WESTERN SILVER CORPORATION
TSX SYMBOL: WTC
AMEX SYMBOL: WTZ
JULY 22, 2003 - 06:00 ET
Western Silver Completes Scoping Study On Its Chile
Colorado Project
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--
Study Shows Potential of 25.6 Percent Before Tax and 15.8 Percent
After Tax; Estimates Recovery of 112 Million Ounces of Silver and
744 Thousand Ounces of Gold
Western Silver Corporation ("Western") today announced the
completion of a detailed Scoping Study on the economic potential
for its wholly owned Penasquito, Chile Colorado silver deposit by
M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation ("M3") of Tucson,
Arizona. The scoping study results demonstrate a strong potential
for the Penasquito project. In addition, M3, based on their
preliminary assessment, recommends that the project proceed to
feasibility. M3 concluded, "Based on data to date the financial
indicators for this project appear decidedly favorable."
The study indicates an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 25.6
percent pre-tax (at a silver price of US $5/oz. and a gold price
of US $325/oz) over a projected mine life of 12.2 years.
Indicated potential metal recoveries over the life of mine are
112,278,711 ounces of silver, 744,095 ounces of gold, 760,996
tonnes of zinc, and 284,782 tonnes of lead. Mine production is
estimated at 20,000 tonnes per day (tpd) or 7.3 million tonnes
per year. The capital cost of the project is estimated to be US
$148,628,400, with operating costs (mine, mill and general
administration) estimated at US $5.40 per tonne. Further details
of the study are described below.
The work done by SNC Lavalin and M3 Engineering & Technology
Corporation clearly demonstrates the potential viability of the
Chile Colorado Zone and makes it one of the few silver deposits
in the world that may be profitably mined at current metal
prices.
Economic Analysis and Study Parameters:
M3's Study is based on the indicated and inferred resource
calculation by SNC Lavalin and the application of Whittle pit
optimization software program prepared by SNC Lavalin in March,
2003. The Whittle pit optimization included both indicated and
inferred resources. Of the 89 million tonnes included in the
scoping study, 80.3 % of the tonnage is from the indicated
resource, and 19.7% is contained in the inferred resource.
Readers should note that, to the extent that the scoping study
evaluation includes inferred resources, the inferred resources
are geologically too speculative to have the economic
considerations applied that would enable them to be categorized
as mineral reserves. Ongoing work will increase the confidence in
the areas where drilling density permits only categorization as
inferred resources. SNC Lavalin calculated an indicated resource
of 118 million tonnes grading 41.85 grams per tonne silver, 0.36
grams per tonne gold, 0.38% lead and 0.89% zinc assuming a
US$4.00 per tonne Net Smelter Return (NSR) cutoff, and an
indicated resource of an additional 58.6 million tonnes grading
28.98 grams per tonne silver, 0.31 grams per tonne gold, 0.24%
lead and 0.69% zinc using the sameUS$4.00 per tonne NSR cutoff.
M3's estimates are based on a mining rate of 20,000 tpd for a
projected mine life of 12.2 years. Average waste stripping
tonnage is projected at 44,000 tpd after pre-stripping of
alluvium and oxide material, for an overall stripping ratio of
2.2 tonnes of waste for each tonne of ore mined. Process plant
for the project is a conventional SAG and Ball Mill
crush/grind/flotation concentrator.
M3 has estimated the capital cost for the project to be US
$148,628,400, based on its extensive construction cost database
and the use of all new equipment. Mining, milling and general
administration costs have been estimated at US $5.40 per tonne.
Life of Mine:
Grades and mill recoveries have been conservatively estimated and
are as follows:
----------------------------------------------------
GRADE RECOVERY
----------------------------------------------------
Lead 0.36 % 88 %
----------------------------------------------------
Zinc 1.01 % 85 %
----------------------------------------------------
Gold 0.40 g/t 65 %
----------------------------------------------------
Silver 45.1 g/t 87 %
----------------------------------------------------
Projected metal prices used for the study are:
------------------------------------
U.S. Dollars
------------------------------------
Lead 0.23 per pound
------------------------------------
Zinc 0.45 per pound
------------------------------------
Gold 325.00 per ounce
------------------------------------
Silver 5.00 per ounce
------------------------------------
Smelting and tolling charges are based on long-term anticipated
costs, which are considerably higher than current prices for
these activities.
Resource Estimate
The Whittle pit optimization software program was applied to the
Chile Colorado Net Smelter Return (NSR) resource block model
using 20,000 tpd processing rate and estimated mine and mill
operating costs and pit design criteria. The Whittle software
produced a range of pit shells, with the pit selected for this
study having the highest IRR.
Summary Resource Estimate above US$4.56 NSR Cutoff Diluted
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Design Ore Strip NSR Ag Au Pb Zn
Pit T x 1000 Ratio $/t g/t g/t % %
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1 (initial) 18,784 2.78 12.36 61.95 0.31 0.63 1.13
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2 (interm.) 24,984 1.66 10.86 48.79 0.36 0.43 1.05
---------------------------------------------------------------------
3 (final) 45,238 2.32 9.57 36.12 0.46 0.22 0.93
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 89,006 2.40(1) 10.52 45.14 0.40 0.36 1.01
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) includes pre-stripping
Project Internal Rate of Return (IRR):
M3 has calculated the IRR for the project based on 100% equity to be
15.8% after taxes and 25.6% before taxes.
The Net Present Value (NPV) based on the following discount
factors is:
0% $207,931,000 US
5% $101,210,000 US
10% $40,210,000 US
Projected metal recoveries over the 12.2 year mine life are
estimated to be:
Silver 112,278,711 ounces
Gold 744,095 ounces
Zinc 760,996 tonnes
Lead 284,782 tonnes
Base case project cash flow analysis shows approximately 55% of
NSR revenues are attributable to silver and gold, with the
remainder attributable to zinc and lead.
The study identifies several areas with potential to improve the
Chile Colorado economics:
- Additional ore and/or improved grades in this zone will have a
marked effect on the IRR. The Chile Colorado deposit is only
partially defined and it is open to the east, west and to
increased depth. It is expected that the mine life will extend
well past the 12.2 years used for this study.
- The presence of other mineralized zones is also an important
factor. Increasing the resource/reserves will open the
opportunity for larger facilities with higher throughput that
will result in lower capital and operating costs. There are at
least three other partially tested zones of mineralization at
Penasquito, all of which have demonstrated characteristics
similar to that of the Chile Colorado Zone. It is management's
intention to continue diamond drilling these zones so that they
can be included in subsequent studies.
- The metallurgical response of the ore has not been optimized
and there is still an opportunity to improve recoveries of
silver, zinc and gold.
- Based on preliminary heavy media separation studies by MSRI of
Tucson, Arizona considerable savings may be obtained if a heavy
media circuit is included in the processing plant. Work is
ongoing with respect to heavy media separation and will be
addressed at a later date in a separate study.
- The oxide zone has been included as waste material in this
present analysis. Additional drilling and metallurgical testing
will be required to evaluate the viability of heap leaching the
oxide material.
Both SNC-Lavalin, a leading engineering and construction company
working in over 100 countries worldwide, and M3 Engineering, a
full service engineering and architectural design firm, are
recognized for their experience and capabilities in the
development and construction of mines.
The descriptive sections of the M3 Scoping Study, together with
the SNC Lavalin Resource Calculations, are posted on our web site
www.westernsilvercorp.com. We encourage interested parties to
visit our site to better understand the potential of Penasquito
and our other exploration projects.
/T/
On behalf of the board,
"Dale Corman"
F. Dale Corman
Chairman and C.E.O.
/T/
Dr. Conrad Eugene Huss, P.Eng. is the qualified person
responsible for the authenticity of the contents of this release.
He is the Executive Vice President of Engineering and Chairman of
the Board with M3 Engineering & Technology Corp. He is a graduate
of the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Mathematics and a
B.A. in English. He is also a graduate of the University of
Arizona with a M.S. in Engineering Mechanics and a Ph.D. in
Engineering Mechanics.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed nor accepted
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of
this news release, which has been prepared by management.
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical
facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in
the private securities litigation reform act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
which could cause actual results to differ materially from
estimated results. Such risks and uncertainties are detailed in
the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
-30-
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Western Silver Corporation
Dale Corman
Chairman and C.E.O.
(604) 684-9497
(604) 688-4670 (FAX)
www.westernsilvercorp.com
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