A
NORTHAIR GROUP COMPANY
SUITE
860
- 625
HOWE STREET
VANCOUVER, BC
V6C 2T6 CANADA TEL:
(604) 687-7545 FAX: (604) 689-5041
PRESS
RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
October 04, 2007
#07-28
Sherwood Reports that Minto
Mine Declares Commercial Production
- More than 5,600 tonnes of concentrate produced to
September 30, 2007 -
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -
Sherwood Copper Corporation (SWC: TSX-V)
today reported that it has completed the commissioning process for its high
grade Minto copper-gold mine in the Yukon and will declare commercial production
as at October 1, 2007.
?Achieving commercial production at our high grade Minto
copper-gold mine is a major milestone for Sherwood Copper,? said Stephen P.
Quin, President & CEO of Sherwood Copper. ?Credit for this outstanding achievement
belongs to the management and employees at the Minto Mine who have worked
diligently through the commissioning process to achieve design throughput and
recoveries. They have also
benefited from having construction managers, JDS Energy & Mining, general
contractors, Clark Builders, mining contractors, Pelly Construction, and their
numerous other subcontractors, trades and suppliers available to participate in
and assist with the commissioning process.?
As announced September 5, 2007, the construction of the
Minto mine was completed ahead of schedule and essentially on budget. The official mine opening, to be
attended by representatives of the Yukon Government, Selkirk First Nation,
people involved in the financing, construction and operation of the mine and
others will be held on October 11, 2007 at the Minto Mine
site.
Commissioning
Completed
Sherwood completed its commissioning of the Minto Mine in
the latter part of September, 2007, on schedule. During the month of September, mill
throughput averaged approximately 1,500 tpd with 98% availability but exceeded
design capacity of 1,563 tonnes per day for extended periods during the month
(the month average being affected by a limited number of days when mill was down
for equipment modifications as part of the commissioning process). Mill copper recoveries exceeded 92% in
the latter part of September and early October, essentially at design
levels. Copper concentrate grades
averaged 35% for the month of September, again at design
levels.
As a result of these achievements, Sherwood is declaring
that commercial production has commenced as of October 1, 2007, meaning that
mine production from that date forward will be recorded as mineral sales revenues and costs of sales in the statement of
earnings.
Concentrate
Shipments
At the end of September, 2007, Sherwood had approximately
4,600 dry tonnes of copper-gold-silver concentrates stored at the port of Skagway, Alaska, and more than 1,000 additional dry
tonnes of concentrates in the concentrate storage shed at the Minto mine. All of the latter concentrates, plus
additional production post month-end, will be trucked to Skagway prior to the beginning of freeze up of the
Yukon River and suspension of barge access to
the mine. The first concentrate
shipment, comprising up to 6,000 dry tonnes of concentrates (averaging
approximately 9% moisture), is expected to depart Alaska for smelters in Asia in the latter part of October. The Skagway ore terminal, being refurbished under
an agreement with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Agency, is
available for ship loading purposes and the remaining components, not required
for ship loading, should be completed by month
end.
Phase 2 Mill
Expansion
Construction of the Phase 2 mill expansion, which will
take daily mill throughput from the current design of 1,563 metric tonnes per
day (tpd) to 2,400 tpd, is well advanced, with the second ball mill and the
additional flotation cells installed in the expanded mill building, and two
additional tailings filters being installed in an expanded tailings filter
building. Completion of the Phase 2
mill expansion is anticipated before year end-2007, well ahead of schedule, at a
cost of approximately C$16 million.
As a result of the tie in of the Phase 2 mill expansion, production in
December will be affected, to a limited extent, by required shut downs to allow
for piping and electrical tie ins to be
completed.
This Phase 2 mill expansion includes a number of
accommodations that would facilitate a Phase 3 mill expansion, to in the order
of 3,300 to 3,500 tpd, including all the flotation capacity required for such a
throughput increase now, and providing sufficient room in the expanded mill
building to accommodate other equipment that may be required for grinding and
flotation. Additional tailings
capacity would also be required to achieve this throughput. A Phase 3 mill expansion is the subject
of an independent pre-feasibility study currently nearing completion, as discussed below.
Pre-feasibility
Study
The independent pre-feasibility study being undertaken by
SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. is currently nearing
completion and should be released in November. Completion has been delayed by incorporation of a number of developments post-completion of the August 2006
feasibility study, including, but not limited to, (a) conversion of a portion of
the Area 2 resource to reserves, (b) improved geotechnical information enhancing
pit optimization, (c) conversion of the mine planning model to an NSR basis from
an in situ copper grade basis, (d) increased mill throughput from 2,400 tpd to
3,300 to 3,500 tpd based on a coarser primary grind, (e) provision of grid power
by late 2008, and (g) update of the Minto mine cost assumptions based on actual
contract terms for mining services, explosives supply, concentrate trucking,
concentrate off-take, etc.
Minto Project
The
Minto Mine is a high-grade open pit copper-gold deposit located in the Yukon
Territory of Canada that was purchased, a feasibility study completed, financed
and built in less than two years.
In parallel with development activities, Sherwood has been running an
exceptionally successful exploration program that has resulted in multiple
discoveries of high grade copper-gold mineralization across its Minto Mine
property.
Sherwood
Sherwood?s successful consolidation of the ownership of
the Minto Project provides a unique investment opportunity ? participation in a
fully permitted, operating, high-grade, open pit copper-gold mine located in
Canada with tremendous exploration potential on the 100% owned
property.
Quality
Assurance
The technical information in this
news release has been prepared in
accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument
43-101 and reviewed by Stephen P. Quin, P. Geo., President & CEO for Sherwood Copper Corporation.
Technical information related to mine operations has been reviewed by
Ian Berzins, P.Eng, General Manager,
Minto Mine.
Additional
Information
Additional information on Sherwood and its Minto Project can be obtained
on Sherwood?s website at http://www.sherwoodcopper.com.
On behalf of the board of
directors
SHERWOOD COPPER
CORPORATION
?Stephen P. Quin?
Stephen P. Quin
President &
CEO
For further information
please contact Stephen Quin,
President of Sherwood Copper Corp.
or Brad Kopp or Kristy
Reynolds at (604) 687-7545 or (888) 338-2200
**
INTERNET ADDRESS: www.sherwoodcopper.com **
The TSX Venture
Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this press release. This news release may contain forward looking
statements which are not historical facts, such as ore reserve estimates,
anticipated production or results, sales, revenues, costs, or discussions of
goals and exploration results, and involves a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These
risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, metal price volatility,
volatility of metals production, project development, ore reserve estimates,
future anticipated reserves and cost engineering estimate risks, geological
factors and exploration results.
See the Company?s filings for a more detailed discussion of factors that
may impact expected
RESULTS.