NR near production
posted on
Dec 22, 2009 08:06PM
(Edit this Message from the "Fast Facts" Section)
CHICAGO, IL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 12/10/09 -- Tara Minerals Corp. (OTCBB: TARM) (BERLIN: 6T3), a subsidiary of Tara Gold Resources Corp. (PINKSHEETS: TRGD) (FRANKFURT: T8N), is pleased to announce that independent assays of 10 channel samples from the new San Felipe gold/silver vein returned an average grade of 10.06 grams per tonne gold and 149.85 grams per tonne silver. The San Felipe structure, which hosts the gold-bearing quartz vein, has a known strike length of approximately 850 meters and an exposed vertical height of approximately 400 meters. The vein remains open both along strike and at depth.
A decision has been made to aggressively pursue the development of the San Felipe structure by developing production from 3 levels. Roads from the mine site to the mill are being upgraded in order to give proper access to all 3 levels. Mine development has already begun with approximately 550 tonnes mined, to date, from the San Felipe workings. A drill program has been planned and bids to drill San Felipe and the Don Roman structures are being accepted and reviewed.
Initial profitability projections for the mining, processing and sale of the gold/silver concentrate, based on continued production of ore grade material with grade similar to that in the channel samples, could exceed that of the zinc/lead/silver concentrate. The mill is currently processing the Don Roman zinc/lead/silver ore at a rate of 120 tonnes per day with the ability to now process 240 tonnes per day, once recoveries have been optimized. Work continues towards the goal of enhancing the plant and reaching our final processing capacity of 450 tonnes per day.
Mr. Francis Biscan Jr., President of Tara Minerals Corp., stated, "The San Felipe vein continues to provide positive results, which serve to further enhance the projects potential. We will now continue to mine and stock pile gold/silver ore grade material in order to perform a test production run of a minimum of 1,000 tonnes. Additionally, the drilling program has been designed to establish the continuity of these gold and silver grades along strike and down dip."
The qualified person who has reviewed this news release is Dana C. Durgin, M. Sc. Economic Geology. He is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG #10364) with the American Institute of Professional Geologists, and a Registered Professional Geologist in Wyoming (PG-2886