RUSORO
MINING LTD.
Suite 2164 – 1055
Dunsmuir Street, Four Bentall Centre
Vancouver, BC V7X
1B1
Tel: 604-632-4044 Fax: 604-632-4045
RECORD
PRODUCTION AT CHOCO 10; CHOCO 10 PERMITS
AS WELL AS
FURTHER EXPLORATION PERMITS SECURED
Jan. 23,
2008
Trading symbol (TSX-V): RML
Vancouver, Canada – Rusoro
Mining Ltd. is pleased to report record production at its Choco 10 mine
and
confirm that numerous additional permits regarding exploration and mining at
the Company’s
San Rafael / El Placer
deposits have been secured. Highlights of the Company’s recent
activities include:
- Record
Production. Choco 10 produced 9,671 ounces of gold in December
2007. For the third
consecutive
month the mine has now produced at full production capacity. This
represents the
first
full quarter with Rusoro as the operator and the best quarter in the history of
the mine in terms
of
ounces produced at 27,790 ounces – an increase of 176% over Q3
2007.
- Choco Permits
Secured. Rusoro has also secured important permits required for the
continued operation
and
anticipated expansion of the Choco 10 mine, including permitting for the
completion of an expanded
waste
rock storage area and additional pumping capacity from the water wells at the
Choco 10 Mine.
- Choco Drill
Program. 100,000m of drilling is scheduled at Choco in 2008.
Recent drill results from
Choco continue to intersect significant
gold mineralization in multiple zones including;
- 17m @ 14.1 g/t Au
- 11.4m @ 6.34 g/t Au
- 11m @ 5.28 g/t Au, and
- 13.6m @ 2.21 g/t Au.
- Additional Permitting Success. The permitting process
has been successfully completed allowing for the
exploration,
development and future mining of the ore at the Company’s San Rafael/El Placer gold deposits
near
El Dorado.
Commenting
on these updates, George Salamis, President of the Company stated: “We
are delighted that we have
been
able to successfully turn around the Choco 10 operations in such a short
timeframe. These milestones at Choco
and San Rafael/El Placer give us a very strong
foundation going forward to achieve our near and long term
production
goals.”
Choco 10 Mine Operations
The Company is very pleased
with the progress at the Choco 10 mine which has now operated at capacity for a
full quarter (Q4 of
2007), for the first time in the mine’s history. The mine is
expected to produce approximately
120,000 Au ounces in
2008. None of the Company’s gold production is hedged.
The logistics and a
timeline for the expansion of production at Choco 10 are currently being
formulated along with
an aggressive plan for
ore development. It is the Company's goal to double production over the
next 36 months.
To this end, the Company
has received the necessary permit for the completion of an additional waste
rock storage
area at the mine covering
120 hectares along with the accompanying operating permit for three
years. A further
permit has been
authorized for the continued operation and possible expansion of the water
wells vital to ensure
that water is not an
issue now or in the future. The completion of both the waste rock and
water permitting is a
significant advancement
toward the expansion plans being contemplated at the mine.
The Company is also
pleased to release recently received drill results from the ongoing drill
campaign at Choco 10.
The Company intends to
drill approximately 100,000m at Choco in 2008, specifically to expand and
upgrade the
resources outlined in the
current 43-101 resource estimation (below) which was completed in November of
2007.
Reserves (Choco
10, 95% Basis)
|
Reserves
|
Tons (Mt)
|
Grade (g/t)
|
Gold ('000 oz)
|
Proven
|
1.9
|
3.0
|
180
|
Probable
|
13.6
|
3.4
|
1,482
|
Total Reserves
|
15.4
|
3.4
|
1,662
|
Measured &
Indicated Resources (inclusive of Reserves)
|
Category
|
Tons (Mt)
|
Grade (g/t)
|
Gold ('000 oz)
|
Measured
|
2.3
|
2.9
|
221
|
Indicated
|
53.8
|
2.4
|
4,225
|
Total M&I
|
56.1
|
2.42
|
4,446
|
Inferred
Resources
|
Category
|
Tons (Mt)
|
Grade (g/t)
|
Gold ('000 oz)
|
Choco 10 (95%)
|
40.8
|
2.2
|
2,869
|
Estimation parameters for the updated Choco 10 43-101
report by Micon International (November 2007):
1. Reserves
and Resources are NI 43-101 compliant and follow the definitions for proven and
probable reserves and Measured,
Indicated and Inferred resource established by the CIM.
2.
Interpretation and modeling completed on 25 metre to 12.5 metre spaced cross
sections using Gemcom software.
3. Grades were
estimated using three-dimensional computerized models containing geological
data and kriged estimated grades
4. Cut off
used of 0.5 g/t and SG values of 2.0 for saprolite and 2.7 for
hardrock.
5. Numbers may
not add due to rounding.
A total of 12,231 metres
of RC drilling was completed in Q4, 2007. The drilling continues to be
highly successful
in intersecting numerous strongly
gold mineralized zones, several of which have an average gold grade of greater
than 5.0 g/t Au and
include;
Drill Hole
|
Au g/t
|
m
|
from
|
to
|
Zone
|
CH07-1083
|
14.10
|
17.0
|
94.0
|
111.0
|
Coacia in-fill
|
and
|
6.60
|
8.3
|
115.75
|
124.0
|
Coacia in-fill
|
CH07-825
|
6.34
|
11.4
|
133.1
|
144.5
|
Gabbro in-fill
|
and
|
5.28
|
11.0
|
215.7
|
226.7
|
Gabbro in-fill
|
CH07-832
|
2.21
|
13.6
|
225.5
|
239.1
|
Gabbro in-fill
|
CH07-862
|
8.42
|
6.0
|
74.5
|
80.5
|
VBK Hanging Wall
|
CH07-915
|
3.68
|
10.8
|
232.2
|
243.0
|
VBK Hanging Wall
|
CH07-1050
|
3.08
|
7.0
|
15.0
|
22.0
|
RC Oxide
|
CH07-1048
|
5.46
|
17.0
|
26.0
|
43.0
|
Gabbro Oxide
|
CH07-1004
|
6.62
|
7.0
|
19.0
|
26.0
|
Gabbro Oxide
|
CH07-952
|
3.48
|
7.0
|
241.9
|
248.9
|
Gabbro Oxide
|
and
|
12.90
|
3.1
|
268.1
|
271.2
|
Gabbro Oxide
|
CH07-1059
|
12.68
|
3.0
|
57.0
|
60.0
|
Gabbro HW
|
CH07-1055
|
3.94
|
9.0
|
81.1
|
90.1
|
Gabbro HW
|
CH07-1068
|
3.52
|
9.0
|
81.1
|
90.1
|
Gabbro HW
|
CH07-1061
|
5.65
|
7.2
|
88.5
|
95.7
|
Gabbro HW
|
CH07-1062
|
3.61
|
4.4
|
122.9
|
127.3
|
Gabbro HW
|
CH07-1124
|
6.92
|
32.0
|
13.0
|
45.0
|
RC Oxide
|
and
|
7.29
|
7.0
|
85.0
|
92.0
|
RC Oxide
|
CH07-862
|
5.47
|
11.8
|
474.5
|
486.3
|
VBK Downdip
|
NOTES: 1) All thicknesses are sample widths / true
widths estimated at 80-90%.
2) All weighted averages calculated using uncut
assays.
A full set of results and
a drill plan map highlighting the locations for holes discussed in this release
will be posted
on the Company’s
website at www.rusoro.com ..
El Dorado Projects Permitting and Development
A significant
phase in the permitting process was also completed for the El Dorado Projects (San Rafael
/ El Placer /
Emilia) where
three highly important permits have been recently authorized for the continued
exploration,
development and future start-up of gold production.
At Emilia the company’s wholly owned subsidiary Empresa Mineria
MS C.A. was granted authorization of the permit
(04/01/2008) to Affect Resources (Afectacion de los Recuros) for the
development and gold production from both
underground
and open pit related to the development of the Alvarez ramp and the planned
production from the
Days Open Pit. Recent drilling at Days has been highly successful
in extending the known mineralized zone along
Strike from
the existing pit including;
Drill Hole
|
Au g/t
|
m
|
from
|
to
|
EDR-07-81
|
5.16
|
35.0
|
56.0
|
91.0
|
incl.
|
24.96
|
6.0
|
58.0
|
64.0
|
EDR-07-123
|
2.12
|
29.0
|
105.0
|
134.0
|
EDR-07-82
|
24.79
|
2.0
|
77.0
|
79.0
|
EDR-07-82
|
15.46
|
3.0
|
67.0
|
70.0
|
EDR-07-122
|
2.07
|
21.0
|
67.0
|
88.0
|
EDR-07-95
|
4.93
|
8.0
|
121.0
|
129.0
|
NOTES: 1) All thicknesses are sample widths / true
widths estimated at 80-90%.
2) All weighted averages calculated using uncut
assays.
Additionally the permit to Affect Resources was issued for the adjacent
San
Rafael mineral title which allows for the
continued exploration
and on-going drilling activities. A third permit to Affect Resources was
also issued for the
El Placer mineral title which
authorizes the underground extraction of gold ore. An updated
resource estimate and
technical report on the El
Dorado Projects (San Rafael / El Placer/
Emilia) is currently being completed by Micon
International and is scheduled to be finished
in Q1 2008.
About Rusoro Mining
Rusoro Mining is an advanced junior
gold producer with a large land position in the prolific Bolivar State
region of
Venezuela. With the
resent acquisition of the Choco 10 mine the Company has expanded its asset base
to 12.8 million
ounces of gold and will reach an
annualized production rate of 150,000 oz/yr in 2008. Rusoro will drill in
excess of
300,000 meters in 2008 to expand and
upgrade its gold ounces for projected production expansion at the Choco 10
and the Company’s Emilia
Facility in El Dorado.
Management are very experienced in the country with strong
government relationships at all
levels and they are committed to aggressively pursuing
the Company’s goal of becoming
an Intermediate gold producer in the
near term.
NI-43-101 Compliance and
QA/QC
Diamond and Reverse
Circulation (RC) drilling is conducted by independent contractors; Core-Beil
Drilling and
Perforaciones Mayortec
(Major Drilling) of Puerto Ordaz Venezuela
and AK Drilling of Peru.
All drilling and drill
sampling has been
completed using industry standard practices. All drill core is described
in detail and photographed
and one half of the core remains for inspection and reference.
Sample analyses have been
conducted at independent commercial assays labs located in Bolivar State Venezuela
including; Actlabs in
Tumeremo, SGS Labs in El Dorado, ACME Lab in Guasipati and Triad Labs located
in El Callao.
All sample analyses was
completed using industry standard practices and standard samples, blanks and
duplicate check
samples were randomly
inserted into the sample stream to ensure quality control. A review of
the QA/QC results shows
no significant bias and all results are considered highly
reliable. Sample rejects for all drill samples are retained and are
available for any further testing which may be required.
Qualified Person: Mr. Gregory Smith, P.Geo, the
Vice-President Exploration of the Company, is the Qualified Person
as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and is responsible
for the accuracy of this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
“George
Salamis”
George Salamis, President
Forward-looking
statements: This document contains statements about expected or anticipated future
events and financial results that are forward-looking in
nature and as a
result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general
economic, market and business conditions, the regulatory process and
actions, technical issues, new legislation,
competitive and general economic factors and conditions, the uncertainties
resulting from potential delays or changes
in plans, the
occurrence of unexpected events, and the Company’s capability to execute
and implement its future plans. Actual results may differ materially from
those projected by
management. For such statements, we claim the safe harbour for forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Legislation Reform
Act of 1995.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not take responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.