VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 19, 2011) - El Tigre Silver Corp. (the "Company" or "El Tigre") (TSX VENTURE:ELS)(PINK SHEETS:EGRTF)(FRANKFURT:5RT) is pleased to announce it has developed preliminary plans for placing the El Tigre tailings into production. On September 6, 2011, El Tigre, through its wholly owned subsidiary Pacemaker Silver Mining S.A. de C.V., entered into an option agreement (the "Option Agreement") with Martin Lopez Lauterio (the "Owner"), the owner of the surface land and tailings, to exploit the extensive surface tailings which resulted from the former Lucky Tiger Combination Gold Mining Company mine in the Sierra El Tigre. The tailings are located on the concessions that are part of El Tigre's 431 square kilometer concession ownership in Sonora, Mexico. See the Company's news release dated September 13, 2011 for further details on the Option Agreement.
El Tigre is currently conducting a full examination of the tailings prior to proceeding with a production decision. Channel sampling down the sides of the tailings has been completed while plans are underway to obtain drill samples in the greater thicknesses of the pile. The tailings consist of three metallurgical types and from bottom to top are red oxide, grey mixed oxide-sulfide and yellow sulfide. Metallurgical test work will be conducted on each of the layers once these holes are drilled for representative samples.
Previously, the tailings have been evaluated by several groups starting in 1974. However, the most comprehensive evaluation of the tailings was conducted by Anaconda Minerals Company in 1984. Their work provided positive results, which has given El Tigre confidence that a leaching operation would be successful. Anaconda's results show the tailings to be between 750,000 tons and 1 million tons at an average grade of 2.3 to 2.4 ounces per ton silver and 0.01 ounces per ton gold. El Tigre will confirm these historic estimates in its current evaluation program as the potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in discovery of a mineral resource.
El Tigre is also investigating a unique vat leach system that is being successfully operated by Dia Bras Explorations Inc. in the state of Chihuahua. This system requires the construction of several large 12 by 24 metre concrete containment areas (vats) where material is placed, leached and removed over a 5 to 7 day period. The metal rich solutions are then passed through a Merrill-Crowe precipitation circuit and silver and gold is recovered. El Tigre is retaining the same service providers as Dia Bras Explorations Inc. to assist in the evaluation, design and construction of the process facility.
It has been historically reported that the El Tigre Mine operated between 1903 and 1938 and recovered over 75 million ounces of silver at an average grade of 40 ounces per ton. The tailings are a result of that 35 years of production at the original mine. The Company's evaluation program will systematically drill and sample the tailings to confirm the historic estimates of the tonnage and the grade of the tailings.
The technical content of this news release has been approved by Steven D Craig, CPG and Vice President of Exploration for El Tigre, a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. |
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