Southern Hemisphere Mining Limited is pleased to advise that drilling has resumed at its flagship Llahuin Copper-Gold Project in central Chile following the Christmas/New Year break as part of an accelerated drilling campaign being implemented under its joint venture with leading Canadian base metals miner Lundin Mining Corporation. Three drill rigs, one reverse circulation and two diamond drill rigs, are currently operating at both the Central Porphyry and the nearby Ferrocarril zone at the Llahuin Project, targeting additions to the current Measured and Indicated Resource of 145Mt grading 0.4% copper equivalent.
A Joint Venture Technical Committee between Southern Hemisphere and Lundin Mining has been established, with the initial Joint Venture budget providing for this approved accelerated drilling campaign. After completing an initial review of the Llahuin Project and the results to date, the Technical Committee has decided to defer completion of the previously announced Llahuin Project Scoping Study to enable additional drilling results to be included in an updated resource estimate. This reflects the Technical Committee’s view of the potential exploration upside at the Llahuin Project.
The Joint Venture arrangements with Lundin Mining have progressed under the terms of the Option Agreement announced on October 17, 2012, including the incorporation of a Chilean joint venture company, Minera Llahuin SCM and the establishment of the Joint Venture Technical Committee. Also, Mr Paul McRae has been appointed to the Southern Hemisphere Board as a non-executive Director and representative of Lundin Mining.
Acquisition of Llahuin Project Exploitation Licences
Southern Hemisphere also advises that it has completed the purchase of the Amapola Exploitation Licences covering the Llahuin Project under the original option arrangements announced on July 13, 2011. This purchase completes the 100 per cent ownership of all the Llahuin Project licenses, including the three targeted zones of Central Porphyry, Cerro de Oro and Ferrocarril. Southern Hemisphere’s Managing Director, Mr Trevor Tennant, said resource drilling was now back in full swing at the Llahuin Project with an accelerated program formally approved by the Joint Venture and the two companies working closely together to progress the Llahuin Project to the next level and to evaluate exciting new growth opportunities in Chile. He said:
“Lundin Mining’s extensive experience in exploration, project evaluation and development will bring a host of benefits to Southern Hemisphere and will help us to unlock the value of the Llahuin Project. The Llahuin Project is and will remain our key focus but we are also aware of and currently evaluating other copper/gold opportunities within the Coquimbo Region of central Chile in conjunction with Lundin Mining, which may provide future opportunities for joint operations.”
Llahuin Copper/Gold Project
The Llahuin Project is located within the Coquimbo region of central Chile, approximately 250km north of Santiago and 17km south of the mining town of Combarbala. The Llahuin Project is located at an altitude of 1,300m, situated on the coastal cordillera, and is approximately 56km from the Pacific Ocean.
Lundin Mining Corporation
Lundin Mining is a diversified Canadian base metals miner which holds a strategic 11.5% stake in Southern Hemisphere. It has operations in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Ireland producing copper, zinc, lead and nickel. In addition, Lundin Mining holds a development project pipeline which includes an expansion at its Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal and an equity stake in the world class Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is currently undergoing a major expansion.