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Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSXV: APN) (WKN: A2JNFG) ("Altiplano" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the progress at the historical Maria Luisa gold-copper mine. The Maria Luisa project is located within the Atacama Region 100 km north of La Serena in Incahuasi, Chile.
The Company is pleased to report that technical work has been completed to develop an underground exploration and development plan at the historical Maria Luisa gold - copper mine. The Company is also pleased to announce that the exploitation permit application along with the design details have been submitted to government mining authority, Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria (SERNAGEOMIN) to support the commencement of this work.
CEO, Alastair McIntyre commented, "I am pleased that our positive technical review has been completed for Maria Luisa and we have begun the application process to support the underground development work. Maria Luisa presents a great opportunity to explore and develop a high-grade Au-Cu deposit from underground while leveraging further upside exploration opportunities on the project, in particular to the north-east where we recently sampled 8.73 g/t gold over 5.75 metres from underground workings. I am also pleased announce the appointment of our new mining engineer Aaron Kemp as a recent addition to the Chilean team to manage this process."
The technical plan is designed to reach gold-copper mineralized veins through multiple access points on multiple levels through a decline system. The work involves constructing a decline that will enter at the southwest corner of the property and advance in a southeast direction for approximately 350 metres to intersect the mineralized zone beneath the historical workings (Figure 1.). In this zone, over 600 tonnes were recovered from selective mining between 2013-2015 yielding an average grade of 6.85 grams per tonne (g/t) and 1.89 percent (%) Copper. In addition, historical work utilizing surface and underground sampling and mapping conducted by ENAMI between 1998 and 1999, generated a historical resource that ranges from 200,000 to 400,000 tonnes with a range of grades of 1.5% Cu and 2 g/t Au to 2.5% Cu and 5 g/t Au*
Figure 1. Plan Map of Maria Luisa
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*Estimation of quantity and grade is conceptual in nature with insufficient work to define a mineral resource, and further exploration may or may not define a resource at Maria Luisa (M. Dufresne, NI 43-101 Technical Report, February 2017). In addition, a decision to commence underground exploration and development at the Maria Luisa site is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this decision.
The northwest and southeast mineralized Au-Cu veins will be accessed through crosscuts on 4 separate levels and designed to create up to 8 mining faces (Figure 2.). The underground work will provide detailed geological knowledge and also generate the opportunity to extract Au-Cu mineralized bulk samples that can be sold to nearby processing plants to offset some of the development costs in advance of a full ramp up. The Company plans to initially extract up to 3,000 tonnes of mineralized gold-copper material in Phase I with future opportunity to expand to 5,000 tonnes. The construction time after permitting approval is expected to be approximately 6 months. The process of review and granting of the permit is anticipated to take approximately two months. Once the approval has been granted the Company is funded to immediately begin the construction of the decline.
Figure 2. Underground Mine Model
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As part of the ongoing development work, the Company is also designing an underground drill program to delineate the gold-copper vein system at depth and guide future development. This has proven to be very valuable at Farellon where it has helped maintain grade and structural control on the operations. With the Company's newly purchased drill rig (see April 15th news release), this will provide the opportunity to obtain valuable cost effect geological information for our technical team both in the development underground and identifying additional zones of interest from surface. In addition to the underground drill program, the Company is designing an exploration work program that will involve detailed geological mapping of parallel vein systems and follow-up surface exploration drilling to test the underexplored land package to the NE where recent underground chip sampling has identified a number of high-grade Au-Cu north-south trending gold mineralized vein systems. This exploration work, along with new engineering and permitting approvals, is anticipated to support the construction of a second decline to access this N-S mineralized vein structure where ultimately a series of interconnected decline structures would provide multiple access points.
About Altiplano
Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSXV: APN) is a Canadian mining company focused on the acquisition and development of near-term cash flowing assets and exploration projects of significant scale. Altiplano's goal is to grow into a mid-tier producer of copper, gold and silver with immediate plans of generating profits from three cash flowing projects in 2021. Management has a substantial record of success in capitalizing on opportunity, overcoming challenges and building shareholder value.
John Williamson, B.Sc., P.Geol., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this document.
Altiplano is part of the Metals Group of companies, managed by an award-winning team of professionals who stand for technical excellence, painstaking project selection and uncompromising corporate governance, with a proven ability to capitalize on investment opportunities and deliver shareholder returns.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
/s/ "John Williamson"
Chairman
For further information, please contact:
Alastair McIntyre, CEO
alastairm@apnmetals.com
Tel: (416) 434 3799
Jeremy Yaseniuk, Director
jeremyy@apnmetals.com
Tel: (604) 773-1467
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 accuracy of this release.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify any historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the issuer is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Any decision to commence production or begin underground development is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with any production decision. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
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