mineral exploration and development

Romania, Hungary & Brazil - N.I. 43-101, 5.09 M oz & inferred 5.66 M oz of Gold plus 175.0 M lbs of Copper .

Free
Message: News

News

posted on Mar 23, 2010 09:02AM

Carpathian Receives aPositive Preliminary Economic Assessment for its Rovina ValleyGold-Copper Project, Romania

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Mar 23, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX NewsNetwork) --

Carpathian Gold Inc. (TSX: CPN) (the "Corporation" or"Carpathian") is pleased to announce the results of the NI 43-101compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment Study ("PEA" or the "Study")on its 100% owned Rovina Valley Gold-Copper Project ("RVP" or the"Project") located in the Golden Quadrilateral mining district ofwest-central Romania. The PEA was compiled by a consortium ofengineering companies led by PEG Mining Consultants Inc. ("PEG") ofOntario, Canada. The Project includes three proximal gold-copperporphyries discovered and delineated by Carpathian and named from northto south, Rovina, Colnic, and Ciresata. All three porphyries occur alonga north-northeast trend over a distance of 7.5 km. Since 2006Carpathian has completed 71,375 metres of diamond drilling culminatingin the discovery of the third porphyry, the 'blind' Ciresata deposit in2008. The Ciresata deposit has the highest gold grade of the threeporphyries and is presently open at depth and laterally. The PEA isbased on the NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate released on November17th, 2008, which defined a total of 193.1 Mt at 0.49 g/t Au and 0.18%Cu for 3.07 million ounces Au and 759.1 M lbs Cu (5.09 Moz GoldEquivalent ("Au-eq"(i))) in the measured + indicated resource categoriesand 177.7 Mt at 0.68 g/t Au and 0.17% Cu for 3.89 million ounces Au and663.1 M lbs Cu (5.66 Moz Au-eq(i)) in the inferred resource category.

Eachof the three porphyry deposits contains higher-grade core zones whichare the focus of the mining activity in the present PEA which wasdesigned to maximize the early return on the project. The PEA utilizesconventional open-pit mining at the Rovina and Colnic deposits andbulk-underground mining at the Ciresata deposit. Ore processing utilizesan industry-standard flotation process-only at a rate of 40,000 tonnesper day to produce a gold-rich saleable copper concentrate containing 18to 22% Cu and 50 to 60 g Au/t. This process does not require the use ofcyanide.

Highlights of the Study include:

- Average annual gold production of 238,000 ounces per annum for the first
five years and averaging 196,000 ounces per annum over the mine life of
19 years, for a total of 3.72 million ounces of recoverable gold over
the life-of-mine (LOM).
- Average annual copper production of 53.5 million lbs for the first five
years and averaging 49.4 million lbs per annum over the19 year mine
life, totalling 938 million lbs of recoverable copper over LOM.
- Total Gold Equivalent ounces produced over the 19 year mine life is 6.22
million.
- Total operating cash cost of US $379 per gold ounce with copper as a by-
product credit and US $483 per gold ounce on a co-product basis (Copper
cash cost is US $1.05 on a co-product basis).
- Project net present value ("NPV") of US $316 million based on an 8%
discount rate at prices of US $900 per ounce for gold and US $2.25 per
pound of copper.
- At near spot metal prices of US $1,000 per oz gold and US $3.00 per lb.
copper the NPV is US $731 million based on an 8% discount rate.
- Project internal rate of return ("IRR") of 15.7%, with a 4.9 year
payback on an initial Project capital expenditure of US $509.4 million,
at a gold price of US $900/oz and copper price of US $2.25/lb.
- Project internal rate of return ("IRR") of 24.2%, with a 3.3 year
payback on an initial Project capital expenditure of US $509.4 million,
at a gold price of US $1000/oz and copper price of US$3.00/lb.

"We are pleased with the positive results from the PEA" saidDino Titaro, President and CEO, "especially with the potential to growthe resource base at the gold-rich Ciresata porphyry which is a covereddeposit discovered during the 2008 drilling campaign". Mr. Titaro added"we believe that with additional deep-drilling at Ciresata, where manyof the drill holes ended in mineralization, and additional step outdrilling to test lateral extensions and nearby porphyry targets, thedemonstrated economic viability of the RVP Au-Cu project could befurther enhanced. The lack of legacy mining issues and sensitivearchaeological sites, the use of a flotation process for Au-Cu recovery,which does not require the use of cyanide, and strong community-basedstakeholder relations have provided Carpathian with good support fromthe local communities. For Carpathian, this PEA study which demonstrateseconomic viability of a large long life deposit with approximately200,000 gold only ounces per annum production (+325,000 Au-eq ounces),combined with our near term production potential from the Riacho DosMachodos gold project in Brazil, which is in the feasibility stage with+100,000 ounces gold per annum production as demonstrated in its PEAstudy, puts Carpathian's future production profile within the mid-tiergold producer ranks".

The following table presents a list of theProject parameters and assumptions derived from the PEA and cash flowmodel. While the cost assumptions and mining plan are considered to beat a very high confidence level, the Study includes inferred resourcesas part of the assessment and as such is classified as a PEA.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Base Case using open
pit design for
Rovina & Colnic and
bulk underground
Project Parameters mining for Ciresata
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Tonnes Ore Produced 265,000,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open Pit Ore Production Rate 20,000 t/d
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Underground Ore Production Rate 20,000 t/d
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Ore Processing Rate 14.4 million t/yr
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average mill/flotation concentrator feed grade LOM 0.66 g/t Au; 0.18%
Cu
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concentrate production (wet metric tonnes) 122,000 t/yr
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Concentrate grade (dry) 50 - 60 g Au/t; 18
- 22% Cu
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gold Recovery (average) 68%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copper Recovery (average) 91%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Recoverable Gold Production LOM 3.72 million oz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Recoverable Copper Production LOM 938 million lbs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Gold equivalent oz Production LOM 6.22 million oz Au-
eq(i)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exchange Rate RON:US$ 3.35
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exchange Rate Euro:US$ 1.44
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mine life 19 years
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Annual Gold Production
First 5 years 238,000 oz
LOM 196,000 oz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Annual Copper Production
First 5 years 53.5 million lbs
LOM 49.4 million lbs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average Annual Gold Equivalent Ounces Produced
First 5 years 380,000 oz Au-eq(i)
LOM 327,000 oz Au-eq.(i)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial Capital US $509.4 million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Capital (Including Sustaining Capital) US $786.4 million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Mining Operating Cost Open Pit LOM US $3.60/t milled
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Mining Operating Costs Underground LOM US $6.62/t milled
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processing Cost US 4.44/t milled
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
G&A US
.45/t milled
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smelter and Refinery Terms
Copper Minimum deduction 1.0% of delivered
copper
Base Charge US $60/dmt
Refinery Charge US
.06/lb payable
Gold Refining Charge $10/ounce
Gold Payable 98.5%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporate Tax Rate (PEA financials done pre-tax) 16%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Royalty to Government 4%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash Operating Cost Per Ounce Au with Cu by-product
credit US $379 per ounce
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash Operating Cost Per Ounce Au as a co-product US $483 per ounce
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cut-Off grade Open Pit 0.31 g/t Au-eq(i)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cut-off grade underground 0.61 g/t Au-eq(i)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open-pit Strip Ratio LOM
Rovina Porphyry 2.4:1
Colnic Porphyry 1.6:1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Underground mining method Sublevel panel
retreat + induced
block cave
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) To estimate Au-eq (Gold Equivalent) a gold price of US $675 and a copper
price of US $1.80 was used. This is consistent with the Au-eq. calculations
the Corporation has used in its previous press releases since 2006.

The project mine design uses a conservative gold price of US$750 per ounce and a copper price of US $1.75 per pound. For the basecase financial model a gold price of US $900 and copper price of US$2.25/lb was used.

The sensitivity table below shows various NPVresults for the base case as well as for a financial model at near spotmetal prices of US $1,000 per ounce and copper prices of US $3.00/lb.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Base Case Near Spot
US $900/oz Au US $1,000/oz Au
Financial Model US $2.25/lb Cu US $3.00/lb Cu
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NPV0 pre-tax US $1,357 million US $2,351 million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NPV5 pre-tax US $569 million US $1,130 million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NPV8 pre-tax US $316 million US $731 million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRR pre-tax 15.7% 24.2%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Years to payback from start of
production 4.9 years 3.3 years
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensitivity charts using a broader range of gold and copperprices are shown at the end of this press release.

According tothe cautionary statement required by NI 43-101, it should be noted thatthis assessment is preliminary in nature as it includes inferred mineralresources that cannot be categorized as reserves at this time and assuch there is no certainty that the preliminary assessment and economicswill be realized. The full Study will be available at the Company'swebsite www.carpathiangold.com and on www.SEDAR.com within 45 days.

ProposedMining Plan and Processing

The PEA study was completed by PEG,which led a consortium of specialists assembled for the Study. PEG wasresponsible for the preparation of the overall study as well as themineral resource estimate, open pit mine design, metallurgical testwork, and economic models. The underground design was developed byPython Mining Consultants as part of PEG's mining team. Other members ofthe consortium included Porcupine Engineering Services Inc. who wasresponsible for the surface infrastructure including tailings managementfacility. BGC Engineering Inc. was responsible for the geotechnicalaspects of the project of both the open pit and underground designs. EHAEngineering Ltd. was responsible for the ore process plant flow sheetdesign and costing with Mineral Services LLC responsible for the metalmarket information and smelter and refinery costs.

The Projectwill be a conventional open pit mine with down-the-hole drill blasthole, hydraulic shovels and conventional haul trucks for the Rovina andColnic deposits located approximately 2.5 km apart. Mining productionfrom the combined two open pits is planned at 20,000 t/d. The Ciresatadeposit will be mined by a combination of a sublevel panel retreatmining in the upper levels of the deposit accessed by a decline from thesurface, and an induced block cave method for the lower part of thedeposit. The upper sublevel panel retreat mining will allow miningaccess to high-grade ore while development occurs to prepare for theinduced block cave operation at depth. At full capacity, the undergroundoperation will mine 20,000 t/d. Ore from the induced block caveoperation will be fed to the centralized process plant located betweenthe Rovina and Colnic deposits via a 6 km inclined conveyor tunnel tothe surface.

The onsite metallurgical facility will process40,000 t/d and will include conventional unit operations such ascrushing, grinding, froth flotation and dewatering to produce agold-rich flotation concentrate. Metallurgical test work has determinedthat good recoveries and saleable concentrate grades are attainablethrough flotation only, and the use of cyanide leaching is not required.

Metallurgical testing has been completed on samples of drillcore from each deposit at SGS Geosol, Brazil and at SGS MineralsServices, Lakefield, Canada. The work consists of preliminarygrindability testing, batch rougher and cleaner testing, mineralogy andlocked cycle flotation testing. Preliminary grindability work hasestablished that the ore is moderately hard, with a Bond work index ofbetween 13.6 and 17.3 kWh/t. Locked cycle flotation testing hasdemonstrated that a simple flotation flow sheet with moderate grinds andlow reagent additions is able to generate saleable copper concentratesaveraging 18 to 22% copper and 50 to 60 g/t Au concentrate. Inrecognition of an increased gold price forecast, recent metallurgicalwork targeted a flotation concentrate containing higher concentrationsof gold-bearing pyrite. The high gold content of this product isanticipated to attract excellent downstream processing terms.

Metallurgicalpredictions derived from locked cycle test data are summarized below:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Recovery to
Sample Head Assay Concentrate Assay Concentrate
------------------------------------------------------------
Cu (%) Au (g/t) Cu (%) Au (g/t) Cu (%) Au (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rovina 0.26 0.27 24.3 20 93.2 69.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colnic 0.12 0.70 13.6 63 91.7 67.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ciresata 0.16 0.93 18.7 82 89.4 66.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Concentrate will be produced at a life of mine average rateof 122,000 t/yr wet metric tonnes (115,000 t/y dry metric tonnes).Earlier analysis of flotation concentrates has highlighted nosignificant levels of deleterious elements.

Social-Environmentalsetting

The state-owned Brad-Barza underground gold mine islocated approximately 7 km to the west of the RVP and closed operationsin 2007. There has been no previous commercial mining activity at theRVP. There has been some limited underground exploration galleriescompleted by the State at the Rovina deposit, and a few undergroundexploration drifts at the Colnic deposit. The present mine sitefootprint does not include any known protected heritage sites orarchaeological occurrences and has been designed to minimize impact inthe nearby communities of Rovina and Bucuresci. Carpathian, through itswholly owned operating subsidiary in Romania, SAMAX Romania SRL("SAMAX"), has maintained a proactive local stakeholder engagementprogram starting from the initial drilling in early 2006 to the present.The program includes local community hall public meetings, a publicinformation centre opened in 2007, and partnership programs with localNGO's (with European Union funding) and community leaders to implementcommunity-based projects. SAMAX's good relations with the community haveallowed unhindered surface access for drilling in the project areawhich requires permission from landowners.

Future Upside

Thecovered Ciresata deposit was discovered near the end of the 2008drilling campaign and remains open at depth and laterally. The presentinferred resource is based on 15 drill holes, with several holes endingin mineralization and the potential for resource growth is consideredvery good. In addition, in the Ciresata area, satellite drill targetshave been identified and provide new targets for drill testing.Carpathian has also identified other porphyry targets in the vicinity ofthe RVP and programs to enable testing of these targets are in-place.

Inaddition to the exploration potential, the present mining boundaries ofthe deposits as currently defined in the PEA study are by base-caseeconomic cut-off grades with significant resource tonnage presentlyexcluded from the mining plan. Increasing metal prices and recoveriescan lower these cut-off grades and have the potential to provide moretonnage for mining, which will be reviewed as the project progressesinto the feasibility study stage.

The preliminary metallurgicalprograms conducted to date have demonstrated that excellent copperrecoveries are readily achievable using a simple flotation process.Conversely, the recovery of gold has been negatively influenced bylosses to the pyrite-rich cleaner tailings stream and this is consideredto be an opportunity for significant improvement. As the projectprogresses, metallurgical flow sheet optimisations are planned toimprove flotation chemistry and thereby reduce gold losses to thisstream.

Current Work Activities

Carpathian hasre-commenced diamond drilling at the Ciresata porphyry. In addition, aconsortium of State-recognized consulting groups have been retained andare advancing technical studies required to convert the RovinaExploration License into a Mining License as per the norms of theNational Agency of Mineral Resources ("NAMR"). These studies includepreliminary evaluations of impacts, risk factors, and economic benefitsto be reviewed solely by the NAMR for Mining License designation whichis targeted to be completed by year-end.

RVP Background

TheRVP is located in west-central Romania and lies within the historicgold producing district known as the 'Golden Quadrilateral'. The 'GoldenQuadrilateral' is one of the largest gold producing areas in Europe andis estimated that more that 55 Moz of gold have been produced since theRoman period (ca 2000 yrs ago). The bulk of this historic goldproduction has come from low-to-intermediate sulphidation epithermalveins hosted in intermediate tertiary age volcanic and sub-volcaniccomplexes. Since opening-up to western exploration companies, a further12.5 Moz of gold in the reserve category have been defined associatedwith these low-to-intermediate epithermal mineralization centers.Carpathian was granted the 94 square kilometre Rovina Explorationlicense in late 2005 though a public tender and bid process. Generativeexploration work by Carpathian geologists defined the Colnic porphyrytarget, which was drill-tested in February 2006 and led to the discoveryand delineation of the Colnic Au-Cu porphyry deposit. Later in 2006,drilling at the Rovina porphyry discovered a significant gold componentto the known copper mineralization. Drilling continued through 2008 witha total of 71,375 m diamond drill core completed. Near the end of thisdrilling campaign, drilling at the Ciresata porphyry target discoveredthe blind Ciresata Au-Cu porphyry below an altered barren cover of 75 to150 m. The Ciresata porphyry is the highest gold-grade porphyry knownin the western Tethyan orogenic belt.

The RVP is locatedapproximately 17 km northwest of European Goldfields Certej gold-silverProject which is quickly moving forward on its permitting process andconstruction permits as outlined in their press release dated March 16,2010.

Qualified Persons

The following qualified persons asdefined in National Instrument 43-101 has read and approved therelevant technical portions of this news release:

Mr. GordonZurowski, P. Eng., Principal Mining Engineer of PEG Consultants Inc.,Ontario, Canada

Mr. Andy Holloway, P. Eng., Principal ProcessEngineer of PEG Consultants Inc., Ontario, Canada

Mr. EricHarkonen, P. Eng, MBA, Principal Project Manager/ Mine Engineer of PEGConsultants, Inc., Ontario, Canada

Mr. Al Hayden, P. Eng.,President of EHA Engineering Ltd, Ontario, Canada

Mr. Titaro, P.Geo., is the qualified person (as defined in National Instrument 43-101)responsible for preparing the information contained in this newsrelease.

About Carpathian

The Corporation is anexploration and development company whose primary business interest isdeveloping near-term gold production on its 100% owned Riacho dosMachados Gold Project in Brazil, which is currently in the feasibilitystudy stage, along with progressing its exploration and developmentplans on its 100% owned Rovina Valley Au-Cu Project located in Romania.

Forward-LookingStatements: This press release includes certain statements that may bedeemed "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements arefrequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "Project","intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", and other similar words,or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur.All statements in this release, other than statements of historicalfacts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activitiesand events or developments that the Corporation expects, areforward-looking statements. Although the Corporation believes theexpectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based onreasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of futureperformance and actual results or developments may differ materiallyfrom those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could causeactual results to differ materially from those in forward-lookingstatements include market prices, exploitation and explorationsuccesses, continued availability of capital and financing, and generaleconomic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurance thatforward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as results andfuture events could differ materially from those anticipated statements.The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update forward-lookingstatements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions shouldchange. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance onforward-looking statements.

Net Present Value @ 5% Discount Rate(US$ millions)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Gold Price ($US/oz)
--------------------------------------------------------
$850 $875 $900 $925 $950 $975 $1,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copper Price
($US/lb) $1.75 $230 $282 $334 $385 $437 $489 $541
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.00 $348 $399 $451 $503 $555 $607 $659
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.25 $465 $517 $569 $621 $673 $725 $777
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.50 $583 $635 $687 $739 $791 $842 $894
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.75 $701 $753 $805 $856 $908 $960 $1,012
----------------------------------------------------------------
$3.00 $819 $870 $922 $974 $1,026 $1,078 $1,130
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Net Present Value @ 8% Discount Rate (US$ millions)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Gold Price ($US/oz)
--------------------------------------------------------
$850 $875 $900 $925 $950 $975 $1,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copper Price
($US/lb) $1.75 $66 $105 $144 $182 $221 $260 $299
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.00 $152 $191 $230 $269 $308 $347 $386
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.25 $239 $278 $316 $355 $394 $433 $472
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.50 $325 $364 $403 $442 $481 $520 $559
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.75 $412 $450 $489 $528 $567 $606 $645
----------------------------------------------------------------
$3.00 $498 $537 $576 $615 $654 $692 $731
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Net Present Value @ 10% Discount Rate (US$ millions)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Gold Price (US$/oz)
--------------------------------------------------------
$850 $875 $900 $925 $950 $975 $1,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copper Price
($US/lb) $1.75 -$9 $24 $56 $89 $122 $154 $187
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.00 $63 $95 $128 $161 $193 $226 $258
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.25 $134 $167 $200 $232 $265 $297 $330
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.50 $206 $238 $271 $304 $336 $369 $401
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.75 $277 $310 $343 $375 $408 $440 $473
----------------------------------------------------------------
$3.00 $349 $382 $414 $447 $479 $512 $544
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Gold Price (US$/oz)
--------------------------------------------------------
$850 $875 $900 $925 $950 $975 $1,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copper Price
($US/lb) $1.75 9.7% 10.7% 11.7% 12.6% 13.6% 14.5% 15.4%
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.00 11.9% 12.8% 13.7% 14.6% 15.5% 16.4% 17.3%
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.25 13.9% 14.8% 15.7% 16.5% 17.4% 18.2% 19.1%
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.50 15.8% 16.7% 17.5% 18.4% 19.2% 20.0% 20.8%
----------------------------------------------------------------
$2.75 17.6% 18.5% 19.3% 20.1% 20.9% 21.7% 22.5%
----------------------------------------------------------------
$3.00 19.4% 20.2% 21.1% 21.9% 22.6% 23.4% 24.2%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The TSX does not accept responsibility for the adequacy oraccuracy of this news release.

Contacts:
Carpathian Gold Inc.
Dino Titaro
President & CEO
+1 (416) 368-7744 (CAN)

Carpathian Gold Inc.
Mike O'Brien
Manager Investor Relations
+1 (416) 368-7744 (CAN)
+1 (416) 260-2243 (CAN) (FAX)
info@carpathiangold.com
www.carpathiangold.com


Paradox
Investor Relations, Montreal
+1 (514) 341-0408 or 1-866-460-0408
+1 (514) 341-1527 (FAX)
ericleboeuf@paradox-pr.ca

Seton Services, UK
Toni Vallen
+44 207 229 3177
toni@setonservices.co.uk

Share
New Message
Please login to post a reply