Galeno resource boost for Northern Peru Copper

Vancouver – A new resource estimate has been delivered to Northern Peru Copper (NOC-T, NPUCF-O), increasing the size of its Galeno copper-gold-molybdenum deposit located about 600 km north of Lima, Peru.

At a 0.4% copper equivalent cut-off, an indicated resource of 504 million tonnes grading 0.54% copper, 0.12 gram gold per tonne and 0.015% molybdenum (totaling 0.71% copper equivalent) was reviewed. The estimate equates to a contained metal tally of 6 billion pounds (2.7 million tonnes) of copper, 1.9 million oz. of gold and 167 million pounds of molybdenum. The deposit hosts an additional 554 million inferred tonnes at 0.39% copper, 0.09 gram gold and 0.01% molybdenum (0.5% copper equivalent) at the same cut-off.

The study is based on over 32,000 metres of drilling in 99 holes at Galeno where continued infill drilling is focused on further upgrading inferred resources.

Within the indicated resource, a central, higher-grade core to the deposit is reviewed, containing 148 million tonnes of 0.78% copper, 0.16 gram gold and 0.019% molybdenum (0.98% copper equivalent) using a 0.8% copper equivalent cut-off. The potential starter pit portion contains about 2.5 billion pounds (1.15 million tonnes) of copper, 760,000 oz. of gold and 62 million pounds of molybdenum. Northern Peru Copper president and CEO Marshal Koval states, “the delineation of a high grade, near surface core which will form the basis of the starter pit in the early years of mining operations, significantly improving the project’s economics.”

The independent calculation gives Northern Peru Copper a new National Instrument 43-101 compliant figure to use in quantifying Galeno, and provides a substantial upgrade over the historic inferred resource estimate of 486 million tonnes of 0.57% copper and 0.14 gram gold conducted in 1998 by North Limited, now part of Rio Tinto (RTP-N).

Galeno sits in close proximity to Newmont Mining’s (NMC-T, NEM-N) 51.35%-owned Minera Yanacocha complex, where the major is actively developing and exploring new deposits to extend the operating life of South America’s largest gold producer. Its Conga deposit, located just 5 km from Galeno, hosts several million oz. of gold reserves.

Northern Peru Copper is also continuing work on its Hilorico gold zone, an epithermal system located just one km from Galeno. Recent drilling returned up to 201 metres of 1 gram gold and 5.6 grams silver per tonne, including 62 metres grading 1.5 grams gold.