TORONTO, April 15, 2022 /CNW/ - Orvana Minerals
Corp. (TSX: ORV) (the "Company" or "Orvana") is pleased
to report production results and drilling updates from Orovalle,
Orvana's unit in Spain, for the
second quarter of fiscal year 2022 ("Q2 FY2022"), being the period
ended March 31, 2022.
Highlights
- 0.53 g/t Au over 196.50 meters intercepted in Lidia,
Orovalle, Spain
- Q2 FY2022 production of 10,595 gold equivalent ounces
- 6,642 m of infill drilling
- 1,447 m of greenfield
drilling
Juan Gavidia, CEO of Orvana:
"Our exploration program continues producing excellent outcomes,
reinforcing Orvana's internal growth potential to increase
resources in Spain."
He added: "This has been a challenging quarter in
terms of production in Spain due
to the COVID-19 impact on the workforce in the first half of the
quarter, supply chain strains all around Europe affecting the availability of spare
parts, and the nationwide transport strike in March. Since early
April supply chain channels have been reactivated, production
restarted, and we are in the process of reviewing and optimizing
the production plan for the second half of the year".
Q2 FY2022 Production
Results
|
|
Q2 FY2022
|
Q1 FY2022
|
Q2 FY2021
|
FY 2022
Guidance
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ore milled
(tones)
|
|
146,170
|
176,288
|
159,603
|
|
Gold Equivalent
(oz)
|
|
10,595
|
15,921
|
14,197
|
|
Gold
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade (g/t)
|
|
1.94
|
2.27
|
2.31
|
|
Recovery (%)
|
|
91.6
|
91.1
|
90.9
|
|
Production (oz)
|
|
8,341
|
11,731
|
10,785
|
48,000 - 53,000
|
Copper
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade (%)
|
|
0.31
|
0.45
|
0.47
|
|
Recovery (%)
|
|
80.7
|
83.7
|
82.3
|
|
Production (K
lbs)
|
|
797
|
1,451
|
1,355
|
5,800 - 6,500
|
- Production of 10,595 gold equivalent ounces, a 33% decrease
from Q1 FY2022. Production impacted by the temporary operations
stoppage in March as a result of the nationwide transport strike in
Spain.
- The Company is in the process of reviewing its operations and
costs as a result of the temporary stoppage in March, and expects
to be in a position to provide a more comprehensive update of the
impacts on operations as part of the Q2 FY2022 reporting process in
May.
Q2 FY2022 Exploration
Drilling
Summary (all
in meters)
|
Infill
|
Greenfield
|
TOTAL
|
Ortosa-Godán
|
-
|
426
|
426
|
Lidia
|
-
|
1,021
|
1,021
|
El Valle Boinás
|
|
|
|
Boinas South (SB)
|
2,802
|
-
|
2,802
|
Breccia East (BX)
|
3,242
|
-
|
3,242
|
Carles West (CW)
|
598
|
-
|
598
|
TOTAL
|
6,642
|
1,447
|
8,089
|
Lidia
Orovalle's gold porphyry Lidia Project is located in the
Navelgas Gold Belt, 20 km from El Valle mine.
Lidia occurs within the easternmost of the Navelgas fracture
systems. A granodiorite intrusive outcrops over an area of
approximately 1 km2. It is dissected by a set of
northeast trending mineralized quartz veins and affected by
different alteration phases.
The drilling program started in fiscal 2021 with 1,017 meters
drilled. The second phase started in December 2021, focused on defining the continuity
of Au mineralization into the intrusive. Four drill holes, totaling
1,405 meters were drilled in the first half of FY2022, confirming
the presence of gold in the granodiorite, averaging 0.53 g/t Au
over 196.50 meters (DDH 22LIDIA04).
The Company expects to continue the program in Lidia in
September 2022 drilling two sections,
to the North and to South from current drilled area respectively,
in order to prove continuity of Au mineralization in N-S
strike and at depth.
Intercepts
DDH
|
From
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
Thick*
(m)
|
Au(gpt)
|
21LIDIA02
|
234.30
|
236.40
|
2.10
|
0.68
|
21LIDIA02
|
316.70
|
318.70
|
2.00
|
0.59
|
21LIDIA02
|
332.90
|
334.90
|
2.00
|
0.56
|
21LIDIA02
|
392.20
|
395.50
|
3.30
|
3.14
|
21LIDIA02
|
505.20
|
508.00
|
2.80
|
0.92
|
|
|
|
|
|
21LIDIA03
|
2.00
|
6.50
|
4.50
|
0.43
|
21LIDIA03
|
8.50
|
10.50
|
2.00
|
0.54
|
21LIDIA03
|
38.50
|
40.50
|
2.00
|
0.46
|
21LIDIA03
|
76.50
|
94.50
|
18.00
|
0.63
|
21LIDIA03
|
224.40
|
226.40
|
2.00
|
0.58
|
21LIDIA03
|
275.20
|
279.20
|
4.00
|
0.41
|
21LIDIA03
|
299.20
|
398.50
|
99.30
|
0.48
|
|
|
|
|
|
22LIDIA04
|
36.00
|
39.10
|
3.10
|
0.62
|
22LIDIA04
|
63.60
|
67.10
|
3.50
|
0.70
|
22LIDIA04
|
73.10
|
74.60
|
1.50
|
0.51
|
22LIDIA04
|
96.10
|
292.60
|
196.50
|
0.53
|
22LIDIA04
|
370.50
|
371.50
|
1.00
|
0.56
|
22LIDIA04
|
375.50
|
377.50
|
2.00
|
0.52
|
22LIDIA04
|
399.90
|
405.00
|
5.10
|
0.41
|
22LIDIA04
|
412.00
|
413.00
|
1.00
|
0.83
|
|
|
|
|
|
22LIDIA05
|
Pending
results
|
Ortosa-Godán
Ortosa-Godán Project is located three kilometers northwest of
the Carles mine, at the same gold belt.
Orovalle started an exploration drilling program at the end of
August 2021 in order to define the
skarn continuity and check the oxide mineralization related to
N40ºE structures. The Company disclosed first quarter fiscal 2022
results in the press release dated January
18, 2022. During Q2 FY2022, 426 meters were completed in one
drill hole. Results from drill hole samples are pending, the
information will be provided in due course.
The drilling campaign is still in progress, targeting to confirm
the continuity of the mineralization intersected in drillhole
21ORW05: 20.66 g/t over 2.9 meters.
El Valle Boinás
The drilling program continued with its focus on upgrading
inferred resources, with a total of 6,642
m of infill drilling completed in Boinas South and Breccia
East.
Carlés
598 meters were drilled during Q2 FY2022 completing the infill
drilling program. Around 200 Kt of Inferred resources were
converted into Measured and Indicated resources as result of the
infill drilling campaign completed in Carles West.
Quality Control
Greenfield drill hole samples were sent to an external
laboratory (ALS Laboratory) for analyses. Infill drill hole samples
were analyzed in Orovalle's Laboratory.
Sample preparation was carried out at the El Valle facility. All
diamond core samples have been prepared using the following
procedure, once split:
- The core samples are dried at a temperature of 105ºC and then
crushed through a jaw crusher to 95%<6 mm. The coarse-crushed
sample is further reduced to 95%<425 microns using an LM5
bowl-and-puck pulverizer. An Essa rotary splitter is used to take a
450 g to 550 g sub-sample of each split for pulverizing. The
remaining reject portion is bagged and stored. The sample is
reduced to a nominal -200 mesh using an LM2 bowl-and-puck
pulverizer. 140 g sub-samples are split using a special
vertical-sided scoop to cut channels through the sample which has
been spread into a pancake on a sampling mat. Samples are then sent
to the laboratory for gold and base metal analysis. Leftover pulp
is bagged and stored.
- After sample preparation, 30g samples are analyzed (in Orovalle
Laboratory) for Au by fire assay with an atomic absorption
spectroscopy (AAS) finish and two-gram samples for Ag, As, Bi, Cu,
Hg, Pb, Sb, Se, and Zn by ICP-optical emission spectroscopy
(ICP-OES) after an aqua regia digestion.
- In case of the samples sent to an external laboratory, 30 g
samples are analyzed for Au by fire assay with an atomic absorption
(Au AA-25) and 35 elements by ICP (ME-ICP41) after an aqua regia
digestion. When Au and Ag values are >100 ppm and Cu and As
values are >10,000 ppm, specific analysis methods are used to
determinate the final grade.
The reported work has been completed using industry standard
procedures, including a quality assurance/quality control ("QA/QC")
program consisting of the insertion of certified reference
material, blanks and duplicates samples into the sample stream.
The exploration update was prepared under the supervision of
Guadalupe Collar Menéndez, a qualified person for the purposes of
NI 43-101 and an employee of Orovalle Minerals S.L., a subsidiary
of Orvana.
Financial Performance
Q2 FY2022 financials will be released mid-May, 2022.
ABOUT ORVANA - Orvana is a multi-mine gold-copper-silver
company. Orvana's assets consist of the producing El Valle and
Carlés gold-copper-silver mines in northern Spain, the Don Mario gold-silver property in
Bolivia, currently in care and
maintenance, and the Taguas property located in Argentina. Additional information is available
at Orvana's website (www.orvana.com).
Cautionary Statements - Forward-Looking
Information
Certain statements in this presentation
constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking
information within the meaning of applicable securities laws
("forward-looking statements"). Any statements that express or
involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations,
beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, potentials,
future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or
phrases such as "believes", "expects", "plans", "estimates" or
"intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results "may",
"could", "would", "might", "will" or "are projected to" be taken or
achieved) are not statements of historical fact, but are
forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements herein relate to, among other
things, Orvana's ability to achieve improvement in free cash flow;
the ability to maintain expected mining rates and expected
throughput rates at El Valle Plant; the potential to extend the
mine life of El Valle and Don Mario beyond their current
life-of-mine estimates including specifically, but not limited to,
in the case of Don Mario, the processing of the mineral stockpiles
and the reprocessing of the tailings material; Orvana's ability to
optimize its assets to deliver shareholder value; the Company's
ability to optimize productivity at Don Mario and El Valle;
estimates of future production, operating costs and capital
expenditures; mineral resource and reserve estimates; statements
and information regarding future feasibility studies and their
results; future transactions; future metal prices; the ability to
achieve additional growth and geographic diversification; and
future financial performance, including the ability to increase
cash flow and profits; future financing requirements; mine
development plans.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a
number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered
reasonable by the Company as of the date of such statements, are
inherently subject to significant business, economic and
competitive uncertainties and contingencies, which includes,
without limitation, as particularly set out in the notes
accompanying the Company's most recently filed financial
statements. The estimates and assumptions of the Company contained
or incorporated by reference in this information, which may prove
to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to the various
assumptions set forth herein and in Orvana's most recently filed
Management's Discussion & Analysis and Annual Information Form
in respect of the Company's most recently completed fiscal year
(the "Company Disclosures") or as otherwise expressly incorporated
herein by reference as well as: there being no significant
disruptions affecting operations, whether due to labour
disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, damage to
equipment or otherwise; permitting, development, operations,
expansion and acquisitions at El Valle and Don Mario being
consistent with the Company's current expectations; political
developments in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates
being consistent with its current expectations; certain price
assumptions for gold, copper and silver; prices for key supplies
being approximately consistent with current levels; production and
cost of sales forecasts meeting expectations; the accuracy of the
Company's current mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates;
labour and materials costs increasing on a basis consistent with
Orvana's current expectations; and the availability of necessary
funds to execute the Company's plan. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, this presentation also contains
certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
applicable securities legislation, including, without limitation,
statements with respect to the results of the preliminary economic
assessment, including but not limited to the mineral resource
estimation, conceptual mine plan and operations, internal rate of
return, sensitivities, taxes, net present value, potential
recoveries, design parameters, operating costs, capital costs,
production data and economic potential; the timing and costs for
production decisions; permitting timelines and requirements;
exploration and planned exploration programs; the potential for
discovery of additional mineral resources; timing for completion of
a feasibility study; timing for first gold production at Taguas;
processing the stockpile at El Valle in connection with the metal
production catch-up program; identifying additional resources
beyond the replenishment of annual depletion rates at El Valle for
the extension of mine life; issuing an expanded resource PEA for
Taguas in a timely manner; completion of the infill drilling
program at Taguas; making a decision on the oxides stockpile at Don
Mario in a timely manner; and the Company's general objectives and
strategies.
A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many
of which are beyond the Company's control, affect the operations,
performance and results of the Company and its business, and could
cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated
or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward
looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors
include: the potential impact of the COVID-19 on the Company's
business and operations, including: our ability to continue
operations; our ability to manage challenges presented by COVID-19;
the accounting treatment of COVID-19 related matters; Orvana's
ability to prevent and/or mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and other
infectious diseases at or near our mines; our ability to support
the sustainability of our business including through the
development of crisis management plans, increasing stock levels for
key supplies, monitoring of guidance from the medical community,
and engagement with local communities and authorities; fluctuations
in the price of gold, silver and copper; the need to recalculate
estimates of resources based on actual production experience; the
failure to achieve production estimates; variations in the grade of
ore mined; variations in the cost of operations; the availability
of qualified personnel; the Company's ability to obtain and
maintain all necessary regulatory approvals and licenses; the
Company's ability to use cyanide in its mining operations; risks
generally associated with mineral exploration and development,
including the Company's ability to continue to operate the El Valle
and/or ability to resume long-term operations at the Carlés Mine;
the Company's ability to successfully implement a sulphidization
circuit and ancillary facilities to process the current oxides
stockpiles at Don Mario; the Company's ability to successfully
carry out development plans at Taguas; sufficient funding to carry
out development plans at Taguas and to process the oxides
stockpiles at Don Mario; the Company's ability to acquire and
develop mineral properties and to successfully integrate such
acquisitions; the Company's ability to execute on its strategy; the
Company's ability to obtain financing when required on terms that
are acceptable to the Company; challenges to the Company's
interests in its property and mineral rights; current, pending and
proposed legislative or regulatory developments or changes in
political, social or economic conditions in the countries in which
the Company operates; general economic conditions worldwide; the
challenges presented by COVID-19; fluctuating operational costs
such as, but not limited to, power supply costs; current and future
environmental matters; and the risks identified in the Company's
disclosures. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may
affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements and
reference should also be made to the Company's Disclosures for a
description of additional risk factors.
Any forward-looking statements made herein with respect to
the anticipated development and exploration of the Company's
mineral projects are intended to provide an overview of
management's expectations with respect to certain future activities
of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans,
estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions and, except as
required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to
update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to
these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.
Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements made in this information
are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations
with respect to certain future operating activities of the Company
and may not be appropriate for other purposes.
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SOURCE Orvana Minerals Corp.