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International Tower Hill Announces Key Positive Metallurgical Test Results for Livengood Gold Project, Alaska
Gravity, Flotation and CIL Leaching Metallurgical Testing Indicates Average Recoveries of 85-88% Gold and Strongly Support the Milling Concept
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 8, 2010) - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or "the Company") - (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) is pleased to announce positive initial metallurgical test results for mill processing of the major types of mineralization at the Money Knob deposit at the Livengood Gold Project, Alaska.
On average, 88% of the gold reported to the concentrates during initial combined gravity and flotation gold recovery tests. Results are highly encouraging for the use of a pre-concentration gold recovery system for the Money Knob mineralization (Table 1). These initial pre-concentration gold recovery results suggest that the economics of a mining operation at Livengood could benefit significantly from the utilization of standard flotation and gravity circuits.
Potentially, both the operating and capital costs for a milling operation could be reduced by decreasing the amount of material required during the intensive treatment for gold extraction. The initial test results indicate that concentration produces an 80% reduction in the material volume requiring further treatment to recover gold. The Company is currently engaged in further testing and optimization of both the concentration process and the extraction of gold from the concentrates.
Initial tests of conventional milling using gravity recovery combined with intensive CIL (Carbon-in-Leach) leaching of gravity recovered gold concentrate and CIL leaching of the tails produced gold recoveries averaging 86% for the major types of mineralization identified in the Money Knob deposit (Table 2).
Jeff Pontius, President and CEO of ITH, states: "These initial results are highly encouraging for ITH as we move the Livengood Project up our value expansion curve. The data provides an opportunity to make a major increase in the economic value of the project through a low cost, pre-concentration milling circuit which would significantly increase gold recovery and provide a game changing direction for the Project and its development path."
The Company intends to utilize the results of this ongoing metallurgical test work in the mill-heap leach based Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) of the Livengood Project currently being conducted by SRK Consulting for completion in Q2 2010. A key benefit from use of flotation-gravity pre-concentration is that it would dramatically reduce the volume of material requiring cyanide extraction while increasing the grade of the treated concentrate. This would reduce both reagent costs and capital costs. These results are consistent with the character of the Money Knob mineralization, which has a very high native gold content. The Company has expanded its metallurgical program to fully evaluate and optimize this exciting new development.
Table 1
Initial Flotation-Gravity Metallurgical Results
(Averages of 20 composites from two major mineralization types with varying grade and degrees of oxidation)
Mineralization Type % In-Pit Resource Head Grade (g/t gold) Flotation Recovery Additional Gravity Recovery Total Flotation + Gravity Recoveries Concentrate % of Total Sample
Weight
Volcanics 26% 1.23 69% 21% 90% 21%
Sediments 26% 1.45 60% 24% 84% 18%
Total or Weighted Average 52% 1.34 65% 23% 88% 20%
Table 2
Initial Gravity-CIL Leaching Metallurgical Results
(Averages of 20 composites from five major mineralization types with varying grade and degrees of oxidation)
Mineralization Type % In-Pit Resource Gold Recovery from Gravity Concentrate Total Gold Recovery Con + Tails
Cambrian 11% 97% 92%
Volcanics 26% 98% 90%
Upper Seds 26% 92% 82%
KINT 4% 94% 73%
Lower Sand 11% 95% 83%
Total or Weighted Average 78% 95% 86%
Metallurgical Test Methodology
Metallurgical testing was conducted by Kappes, Cassiday and Associates in Reno, Nevada on 20 representative samples from various mineralization types. Each sample was split from composites weighing 200 kilograms which had been constructed from numerous drill intersections representative of the Money Knob deposit. The composites were selected to represent partially oxidized, trace oxidized and un-oxidized material from higher and lower grade intervals in both sediments and volcanic rocks. Flotation tests were run on material ground to 80% passing 0.075mm material. The tails from the flotation concentration process were then run through a Knelson Gravity Recoverable Gold system to ensure that maximum coarse gold was recovered. Optimization testing will focus on improvement of the recovery percentage, reducing the volume of the concentrate and maximizing recovery from the concentrate.
In a separate study of gravity concentration, CIL leaching tests were run on a gravity concentrate, middlings tail and fine tail developed by a Knelson Gravity Recoverable Gold system on material sized to 80% passing 0.075 mm.
Livengood Project Highlights
•Ongoing drilling at the Project continues to expand the deposit at a rapid rate, and the current estimated resource remains open for further expansion. The latest resource estimate (October 2009) of 296.8 Mt at an average grade of 0.85 g/t gold (8.09 Moz) (Indicated) and 164.2 Mt at an average grade of 0.84 g/t gold (4.4 Moz) (Inferred), both at a 0.5g/t gold cutoff, makes it one of the largest new gold discoveries in North America.
•The recently completed PEA shows that with a USD 850/oz gold price, mining the oxide portion of the deposit using only heap leach processing could yield 5.8M recoverable ounces of gold and an NPV(5%) of USD 440M and an IRR of 14.6% over a 13 year mine life.
•Ongoing metallurgical studies focusing on the potential to mill the Livengood mineralization are underway, and the next PEA will consider a combined Mill and Heap Leach operation. Preliminary metallurgical test results indicate that, on average, 56% of the gold will report to a gravity concentrate and that CIL processing of tails will provide significant additional recovery. Final results of these studies are expected in late Q1 or early Q2 2010.
•The outcropping, shallow dipping, thick, tabular deposit in the November 2009 PEA has a low overall strip ratio of 0.8:1 (waste to ore) in the USD 700 pit. The deposit geometry is favourable for a high production mining operation.
•No major permitting hurdles have been identified to date.
The Company wishes to emphasize that the Livengood project has a very favourable logistical location, being situated 110 road kilometres north of Fairbanks, Alaska along the paved, all weather Elliott Highway, the Trans Alaska Pipeline Corridor, and the proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline route. The terminus of the Alaska State power grid lies approximately 55 kilometres to the south.
Project Background
ITH controls 100% of its 44 square kilometre Livengood land package, which is primarily made up of fee land leased from the Alaska Mental Health Trust and a number of smaller private mineral leases. The Company and its predecessor, AngloGold Ashanti (U.S.A.) Exploration Inc., have been exploring the Livengood area since 2003, with the project's first indicated resource estimate being announced in early 2008. The 2009/10 drilling program is part of a series of drill initiatives which mark the first grid drilling resource definition campaign for the project and is only the initial step in what the Company envisions as a major long-term exploration program to define one of the world's larger new gold deposits.
Geological Overview
The Livengood Deposit is hosted in a thrust-interleaved sequence of Proterozoic to Palaeozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Mineralization is related to a 90 million year old (Fort Knox age) dike swarm that cuts through the thrust stack. Primary ore controls are a combination of favourable lithologies and crosscutting structural zones. In areas distal to the main structural zones, the selective development of disseminated mineralization in favourable host rocks is the main ore control. Within the primary structural corridors all lithologies can be pervasively altered and mineralized. Devonian volcanic rocks and Cretaceous dikes represent the most favourable host lithologies and are pervasively altered and mineralized throughout the deposit. Two dominant structural controls are present: 1) the major shallow south-dipping faults which host dikes and mineralization which are related to dilatant movement on structures of the original fold-thrust architecture during post-thrusting relaxation, and 2) steep NNW trending linear zones which focus the higher-grade mineralization which cuts across all lithologic boundaries. The net result is a broad, flat-lying zone of stratabound mineralization around more vertically continuous, higher grade core zones with a resulting low strip ratio for the overall deposit and higher grade areas that could be amenable for starter pit production.
The surface gold geochemical anomaly at the Livengood Project covers an area 6 kilometres long by 2 kilometres wide, of which an area approximately 3 kilometres by 1.5 kilometres has been explored by drilling to date. Surface exploration is ongoing as new targets are developed to the northeast of the known mineralization.
Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance
Jeffrey A. Pontius (CPG 11044), a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Pontius is not independent of ITH, as he is the President and CEO and holds common shares and incentive stock options.
The work program at Livengood was designed and is supervised by Dr. Russell Myers, Vice President, Exploration, and Chris Puchner, Chief Geologist (CPG 07048), of the Company, who are responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance program. On-site personnel at the project photograph the core from each individual borehole prior to preparing the split core. Duplicate reverse circulation drill samples are collected with one split sent for analysis. Representative chips are retained for geological logging. On-site personnel at the project log and track all samples prior to sealing and shipping. All sample shipments are sealed and shipped to ALS Chemex in Fairbanks, Alaska for preparation and then on to ALS Chemex in Vancouver, B.C. for assay. ALS Chemex's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025: 1999. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples. Quality control is further assured by the use of international and in-house standards. Finally, representative blind duplicate samples are forwarded to ALS Chemex and an ISO compliant third party laboratory for additional quality control.
About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. is a resource exploration company, focused in Alaska and Nevada, which controls a number of exploration projects representing a spectrum of early stage projects to the advanced multimillion ounce gold discovery at Livengood. ITH is committed to building shareholder value through new discoveries while maintaining a majority interest in its key holdings, thereby giving its shareholders the maximum value for their investment.
On behalf of international tower hill mines ltd.
Jeffrey A. Pontius, President and Chief Executive Officergemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
Northern Miner: International Tower Hill ups Livengood again
International Tower Hill ups Livengood again
Vancouver - Another 64 holes, another increase to the resource estimate: International Tower Hill Mines (ITH-T) has grown the Livengood gold deposit yet again.
The company's fifth resource estimate in just over three years has boosted the contained gold ounces at Livengood slightly; more importantly, the 64-hole infill drill program that International Tower Hill completed in the fall helped upgrade portions of the project's inferred resource to the indicated category.
The overall resource at Livengood, calculated using a cut-off grade of 0.3 gram gold per tonne, now stands at 702 million indicated tonnes grading 0.6 gram gold for 13.5 million oz. plus 278 million inferred tonnes averaging 0.56 gram gold for another 5 million oz. The new contained gold count is 18.5 million oz., slightly above the previous estimate of 17.6 million oz.
Within that resource, the Core and Sunshine zones account for most of the deposit's higher-grade mineralization, contributing 184 million indicated tonnes grading 0.98 gram gold and 56 million inferred tonnes averaging 0.99 gram gold. The high-grade core, defined using a cut-off grade of 0.7 gram gold, forms the basis for starter pit design work.
The deposit at Livengood now covers roughly 3.5 sq. km. The estimate was based on 383 drill holes with an average length of 274 metres. International Tower Hill says the geology of the holes around the margins of the drilled area indicates the favourable host stratigraphy and alteration remain open laterally and at depth.
The fall drill program targeted several areas of the Northeast and Sunshine zones that had been insufficiently tested to contribute resources. With those areas now starting to fill in, International Tower Hill expects the new resource estimate will have a positive impact on the project's strip ratio.
International Tower Hill is working through a new preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Livengood, which it expects to complete before the middle of the year. The initial PEA for the project only considered the site's oxide mineralization, which makes up roughly half of the defined resource.
In the new PEA International Tower Hill is investigating developing a combined oxide and sulphide operation at Livengood; the open-pit mine would send oxide ore to a heap leach and send sulphide rock to a milling-and-flotation facility. Along with the new resource estimate, recent metallurgical testwork is also contributing key data to the PEA study.
Initial tests of conventional milling and gold extraction via gravity separation followed by intensive carbon-in-leach treatment produced gold recoveries averaging 86%. International Tower Hill says the results show the use of gravity preconcentration would "dramatically reduce the volume of material requiring cyanide extraction while increasing the grade of the treated concentrate," which would reduce both reagent and capital costs. The process is effective because the deposit at Livengood as a high native gold content.
The winter drill program at Livengood is ongoing, with four rigs on site. The company expects to complete 20,000 metres of drilling in the current phase; 21 holes are already complete but no results have been released.
At the beginning of the year International Tower Hill amended its lease agreement with the Alaska Mental Health Land Trust to increase its land package by 25 sq. km. With the increase International Tower Hill now controls leases to some 70 sq. km of land at Livengood, which the company says gives it full flexibility for multiple development scenarios.
The project is located 110 km north of Fairbanks, along the paved Elliot Highway. The Alaska state power grid reaches roughly half that distance, bringing hydropower to within 55 km of Livengood, along the proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline route.
AngloGold Ashanti (AA-N, AAUL-L) recently exercised its right to maintain its 13.3% interest in International Tower Hill, purchasing almost 68,000 shares at $5.38 a piece. The major's interest had been diluted by the exercise of stock options and broker options and the issuance of shares related to the company's acquisition of Redstar Gold, a purchase related to its North Bullfrog project.
On news of the latest resource update International Tower Hill's share price fell 25¢ to close at $6.28. The company has a 52-week share price range of $2.51 to $8.35; it has 60 million shares outstanding.gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
Mar 16, 2010 14:13 ET
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. Announces CAD 30,000,000 Non-Brokered Equity Financing
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 16, 2010) - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) is pleased to announce a proposed non-brokered financing of up to 5,000,000 common shares of the Company at a price of CAD 6.00 per common share (the "Offering") in the United States and Canada. The Company will pay a 6% finder's fee payable in cash and/or common shares on a portion of the Offering.
All common shares issued in the Offering will have a hold period in Canada of four months and a day from the closing of the Offering. All common shares issued in the United States will be subject to resale restrictions under U.S. federal and state securities laws. Completion of the Offering is subject to the Company obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals, including acceptance for filing by the Toronto Stock Exchange and the approval of the NYSE Amex.
The net proceeds from the private placement are anticipated to be used by the Company for the pre-feasibility study on the Livengood Gold project in Alaska and general working capital.
The common shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any applicable state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent such registration or pursuant to an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the common shares, nor shall there be any offer or sale of the common shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. is a resource exploration company, focused in Alaska and Nevada, which controls a number of exploration projects representing a spectrum of early stage to the advanced exploration projects, including the Livengood Gold project.
On behalf of
INTERNATIONAL TOWER HILL MINES LTD.
(signed) Jeffrey A. Pontius
Jeffrey A. Pontius,
President and Chief Executive Officergemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
TSX: ITH
NYSE Amex: THM
FRANKFURT: IW9
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
Mar 22, 2010 06:00 ET
International Tower Hill Expands Livengood Deposit With First Results of Winter Drilling Program
Highlights: 7 of 10 Holes Return greater than 100 gram metres
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 22, 2010) -
Intercepts Include:
- 137 metres @ 0.9 g/t gold
- 73 metres @ 1.0 g/t gold
- 41 metres @ 1.0 g/t gold
- 18 metres @ 2.2 g/t gold
- 11 metres @ 5.9 g/t gold
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") - (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) is pleased to announce the results for the first 10 holes of the 20,000 metre winter drilling campaign at the Livengood gold project, Alaska. The gap area between the Sunshine and Core Zones was targeted with grid drilling during this initial phase of work (Figure 1). The four drills have subsequently been moved to the SW Zone to complete infill and step out drilling of this large target area, which has returned some of the highest grade intercepts in the deposit to date.
Results from MK-RC-0312 (73 metres @ 1.03 g/t gold) and MK-RC-0313 (137 metres @ 0.88 g/t gold) have expanded the Sunshine Zone to the south and west by 150 metres. The other drill holes listed confirm the continuity of the mineralization in this area of the deposit. Expansion of the southeast side of the Core Zone in the gap area is highlighted by hole MK-RC-308 which returned a 10.7 metre intercept of 5.92 g/t gold as well as other +1 g/t gold intersections (Figure 1).
Jeff Pontius, President and CEO of ITH, stated "These initial holes in the gap area between our two largest currently defined areas of mineralization continue to demonstrate the expansion potential of the deposit. The continued addition of new ounces to the deposit, combined with our recent excellent metallurgical results, reinforces the high development potential of the project."
Drilling in the SW Zone will focus on infilling the current broadly spaced drill pattern as well as adding step out holes to the west for the expansion of this promising new higher grade area of the deposit. Results from the full winter program will be incorporated into a new resource update scheduled for early third quarter of 2010.
The Company and SRK Consulting are progressing with a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), which will be based on a large milling circuit and a low grade heap leach facility. This study will focus on maximizing project economics with the addition of a high recovery milling circuit that will likely focus on floatation-gravity as the primary process method, and should indicate significant economic benefits in the PEA. This report is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2010.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (ITH – TSX - Cdn$5.83; Target Cdn$11.00; TOP PICK) – 60.4 M Shares Outstanding
(excluding the most recent financing of 5M shares, which has yet to close)
First set of drill results from ITH’s winter drilling program
Early yesterday, International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. provided further drilling results at its Livengood project. This update
marks the first ten holes of the company’s winter drilling program, which commenced grid drilling between the Sunshine and
Core Zones. The results, some of which are highlighted below (using a 0.25 g/t cutoff), have successfully expanded the
Southwest Zone to the south and west while the Core Zone has been further extended to the southeast:
Drill Hole # Length (metres) Gold (g/t)
MK-RC-0306 41.15 1.00
MK-RC-0308 10.67 5.92
MK-RC-0309 18.29 2.22
MK-RC-0312 73.15 1.03
MK-RC-0313 137.16 0.88
Source: International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
Subsequently, the four drills utilized to obtain the aforementioned results have been relocated to the high-grade Southwest
Zone to round out infill drilling that currently exhibits a widely spaced pattern, as well as step-out drilling to seek expansion
westward. Results of this second phase are expected to be reported in Q3 2010.
In addition, a new PEA study, incorporating a combined mill and heap leach facility should be completed before the end of
Q2 2010. Management indicated that “This study will focus on maximizing project economics with the addition of a high
recovery milling circuit that will likely focus on floatation-gravity as the primary process method, and should indicate
significant economic benefits in the PEA”.
After examining these results and the direction of drilling focus, we continue to be believe that the resource base at
Livengood could grow to as much as 16 million gold ounces within the next 12 months or sooner. Thus, we maintain our
TOP PICK recommendation and Cdn$11.00 target price on the shares of International Tower Hill Minesgemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
First Star Announces Intent to Option the LMS and WP Gold Prospects From International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
Mar. 25, 2010 (PR Newswire) --
Trading Symbol: TSX-V: FS
VANCOUVER, March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - First Star Resources (FS - TSX:V) announced today it has signed Letters of Intent with International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (ITH - TSX, NYSE-A - THM) and its subsidiary Raven Gold Alaska Inc. for the exploration and development of each of the LMS gold prospect and the WP gold prospect, both located in the Goodpaster Mining District. The LOI's give First Star the right to earn a 100% interest in each of the projects.
LMS Gold Project
----------------
First Star President & CEO Bill Wishart noted, "Acquisition of this gold project marks the return of First Star to its mining roots. Our intention is to form a gold exploration and development company around these projects. In the coming weeks we will be building our technical staff and preparing for an active season of drilling."
The LMS claim block is located in the Goodpaster Mining District and consists of 92 State of Alaska mining claims covering 61 square kilometres. The prospect is believed to be an intrusion-related vein system, with similarities to the Pogo deposit operated by Sumitomo Metal Mining Pogo LLC that was discovered in the mid 1990's. The gold mineralization in the LMS claim block occurs with strongly silicified and brecciated zones that are associated with a low-angle shear zone within, and marginal to schist units. The outcrop exposure of this zone has produced samples up to 6.2 g/t Au and the zone has been defined through drilling to a down-plunge depth of 500m.
Under the terms of the agreement, First Star has the ability to earn an initial 55% interest, and a second option to earn a further 45% for a total 100% interest. To earn the 55% interest First Star will pay US$280,000 and expend US$3.5 million on exploration. To acquire a 100% ownership, First Star will fund the project through to an advanced exploration stage by spending a further $3 million prior to December 31, 2015, or by producing, filing and having accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange a NI43-101 compliant inferred resource of two million ounces of gold using a 0.3 g/t cutoff grade, whichever costs less. An NSR royalty of 3% or 4% on gold/silver and 1% on all other products will be payable to Raven. The royalty can be reduced by 1% by paying Raven US$3 million.
West Pogo Gold Project
----------------------
The West Pogo prospect is located in the Goodpaster mining district, Alaska, and represents a high-grade intrusion-related vein system gold target. The West Pogo claim block consists of 96 State of Alaska Mining Claims covering 18.9 square kilometres. The claims are immediately to the west of the Pogo Mine and can be accessed from the mine road. The gold mineralization discovered to date is related to high-temperature quartz veins like those at the Pogo mine with similar trace-element values (high rock sample 11 g/t Au with high Bi and Te). Dominant structures on the property are east-west shear zones related to northwest and northeast trending fault zones. New gold discoveries along the west margin of the Pogo mine property are encouraging for the WP project's potential.
Under the terms of the agreement, First Star has the ability to earn an initial 55% interest, and a second option to earn a further 45% for a total 100% interest. To earn the 55% interest First Star will pay US$250,000 and expend US$2.8 million on exploration. To acquire a 100% ownership, First Star will fund the project through to an advanced exploration stage by spending a further $2 million prior to December 31, 2015, or by producing, filing and having accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange a NI43-101 compliant inferred resource of one million ounces of gold using a 0.3 g/t cutoff grade, whichever costs less. An NSR royalty of 3% or 4% on gold/silver and 1% on all other products will be payable to Raven. The royalty can be reduced by 1% by paying Raven Gold US$3 million.
Up to the maximum finder's fee allowable may be payable in any combination of the cash or shares in connection with the foregoing transactions. Completion of the transaction contemplated in this news release is subject to certain conditions including, without limitation, the signing of a definitive agreement and approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Completion of the transactions contemplated in this news release are subject to certain conditions including, without limitation, satisfactory due diligence by First Star, the signing of definitive agreements and acceptance for filing by the TSX Venture Exchange on behalf of First Star.
The Company also wishes to announce that it has entered into private placements for the sale of 7,000,000 units at $0.35 per unit for a total of $2,450,000, where each unit consists of one common share of the Company and a share purchase warrant having an 18 month exercise term, where one whole warrant may be exercised for the purchase of one further common share of the Company at the exercise price of $0.55 per common share, subject to the following acceleration provision: if the closing trading price for the common shares of the Issuer as traded on the TSX Venture Exchange is equal to or greater than CDN$0.90 per common share for 10 consecutive trading days (the "Threshold Period"), then the Company shall issue a press release announcing the occurrence of the Threshold Period. The Subscriber shall have until 4:00 pm (Vancouver, BC Time) of the 30th calendar day after the date of dissemination of the press release to exercise the share purchase warrants (the "Accelerated Expiry Date"). The share purchase warrants shall expire on the earlier of the last day of the 18 month exercise term or the Accelerated Expiry Date. The proceeds of the private placement shall be used for working capital. Up to the maximum finder's fee comprising of any combination of cash, shares and/or warrants will be paid to eligible finders in relation to this financing.
The Company intends to conduct a drilling program on each of the LMS gold prospect and the WP gold prospect during 2010.
The technical information in this news release was reviewed by Dr. Karsten Eden, a consulting geologist, and a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Bill Wishart, President & CEO
"NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE."
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 27E of the Exchange Act. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, business and financing plans and business trends, are forward-looking statements. Information concerning mineral resource estimates also may be deemed to be forward-looking statements in that it reflects a prediction of the mineralization that would be encountered if a mineral deposit were developed and mined. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, the Company's inability to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's management discussion and analysis and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com, and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties, carefully.
Cautionary Note Concerning Reserve and Resource Estimates
This press release uses the terms "resources", and "inferred resources". United States investors are advised that, while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian securities laws, the SEC does not recognize them. Under United States standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of inferred resources will ever be converted into reserves. Inferred resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Therefore, United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of the inferred resources exist, or that they can be mined legally or economically.
National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which established standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all reserve and resource estimates contained in this press release or released by ITH in the future, have been or will be prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on November 14, 2004 (the "CIM Standards") as they may be amended from time to time by the CIM. United States shareholders are cautioned that the requirements and terminology of NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ significantly from the requirements and terminology of the SEC set forth Industry Guide 7. Accordingly, the Company's disclosures regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by companies subject to the SEC's Industry Guide 7.
Cautionary Note Concerning Reference to Adjacent or Similar Properties
This press release contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. The Company advises US investors that the US Securities and Exchange Commission's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties.
This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
SOURCE First Star Resources Inc.
Source: PR Newswire (March 25, 2010 - 9:02 AM EDT)
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. Closes First Tranche of CAD 30,000,000 Non-Brokered Equity Financing
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - April 1, 2010) - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche of its non-brokered financing of 5,000,000 common shares of the Company at a price of CAD 6.00 per common share (the "Offering") announced on March 16, 2010. On April 1, 2010, the Company issued an aggregate of 4,335,790 common shares for aggregate gross proceeds of CAD 26,014,740. The Company will pay a 6% cash finder's fee in connection with this portion of the Offering. The second tranche of the Offering, being 664,210 common shares and representing the pro rata portion of the financing allocated to AngloGold Ashanti (U.S.A.) Exploration Inc. under its preferential right to participate in accordance with its current equity interest, is expected to close shortly.
The net proceeds from the Offering are anticipated to be used by the Company for the pre-feasibility study on the Livengood Gold project in Alaska and general working capital.
Jeff Pontius, the President and CEO of ITH, stated, "Given the recent share price, which has been trading below the financing price of $6 per share, closing this $30 million private placement with no warrant and a four month hold is a significant vote of confidence from our participating long term shareholders."
All common shares issued in the Offering will have a hold period in Canada of four months and a day from the closing of the Offering. All common shares issued in the United States will be subject to resale restrictions under U.S. federal and state securities laws.
The common shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any applicable state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent such registration or pursuant to an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the common shares, nor shall there be any offer or sale of the common shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
Apr 08, 2010 06:00 ET
International Tower Hill Continues to Expand Livengood Deposit in the Sunshine-Core Zone Gap Area
Intercepts Include:
- 58 metres @ 1.2 g/t gold
- 63 metres @ 1.0 g/t gold
- 37 metres @ 1.3 g/t gold
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire – April 8, 2010) - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") - (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) is pleased to announce the results for an additional 14 holes of the 2010 winter drilling campaign at the Livengood gold project, Alaska (Figure 1). The winter drilling program is focussed on expanding and adding confidence to the existing resource by infilling and stepping out in the permafrost gap areas of the deposit. Drill holes MK-RC-0310 (114 cumulative gram metres), MK-RC-0316 (141 gram metres), and MK-RC-320 (117 gram metres) continue to close the area between the Core and the Sunshine Zones with an expansion of higher grade mineralization (Table 1).
Results from holes MK-RC-320 and 322 are highly encouraging for expanding the Sunshine Zone and gap area to the north into an untested area of the gold system. These holes will be followed up with additional step out holes to assess the potential of this new and expanding area of the deposit.
In addition to the results from the gap area and north Sunshine areas, seven new, permafrost, infill holes from the Core Zone confirm continuity and grade in this key area of the deposit. With the recent completion of drilling in of all the permafrost areas within the Core, Sunshine and Gap Zones, drilling is now focused in the Southwest Zone, which remains fully open for expansion to the west. Fifteen holes have been completed in this area, with several more planned prior to the end of the winter campaign. All winter drill results are expected to be included in a new resource update planned for the third quarter of 2010. The summer 2010 drill campaign is scheduled to begin in early June and will involve over 40,000 metres of drilling focused on both resource expansion and project development requirements.
Work continues on a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) to evaluate a combined milling and heap leach scenario for the deposit. The study aims to maximize the project economics with the addition of a gravity/flotation milling circuit. Completion of the study is expected in the second quarter of 2010.
Table 1: Significant New Livengood Intercepts*
(*Intercepts are calculated using a 0.25g/t cutoff and a maximum of 3 metres of internal waste. Cumulative gram metres is the sum of the grade thickness products for all intercepts, including many which are not reported here.)
Money Knob is emerging as one of the world's largest new gold deposits and is located in one of the most stable and mining friendly jurisdictions in the world.gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
Royal Bank of Canada vom 7. April 2010:
Q2/10 Stock Recommendations
• In Precious Metals, we have added Aquarius Platinum, Avoca Resources,
Barrick Gold, and International Tower Hill, while we have dropped
Goldcorp as well as Newcrest Mining, after its bid for Lihir Gold
RBC CM Global Mining Best Ideas Portfolio – Q2 2010
_ Additions to the Best Ideas Portfolio: Aquarius Platinum, Avoca Resources, Barrick Gold,
International Tower Hill, Western Coal, Minara Resources, Thompson Creek, Mantra Resources,
and Uranium One.
... International Tower Hill TSX: ITH C$5.89 Feasibility study and resource update could open
takeover window. On-going drill results still viewed as potential catalysts for shares.
und Salman Partners vom 5. April 2010:
Despite the recent weakness in the price of company’s shares, we still remain optimistic
on International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (ITH – TSX). A revised PEA is expected to
be released during the current quarter, which should incorporate a combined heap leach
and mill scenario at the Livengood project. In addition, this study should include the
unoxidized portion of the resource, updated resource estimate and metallurgical tests
reported earlier last month. Results of the winter drilling program should still be
forthcoming as the company closes the gap between the Sunshine and Core Zones,
extending the Sunshine Zone further south and west, while the Core Zone extends to the
southeast. Furthermore, the four drills have now been relocated to the high-grade
Southwest Zone to conduct both infill and step-out drilling. Given the company’s
potential to grow this resource to possibly 16 million ounces in the next 12 months, we
maintain our TOP PICK recommendation and 12-month target price of Cdn$11.00 per
share for ITH.gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
Filed an opening balance of 0 Options (Direct Ownership) on April 14th, 2010
Acquired 300,000 Options (Direct Ownership) at a price of $7.340 through granting of options on April 14th, 2010
Insider transaction information sourced from SEDI®gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
Acquired 400,000 Options (Direct Ownership) at a price of $7.340 through granting of options on April 14th, 2010 (Holdings Change* of >= 100%)
VAN ALPHEN, HENDRIK
SEDI Insider Relationship:
4 - Director of Issuer
5 - Senior Officer of Issuer
6 - Director or Senior Officer of 10% Security Holder
8 - Deemed Insider - 6 Months before becoming Insider
Acquired 125,000 Options (Direct Ownership) at a price of $7.340 through granting of options on April 14th, 2010 (Holdings Change* of 32.9%)
CARL, BRECHTEL
SEDI Insider Relationship:
5 - Senior Officer of Issuer
Acquired 150,000 Options (Direct Ownership) at a price of $7.340 through granting of options on April 14th, 2010 (Holdings Change* of 60.0%)
MAI, QUENTIN
SEDI Insider Relationship:
5 - Senior Officer of Issuer
Acquired 200,000 Options (Direct Ownership) at a price of $7.340 through granting of options on April 14th, 2010 (Holdings Change* of >= 100%)
MYERS, RUSSELL
SEDI Insider Relationship:
5 - Senior Officer of Issuer
Acquired 100,000 Options (Direct Ownership) at a price of $7.340 through granting of options on April 14th, 2010 (Holdings Change* of 83.3%)
AAKER, STEVE
SEDI Insider Relationship:
4 - Director of Issuer
Acquired 125,000 Options (Direct Ownership) at a price of $7.340 through granting of options on April 14th, 2010 (Holdings Change* of 62.5%)
MICHAEL, BARTLETT
SEDI Insider Relationship:
4 - Director of Issuer
Acquired 75,000 Options (Direct Ownership) at a price of $7.340 through granting of options on April 14th, 2010 (Holdings Change* of >= 100%)
SHEARDOWN, RONALD CAMPBELL
SEDI Insider Relationship:
4 - Director of Issuer
Acquired 75,000 Options (Direct Ownership) at a price of $7.340 through granting of options on April 14th, 2010 (Holdings Change* of 62.5%)
Insider transaction information sourced from SEDI®gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
Apr 26, 2010 06:00 ET
International Tower Hill Expands Higher Grade SW and Sunshine Zones at Livengood Project, Alaska
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - April 26, 2010) - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9)
Highlights: 12 of 16 Holes greater than 100 gram metres including:
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. is pleased to announce assay results for 16 additional holes of the 2010 Winter drilling campaign at the Livengood gold project, including the first holes this year from the high-grade SW Zone. Seven of the nine new holes reported from the SW Zone returned cumulative grade thicknesses exceeding 100 gram metres and demonstrate this area as a new large emerging high-grade zone along the currently defined western limit of the deposit. Higher grade intercepts in the SW area include 71.6 metres at 1.11 g/t gold, 24.4 metres of 2.81 g/t, 59.4 metres at 0.96 g/t and 19.8 metres at 4.43 g/t gold, thus confirming and expanding the Zone as defined in 2009.
Many of the new higher grade SW holes intersected several +1 g/t gold intervals within the top 150 metres from surface, thereby outlining potential starter pit mineralization for the proposed mill. The combination of higher grades, significant areal extent, and open-ended mineralization indicate high potential for significant resource addition to the Money Knob gold deposit. Assays are pending for an additional 10 holes in the SW Zone, all of which will be included in the ongoing Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) that is examining the potential of a combined mill-heap leach recovery circuit.
Significantly, three of the four new holes in the Sunshine Zone returned cumulative grade thicknesses greater than 100 gram metres, including hole MK-RC-0328 with 21.3 metres at 2.9 g/t gold. In addition, thick mineralization was encountered from near surface to +150 metres in depth from the two northern most holes (MK-RC-340 and 331) in the currently defined Sunshine Zone, thereby indicating significant potential for expansion. Assays for the final three North Sunshine holes in the winter campaign are pending.
Results from two core holes - one in the Northwest Zone (MK-10-49) and one in the Core Zone (MK-10-48) - returned comparable values to those in the surrounding holes. Intervals from these core holes will be used in the Company's ongoing metallurgical and environmental studies (hole MK-10-49 was completed as a ground water monitoring well).
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ist ein fortgeschrittenes
Explorationsunternehmen mit Sitz in Denver, Colorado. Das Hauptasset ist
das Livengood-Goldprojekt, das sich 70 Meilen nördlich von Fairbanks,
Alaska, befindet.
Livengood soll im zweiten Halbjahr 2015 mit der Produktion
beginnen und über ein Minenleben von 13,75 Jahren 8,3 Mio. oz Gold
ausstoßen. Die Produktion soll pro Jahr im Durchschnitt ~600.000 oz Gold
zu Cashkosten von 524 USD/oz (inklusive Royalties) betragen.
Die gesamten globalen Ressourcen werden auf 419 Mio. Tonnen mit
0,78 g/t Gold geschätzt. Das Projekt verfügt über Explorationspotential
für weitere Ressourcen. Für die Optimierung eines Minenplans werden
zusätzliche Bohrungen benötigt.
Die Analysten von BMO bewerten das Unternehmen mit "Market
Perform".
May 14, 2010 06:00 ET
International Tower Hill Plans to Undertake Spin-Out Transaction to Create Two Independent Companies
Corvus Gold Inc. Will Hold Non-Livengood Assets
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 14, 2010) - The Board of Directors of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) has unanimously approved a proposal to undertake a spin-out transaction to segregate its assets into two separate and highly focused companies. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, ITH will retain all assets relating to the Livengood gold project in Alaska, an advanced stage project, together with approximately CAD 41 million in working capital. Corvus Gold Inc. ("Corvus") will hold all of ITH's other existing Alaska and Nevada assets and have approximately CAD 3 million in working capital. A condition of the closing of the transaction will be that Corvus obtains conditional approval for the listing of its common shares on a major Canadian stock exchange.
Spin-out of Corvus Gold Inc.
The transaction is intended to maximize value for ITH shareholders by creating a new exploration focused company that will work to advance ITH's current advanced to early stage exploration properties (four in Alaska and one in Nevada). Corvus will also actively seek out and acquire new prospects. ITH will concentrate on moving the flagship Livengood project towards feasibility and a potential production decision. ITH shareholders will be asked to vote on the proposal at a special meeting of shareholders, expected to be convened in July, 2010. The proposal to be presented to shareholders would result in each ITH shareholder receiving, on the effective date of the transaction, one new ITH common share and one-half of a Corvus common share in exchange for each ITH common share held. Adequate advance notice of the effective date will be provided.
Jeff Pontius, President and CEO of ITH, stated, "The management and Board of Directors of ITH believe that the proposed spin-out is an excellent opportunity for shareholders to fully maximize the value of their holdings. The separation of Corvus as an independent company will provide shareholders with significant leverage to ITH's current exploration assets, the potential of which management believes is not being reflected in the current share price. Furthermore, the proposed spin-out enables ITH's expanding mine development team to fully focus on moving the Livengood project towards a potential production decision."
Jeffrey A. Pontius will retain his position as President and CEO of ITH, and will also be appointed as the CEO and Chairman of Corvus. Dr. Russell Myers, currently Vice-President, Exploration of ITH, will be appointed as President of Corvus to lead exploration and discovery programs in North America. Carl Brechtel, currently COO of ITH, will continue as such to lead the development of the Livengood Gold Project into what ITH anticipates will be a world class gold mine in Alaska. The names of the additional directors and senior management of Corvus are expected to be announced in the near future.
Corvus will initially hold four advanced to early stage projects in Alaska and the North Bullfrog project in Nevada. The primary focus of Corvus will be to leverage its exploration expertise to discover major new gold deposits. Furthermore, Corvus will seek to build a non-operator gold producer with significant carried interests and royalty exposure. To meet this objective, ITH has joint ventured the four Alaskan projects to be transferred to Corvus and anticipates that these projects will have over CAD 8 million in partner funded work taking place in 2010. Corvus will also receive from ITH a 100% interest in the North Bullfrog project in Nevada, which has a number of high priority, bulk tonnage and high-grade vein targets to be addressed with a 10,000 metre drill program scheduled for Fall 2010. In 2010, Corvus anticipates receiving up to CAD 1 million in payments and fees from the four existing Alaskan option/joint venture arrangements, as well as significant issuances of shares from some of the respective optionee companies. Corvus anticipates adding quality projects to its portfolio to which it can add significant value through exploration.
The proposed transaction, which is subject to shareholder approval and regulatory acceptance, including the acceptance for filing by Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") and the approval of the NYSE Amex and the Supreme Court of British Columbia, is expected to be implemented through a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (BC). ITH is presently in the process of transferring to Corvus all of its interest in the Chisna, Terra, LMS and West Pogo projects in Alaska and its interest in Talon Gold Nevada Inc. (which holds the North Bullfrog Project in Nevada) and CAD 3 million in working capital. Subject to the final approval of the Board of ITH and the fixing of a date for the planned special meeting, ITH shareholders will receive an information circular setting out further details of the proposed spin-out transaction.
Initial Corvus Projects
Nevada
North Bullfrog: The North Bullfrog Project covers approximately 27 km2 of patented and unpatented mining claims near Beatty, Nevada and is located within the Bullfrog Mining District of Nevada, which hosts Barrick Gold Corp's multimillion ounce Bullfrog Gold Mine (located 14 kilometres to the south). As at August 25, 2008, the North Bullfrog property hosts an indicated resource of 2.02 Mt at an average grade of 0.88 g/t gold and 0.45 g/t silver and an inferred resource of 0.95 Mt at an average grade of 0.78 g/t gold and 0.36 g/t silver, both at a cutoff grade of 0.5 g/t gold (see NR08-18 of September 2, 2008), as well as a number of high priority targets for both large low-grade and narrow, high-grade vein gold-silver systems. Corvus currently plans to complete a 10,000 metre drill program in the Fall of 2010 to test several of these targets. Corvus will control 100% of the North Bullfrog project (see NR09-20 of August 4, 2009) and will fund the 2010 program, anticipated to cost approximately CAD 1 million, internally.
Alaska
Chisna: The Chisna Project covers approximately 840 km2 of State of Alaska mining claims and Ahtna, Incorporated (an Alaska Native Corporation) fee simple ground in an emerging new copper-gold belt in Alaska. The project is targeting large copper-gold porphyry systems similar to the Pebble deposit in western Alaska. To date, two porphyry systems have been discovered that will be drilled in 2010. A number of other targets have been defined that will be followed up on within this 65 kilometre long belt of gold and copper mineralization (see NR08-23 dated November 4, 2008). This project has been optioned to Ocean Park Ventures Corp. ("OCP") which has the right to earn a 51% interest by contributing USD 20 million in exploration expenditures (USD 6.2 million budgeted in 2010), and making staged payments and share issuances, over 5 years. Upon earning the initial 51% interest, OCP may earn an additional 19% by producing a bankable feasibility that delineates a mining project on the Chisna property that produces at least 300,000 gold equivalent ounces per year. For details on the OCP agreement, see NR09-29 dated November 5, 2009, and for details on the agreement with Ahtna, Incorporated, see NR10-15 dated May 6, 2010).
Terra: The Terra Project represents a bonanza grade low-sulphidation epithermal system with an overall strike length of 6 kilometres. Drilling by ITH in 2006/07 in one of four vein structures has defined an estimated inferred resource (as at February 1, 2008) of 428,000 tonnes at an average grade of 12.20 g/t gold (168,000 contained ounces) and 23.11 g/t silver (318,000 contained ounces) at a cutoff of 5.0 g/t gold (see NR08-04 dated February 7, 2008). Two other vein structures have been drill tested with positive results confirming the potential for significant resource additions. The gold at Terra occurs as coarse native gold and can be recovered by simple gravity methods, facilitating it as a potentially rapid development small mining project. The Terra project has been optioned to a private Nevada company, which can earn an initial 51% interest by contributing a total of USD 6,000,000 in exploration expenditures over three years (USD 1,000,000 in 2010) and making staged cash payments of USD 300,000 and issuing 750,000 common shares over the same three-year period (USD 50,000 and 250,000 shares in 2010). Upon having completed its initial contribution, the private company will have the option to increase its JV interest by 29% (to 80% total) by providing a subsequent contribution of an additional USD 3.05 million in funding in the fourth year, paying an additional USD 150,000 and issuing an additional 150,000 common shares. (for details, see NR10-05 dated March 4, 2010).
LMS: The LMS Project covers approximately 57 km2 within the Goodpaster Mining District of Alaska, which hosts the world class Pogo Gold Mine 40 kilometres to the north of the property. Prior drilling by ITH in 2006/07 has defined an estimated inferred resource (as at February 1, 2008) of 5.86 Mt at an average grade of 0.89 g/t gold (167,000 contained ounces) at a cutoff of 0.3 g/t gold (see NR08-05 dated February 13, 2008). The property contains a number of un-tested gold targets that will be the focus of the partner funded exploration in 2010. ITH has signed a binding letter of intent to joint venture the LMS project to First Star Resources Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia (TSXV:FS) ("First Star"). Under the terms of the LOI, First Star has the ability to earn an initial 55% interest, and a second option to earn a further 45% for a total 100% interest. To earn the 55% interest First Star will pay USD 280,000 and expend USD 3.5 million on exploration. To acquire a 100% ownership, First Star will fund the project through to an advanced exploration stage by spending a further USD 3 million prior to December 31, 2015, or by producing, filing and having accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange a NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource of two million ounces of gold using a 0.3 g/t cutoff grade, whichever costs less. A net smelter returns ("NSR") royalty of 3% or 4% on gold/silver and 1% on all other products will be payable to Corvus. The royalty can be reduced by 1% by paying Corvus USD 3 million.
West Pogo: The West Pogo project lies 4.5 kilometres west of the Pogo Gold Mine, and is situated along its western property boundary. Work to date by ITH has defined a surface gold anomaly approximately 1.5 kilometres in strike length with potential for high-grade, vein type, gold mineralization (see NR08-26 dated December 1, 2008). ITH has signed a binding letter of intent to joint venture the LMS project to First Star. Under the terms of the LOI, First Star has the ability to earn an initial 55% interest, and a second option to earn a further 45% for a total 100% interest. To earn the 55% interest First Star will pay USD 250,000 and expend USD 2.8 million on exploration. To acquire a 100% ownership, First Star will fund the project through to an advanced exploration stage by spending a further USD 2 million prior to December 31, 2015, or by producing, filing and having accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange a NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource of one million ounces of gold using a 0.3 g/t cutoff grade, whichever costs less. A NSR royalty of 3% or 4% on gold/silver and 1% on all other products will be payable to Corvus. The royalty can be reduced by 1% by paying Corvus USD 3 million.
Readers are referred to the most recent NI 43-101 technical reports on the North Bullfrog, Terra and LMS projects, which are available on SEDAR under the ITH disclosure documents, and on the Chisna project, which is available on SEDAR under the Ocean Park disclosure documents, for further information on these projects.
Qualified Person
Jeffrey A. Pontius (CPG 11044), a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Pontius is not independent of ITH, as he is the President and CEO and holds common shares and incentive stock options.
About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. is a resource exploration company, focused in Alaska and Nevada, which controls a number of exploration projects representing a spectrum from early stage to the advanced multimillion ounce gold discovery at Livengood. ITH is committed to building shareholder value through new discoveries while maintaining a majority interest in its key holdings, thereby giving its shareholders the maximum value for their investment.
On behalf of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
Jeffrey A. Pontius, President and Chief Executive Officer
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 27E of the Exchange Act. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the potential for the completion of the spin-out of certain assets of ITH into Corvus Gold Inc., plans and expectations related to Corvus Gold Inc., plans of ITH related to Livengood project, the potential for the preparation of a feasibility study and potential for production from the Livengood project, the potential for the optionees/joint venture partners on the Terra, Chisna, LMS and West Pogo projects to incur the expenditures, make the cash payments and/or issue the required shares as necessary to complete the acquisition of an interest in such, business and financing plans and business trends, are forward-looking statements. Information concerning mineral resource estimates and the preliminary economic analysis thereof also may be deemed to be forward-looking statements in that it reflects a prediction of the mineralization that would be encountered, and the results of mining it, if a mineral deposit were developed and mined. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities (including the proposed Corvus Gold Inc. spin-out), the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Information Form filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and the Company's annual report on Form 40-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and its United States public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sec.gov, and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.
Cautionary Note Regarding References to Resources and Reserves
National Instrument 43 101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource estimates contained in or incorporated by reference in this press release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on November 14, 2004 (the "CIM Standards") as they may be amended from time to time by the CIM.
United States shareholders are cautioned that the requirements and terminology of NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ significantly from the requirements and terminology of the SEC set forth Industry Guide 7. Accordingly, the Company's disclosures regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by companies subject to the SEC's Industry Guide 7. Without limiting the foregoing, while the terms "mineral resources", "inferred mineral resources" and "indicated mineral resources" are recognized and required by NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, they are not recognized by the SEC and are not permitted to be used in documents filed with the SEC by companies subject to Industry Guide 7. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and United States shareholders are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource will ever be converted into reserves. Further, inferred resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher resource category. In addition, the NI 43-101 and CIM Standards definition of a "reserve" differs from the definition adopted by the SEC in Industry Guide 7. In the United States, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made.
Cautionary Note Concerning Similar or Adjacent Mineral Properties
This press release contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. The Company advises US investors that the US Securities and Exchange Commission's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties.
The securities contemplated to be distributed in the proposed transaction have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and are anticipated to be issued in the United States pursuant to exemptions from such registration requirements.
This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
NR10-17
For more information, please contact
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
Quentin Mai
Vice-President - Corporate Communications
1-888-770-7488 (toll free) or (604) 683-6332
(604) 408-7499 (FAX) qmai@internationaltowerhill.com www.ITHmines.com / www.internationaltowerhill.com
Click here to see all recent news from this companygemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
ITH has signed a binding letter of intent to joint venture the LMS project to First Star Resources Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia (TSXV: FS) ("First Star"). Under the terms of the LOI, First Star has the ability to earn an initial 55% interest, and a second option to earn a further 45% for a total 100% interest. To earn the 55% interest First Star will pay USD 280,000 and expend USD 3.5 million on exploration. To acquire a 100% ownership, First Star will fund the project through to an advanced exploration stage by spending a further USD 3 million prior to December 31, 2015, or by producing, filing and having accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange a NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource of two million ounces of gold using a 0.3 g/t cutoff grade, whichever costs less. A net smelter returns ("NSR") royalty of 3% or 4% on gold/silver and 1% on all other products will be payable to Corvus. The royalty can be reduced by 1% by paying Corvus USD 3 million.gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
InternationalTower Hill Mines is still 18 months away from making Livengoodproduction decision.
InternationalTower Hill Mines Ltd. (TSX: T.ITH, StockForum) says it is still about 18 months away from making aproduction decision at its Livengood gold project near Fairbanks,Alaska.
The forecast comes as the Vancouver junior prepares to launch apre-feasibility study next week that will focus heavily on maximizinggold recoveries at an operation that would use a combination of heapleaching and conventional milling technology.
The company is also preparing to begin an economic assessment thissummer which would establish a blueprint of what a future gold minewould look like, according to company spokesman Quentin Mai.
International Tower Hill has previously envisaged developing a $1billion gold mine that would produce about 450,000 ounces of goldannually. The forecast is based on a bullion price of US$850 an ounce.
But results of a new study indicate that the company can expect toachieve much higher recovery rates by using a combination ofconventional milling and heap leaching, rather than just heap leachingon its own.
"This information continues to advance our understanding of the goldrecovery characteristics at Livengood and strongly supports thedeposit's milling potential,’’ said International Tower Hill chiefoperating officer Carl Brechtel. “
“We are now focusing on optimizing key components of the goldrecovery system and the proposed production plan to continue to improvethe overall economic performance of the project,’’ he said.
“With our recent development team additions and continued encouragingtechnical results, International Tower Hill is rapidly advancingLivengood towards it next step along the production path."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter Kennedy
Peter Kennedy is a Stockhouse reporter andweb content editorgemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
Jun 01, 2010 06:00 ET
International Tower Hill Reports Final Holes from Winter Program and Start of Summer Drill Program at its Livengood Project, Alaska
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - June 1, 2010) - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) is pleased to announce the results for the final four holes from the 2010 Winter drill program. The results continue to show expansion potential to the north of the Sunshine Zone (MK-RC-351, 55 metres @ 0.91 g/t gold, Table 1). Holes MK-RC-352 and MK-RC-353 were drilled 400 metres northwest of the SW Zone and showed a continuation of the deposit in this direction. The results from the 2010 Winter program are being incorporated into an updated resource model anticipated to be completed before the end of the second quarter.
The Livengood Summer 2010 drill program began June 1st and is scheduled to complete 45,000 metres of resource expansion and development directed drilling, with 2 core and 3 reverse circulation drill rigs operating. The Company will be continuing to address step-out resource expansion as well as a large mine development program directed at advancing the Livengood project towards a production decision and the securing of necessary mining permits. The next step in this process is the initiation of a full scale pre-feasibility/mine development study which the Company has now initiated.
Table 1: Significant New Livengood Intercepts*
(*Intercepts are calculated using a 0.25 g/t gold cutoff and a maximum of 3 metres of internal waste. The "cumulative gram metre" number is a summation of all intercepts in a given drill hole that are above a cutoff grade of 0.25 g/t gold, and is not representative of a single intercept in such hole. The cumulative gram metre number is intended to reflect the relative degree of mineralization in one hole versus another.)
Int'l Tower investor Tocqueville holdings at 12.1%
2010-06-14 15:06 ET - News Release
Mr. Roger Cotta of Tocqueville reports
TOCQUEVILLE ASSET MANAGEMENT, L.P. ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF COMMON SHARES OF INTERNATIONAL TOWER HILL MINES LTD.
On March 19, 2010, Tocqueville Asset Management LP, on behalf of one or more accounts, acquired a total of 1,666,666 common shares of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. directly from the issuer pursuant to a private placement offering at a price of $6.00 per common share. This acquisition represented 2.76 per cent of the issued and outstanding common shares as at March 19, 2010. Previously, on May 10, 2008, the offeror, on behalf of one or more accounts, acquired a total of 3,995,000 common shares directly from the issuer pursuant to a private placement offering at a price of $1.35 per common share. This prior acquisition represented 10.07 per cent of the issued and outstanding common shares as at May 10, 2008.
Immediately after the completion of the private placement offering on March 19, 2010, the offeror, on behalf of one or more accounts, had authority to exercise control or direction over a total of 6,709,995 common shares, representing 11.10 per cent of the issued and outstanding common shares as at March 19, 2010.gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
International Tower Hill Announces Resource Update, Livengood Gold Project, Alaska
Indicated: 6.9M Oz Gold in 201.7 Mt Averaging 1.07 g/t Gold @ 0.7 g/t Cutoff
Inferred: 1.4M Oz Gold in 39.9 Mt Averaging 1.06 g/t Gold @ 0.7 g/t Cutoff
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - June 16, 2010) - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") - (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) is pleased to announce the results of the independently prepared June 2010 in-situ mineral resource estimate for the Livengood gold project near Fairbanks, Alaska (Table 1). The independent study incorporates all drill results received through May 25, 2010, a total of 420 diamond and reverse circulation holes, totalling 121,212 metres. This resource update, calculated at a 0.7 g/t cutoff grade which the Company envisions as a possible milling cut-off grade, expands the size of the deposit and increases the average grade, thereby highlighting the growing economic potential of the Livengood gold system.
The June, 2010 in-situ updated resource estimate will form the basis of the Company's ongoing combined mill - heap leach Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) anticipated for release in Q3 2010. The Summer 2010 drill program at Livengood is currently underway utilizing five drills (two diamond and three reverse circulation) for a planned total of 45,000 metres.
Updated Livengood Resource Estimate
Using a 0.7 g/t gold cut-off, the Indicated Resource is 6.9M ounces of gold (an increase of almost 19% from the January 2010 estimated resource) and the average grade has increased 9% to 1.07 g/t gold from 0.98 g/t gold (Table 1).
In addition, the indicated ounces at a 0.5 g/t gold cut off have increased by 17 % to 10.9 M ounces gold from 9.3M ounces of gold, and the average grade has increased 6 % to 0.83 g/t gold from 0.78 g/t gold (Table 2). Using a 0.3 g/t gold cut-off grade, which is approximately the average grade for the heap leach described in the Company's November, 30, 2009 heap leach PEA study, the Indicated Resource is 15.7M ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.62 g/t gold, with an additional Inferred Resource of 4M ounces of gold at an average of 0.55 g/t gold (Table 3).
Jeff Pontius, President and CEO of ITH, stated, "We are highly encouraged by the latest resource update, which includes results of the winter drill program at Livengood. The estimated resource now incorporates our expanding and higher grade SW Zone, while the deposit remains open in several directions. The latest resource data, as well as infill results between the Sunshine and Core Zones, are expected to have a positive impact on our ongoing mine design work. Our new combined mill-heap leach concept should benefit from the higher grades in this new resource estimate as we aggressively work to advance the project down the production path."
Five drills have been deployed for the Summer 2010 program, with the objectives of expanding the resource, improving confidence in the high grade areas of the deposit, and gathering data for metallurgical, hydrological and geotechnical studies. A major soil survey is also planned to cover the northeast extension of the mineralized trend with the objective of delineating drill targets for exploration in the late fall and winter.
On June 14, 2010, Reserva International, LLC., an independent contractor, delivered the updated resource estimate, which has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of N.I. 43-101, incorporating the data for all drilling through May 25, 2010. The June 2010 indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate for the Livengood deposit covers an area of approximately 4 square kilometres and is based on 420 drill holes, which have an average length of 289 metres, and 11 trenches with an average length of 38 metres. The geology has been modeled to represent the volumes of the different stratigraphic units on the property and these have been used to constrain the resource model.
The resource model for the deposit was developed using Multiple Indicator Kriging techniques. Indicator variogram modeling was done on 10 metre composites. Statistical analysis indicated that lithological controls on mineralization are significant and consequently the resource model was constrained by the lithological model developed by the Company. Spatial statistics indicate that the mineralization shows very reasonable continuity within the range of anticipated operational cutoffs. Bulk density was estimated on the basis of individual density measurements made on core samples and reverse circulation drill chips from each stratigraphic unit. In total, 98 measurements were used. Block density was assigned on the basis of the lithological model. The resource model, with blocks 15 x 15 by 10 metres, was estimated using nine indicator thresholds. A change-of-support correction was imposed on the model assuming 5 x 5 x 10 metre selectable mining units. Classification of indicated and inferred was based on estimation variance relative to sample distance.
The geology of the holes around the margins of the currently drilled area indicates that the favourable host stratigraphy and alteration remain open laterally and at depth, thus indicating that the system could potentially be larger than the current estimate.
International Tower Hill Mines puts together Livengoood team
By Tim Bradner
Alaska Journal of Commerce
International Tower Hill Mines is starting to put together its team to manage development of the company's Livengood gold project north of Fairbanks, beginning with recruitment of a veteran Alaska mine development manager, Karl Hanneman, to be project manager.
Hanneman, formerly with Teck Alaska, joined ITH June 1.
The company will soon be opening an office in Fairbanks, too.
Hanneman previously managed development of the Pogo gold mine, a joint venture between Teck and Sumimoto Heavy Metals. Pogo began production in 2006 and Sumimoto has since purchased Teck's share of the mine.
The Livengood project has been explored since 2007, when the deposit was discovered. Since then drilling and other exploration has resulted in establishment of a 12.3 million ounce gold resource base, assuming a 0.5 gram/ton grade cutoff, for the project as of March 2010. Exploration drilling is still underway and additional resources are expected to be announced this summer and again later in the year.
Hanneman said the company has a preliminary economic assessment now underway that will be complete by mid-summer and is now planning the makeup of its team of contractors and employees who will do the pre-feasibility and environmental baseline study for a mine, which is expected to be a surface mine similar to the Fort Knox gold mine also near Fairbanks.
"I'm excited about the project. This is an opportunity to really be creative in designing a mine that reflects the right balance on environmental stewardship and good engineering principles," Hanneman said.
A mine at Livengood could involve either a heap leach or conventional mill technology for processing gold ore, or both. Both procedures are now used at Fort Knox.
A heap leach involves the controlled released of a chemical solution over a pad or stockpiled ore to recover gold, while the mill would involve crushing and grinding the ore to develop a concentrate from which gold can be extracted.
The pre-feasibility study would determine which approach is best for Livengood.
Hanneman's team will also assess two other important issues, how to provide energy to a mine in the most economical way, and how to provide facilities for employees.
Workers at Fort Knox commute daily from homes in Fairbanks, but Livegood may be too far for that.
"Livengood is an hour and half drive north of Fairbanks on the Elliot Highway, and while people do commutes like that in Nevada, winter road conditions are a bit more severe in Alaska. It's something we'll be giving a lot of thought to," Hanneman said.
Energy could be either on-site diesel generation or power provided from the Golden Valley Electric Assoc. grid, although a long-distance transmission line would be needed.
GVEA now provides power for both the Pogo and Fort Knox mines.
Hanneman was born and raised in Fairbanks and is a 1979 University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate with a degree in mining engineering. When he graduated there were no large producing mines in the state except for the Usibelli coal mine at Healy, so Hanneman went to work in mineral exploration, which was a hot field then, as it is today.
Since the Alaska's mining industry has grown with the start of production of the Red Dog and Greens Creeks mines, near Kotzebue and Juneau respectively, in 1989; the start of Fort Knox in 1996 and Pogo, the project Hanneman helped direct, in 2006.
In July the list of producing mines will be joined by another gold mine, Kensington, near Juneau.
The second company we took on is International International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (TSX.V:ITH) (NYSE.A:THM). Its Livengood deposit in Alaska is about 60 miles away from the Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX:K) (NYSE:KGC) flagship asset, Fort Knox. I visited both these assets and I think the Livengood deposit probably has north of 10 million ounces of gold and would be a nice tuck-in for Kinross or AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE:AU) (LSE:AGD) (JSE:ANG) (ASX:AGG). Anglo already owns about 13% of International Tower Hill.
TGR: Does International Tower Hill share infrastructure with Kinross in Alaska?
RS: This is an interesting point. It looks as if the Fort Knox milling ore may run out over the next four to six years, in which case that mill infrastructure could be available and the Livengood deposit could potentially come online in the same timeframe as Kinross is expiring its ore for milling.
TGR: When you look at potential target companies, do you worry about who the potential takeover person or company is?
RS: No, I think we can identify which majors may have synergies with particular assets. In certain companies those assets and those suitors can be quite obvious, and in this particular situation there are a couple of obvious candidates.
TGR: Is the ability to discern obvious candidates part of what you use to determine whether there’s a catalyst?
RS: We typically like to see the companies have their own catalyst to generate value. If they have the extra optionality of a takeover, that’s icing on the cake, but we generally don’t rely on the asset being taken over. We want them to create the value on their own merits foremost.gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
Globe says let International Tower in your portfolio
Ticker Symbol: C:ITH
Globe says let International Tower in your portfolio
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd (C:ITH)
Shares Issued 65,892,923
Last Close 6/18/2010 $6.99
Monday June 21 2010 - In the News
The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, June 19, edition that International Tower Hill Mines climbed two cents to finish Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange at $6.99. The Globe's Ted Dixon writes in the Who Is Buying And Selling column that International Tower stock has a 52-week range of $2.81 to $8.35. Mr. Dixon says there is more going on in regard to insiders selling at International Tower Hill than meets the eye on his charts. On June 7, chief executive officer Jeffery Pontius exercised 200,000 options at $1.75, and a few days later board chair Hendrick Van Alphen exercised 370,000 options at the same price. So far, Mr. Dixon says he has not seen any subsequent sell filings from either executive. Mr. Dixon says it should be taken as a vote of confidence in a company when its insiders exercise options and do not sell their new shares. Therefore, Mr. Dixon says that investors interested in the gold sector should keep an eye on the filings of International Tower over the next week or two. Mr. Dixon says he will take it as a good omen if there is no further insider news. Primevestfund manager Ryaz Shariff was bullish on International Tower in The Globe on July 9 when its shares were trading at $3.05.gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
Corvus Gold Inc., aVancouver B.C.-based junior company being formed to exploreInternational Tower Hill Ltd.’s early stage properties, will initiallyhold four projects in Alaska and the North Bullfrog project in Nevada.
Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Tower Hillwill retain all assets relating to the Livengood gold project in Alaskaand about C$41 million in working capital. Corvus will get the fiveproperties and about C$3 million in cash.
The spin-out proposal to be presented to shareholders at aspecial meeting in July would result in each Tower Hill shareholderreceiving one new Tower Hill common share and one-half of a Corvuscommon share in exchange for each Tower Hill common share held.
“The management and board of directors of ITH believethat the proposed spin-out is an excellent opportunity for shareholdersto fully maximize the value of their holdings,” said Tower HillPresident and CEO Jeff Pontius.
Pontius will retain his position as president and CEO ofTower Hill, and also will serve as CEO and chairman of Corvus. RussellMyers, currently vice president of exploration for Tower Hill, willbecome the new company’s president. Additional directors and seniormanagement of Corvus are expected to be appointed in the near future.
The five gold and copper-gold properties are currentlyheld by Tower Hill subsidiary Raven Gold Alaska, and once the newpublically-traded company is formed the assets will move into Corvus,which is Latin for Raven.
“The prospectus for Corvus Gold will include Terra,Chisna, LMS, West Pogo and North Bullfrog,” Myers told Mining News.
Corvus’ Alaska projects have more than C$8 million inpartner-funded exploration slated for 2010, giving the junior a jump onits objective of becoming a nonoperator gold producer with significantcarried interests and royalty exposure. Corvus also plans to expand itsportfolio by seeking out and acquiring new prospects.
Big budget at Chisna
The exploration work at the 163,460-acre, or661.5-square-kilometer, Chisna project is targeting large copper-goldporphyry systems in the Wrangellia Terrane of eastern Interior Alaska.
Ocean Park Ventures Corp. has committed to spendingUS$6.2 million in exploration at Chisna in 2010 as part of its option toearn a 51 percent stake in the copper-gold prospect by contributing atotal of US$20 million in exploration expenditures, making stagedpayments and issuing shares over five years. Ocean Park can increase itsstake to 70 percent by producing a bankable feasibility study thatdelineates a mining project on the Chisna property with annualproduction of at least 300,000 gold-equivalent ounces. Raven, and thenCorvus, will be the operator of the joint venture for the first twoyears.
The 2010 exploration at the porphyry copper-gold prospectbegan with an airborne geophysical survey that was completed inmid-June. Raven will follow up with a ground induced polarization surveyand drill program expected to start in early July.
The first two targets of this year’s drill program willbe the 2,000-acre Ahtell alkaline porphyry copper-gold system and thelarge 10,000-acre POW system.
Earlier this year, Raven augmented its 87,940 acres, or356 square kilometers, of State of Alaska claims at Chisna by acquiring75,520 acres, or about 306 square kilometers, of additional prospectivelands surrounding the Ahtell discovery from Ahtna Native Corp. Theagreement with the Alaska Native regional corporation for eastern Alaskaincludes an exclusive right to explore and an option to lease theproperty.
Myers said now that Raven has an agreement with Ahtna,the company can finish the exploration work on the Ahtell discovery madeby Tower Hill.
“We will do a 3-D IP survey; that, plus the geochemicaland geology, will be used to target the first drill holes at Ahtell.Then we will go up and drill a couple of holes on the POW property,” hesaid.
A number of other targets have been defined that will befollowed up on within this 40-mile-, or 65-kilometer-, long belt of goldand copper mineralization. The company also is considering drillingsome of these other targets depending on the results of the inducedpolarization surveys currently under way.
“As soon as the guys finish at Ahtell, then we will moveover and start doing IP on other potential targets,” Myers said.
Production potential at Terra
The Terra project is centered on a 5-mile-, or 8-kilometer-,long trend of high-grade gold vein occurrences which have returnednumerous surface rock samples and drill intersection in excess of 50 g/tgold.
This property, located in the southwestern part of theAlaska Range, has been optioned to Nevada-based American Mining Corp., aprivately held mining company that can earn an initial 51 percentinterest in Terra by spending U$6 million on exploration over threeyears, including $1 million in 2010, and making cash payments ofUS$300,000 and issuing 750,000 common shares over the same three-yearperiod.
Corvus also will receive a sliding scale net smelterroyalty of between 0.5 percent and 5 percent, depending upon the goldprice, on all precious metal production from the property and a 1percent NSR royalty on all base metal production. The royalty to Corvusis in addition to the current royalty payable to the underlying lessor.
Drilling by Tower Hill in 2006 and 2007 defined anestimated inferred resource of 428,000 metric tons averaging 12.20 g/tgold, or 168,000 contained ounces, and 23.11 g/t silver, or 318,000contained ounces, at a cutoff of 5.0 g/t gold. In addition to the Ben’sVein, which hosts the resource, drilling at two other vein structuresconfirm the potential for significant resource additions on theproperty.
According to Tower Hill, the gold at Terra occurs ascoarse native gold and can be recovered by simple gravity methods,facilitating potentially rapid development of a small mining project.
American Mining is reportedly planning to conduct a bulksample of the Ben’s Vein in August, utilizing a small crusher andgravity separator. However, Mining News was unable to verify the reportby press time.
Pogo-style projects
The two other Alaska properties going into the Corvusprospectus, West Pogo and LMS, have been joint ventured to First StarResources Inc. Both properties lie in the vicinity of Sumitomo MetalMining Co. Ltd.’s Pogo Gold Mine, a high-grade underground producer eastof Fairbanks. West Pogo lies 2.8 miles, or 4.5 kilometers, west ofPogo, and is situated along its western property boundary. LMS can befound about 25 miles, or 40 kilometers, to the north.
First Star President and CEO Bill Wishart said,“Acquisition of this gold project marks the return of First Star to itsmining roots. Our intention is to form a gold exploration anddevelopment company around these projects. In the coming weeks, we willbe building our technical staff and preparing for an active season ofdrilling.”
LMS is believed to be an intrusion-related vein system,with similarities to the gold deposit at Pogo. The property showspotential as both a high-grade, Pogo-style target and as a lower gradebulk-tonnage prospect.
“At LMS there is some phenomenally high-grademineralization, and we just haven’t quite figured how the structureswork that control it … at the Camp zone inside of the schists there arethese, what I think were originally cherty sediments, and those chertysediments get broken up in developed breccias that carry the lowergrade, bulk-tonnage mineralization,” Myers explained.
“At LMS we have some pretty good structural ideas, but we(International Tower Hill) discovered Livengood. If it hadn’t been forLivengood we would have been working LMS the whole time,” he added.
Under the terms of the agreement, First Star has theability to earn an initial 55 percent interest, and a second option toearn the remaining 45 percent interest. To earn the initial 55 percentinterest, the Vancouver, B.C.-based junior must pay Raven/CorvusUS$280,000 and spend US$3.5 million on exploration of the property. Toacquire the remaining 55 percent, First Star must fund the projectthrough to an advanced exploration stage by spending an additional US$3million by the end of 2015, or by producing a NI 43-101-compliantinferred resource of 2 million ounces of gold using a 0.3 g/t cutoffgrade, whichever costs less. A net smelter returns royalty of 3 percentor 4 percent on gold-silver and 1 percent on all other products will bepayable to Corvus, which can be reduced by 1 percent by paying CorvusUS$3 million.
The West Pogo prospect represents a high-gradeintrusion-related vein system gold target. The West Pogo claim blockconsists of 96 State of Alaska mining claims covering about 4,670 acres.
Myers said exploration by Tower Hill has encounteredPogo-style mineralization as well as other high-grade gold without thegeochemical signatures of the ore being mined by its neighbor.
First Star has the ability to earn a 100 percent interestin West Pogo. To earn the initial 55 percent the Vancouver B.C.-basedjunior must pay US$250,000 and expend US$2.8 million on exploration. Toacquire the remaining 45 percent interest, the company must fund theproject through to an advanced exploration stage by spending anadditional US$2 million by the end of 2015, or by producing a NI43-101compliant inferred resource of one million ounces of gold using a 0.3g/t cutoff grade. The property also has a royalty agreement with termsidentical to that at LMS.
First Star intends to conduct a drilling program on boththe LMS and WP gold prospects in 2010.
The way forward
Corvusintends to hold sole ownership of its North Bullfrog gold project,which is located about 9 miles, or 14 kilometers, north of Barrick GoldCorp.’s multimillion-ounce Bullfrog gold mine in Nevada.
North Bullfrog hosts an indicated resource of 2.02Mtgrading of 0.88 g/t gold and 0.45 g/t silver and an inferred resource of0.95 Mt grading 0.78 g/t gold and 0.36 g/t silver, both at a cutoffgrade of 0.5 g/t gold.
Corvus currently plans to spend about C$1 million tocomplete 10,000 meters of drilling in the fall.
“We are trying to develop another low-grade, at-surface,heap-leachable resource,” Myers explained.
The future Corvus president said the company will beactively searching for new promising properties to add to the company’sportfolio.
“The way forward for Corvus is finding good prospects,joint venturing them or discovering them ourselves. And we are veryactively evaluating projects in Alaska, Nevada and other places to seeif we can find the right upscale potential,” Myers said.
“I like geology,” he added. “The most fun for me istaking something, making sense of it and turning it into something thatlooks like you could turn into a mine.”gemäß § 34 WpHG darf der Autor zu jederzeit Short- oder Long-Positionen in der/den behandelte(n) Aktie(n) halten.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) is pleased to announce the results from the initial 19 holes completed in its 45,000-metre Summer 2010 Livengood Exploration Program (Figure 1). The drill program is focused on the conversion of resources to measured and indicated through infill drilling, as well as step-out resource expansion and testing of new district-scale exploration targets. The Company is currently operating five drills at Livengood (three RC and two core rigs).
Highlights of the ongoing 2010 work program at Livengood include:
* The Money Knob deposit at Livengood continues to expand in several directions: at depth (RC-0366, 83.8m at 1.1 g/t gold and RC-0364, 59.4m @ 0.7 g/t), to the west in the Lillian area (RC-0355, 7.6m @ 3.3 g/t gold and RC-0362, 6.1m @ 2.9 g/t), and to the southeast in the Sunshine Zone (MK-RC-0365, 21.3m @ 0.8 g/t gold). * The Company has begun the Money Knob pre-feasibility study with the initiation of hydrological studies, surface mine facility location analysis, phase 2 metallurgical studies (combined milling and heap leaching), deposit-scale geotechnical studies, and continuing environmental baseline data collection.
* The Company anticipates finishing its updated PEA within the next few weeks - the analysis will include the June 2010 expanded resource, a combined mill-heap leach recovery system, and an initial evaluation of gold recovery by standard CIL (carbon in leach) versus flotation.
Jeff Pontius, President and CEO, stated, "These initial Summer 2010 drill results are confirming our understanding of the Livengood deposit and its potential to grow in several directions. In addition, our regional exploration program, which is focused on finding more Money Knob type deposits on our district scale land package, is in full swing and is bearing fruit for future drill targets. Our operational team is making excellent progress in advancing the project down the development and permitting path, a process which we will continue to accelerate."
Initial encouraging results from the western frontier of the deposit in the Lillian area (Fig.1 and Table 1; RC-0355, 7.6m @ 3.3 g/t gold and RC-0362, 6.1m @ 2.9 g/t) and anomalous gold in soils has prompted additional stepout drilling 400 metres north and west of known mineralization, where RC-0392 (Fig. 1, assays pending) intersected strongly altered favourable host rocks. Additionally, encouraging alteration associated with abundant diking in hole MK-RC-380 (assays pending) has been returned from the new Olive area where hole MK-RC-0172 had 75 metres @ 1g/t gold and 27 meters @ 1.8 g/t gold (at which point the hole was lost in mineralization). This ongoing drilling suggests the Money Knob deposit will continue to grow in area. In addition, the Company is engaged in aggressive district-wide surface exploration to define new deposits similar to Money Knob along trend.
Aug 03, 2010 09:31 ET
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. Reports Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment Results-Combined Milling and Heap Leach Processing, Livengood Gold Project, Alaska
Life of Project Gold Production of 10.6m Ounces - 504,000 Ounces/Year for 21 Years
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 3, 2010) - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ("ITH" or the "Company") (TSX:ITH)(NYSE Amex:THM)(FRANKFURT:IW9) is pleased to announce the results of an independently prepared Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Livengood gold project, Alaska.
The combined milling/heap leach PEA is based the Company's June, 2010 resource estimate and produced a positive economic analysis for the conceptual project. Significantly the PEA demonstrated a life of project average annual production of 504,000 recovered ounces of gold for 21 years, at a 1:1.07 strip ratio (ore to waste), indicating a pre-tax NPV(5%) of USD 813M, and an IRR of 15.4% using a USD 950 per ounce gold price (Table 1). The study also shows the deposit has a considerable leverage to gold price, with a pre-tax NPV(5%) of USD 2.3B and an IRR of 32.5% at a USD 1,200 per ounce gold price (Table 2).
ITH's management will hold a conference call on Tuesday, August 03, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. PST to discuss the results. All participants will be asked to register with the conference call operator. Contact numbers for the call are 1-416-641-6151/1-866-358-0067.
Livengood Project Highlights:
* 13.6 million ounce in-pit resource deposit with potential for over 500,000 ounces per year of production
* Good infrastructure and favourable jurisdiction positively impacting development costs
* Excellent potential to expand the existing deposit, upgrade in-pit resource and make new discoveries within the district
* Favourable mining geometry and a low strip ratio
* Potential to increase production rates substantially in future mining design with larger throughput facilities and mining fleet to maximize economies of scale
* High recovery of gold to gravity and flotation concentrates reducing processing costs and tailings infrastructure capital costs
* Existing highly competent and experienced labor force available in the local area
Jeffrey Pontius President and CEO of ITH stated "These initial results from the integration of the updated resource estimate and the inclusion of milling into the production plan have highlighted the project's key drivers: high annual gold production, low ore to waste strip ratio, and high leverage to gold price with an early heap leach start-up component prior to mill construction. In addition, the study identified a number of opportunities to significantly add value, which include assessing increased ore production rates to reduce the current long mine life, adding certainty to reduce the current 25% contingency on capital cost and improving the mining sequencing to reduce operational cost. In addition, our ongoing exploration has good potential to both expand the deposit and discover new deposits within the district."
