t Ag during the month of March with 43,000 tonnes of mineralized material mined. Further development activity continues in the Southeast zone to open more mining faces for the second quarter. It is anticipated that mine grades will average 11.5% Zn, 1.7% Cu and 1.1% Pb during the second quarter of 2009 as production continues from the Southeast zone.
Mill Commissioning
Mill commissioning took place throughout the period with the mill ramping up to full commercial production on April 1, 2009. Mineralized material processed through the mill during the commissioning and ramp-up period is tabulated below.
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G-9 Mill Material Processed
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade
Period Tonnes -------------------------------------
Zn% Cu% Pb% Ag g/t Au g/t
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1 to Sept 30, 2008 19,388 6.1 0.56 0.63 213 2.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept 30 to Dec 31, 2008 86,536 8.8 1.13 1.31 216 2.8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2009 106,265 9.2 1.11 0.88 166 2.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the month of March, mineralized material throughput was
approximately 43,000 tonnes or 92% of design throughput. Trucking of
concentrates to the port of Manzanillo continued and all concentrate produced
during the period will be sold under contract to Trafigura, Free On Board
("FOB") the port site. Concentrate produced during the commissioning and
ramp-up period is tabulated below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-9 Zinc Concentrate Production
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade
Period Tonnes ------------------------------
Zn% Ag g/t Au g/t
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1 to Sept 30, 2008 1,693 46.5 183 1.72
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept 30 to Dec 31, 2008 11,669 48.5 287 2.65
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2009 14,829 51.7 252 2.40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-9 Copper Concentrate Production
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade
Period Tonnes ------------------------------
Cu% Ag g/t Au g/t
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1 to Sept 30, 2008 0 - - -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept 30 to Dec 31, 2008 1,943 16.6 588 8.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2009 3,015 17.8 694 10.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-9 Lead Concentrate Production
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grade
Period Tonnes ------------------------------
Pb% Ag g/t Au g/t
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1 to Sept 30, 2008 326 16.8 562 11.5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept 30 to Dec 31, 2008 817 17.0 956 27.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2009 650 22.9 2,005 56.5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although the milling operations achieved design throughput rates, the
metallurgical performance is still ramping up towards design. Now that the
mine and mill are operating at 1,500 tpd the focus has shifted to improving
overall metal recovery to concentrates. Average metal recovery achieved during
the first quarter is tabulated below.
-------------------------------------
Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2009 Recovery
(%)
-------------------------------------
Zinc 79
-------------------------------------
Copper 45
-------------------------------------
Lead 16
-------------------------------------
Silver 40
-------------------------------------
Gold 43
-------------------------------------
The Company will host a conference call tomorrow, Wednesday April 22nd, at 11:00 AM Eastern Time (8:00 AM Pacific Time) to discuss the First Quarter Production results and performance. The toll-free number for this conference call is 1-800-590-1508 or 1-416-644-3423. After the call the Company will post the audio of the conference call on our website at www.farallonresources.com. Financial statements for the First Quarter 2009 will be released on or about May 15, 2009.
Farallon advanced the G-9 polymetallic (zinc, copper, silver, gold, lead) project at its Campo Morado Property in Mexico through a 'Parallel Track' program in 2007 and 2008. Surface facilities were largely completed in mid 2008, followed by mill commissioning and underground stope development during the balance of 2008. As of April 1st, the mine is now in commercial production of 1500 tpd. Vessel shipments of concentrates commenced in February 2009 and are now occurring on a regular basis. Exploration is currently suspended however, there are numerous untested exploration targets available on the Company's 100% owned Campo Morado property. Exploration remains a key component of the Company's strategic plan going forward, and will be reinitiated as soon as economic conditions permit.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
J.R.H. (Dick) Whittington
President & CEO
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information
contained in this news release
Forward Looking Information
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements." All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future production, reserve or resource potential, continuity of mineralization, exploration drilling, operational activities, production rates, costs to completion and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward looking statements and may require achievement of a number of operational, technical, economic and legal objectives. The likelihood of continued future mining at Campo Morado is subject to a large number of risks, including obtaining lower than expected grades and quantities of mineralization and resources, lower than expected mill recovery rates and mining rates, changes in and the effect of government policies with respect to mineral exploration and exploitation, the possibility of local disputes including blockades of the company's property, the possibility of adverse developments in the financial markets generally, fluctuations in the prices of zinc, gold, silver, copper and lead, obtaining additional mining and construction permits, preparation of all necessary engineering for ongoing underground and processing facilities as well as receipt of additional financing to fund mine construction, development and operation, if needed. Such funding may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms or on any terms at all. There is no known ore at Campo Morado and there is no assurance that the mineralization at Campo Morado will ever be classified as ore. For more information on the Company and the risk factors inherent in its business, investors should review the Company's Annual Information Form at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Farallon Resources Ltd.
Source: PR Newswire
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