Andean Delivers Significant Increase in Mineral Resources at San Bartolome Mine in Bolivia Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 27.5 Million Ounces of Silver and 11.9 Thousand Tonnes of Tin; Inferred Mineral Resources of 3.8 Million Ounces of Silver and 1.3 Thousand Tonnes of Tin
Andean Delivers Significant Increase in
Mineral Resources at San Bartolome Mine in
Bolivia
Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 27.5 Million Ounces of Silver and 11.9 Thousand
Tonnes of Tin;
Inferred Mineral Resources of 3.8 Million Ounces of Silver and 1.3 Thousand Tonnes of Tin
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 9, 2022) - Andean Precious Metals Corp. (TSXV: APM)
(OTCQB: ANPMF) ("Andean" or the "Company"), a leading Latin American precious metals producer, is
pleased to announce an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for the Company's San Bartolomé
mine in Bolivia. This updated MRE includes stockpiles of previously crushed and sorted mineralized
material at the Company's fines depositional facility ("FDF") and will serve as a primary input in the
Company's upcoming life-of-mine expansion study.
"This updated and independently-prepared mineral resource estimate represents a significant step
forward in realizing our plans to extend the life of San Bartolomé," said Simon Griffiths, President and
CEO. "We continue to advance our understanding of expansion potential by evaluating options to co-
process FDF material with oxide material from our contracts with COMIBOL and other mineral
purchasing suppliers."
Mr. Griffiths went on to say, "While silver production remains our primary focus, the incorporation of tin as
a co-product has the potential to further strengthen our cashflow profile and drive our all-in sustaining
costs significantly lower."
The FDF mineral resource was prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. ("SRK") and recorded measured
and indicated resources of 16.2 million ounces of silver and of 11,930 tonnes of tin contained in 10.15
million tonnes grading 50 g/t silver and 0.12% tin. This represents 87% of the total material in the FDF,
the balance of which remains inferred due to delays in receiving assays. This exceeds previous market
guidance by Andean which was based on production records from the start of operations in 2008
through December 31, 2021, the effective date of the new mineral resource estimate.
San Bartolomé Expansion Study
Detailed metallurgical test work is advancing at SGS Lakefield in Canada. This test work is focused on
mineral liberation and the development of flowsheets to produce both silver doré and tin concentrates
from the FDF. Preliminary tests by Andean metallurgists on FDF samples indicated that it could be
amenable to significant upgrading through the removal of clay and other very fine materials.
Additionally, a mining study is advancing with Golder Associates in Australia. This study is focused on
the evaluation of low-cost hydraulic mining methods to recover the FDF material. Andean has the
environmental data and permits in place to modify the plant to recover tin.
Despite ongoing laboratory delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Andean is expecting to release
results of the scoping level San Bartolomé Expansion Study early in Q2 2022.
Table 1: Updated Mineral Resources
(
1)
- San Bartolomé Mine
Location
Tonnes
(
2)
(000's)
Silver
(g/t)
Silver oz.
(million)
Tin
(%)
Tin
('000t)
Pallacos Oxides
(
3,4,5)
Antuco (M+I)
Measured
Indicated
934
159
775
83.8
88.7
82.8
2.52
0.45
2.07
Huacajchi (M+I)
Measured
Indicated
171
150
21
81.3
80.7
85.9
0.45
0.39
0.06
Santa Rita (M+I)
Measured
Indicated
Inferred
1,958
769
1,189
463
89.8
93.8
87.2
91.4
5.65
2.32
3.33
1.36
Combined Pallacos (M+I)
3,063
87.5
8.62
Measured
Indicated
Inferred
1,078
1,985
463
91.2
85.5
91.4
3.16
5.46
1.36
Tatasi-Portugalete (M+I)
(
6)
Measured
Indicated
Inferred
262
183
79
16
323
323
323
272
2.72
1.90
0.82
0.14
FDF Oxides:
(7)
Indicated
Inferred
10,148
1,505
49.5
48.4
16.20
2.30
0.12
0.09
11.93
1.33
Notes:
1
.
Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of
the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral Reserves estimate.
2
.
Mineral Resource tonnage and contained metal have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate, any apparent errors are
insignificant.
3
.
Pallacos mineral resources are reported using the following Ag Cut off Grades: Antuco: 62.9 g/t Ag, Huacajchi: 58.1 g/t Ag and Santa Rita:
61.5 g/t Ag.
4
.
Pallacos mineral Resources are reported within a constraining pit shell.
Assumed silver price of $US22/oz; b) Assumed metallurgical
silver recovery: 88%; d) variable mining cost by deposit: Antuco $7.53/t, Huacajchi $6.25/t and Santa Rita $7.06/t; e) process costs:
Antuco $19.78//t Huacajchi $19.03/t and Santa Rita $19.11/t; f) Washing (+8) costs: $1.2/t; g) G&A costs: Antuco $5.37/t Huacajchi $6.29/t
and Santa Rita $5.34/t. other costs considered included Smelting, COMIBOL(Corporación Minera de Bolivia) royalty and the Silver
Bolivian Royalty.
5
.
Pallacos mineral resources are effective as of December 31, 2021, are inclusive of reserves. Assumptions include 100% mining recovery.
6
.
Tatasi-Portugalete resources are based on the Technical Report on the Bolivian Operations of Ag-Mining Investments AB and Buckhaven
Capital Corp., effective March 17, 2020 and dated September 1, 2020, prepared by Birak Consulting LLC and NCL Ingenería y
Construcción SpA.
7
.
A nominal cut-off of $US25 has been used for reporting the mineral resources at the FDF. This cut-off considers, on a per tonne basis,
$US 1.50 mining cost, $US 19.00 processing costs, $US 4.50 general & administrative costs. All cost assumptions are provided by
Andean and based on internal studies for mining and existing operations.
8
.
FDF Mineral resources are effective as of December 31, 2021, are inclusive of reserves. Assumptions include 100% mining recovery.
9
.
SRK notes that these results have not been formally issued in a technical report consistent with Canadian securities law and will be
supported by a Technical Report to be filed within 45 days of this release.
FDF Overview
Since its commissioning in 2008, the San Bartolomé mine has screened out fine material of less than
2.5mm in size (-8 mesh), effectively upgrading the silver content of material that is sent through the San
Bartolomé processing plant. This untreated material contains silver and tin and has been stockpiled in
the FDF.
Material was sampled for silver content before being stockpiled and based on that historical sampling
data, the Company previously estimated the silver grade to be between 35 and 40 grams per tonne. In
addition to the silver, the deposits from which this material was sourced were known to carry significant
tin grades.
With the assistance of industry leading consultants, Andean has initiated metallurgical studies to develop
a flowsheet for recovery of both the silver and tin in the target resource.
The completion of the FDF scoping study is now expected in Q2 2022 - delayed by slow turnaround of
assays at laboratories both in Bolivia and around the world. Andean has a significant amount of
proprietary data on hand from existing operations to support technical and economic study assumptions.
Mineral Resource Estimate Methodology - FDF
SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. has prepared the FDF Mineral Resource Estimate. The purpose of this
estimate to provide updated disclosure, incorporating new drilling, sampling and modelling techniques.
SRK conducted the majority of this work over the course of Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. All data collection
was completed by Andean's subsidiary Empresa Minera Manquiri S.A. ("Manquiri") personnel and was
reviewed by SRK.
The FDF has been drilled extensively utilizing sonic core drilling methods from a barge-mounted
platform. Manquiri personnel logged and sampled the drill core and submitted these to the commercial
laboratory ALS Minerals. Internal QA/QC submissions and chain of custody were implemented to
monitor the security, accuracy and precision of the samples generated. The results of the QA/QC
demonstrated that the sampling data is adequate for reliance on the results for mineral resource
estimation. At this time, only silver and tin are reported as potentially economically recoverable.
Mineral resources have been categorized in a manner consistent with CIM Guidelines and consider
spacing of drilling, numbers of composites, and geostatistical indicators of estimation quality as well as
other factors. Mineral resources are reported above a nominal cut off based on aggregated unit values
(USD$) for silver and tin.
Mineral Resource Estimate Methodology - Pallacos
The oxide materials at San Bartolomé, termed "pallacos," were formed from erosion of the world-class
Cerro Rico hydrothermal deposit (high sulphidation-type). The pallacos were deposited in three sectors
flanking Cerro Rico: Antuco (north sector), Huacajchi (west-southwest sector) and Santa Rita (east-
southeast sector).
The pallacos have been explored using a combination of sampling methodologies, including drilling,
hand-dug vertical shafts and hydraulic excavator/backhoe pits. The procedures and QA/QC results
indicate that the sampling data is adequate for the mineral resource estimation.
The density of sampling and mapping helped delineate the extension of the deposits and establish the
underlying bedrock topographic surface. A 3-D geological model was constructed using implicit
modeling and include the construction of solids of the limit of the bedrock and the resulting solids of the
deposits of Antuco, Huacajchi and Santa Rita. In each area, a number of domains were defined based
on lithology and alteration, provenance and pallacos size fractions.
SRK completed an analysis of the raw exploration data, performed the analysis of outliers, defined the
capping levels and composited the samples to a 2m consistent vertical length. Variogram analysis was
completed, and kriging and nearest neighbour methods were performed to define the block size and
search strategy used in the estimation. Estimates were made from the composited data into a block
model, with a parent cell dimension of 7x7x5m using ordinary kriging, inverse distance and nearest
neighbour methods as appropriate. The bulk density was assigned according to the geological domains.
The density values vary between 1.61 and 1.98 in Antuco, between 2.04 to 2.23 in Huacajchi and
between 1.87 to 2.02 in Santa Rita.
Mineral resources have been categorized in a manner consistent with CIM Guidelines and consider
spacing of drilling and sampling, numbers of composites, and geostatistical indicators of estimation
quality as well as other factors. Resources are reported above a nominal cut off based on aggregated
unit values (USD$) for Ag based on metal price and recoverability assumptions provided by Andean.
Mineral Reserve Estimate
The Company expects to release an updated global Mineral Reserve Estimate in Q4 2022. The updated
mineral reserve estimate will include the Pallacos and the FDF and will be supported by industry
standard technical and economic studies. SRK has been engaged for this purpose along with other
industry leading consultants. Andean is being advised by Tin specialists Ron Goodman and Jerry
Perkins (QP) who are being supported by professionals at SGS Lakefield, EPCM Consultores and DRA
Global.
Qualified Persons
The scientific and technical content disclosed in this press release was reviewed and approved by:
Matthew Hastings, MAusIMM (CP) and Principal Resource Geologist of SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. Mr.
Hastings has sufficient experience which is relevant to the type of material under consideration and to
the activities being undertaken to qualify as a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian National
Instrument 43-101 and;
Donald J. Birak, Senior Consulting Geologist to the Company, a Qualified Person as defined by
Canadian National Instrument 43-101, Registered Member, Society for Mining, Metallurgy and
Exploration (SME), Fellow, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). Mr. Birak's
experience in Bolivia and at San Bartolomé commenced in 2004 with Coeur Mining Inc.
About Andean Precious Metals Corp.
Andean Precious Metals is a Canadian, growth-focused silver producer that owns and operates the San
Bartolomé project located in the department of Potosí, Bolivia. San Bartolomé has been operating
consistently since 2008, producing an average of over five million ounces of silver per year. The
Company is also exploring its wholly-owned San Pablo and Rio Blanco gold projects and seeking other
accretive opportunities in Bolivia and Latin America. Andean Precious Metals is committed to fostering
safe, sustainable and responsible operations. For more information, please visit
www.andeanpm.com
.
Company Contact
Fraser Buchan
Corporate Development
T: +1 647 480 1550
North America
Daniel Weinerman
NATIONAL Capital Markets
T: +1 416 848 1715
Europe
Oliver Lamb
Tavistock
T: +44 20 7920 3150
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined
in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward-
looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking
statements"), including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of
Andean with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Forward-looking
statements are often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan",
"anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this
news release include statements that Andean is expecting to release its scoping level expansion study
findings by early Q2 2022, the updated mineral resources of the San Bartolomé mine will be supported
by a technical report to be filed within 45 days hereof, the expected completion of the FDF scoping study
in Q2 2022 and the expected release of an updated global mineral reserve estimate in Q4 2022.
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but instead
reflect Andean's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the
opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements
are made. Although Andean believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements
are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be
placed thereon, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future
results, performance or achievements of Andean. Among the key factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are the following: changes in
general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; changes
in applicable laws and regulations both locally and in foreign jurisdictions; compliance with extensive
government regulation; the risks and uncertainties associated with foreign markets. These forward-
looking statements may be affected by risks and uncertainties in the business of Andean and general
market conditions, including COVID-19.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the
forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described
herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although Andean has
attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ
materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended and
such changes could be material. Andean does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to
update the forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.
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