Cerro De Maimón mine
Emerging Copper and Gold producer in the Dominican Republic
Message: Reports Audited 2008 Results and Updates on Operations and Exploration
| April 8, 2009 | ||
| GlobeStar Reports Audited 2008 Results and Updates on Operations and Exploration | ||
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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 8, 2009) - (All dollar amounts are expressed in United States currency unless otherwise stated.) GlobeStar Mining Corporation ("GlobeStar") (TSX:GMI) today has set forth key highlights of its audited annual financial results for the 2008 fiscal year and provided an update on operations and exploration at its 100% owned Cerro de Maimon copper-gold-silver mine and related facilities (the "Cerro de Maimon Mine") located in the Dominican Republic. Copies of GlobeStar's 2008 financial statements, management discussion and analysis and its annual information form (collectively the "Annual Filings") are available on GlobeStar's website www.globestarmining.com and at www.sedar.com. GlobeStar will hold a conference call at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) on Tuesday April 14, 2009 to discuss these results; call-in details are included at the end of this release. A short presentation will be made during the conference call and the presentation slides will be available on the investor relations tab of GlobeStar's website on Monday April 13, 2009. 2008 Highlights - Cash and accounts receivable totalled $6.0 million as at December 31, 2008. - Copper concentrate inventories were approximately 1,907 tonnes at the commencement of commercial production on January 1, 2009, containing approximately 1.2 million pounds of copper, 220 ounces of gold and 21,300 ounces of silver. - Capitalized construction and development costs at the Cerro de Maimon Mine as reported in the project spending report for the senior debt facility totalled $70.4 million, before value added taxes, as at December 31, 2008. Accordingly, the Cerro de Maimon Mine was constructed on time and on budget. - Sulphide ore reserves totalled 4.8 million tonnes grading 2.5% copper, 0.96 grams of gold per tonne and 34.8 grams of silver per tonne at year end 2008, basically unchanged from December 31, 2007, after processing approximately 107,000 tonnes of sulphide ore grading approximately 4.1% copper, 1.35 grams of gold per tonne and 79.4 grams of silver per tonne. First Quarter 2009 Highlights - The sulphide plant processed approximately 103,000 tonnes of ore during the first quarter of 2009 grading 4.3% copper while producing approximately 12,500 tonnes of copper concentrate containing approximately 8.6 million pounds of copper, 1,700 ounces of gold and 190,000 ounces of silver. - Recent geologic interpretations of the Cerro de Maimon orebody indicate that there is an undrilled area adjacent to the north-west end of the open pit which may host an extension of the Cerro de Maimon deposit. Trenching and geophysical programs have commenced over the prospective area and a drilling program will be initiated next week to evaluate this new target. 2008 Audited Financial Statements GlobeStar's 2008 audited financial statements reflect the fact that from the completion of construction of the Cerro de Maimon Mine in the third quarter of 2008 until commercial production was achieved on January 1, 2009 GlobeStar was in a pre-commercial production phase. Consequently, GlobeStar continued to capitalize all costs directly attributable to the Cerro de Maimon Mine during this period, including commissioning and pre-production operating costs. In addition, proceeds from the sale of metals produced during the pre-commercial production period were recorded as a reduction in pre-production operating costs, rather than as revenues. As a result of the commencement of commercial production in January 2009, the financial statements for the first quarter of 2009 will reflect the revenues and operating costs associated with all production since January 1, 2009. Capital costs related to completing the construction of the Cerro de Maimon Mine are included in the mineral property expenditures disclosed in the Annual Filings. For additional clarity, the capitalized construction and development costs at the Cerro de Maimon Mine as reported in the project spending report for the senior debt facility totalled $70.4 million, before value added taxes, as at December 31, 2008. The sale of 7,700 tonnes of copper concentrate during 2008 provided proceeds of $7.7 million and resulted in GlobeStar having cash and accounts receivable of $6.0 million at December 31, 2008. Copper concentrate inventories were approximately 1,907 tonnes on January 1, 2009 , however, the value of all finished and in-process inventories will begin to be reflected in the first quarter financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2009. Ore Reserves and Exploration The estimated sulphide mineral reserves at the Cerro de Maimon Mine as at December 31, 2008 are shown in the following table and remain virtually unchanged from December 31, 2007 after processing approximately 107,000 tonnes of sulphide ore grading approximately 4.1% copper, 1.35 grams of gold per tonne and 79.4 grams of silver per tonne during 2008. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sulphide Mineral Reserves
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Gold Silver
Tonnes Copper (%) (grams per tonne) (grams per tonne)
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Proven 4,273,034 2.67 0.97 35.7
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Probable 537,155 1.40 0.85 28.3
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Total 4,810,189 2.53 0.96 34.8
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Oxide Mineral Reserves
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Gold Silver
Tonnes (grams per tonne) (grams per tonne)
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Proven 796,194 1.80 32.9
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Probable 197,568 1.22 20.1
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Stockpile 182,934 2.25 46.5
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Total 1,176,696 1.77 32.9
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First Quarter 2009 Production The sulphide mill has been running at its design capacity with 95% availability throughout the first quarter of 2009 while processing approximately 103,000 tonnes of ore grading 4.3% copper. First quarter 2009 production was approximately 12,500 tonnes of copper concentrate containing approximately 8.6 million pounds of copper, 1,700 ounces of gold and 190,000 ounces of silver. The oxide plant has not yet reached full production because of higher than expected clay content in the oxide ore and elevated levels of soluble copper in the oxide circuit. Changes to the oxide plant should resolve the clay issue during the second quarter of 2009 and investigations are underway concerning the various alternatives for reducing the higher copper levels. During the first quarter of 2009 the oxide plant processed approximately 34,000 tonnes of ore grading 1.33 grams of gold per tonne and 65.0 grams of silver per tonne, resulting in the production of approximately 1,200 ounces of gold and 25,100 ounces of silver in precipitate and dore. 2009 Outlook Production history to date for the sulphide plant indicates that estimated copper production for 2009 remains at approximately 29 million pounds as reported earlier in the first quarter of 2009. However, higher-than-expected gold and silver levels in the copper concentrate have resulted in a revised 2009 forecast of approximately 8,000 ounces of gold and 715,000 ounces of silver in concentrate versus approximately 7,300 ounces of gold and 368,000 ounces of silver as previously disclosed in January 2009. The 2009 production forecast for the oxide plant has been revised due to delays in reaching full capacity as previously described, with a revised estimated production for 2009 of approximately 8,600 ounces of gold and 180,000 ounces of silver versus the previously disclosed estimated production of approximately 14,000 ounces of gold and 280,000 ounces of silver. Conference Call Details GlobeStar will host a conference call on Tuesday April 14, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) to discuss these results. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 1-866-440-8926 in North America or 1-416-343-2651 internationally. Please dial in conference ID number 8482151. The archived conference call can be accessed until Wednesday April 22, 2009 by following the instructions in the investor relations tab on GlobeStar's website. A short presentation will be made during the conference call and the presentation slides will be available in the investor relations tab of GlobeStar's website www.globestarmining.com on Monday April 13, 2009. About GlobeStar GlobeStar Mining Corporation is a Canadian based mining and exploration company producing copper, gold and silver at its Cerro de Maimon Mine in the Dominican Republic. GlobeStar maintains a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol: GMI). A.E. Olson, M AusIMM, GlobeStar's Senior Vice President and COO and a Qualified Person as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of and verified the technical information contained in this release. |
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