Press Release
XTIERRA
REPORTS METALLURGICAL RESULTS ON OXIDE RESOURCES AS PART OF ITS BILBAO
FEASIBILITY STUDY
Toronto,
January 14, 2010, Xtierra Inc. (TSXV C XAG) (Xtierra or the Company), is pleased to announce that
it has completed oxide metallurgical test work as part of a Feasibility Study
being conducted on Xtierra’s 100% owned Bilbao
silver-zinc-lead-copper deposit located in the Central Mineral Belt of Mexico
in the State of Zacatecas and is now proceeding to implement a pilot plant test
program.
The work was
carried out at the Metallurgical Institute in San
Luis Potos.
Commenting on the
Bilbao Oxide Metallurgical Test Results, Xtierra??s President & CEO, Terence McKillen
said, “The oxide test results are extremely positive and indicate that
we have a practical and economic solution to the processing and recovery for
the oxide resources which represent approximately 40% of the total resource
potential at Bilbao.
More importantly, it allows us to focus on open pit mining methods for the
initial development of Bilbao,
including all of the oxide and transition resources with the potential of
extracting a significant portion of the sulphide resources before underground
development”.
The objective of the oxide metallurgical study was to develop a process
for the recovery of silver, zinc, lead, copper and gold to commercially
acceptable levels. The process involves crushing and grinding all run-of-mine
material to 80% -200 mesh and then removal of 40-50%
of the volume of material (pre-concentrating) using a high intensity magnetic
separator (HIMC). This results in a significant reduction in the material
requiring downstream processing. The non-magnetic concentrate, containing the
majority of the payable metals, is then subject to processing including
sulphuric acid leaching to recover copper and zinc metal; flotation to recover
lead and silver in a concentrate; and cyanide leaching to recover gold and
silver.
The flow sheet design exhibits a number of advantages which are
anticipated to impact positively on operating and capital costs. Acid
consumption represents one-third of that required without the HIMC process. Transportation
and smelting costs are reduced as lead concentrate is the only product
requiring smelting and it will contain only lead and a percentage of the
silver. All of the other contained metals are recovered as direct metal
products and dor??. Savings
in capital cost result from a 40-50% reduction in the size capacity of
downstream processing equipment. In addition, the 40-50% magnetic reject from
the HIMC process contains 35% iron oxide which may be a marketable product to
the cement industry.
The metal recoveries from the metallurgical test work on the oxide
material include:
Zinc
61.2%
Lead 41.0%
Silver 66.7%
Copper 71.0%
Gold 55.0%
Even though these appear to be low recoveries relative to recoveries in
a conventional flotation process on sulphide ores, the resulting gross values
are expected to be similar since pure metal is produced in all cases other than
lead and the smelting/refining process is
circumvented. Additional optimization will occur during the pilot plant test
program which will begin in February 2010.
Test work on the primary sulphide and transition (mixed oxide and
sulphide) resources is currently in progress with encouraging results to date. Sulphide
resources will be processed utilizing a conventional flotation flow sheet.
Qualified Person
Information of a scientific or technical nature contained in this
release has been prepared by or under the supervision of Gerald Gauthier, P.Eng.,
the Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation and a Qualified Person within
the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities
Administrators.
About
Xtierra Inc.
Xtierra Inc. is a Toronto
based exploration and development company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Xtierra??s shares trade under the
symbol ??XAG??. Xtierra has
49,862,003 shares issued and outstanding. Xtierra is
conducting a feasibility study on its 100% owned Bilbao
silver?\zinc?\copper project in Zacatecas,
Mexico. Xtierra??s objective is to become
a mid?\tier producer of precious and base metals through the development of its
Bilbao and Laguna projects, both located in the
Central Mexican Mineral Belt in the State of Zacatecas,
as well as through exploration, organic growth and M & A opportunities.
This news release may include certain
"forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of
historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation,
statements regarding potential mineralization, resources and reserves,
exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Xtierra,
are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There
can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual
results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from Xtierra??s
expectations are exploration risks detailed herein and from time to time in the
filings made by Xtierra with securities regulators.
Neither the TSX
Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined
in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or the accuracy of this release.
For
further information visit www.xtierra.ca or contact:
Terence N. McKillen, President
& Chief
Executive +1
(416) 362-8243
Tim Gallagher,
Director
+1 (416) 925-0090
Alejandro Alaniz, Director Finance &
Administration (Mexico)
+ 52 (492) 925-0804
Brett
Whitelaw +1
(778) 836-5891