VANCOUVER, May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Bear Creek Mining (TSX
Venture: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce
results for 23 additional diamond drill holes (4,579 meters). Drilling at
Santa Ana now totals 34,157 meters in 188 drill holes. Santa Ana is located
200 kilometers south of the Company's Corani silver-base metal deposit in
southeastern Peru. Highlights of this press release include:
- Drill hole SA-67A intersects 32m @ 101.9 g/t Ag, 0.8% Zn,
including 6m @ 318.0 g/t Ag and 1.3% Zn;
- Drill hole SA-69A intersects 82m @ 48.8 g/t Ag,
including 8m @ 129.5 g/t Ag and 10m @ 93.8 g/t Ag and 1.8% Zn;
- Drill hole SA-92 intersects 52m @ 55.1 g/t Ag,
including 8m @ 178.0 g/t Ag;
- Drill hole SA-93 intersects 122m @ 46.9 g/t Ag,
including 12m @ 122.7 g/t Ag and 1.3% Zn;
- Drilling on 25 x 50 meter centers demonstrates continuity of
mineralization and additional potential for discovery of blind,
high-grade ore shoots.
Andrew Swarthout, President and CEO of Bear Creek, states "The project
continues to deliver very positive results as we again increase the area of
silver mineralization, particularly to the west, with step out drilling
intersecting grades that approximate those of our existing resource (see
news release dated 24 January 2008). In-fill drilling continues to show
good continuity within the current resource boundaries while intersecting
higher-grade pods as predicted from previous work. Considerable drilling is
still required prior to a scoping study as the deposit remains open,
particularly to the west and southwest. Additionally, we are evaluating the
data and designing a deeper drilling program to further explore the bonanza
grade feeder structures at depth beneath this large silver system as
drilling to date has only explored shallow, open pit potential. A source
for mineralization within this well-endowed, newly emerging silver district
has yet to be encountered, creating excellent opportunities for developing
high-grade targets at depth in addition to expanding the existing resource.
"
New drilling results are as follow. All intercepts are down-hole
lengths and true widths have not been calculated.
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Silver
Inclin- Total Interval (grams
Drill Azimuth ation Depth From To (m) per Lead Zinc
Hole # (degrees) (degrees) (m) (m) (m) DTH tonne) (%) (%)
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SA-67A 90 -70 151.5 48 80 32 101.9 0.5 0.8
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Includes 50 52 2 159.0 1.2 0.6
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And 56 60 4 163.0 1.5 0.8
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and 74 80 6 318.0 0.5 1.3
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SA-69A 90 -70 150.6 34 116 82 48.8 0.6 0.8
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includes 52 60 8 129.5 2.0 0.6
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And 80 82 2 128.0 1.0 1.2
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and 88 98 10 93.8 0.8 1.8
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SA-82A 270 -60 212.2 68 94 26 31.2 0.2 0.4
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includes 74 78 4 88.0 0.4 0.6
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SA-83 270 -70 317.4 112 142 30 33.8 0.2 0.4
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SA-83A 90 -70 267.3 128 136 8 31.8 0.2 0.3
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SA-84 120 -70 170.2 38 66 28 41.1 0.1 0.3
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80 84 4 61.5 1.3 3.0
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102 110 8 30.0 0.4 0.6
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146 152 6 41.0 0.5 0.4
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SA-85 120 -70 156.1 No significant intervals
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SA-86 120 -70 166.6 8 12 4 43.0 0.6 0.2
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34 56 22 26.8 0.2 0.2
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152 154 2 145.0 0.1 0.2
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SA-87 120 -70 170.3 16 18 2 106.0 0.4 0.3
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78 80 2 103.0 1.4 0.8
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108 116 8 38.5 0.5 1.0
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154 164 10 65.0 0.7 0.8
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SA-89 90 -75 223.8 116 130 14 195.4 0.1 0.2
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136 144 8 227.0 0.3 0.7
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SA-89A 270 -75 113.6 Not sampled - all post-mineral tuff
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SA-90 210 -70 248.2 124 138 14 55.1 0.2 0.5
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SA-90A 30 -70 198.8 38 42 4 38.5 0.1 0.1
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132 140 8 92.0 0.2 0.4
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SA-92 90 -70 258.0 24 76 52 55.1 0.3 0.4
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Includes 48 56 8 178.0 0.5 0.7
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98 104 6 236.0 0.4 0.9
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includes 98 100 2 668.0 0.6 1.0
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136 152 16 46.4 0.2 0.5
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includes 142 144 2 257.0 0.6 1.0
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164 172 8 32.0 0.3 0.7
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200 244 44 42.9 0.4 0.5
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includes 214 220 6 108.7 1.3 0.9
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And 236 238 2 224.0 0.8 1.1
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SA-92A 270 -75 176.0 88 96 8 87.2 0.6 1.8
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Includes 90 92 2 242.0 1.4 4.9
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SA-93 120 -70 244.6 22 144 122 46.9 0.5 0.7
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includes 62 92 30 74.0 0.7 0.7
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and 122 134 12 122.7 0.7 1.3
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166 174 8 65.2 0.7 0.5
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214 228 14 37.6 0.5 1.1
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SA-95 120 -70 200.3 20 42 22 71.1 0.3 0.3
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Includes 22 28 6 179.7 0.7 0.5
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110 122 12 130.8 0.5 0.6
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Includes 112 116 4 296.0 1.0 0.8
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150 160 10 58.8 0.7 0.4
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SA-97 120 -70 172.0 102 132 30 46.5 0.5 0.4
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includes 106 110 4 142.0 2.5 0.6
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140 154 14 39.4 0.1 0.2
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includes 152 154 2 98.0 0.1 0.1
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(Full drill results can be found at http://www.bearcreekmining.com. To access
the silver drill hole map directly please refer to
http://www.bearcreekmining.com/i/pdf/May7_08SantaAnadhmap.pdf)
Another close-spaced drilling fence, 750 meters long, has been added
located approximately 250 meters south of the previous drill fence which is
500 meters long. Close-spaced drilling along both lines in the south
central part of the current resource area, with the addition of drill holes
SA-67A, SA-69A and SA-93, SA-95, continues to demonstrate that drilling on
25 x 50 meter centers will likely:
- convert inferred resources into measured and indicated resources and
establish continuity of mineralization,
- convert blocks that were considered to be waste because of lack of
drilling on the periphery of the deposit to mineralized material and
reduce the stripping ratio,
- intersect additional blind, high-grade ore shoots that wider-spaced
drilling will miss, thus improving the project economics.
Step out drilling on the west-central zone (hole SA-92, see table
above) successfully demonstrates continuity of mineralization in three
flanking, structural zones which were hidden under thin post-mineral cover.
Results from holes SA-90 and SA-90A (14m @ 55.1 g/t Ag and 8m @ 92.0 g/t
Ag) correspond with a previously reported rock and soil anomaly of 100 g/t
Ag located on the SW edge of the post-mineral tuff. These holes are the
first to explore the far southwestern edge of the covering tuff and
indicate additional potential to the west. The sparse outcrops in these
unexplored, western zones require that reconnaissance drilling be completed
in order to identify mineralized structures for follow-up drilling.
Drill data from the initial holes in the new zone of mineralization,
located 750 meters southwest of the current resource limits, show some
encouragement to date with hole SA-91 intersecting 4m @ 83 g/t Ag,
corresponding with surface rock-chip samples of greater than 100 g/t Ag.
Results from an additional 3 holes are pending to evaluate this zone of
mineralization before further drilling is planned to the south and
southwest of the current resource.
New drilling results from the southwestern zone are as follow. All
intercepts are down-hole lengths and true widths have not been calculated.
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Silver
Inclin- Total Interval (grams
Drill Azimuth ation Depth From To (m) per Lead Zinc
Hole # (degrees) (degrees) (m) (m) (m) DTH tonne) (%) (%)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SA-88 120 -60 212.1 No significant intervals
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SA-88A 300 -70 146.3 20 24 4 53.0 0.2 0.3
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SA-91 120 -60 182.4 30 34 4 83.0 0.1 0.2
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SA-94 120 -60 165.4 No significant intervals
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SA-96 120 -60 275.1 No significant intervals
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Base Metals - Intervals of significant lead and zinc continue to be
intercepted in numerous drill holes. Preliminary metallurgical testing is
in progress to evaluate base metals recoveries by flotation in order to
begin evaluating the economic benefit of a lead-zinc circuit to treat
higher grade base metal feed. This concept would not affect the current
silver leaching concept for the project.
Three drills continue on the property completing close-spaced infill
and deposit extension drilling.
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of this release.
Regulatory footnotes:
All of Bear Creek's exploration programs and pertinent disclosure of a
technical or scientific nature are prepared by or prepared under the direct
supervision of David Volkert, P.Geo., Bear Creek's Vice President of
Exploration and/or Marc Leduc, P. Eng., Vice President of Technical
Services and the President and CEO, Andrew Swarthout, P.Geo., who serve as
the Qualified Persons under the definitions of NI 43-101. All diamond
drilling has been performed using HQ diameter core with recoveries
averaging greater than 95%. Core is logged and split on site under the
supervision of Bear Creek geologists. Sampling is done on two-meter
intervals and samples are transported by Company staff to Juliaca, Peru for
direct shipping to ALS Chemex, Laboratories in Lima, Peru. ALS Chemex is an
ISO 9001:2000-registered laboratory and is preparing for ISO 17025
certification. Silver, lead, and zinc assays utilize a multi-acid digestion
with atomic absorption ("ore-grade assay method"). The QC/QA program
includes the insertion every 20th sample of known standards prepared by SGS
Laboratories, Lima. A section in Bear Creek's website is dedicated to
sampling, assay and quality control procedures.
Certain disclosure in this release, including management's assessment
of Bear Creek's plans and projects, constitutes forward-looking statements
that are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors
relating to Bear Creek's operation as a mineral exploration company that
may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and
other factors are disclosed in Bear Creek's continuous disclosure filings
with Canadian securities regulators including its most recent annual
information form, available on http://www.sedar.com. Bear Creek expressly
disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Andrew Swarthout - President and CEO, or Patrick De Witt -
Investor Relations, Phone: (604) 685-6269, Direct: (604) 628-1111, E-mail:
info@bearcreekmining.com; For further information, please visit the
Company's website (http://www.bearcreekmining.com)
SOURCE Bear Creek Mining Corporation
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CONTACT:
Andrew Swarthout - President and CEO, or
Patrick De Witt - Investor Relations, Phone: (604) 685-6269,
Direct: (604) 628-1111, E-mail: info@bearcreekmining.com; For
further information, please visit the Company's website
(www.bearcreekmining.com)
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