Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. (WRM: TSX) announced today further information relating to its proposed acquisition of Minas Luismin, S.A. de C.V. On April 24, 2002, Wheaton River announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Luismin. On May 17, 2002, the Toronto Stock Exchange conditionally accepted notice of Wheaton River’s proposed acquisition of Luismin and of its proposed special warrant financing, the proceeds of which will be used to partially fund the Luismin acquisition. An annual and special meeting of shareholders of Wheaton River has been scheduled for June 17, 2002, at which meeting Wheaton River shareholders will be asked to authorize the issuance of Wheaton River shares relating to both the Luismin acquisition and the special warrant financing unless consents in writing are obtained prior to the meeting from Wheaton River shareholders owning at least 50.1% of the outstanding Wheaton River shares.
Luismin owns three mining operations (San Dimas, La Guitarra and San Martin) that have produced over 730,000 ounces of gold and 51.5 million ounces of silver since 1991. The San Dimas operations are comprised of three operating mines, Tayoltita, Santa Rita and San Antonio. Production in 2001 totalled 98,000 ounces of gold and 5.75 million ounces of silver at a cash cost of U.S.$200/oz. gold and U.S.$1.66/oz. silver, making it the second largest producer of gold and third largest producer of silver in Mexico.
The following tables set forth the estimated mineral reserves and inferred mineral resources for Luismin’s five operating mines as of December 31, 2001:
Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves(1)(2) | | Tonnes | Grade | Total Contained | g Ag/t | g Au/t | (Oz Ag) | (Oz Au) | | Tayoltita Mine | | | | | | Proven | 402,000 | 379 | 4.00 | 4,897,000 | 51,000 | Probable | 805,000 | 369 | 3.52 | 9,549,000 | 90,000 | Total | 1,207,000 | 372 | 3.68 | 14,446,000 | 141,000 | | Santa Rita Mine | | | | | | Proven | 273,000 | 387 | 2.79 | 3,408,000 | 24,000 | Probable | 175,000 | 379 | 2.71 | 2,122,000 | 15,000 | Total | 448,000 | 384 | 2.76 | 5,530,000 | 39,000 | | San Antonio Mine | | | | | | Proven | 312,000 | 302 | 4.23 | 3,022,000 | 42,000 | Probable | 278,000 | 309 | 4.30 | 2,765,000 | 39,000 | Total | 590,000 | 305 | 4.26 | 5,787,000 | 81,000 | | La Guitarra Mine | | | | | | Proven | 83,000 | 287 | 3.10 | 765,000 | 8,000 | Probable | 127,000 | 467 | 2.57 | 1,907,000 | 11,000 | Total | 210,000 | 394 | 2.78 | 2,672,000 | 19,000 | | San Martin Mine | | | | | | Proven | 759,000 | 67 | 4.01 | 1,636,000 | 98,000 | Probable | 290,000 | 33 | 2.84 | 309,000 | 26,000 | Total | 1,049,000 | 58 | 3.69 | 1,945,000 | 124,000 | Total Proven & Probable Reserves | 3,504,000 | 270 | 3.59 | 30,380,000 | 404,000 | Inferred Mineral Resources(1)(2)(3) (excluding mineral reserves in the table above) | | Tonnes | Grade | Total Contained | g Ag/t | g Au/t | (Oz Ag) | (Oz Au) | | Tayoltita Mine | | | | | | Inferred | 4,580,000 | 314 | 2.7 | 46,233,000 | 399,000 | | Santa Rita Mine | | | | | | Inferred | 3,100,000 | 319 | 2.2 | 31,798,000 | 219,000 | | San Antonio Mine | | | | | | Inferred | 4,000,000 | 299 | 3.9 | 38,453,000 | 502,000 | | La Guitarra Mine | | | | | | Inferred | 2,070,000 | 447 | 1.3 | 29,740,000 | 87,000 | | San Martin Mine | | | | | | Inferred | 2,800,000 | 66 | 3.4 | 5,948,000 | 305,000 | Total Inferred Mineral Resources | 16,550,000 | 286 | 2.8 | 152,172,000 | 1,512,000 |
(1) The mineral reserves and inferred mineral resources for the Luismin operations set out in the tables above have been prepared by Luismin. The reserves are classified as proven and probable and the resources are classified as inferred, and are based on the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Council Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves Definitions and Guidelines adopted by the CIM Council on August 20, 2000. (2) The Luismin project mineral reserves and inferred mineral resources were estimated using conventional block estimation techniques. Gold and silver prices for the mineral reserve estimation are US$271/oz. and US$4.37/oz., respectively. The cut off grades are based upon historical metal recovery for each mine together with operating cost estimates of US$45/t at Tayoltita, US$44/t at Santa Rita, US$48/t at San Antonio, US$22/t at San Martin and US$57/t at La Guitarra. (3) In addition to proven and probable mineral reserves above. Inferred mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. As clarification to the April 24, 2002 news release, the silver and gold production forecasts contained in Wheaton River’s April 24, 2002 press release regarding Luismin’s operations relied substantially on inferred mineral resources. The press release reported that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, however it did not specify (as required by Section 2.3(3)(b)(i) of National Instrument 43-101) that the preliminary assessment was preliminary in nature and included inferred mineral resources that are too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them to enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and that there is no certainty that the preliminary assessment will be realized. Wheaton River filed a draft technical report dated April 24, 2002 relating to the proposed Luismin acquisition with the British Columbia and Ontario Securities Commissions, however, a copy of the preliminary assessment, the technical report and the proposed disclosure was not pre-filed with the regulator in Ontario as required by Section 2.3(3)(c) of NI 43-101.
The draft technical report filed with the securities regulators relating to the proposed Luismin acquisition was prepared for Wheaton River by Watts, Griffis & McOuat Limited. The technical report is currently being clarified and expanded upon based upon comments received. The revisions and additional information which will be incorporated into the report will not result in any material changes to the estimated mineral reserves or inferred mineral resources as at December 31, 2001 for Luismin’s five operating mines as previously disclosed.
Velasquez Spring, P.Eng., Senior Geologist, Watts, Griffis & McOuat Limited, a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators, has confirmed the information relating to inferred mineral resources and mineral reserves contained in this press release derived from the technical report and reviewed it for adequacy and completeness.
Completion of the Luismin acquisition is subject to a number of conditions including Wheaton River obtaining all requisite regulatory approvals and obtaining the required financing. Wheaton River expects that the transaction will close in mid June 2002.
Safe Harbor Statement under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to those with respect to the price of gold, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, reserve determination, reserve conversion rates, the timing of the development of new deposits, the Company’s hedging practices, permitting time lines, and the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the 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 and silver, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Annual Information Form and in the Form 20-F as on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, 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.
For further information please contact Vanguard Shareholder Solutions at 1-800-567-6223 (e-mail: ir@vanguardsolutions.ca) or visit www.wheatonriver.com. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.
|