VANCOUVER, May 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Bear Creek Mining
Corporation (TSX Venture: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") has
signed an agreement (the "IGV Contract") with the Peru Ministry of
Energy and Mines ("MEM") and ProInversion (an agent for the
Government of Peru) that allows
the Company to recover, at its discretion and on an accelerated
basis, the 18% IGV taxes applied to engineering and construction
costs associated with future development of the proposed Corani
silver-lead-zinc mine in Puno, Peru.
The IGV Contract applies to Corani Initial CapEx costs and
covers an approximately three-year development period during which
detailed engineering, permitting, construction, commissioning and
project ramp-up is expected to occur. The IGV Contract is
retroactively applicable to costs incurred as of the application
date of November 2016, and allows the
Company to request modifications with respect to both expenditure
amounts and timelines. Initial CapEx requirements for
development and construction of the Corani mine, as outlined in the
Company's Final Optimized Feasibility Study for the Corani Project
filed on SEDAR on July 20, 2015
(available at www.sedar.com) is estimated to total approximately US
$625 million (inclusive of the net
impact of the IGV Contract).
Andrew Swarthout, President and
CEO of the Company, states "We are very pleased to be working in
cooperation with the Peruvian government and we appreciate the
confidence shown in Bear Creek and the Corani Project by the
Ministries of Finance, the MEM and ProInversion in approving the
IGV Contract. The IGV Contract will streamline anticipated cash
flow and capital requirements as the Corani operation is developed
by allowing the Company to periodically recoup IGV taxes payable on
capital expenditures as they are made rather than after
construction is completed."
Phase 1 Detailed Engineering at the Corani project (see news
release dated November 14, 2016) is
advancing well and is on schedule for completion in June
2017. This phase of detailed engineering will provide key
documentation for the Construction Permit application, which the
Company anticipates submitting during Q3 2017. Concurrently,
the Company and its outside advisors are investigating and
assembling Corani project financing alternatives so that we are
ready to move forward rapidly as the anticipated improvements in
metal prices acelerate. Pending receipt of the Construction Permit,
solidification of a project financing plan, and favorable commodity
and market conditions, the Company's board of directors hopes to
consider a construction decision for the Corani project by year-end
2017.
Mr. Swarthout continues, "We are very pleased that the Corani
mine sequences and metal recoveries continue to be further
optimized during the Phase 1 Detailed Engineering and that
commodity prices and market conditions continue to stabilize or
even further improve. We believe that 2017 will be a
transformational year for Bear Creek."
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Andrew Swarthout
President and CEO
Regulatory Footnotes
Bear Creek's exploration programs
are overseen by, and disclosure of a technical or scientific nature
has been reviewed and approved by, Andrew
Swarthout, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist, President
and CEO of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined in NI
43-101. Mr. Swarthout has read, verified and approves such
information disclosed in this release.
This news release contains forward-looking information and
forward-looking statements related to: the financial impact of the
IGV Contract on cash flow and capital requirements; terms and
conditions of the IGV contract that may be revised; the timing of
completion of the Phase I Detailed Engineering; the outcome of
Corani project financing efforts; and, the timing of a possible
Corani Project construction decision. Certain of these
forward-looking statements are contingent upon various assumptions,
including that the Phase 1 Detailed Engineering results will
provide sufficient information for the Construction Permit
application; and upon future events transpiring, including that the
Company can obtain all necessary permits and secure project
financing for the Corani project. This forward-looking information
is provided as of the date of this news release and reflects
current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding
future events and is based on the Company's or its consultants'
beliefs at the time the statements were made, as well as various
assumptions made by and information currently available to them.
Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable
based on information available to it, they may prove to be
incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve
inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and
risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other
forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions
on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We
caution readers not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could
cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the
expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally
stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates used to make
such forward-looking statements do not occur and the additional
risks described in the Company's most recent Annual Information
Form. When relying on our forward-looking statements, investors and
others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other
uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake
to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral,
that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of
the Company, except as required by law.
Neither the 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.
SOURCE Bear Creek Mining Corporation