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)
Concentrate % of Total Sample
Mineralization Type % In-Pit ResourceHead Grade (g/t gold)Flotation RecoveryAdditional Gravity RecoveryTotal Flotation + Gravity Recoveries 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 ResourceGold Recovery from Gravity ConcentrateTotal 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 Officer
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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 expansion of the
estimated resources at Livengood, the potential for any production
at the Livengood project, the completion of the heap-mill
preliminary economic analysis of the Livengood project, the
potential for higher grade mineralization to form the basis for a
starter pit component in any production scenario, the potential low
strip ratio of the Livengood deposit being amenable for low cost
open pit mining that could support a high production rate and
economies of scale, the potential for cost savings due to the high
gravity concentration component of some of the Livengood
mineralization, 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, variations in the market
price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to
produce, 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 Annual Information Form filed with certain securities
commissions in Canada and the Company's annual report on Form 20-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.
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.
NR10-06
Contacts: International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. Quentin Mai
Vice-Presdient - Corporate Communications 1-888-770-7488 (toll
free) or (604) 683-6332 (604) 408-7499 (FAX)
qmai@internationaltowerhill.com www.internationaltowerhill.com
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