TTM RECEIVES PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT FOR CHU MOLYBDENUM PROJECT
INDICATING A BASE CASE(US$20 per lb Mo) NET PRESENT VALUE OF
$1,039 MILLION USING AN IN-PIT RESOURCE ESTIMATE OF INDICATED RESOURCE
AT 388.5 MILLION TONNES GRADING 0.052% Mo AND INFERRED RESOURCE AT
284.1 MILLION TONNES GRADING 0.048% Mo AT A 0.017% Mo CUTOFF
TSX-V Symbol: TTQ
Frankfurt Stock Exchange Symbol: T2U
US Clearing Symbol: TTMRF
Issued and Outstanding 50,307,489VANCOUVER, Sept. 3 /CNW/ - W. K. Crichy Clarke, President and CEO of TTM
Resources Inc. ("TTM" or the "Company") announces that the Company has
received an updated resource estimates from Giroux Consultants Inc., of
Vancouver, B.C. for its 100% owned Chu Molybdenum Project 65 Km Southwest of
Vanderhoof, British Columbia, Canada. It has also received a Preliminary
Economic Assessment for the Project from Moose Mountain Technical Services of
Calgary, Alberta. These estimates will be included in an updated NI 43-101
report under preparation and expected soon.PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT
-------------------------------This report identified the main critical economic factors for the CHU
project as; the future price of molybdenum, the cost of capital equipment and
the debt to equity ratio for the project. The following table shows the
financial estimates with differing values for these variables based on a
60,000 tonne per day mining operation lasting 31 years. All prices are quoted
in Canadian dollars except where noted.Table 1
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Molybdenum Low Case Base Case High Case
Prices US$15 per lb US$20 per lb US$25 per lb
-------------- ------------------ ------------------- -------------------
-------------- ------------------ ------------------- -------------------
Capital
Equipment New Used New Used New Used
-------------- ------------------ ------------------- -------------------
-------------- ------------------ ------------------- -------------------
NPV at 10%
$Millions 116.2 514.7 1,039.7 1,438.2 2,126.9 2,525.3
-------------- ------------------ ------------------- -------------------
IRR 12.5% 27.7% 27.3% 47% 45.4% 77.5%
-------------- ------------------ ------------------- -------------------
Payback years 8 4 5 3 3 2
-------------- ------------------ ------------------- -------------------Assumes debt-equity project financing of 50%-50%. A 100% equity case will
be available on the corporate website. Capital Equipment including working
capital and 20% contingency factor is estimated at 1,250.0 million (new) and
750.0 million (used). The low case (US $15 per pound Mo) assumes US$20 per lb
year one, US$18 per lb year two and US$15 to year 31. Metallurgical recoveries
were assumed at 86% for the purposes of these evaluations.
Current molybdenum sale prices are approximately $35 per pound.
Recognizing the importance of capital costs to the project, the Company is in
the process of sourcing, and negotiating for, used mining and milling
equipment appropriate for the CHU Project.
The production schedule used by Moose Mountain entails mining and milling
of high grade ore in the initial production years with lower grade material
stockpiled for milling at later dates. This allows for higher initial cash
flow and a shorter pay back period.UPDATED RESOURCE ESTIMATE
-------------------------As set out in Table 2 & 3 below the updated geologic Resource estimate
represents an increase of 17.3 million tonnes, 25.6 million lbs of molybdenum
and a significant upgrade in indicated versus inferred tonnage over the
previously published figures for the 0.04% cut-off category. The updated
figures below are based on an additional 7,010.61 meters of drilling in
13 holes drilled during the months of Jan & Feb 2008. For the purpose of the
Preliminary Economic Assessment Moose Mountain established an In-Pit resource
based on an optimized pit shell for a guideline, then a preliminary pit was
designed to incorporate the high wall ramp, smooth pit walls, and workable
mining phases and finally, the resource estimate calculated within the
designed ultimate pit and is summarized in Table 4 at various molybdenum
cut-off grades. The Economics quoted in this press release are based on a
0.017% Mo cutoff. Assays for holes drilled after the updated estimate have
been received and are available on the corporate website. Currently there are
two drills operating on the CHU property engaged in resource expansion and
resource category upgrading activities, and a third drill testing Geophysical
anomalies identified last year. The third drill has completed 2 of a planned
20 hole program and results will be released upon receipt, review and
tabulation.Table 2
CHU PROJECT - INDICATED RESOURCE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonnes greater Grade greater than Cutoff
than Cutoff -----------------------------
Mo Cutoff (%) (tonnes) Mo % Million lbs Mo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.04 252,630,000 0.067 373.2
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0.05 179,010,000 0.077 303.9
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0.06 121,160,000 0.087 232.4
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0.07 87,720,000 0.095 183.8
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0.08 63,090,000 0.104 144.7
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0.09 42,110,000 0.113 104.9
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0.10 27,930,000 0.122 75.1
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Table 3
CHU PROJECT - INFERRED RESOURCE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonnes greater Grade greater than Cutoff
than Cutoff -----------------------------
Mo Cutoff (%) (tonnes) Mo % Million lbs Mo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.04 200,900,000 0.062 274.70
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.05 127,160,000 0.072 201.90
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0.06 79,460,000 0.082 143.70
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0.07 51,290,000 0.091 102.90
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.08 35,260,000 0.099 77.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.09 23,500,000 0.106 54.90
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0.10 13,180,000 0.115 33.40
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Table 4
CHU PROJECT - IN-PIT RESOURCES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CUT- INDICATED RESOURCE INFERRED RESOURCE TOTAL RESOURCE
OFF M-lbs M-lbs M-lbs
Mo% M-tonnes Mo% Mo M-tonnes Mo% Mo M-tonnes Mo% Mo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.017 388.5 0.052 441.3 284.1 0.047 297.1 672.6 0.050 738.3
0.021 356.0 0.054 427.5 264.3 0.050 288.6 620.3 0.052 716.2
0.040 226.5 0.068 339.3 150.6 0.063 208.2 377.0 0.066 547.4
0.060 110.9 0.088 214.5 61.3 0.084 113.1 172.2 0.086 327.6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
NB. The preliminary assessment includes inferred mineral resources that
are considered too speculative geologically to have economic
considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized
as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary
assessment will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral
reserves do not have demonstrated economic viabilityResource Criteria; The mineral resources mentioned above are defined in
terms of the NI 43-101 regulations and their estimation was carried out using
industry standard practices using ordinary kriging of blocks 20 x 20 x 10 m
high. The mineral resources are undiluted and a total of 18 assays were capped
at 0.43 % Mo. Indicated Mineral Resource estimates were produced using a
search ellipse with dimensions equal to 1/2 the semivariogram range. A
specific gravity based on 328 measurements of 2.69 was used for tonnage
calculations. Assay results from 55 diamond drill holes totaling
28,457.16 meters was used. A total of 10,257 composited assay intersections
made up the resource database.
The Board of Directors and Advisors are very pleased with the result of
these Independent estimates.
The CHU project appears to exceed the financial criteria associated with
a bulk mining operation under the sensitivities laid out in the Preliminary
Economic Assessment. The deposit is located next to an all-weather road in the
central Plateau region of British Columbia close to sources of power and
skilled labour. Subject to the Conclusions and Recommendations in the upcoming
NI 43-101 Report, the Company will proceed towards a Pre-Feasibility Study for
the CHU Project.
The Company currently has 50,307,489 shares outstanding and $8.5 million
in working capital which does not include approximately $3.0 million in B.C.
Mining Exploration Tax Credit.
The Company has in place a comprehensive quality assurance/quality
control program including standards, blanks and duplicate samples that form
part of the sampling protocol. In addition the laboratory has its own quality
assurance program. The technical information in this news release has been
prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in
National Instrument 43-101. The technical information provided in this press
release was reviewed by Warren Robb, P.Geo., and Jim Gray P.Eng of Moose
Mountain Technical Services who are qualified persons for the purposes of NI
43-101.
For further information visit the Company's web site at
www.ttmresources.caTTM RESOURCES INC.
"Crichy Clarke"
-------------------
W.K. Crichy Clarke
President & CEOThis communication to shareholders and the public contains certain
forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those
indicated by such statements. All statements, other than statements of
historical fact, included herein, including, without limitations statements
regarding future production, 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. The TSX
Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For further information: Main, W.K. Crichy Clarke, President & CEO, Tom
Brady, (604) 685-5851, or Toll Free: (888) 685-5851, Fax: (604) 685-7349,
Website: www.ttmresources.ca, Email: ir@urg.ca; Europe, Small Cap Invest Ltd,
Alexander Friedrich, 49 (0) 69-24 24 93 49, 49 (0) 12 12 544 71 04 62, Email:
afriedrich@small-cap-invest.com
