Project Update at TVI Pacific's 30.66% owned TVIRD and TVI Pacific Corporate Update
Project Update at TVI Pacific's 30.66% owned
TVIRD and TVI Pacific Corporate Update
CALGARY, AB
,
April 12, 2024
/CNW/ - TVI Pacific Inc. (TSXV: TVI) (OTC Pink: TVIPF) ("
TVI
" or
"
the Company
") is pleased to provide an update with respect to various projects held and operated
by TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc. ("
TVIRD
"), a
Philippines
corporation in which TVI holds a
30.66% interest, together with a corporate update related specifically to TVI.
HIGHLIGHTS
:
Pan de Azucar
Resource drilling has commenced and to date a total of 1,548 meters has been drilled for the
purpose of validating and extending earlier findings of pyrite mineralization.
Drilling operations were suspended on
March 4, 2024
, following receipt of a Cease-and-Desist
Order (
"Order"
) issued by the Iloilo provincial government alleging contamination and a
potential danger to the island's marine life. TVIRD is focused on having the CDO reversed and
to resume the unfinished drilling program.
Agata Limestone
Several large international companies have expressed continuing interest in the limestone
deposits and TVIRD is actively evaluating each potential opportunity.
Agata Nickel
/Iron Mine
Project-to-date, 382 shipments of 20.78 million wet metric tonnes of nickel laterite have been
shipped. Rehabilitation activities under the final mine rehabilitation and decommissioning plan
have commenced.
TVIRD/AMVI continue to consider other potential nickel prospects, including the EP 27 laterite
area in Bolobolo, San Vincente, Jabonga and the Gupana-Omasdang area in Dinagat Island.
Mabilo
The costing of mine infrastructure is nearing finalization.
__________________
"TVIRD continues to be focused on developing various projects held within its portfolio. Exploration
drilling at Pan de Azucar, though not yet completed, has confirmed the presence of massive pyrite
and we are looking forward to bringing its potential value to realization. Ongoing interest expressed
by large international companies in the limestone deposits held by Agata continue to keep that
project alive, creating an opportunity to bring the adjacent infrastructure at the Agata nickel/iron mine
back into use while Agata also continues to identify various other nearby nickel prospects", said Mr.
Cliff James
, Chairman and CEO of TVI and Chairman of TVIRD, "At the Mabilo project, various
development options are currently being considered including the costing of mine infrastructure.
TVIRD has a full slate and is working vigorously on all fronts in the interest of its stakeholders."
TVIRD Projects Update
:
Pan de Azucar:
TVIRD has an option to earn a 60% interest in the Pan de Azucar (
"PDA"
) Mining Joint Venture. At
present the PDA Mining Joint Venture is held by Minimax Mineral Exploration Corporation (59%),
Mindoro Resources Ltd. (40%, through MRL Nickel Philippines, Inc.) and TVIRD (1%). PDA is
covered by Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (
"MPSA"
) 135-99-VI (held by Minimax) covering
an area of 535 hectares, with an expiry date of July 2024. The MPSA is located on Pan de
Azucar
Island
and adjacent to
Panay Island
, central
Philippines
, 200 nautical miles to the northwest of the
Agata nickel/iron direct shipping ore (
"DSO"
) mine.
The Valderama massive sulphide is comprised of a pyrite-rich mineralized horizon exposed at the
surface and is adjacent to a porphyry copper-gold system. Mindoro previously drilled 31 drillholes
with an average depth of 1,023 meters.
The sixth (6th) renewal of the exploration permit was granted on
May 23, 2022
, for a two-year
period. There is as yet no approved Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (
"DMPF"
) or
Environmental Compliance Certificate (
"ECC"
).
Drill rigs were mobilized to PDA in
October 2023
with the expectation to conduct resource drilling for
60 days. The purpose of the drilling program is to validate and extend the deposit's earlier findings
of pyrite mineralization. The mineralization contains some copper, zinc, gold and silver as well. The
program is being performed by TVIRD's 100%-owned Exploration Drilling Corporation (
"EDCO"
). A
total of 31 proposed exploration drillholes (3,040 meters) and redrilling of 3 old drillholes (240
meters) for metallurgical study are planned for a total meterage of 3,280 meters. To the date of this
news release, a total of 1,548 meters has been drilled and includes the completion of 14 new
drillholes, the redrilling of 2 holes and the premature termination of 3 drillholes following the receipt
on
March 4, 2024
, of a CDO issued by the Iloilo provincial government. Until the CDO is resolved,
drilling and field operations have been suspended and the exploration team has turned its focus to
drill core logging while EDCO has demobilized all rigs. Approximately half of the core samples have
been prepared for transport and submission to the Balabag fire assay laboratory.
The CDO
alleges
a potential danger of arsenic contamination to the island's marine life. Arsenic
occurs naturally as the mineral, arsenopyrite, within the massive pyrite deposits and has a pre-
existing presence in the island's natural environment. TVIRD does not use chemicals (including
arsenic) in its drilling activities. All drilling activities are carried out in an environmentally sensitive
manner.
As TVIRD previously received all necessary social licenses to operate in PDA and the project is duly
permitted with an MPSA by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
TVIRD is focused on having the CDO reversed and to returning to PDA to resume the unfinished
drilling program.
Agata Limestone:
The Agata Limestone project is held by Agata Mining Ventures Inc. (
"AMVI"
) and is located in the
same 4,995-hectare MPSA area as the Agata nickel/iron mine. TVIRD holds a 60% interest and is
operator of AMVI, which includes Mindoro Resources Ltd. (15%) and Minimax Mineral Exploration
Corporation (25%). The Agata site is located in the adjacent municipalities of Tubay, Jabonga and
Santiago
in Agusan del Norte province, 3.5 km from AMVI's private port. The MPSA currently has
an expiry date of
May 26
, 2049.
Planning and coordination activities at the Agata Limestone project have continued. Several major
international companies have expressed continuing interest in the limestone deposits and TVIRD is
actively evaluating each potential opportunity.
Due to the project's close proximity to the Agata causeway where materials will be shipped,
potential operations will benefit from having low transport and handling costs. It is also expected
that if the Agata Limestone project is to proceed, it will further benefit from the use of the same
infrastructure that had been developed to operate the Agata nickel/iron mine, including all
administration buildings and offices, the laboratory, maintenance facilities, site roads and the port.
AMVI received on
June 1, 2022
, the ECC for the Agata Limestone project that is valid through to
May 31
, 2026.
Agata Direct Shipping Nickel/Iron Mine / Nickel Prospects:
Through to the date of this news release, AMVI has completed a total project-to-date of 382
shipments of 20.78 million wet metric tonnes of nickel laterite, including seven (7) shipments
completed in 2023, subsequent to the announcement of
May 18, 2022
, that the Agata direct shipping
nickel/iron mine (
"Agata nickel/iron mine"
) was expected to cease operations in October 2022.
Operations at the Agata nickel/iron mine commenced in
October 2014
and the final shipment was
completed in August 2023. Completed shipments exceed by more than two times the proven and
probable reserves of 9.7 million wet metric tonnes of nickel laterite ore with a grade of 48% Fe and
0.9% Ni that had been reported in the National Instrument 43-101 compliant Feasibility Study entitled
"Technical Report for the Agata North Nickel Laterite DSO Project, Mindanao,
Philippines
"
(
"Feasibility Study"
), dated
August 30
, 2013 and filed under the Company's SEDAR+ profile on
September 10
, 2013. The Feasibility Study was prepared under the direction of
Dallas Cox
, an
independent qualified person, with contributions from
Mark Gifford
and
Michael Conan-Davies
;
independent qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (
Canada
).
AMVI initiated rehabilitation activities at the Agata nickel/iron mine in
October 2023
under the final
mine rehabilitation and decommissioning plan and as at the date of this news release an
approximate 28 hectares, representing an approximate 19% of disturbed area, has been
rehabilitated.
AMVI continues to explore other possible nickel prospects, one of which is the approximate 70-
hectare EP 27 laterite area in Bolobolo, San Vincente, Jabonga. Mapping and sampling activities
have commenced to confirm the extent of the surface manifestation of the laterite deposit.
Another nickel prospect of interest is located in the Gupana-Omasdang area in Dinagat Island where
exploration activities are pending completion of a survey by the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau to
determine the boundaries of the prospect.
Mabilo/Nalesbitan:
The Mabilo project (
"Mabilo"
) is located in Camarines Norte Province, Eastern Luzon,
Philippines
,
one of the major traditional gold mining centers in
the Philippines
, and is covered by MPSA MLC-
MRD V-459 Amended (Renewal) and two (2) additional blocks with an existing Exploration Permit
(EP-019-202-V), covering 3,484 hectares and 166 hectares. The DMPF for initial DSO operations
was approved on
July 9, 2019
, and the ECC was issued on
June 17
, 2016. The Mabilo mineralized
deposit is classified as a copper-gold-iron skarn deposit that offers potential for multi-metal
products, namely copper, gold and silver, with by-products magnetite and pyrite (
FeS
2
).
TVIRD holds a 60% indirect interest in Mabilo through having acquired on
January 31, 2022
, all the
outstanding capital stock of SageCapital Partners, Inc. (
"SageCapital"
). SageCapital is a holding
company incorporated under the laws of
the Philippines
which, in turn, owns 60% of the outstanding
capital stock of Mt. Labo Exploration and Development Corporation (
"MLEDC"
), a
Philippines
mining
and minerals exploration development company and the owner and operator of Mabilo.
Mabilo is a near-surface deposit which will employ open pit mining. There is potential to initially
produce direct shipping ore then later produce concentrates through the construction of a processing
plant. A NI 43-101 Technical Report prepared by Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd. and filed on
May 2,
2016
, under the SEDAR profile of RTG Mining Inc., which holds a 40% interest in MLEDC through
SRM Gold, reflects a historical Probable Mineral Reserves estimate of 7.8Mt at 2.0% Cu, 2.0g/t Au,
8.8g/t Ag and 45.5% Fe for Mabilo.
At present Mabilo continues to be under a Care and Maintenance Program, compliant with all
associated terms and conditions. Land properties necessary for purchase and conversion in
preparation for possible DSO mining have been identified. Currently, three options for a causeway
location are being evaluated together with access routes. The costing of mine infrastructure,
including haulage road to waste rock dump area, diversion canal for water management, relocation
area, and office and accommodation complex, is nearing finalization.
The nearby Nalesbitan project (
"Nalesbitan"
) is also wholly-owned and operated by MLEDC and
TVIRD thereby holds a 60% indirect interest in this project together with Mabilo, as described
previously. Nalesbitan shares the same MPSA as Mabilo with an expiry date of
June 2041
and is
located 15 kilometers west of Mabilo in the historic Paracale Gold District in Eastern Luzon.
An early exploration project prior to TVIRD's acquisition covered a large zone of alteration in which
widespread zones of epithermal gold, silver and copper have been outlined. The alteration and
mineralization is located between two major regional scale NW-trending sinistral strike slip faults:
the Bosignon Fault to the north of the project and the Dumagmang Fault to the south. There are
seven (7) main project areas including Nalesbitan Hill, Millsite, Singko,
Venus Springs
, New Horizon,
Bagong Dose and UPD Flats.
At present, a significant number of illegal small-scale miners operate in the area of Nalesbitan. In
keeping with its past reputation of operating under the highest standards of health and safety
practices for its workers and its host community and uncompromising best-practices approach to
environmental protection as well as community development, TVIRD's current focus is to establish
positive community relations, after which exploration activities will commence.
TVI Corporate Update
:
Director Resignation
Mr.
David Moscovitz
has tendered his resignation as a director of the Company, effective
immediately. The Company thanks Mr. Moscovitz for his valuable contributions and wishes him
success in future endeavours.
Qualified Persons
The Qualified Person responsible for the scientific and technical content of this press release is Mr.
Michael James Bue, Bsc.
Eng, M.Eng, P.Eng. Mr. Bue has acted as the Qualified Person in
compliance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("
NI 43-
101
") reporting requirements by virtue of his membership in the Professional Engineers of
Ontario
and Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has confirmed compliance of this press release
with NI 43-101 requirements.
About TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc.
TVIRD, a Philippine corporation in which TVI holds a 30.66% interest, is a diversified mining
company that focuses on the acquisition, exploration, development and production of resource
projects in
the Philippines
. TVIRD owns 100% of the operating Balabag gold/silver mine, 100% of
the Siana gold mine and the neighboring Mapawa project (gold), a 60% indirect interest in the Mabilo
project (a copper-gold-iron skarn deposit that offers potential for multi-metal products, namely
copper, gold and silver, with by-products magnetite and pyrite), and a 60% interest in Agata Mining
Ventures Inc. (nickel/iron Direct Shipping Operations ("
DSO")
mine).
About TVI Pacific Inc.
TVI Pacific Inc. is a Canadian resource company focused on mining projects in
the Philippines
, one
of the most prolifically mineralized countries in the world. TVI maintains a strong presence in
the
Philippines
through its 30.66% equity interest in TVIRD, a
Philippines
corporation. Through TVIRD,
TVI has ownership in TVIRD's 100%-owned Balabag gold/silver mine, a currently producing mine,
and is focused on ramping-up to commercial production at TVIRD's recently restarted 100%-owned
Siana gold mine. TVIRD also has in its portfolio of projects its 100%-owned Mapawa project (gold),
a 60% indirect interest in the Mabilo project (a copper-gold-iron skarn deposit that offers potential
for multi-metal products, namely copper, gold and silver, with by-products magnetite and pyrite), and
a 60% interest in Agata Mining Ventures Inc. (nickel/iron DSO mine).
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward-
looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek",
"anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might",
"should", "believe", "scheduled", "to be", "will be" and similar expressions. Forward-looking
statements in this News Release are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of
the Company and, in certain cases, information supplied by third parties as at the effective date of
such statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-
looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and that information received from
third parties is reliable, it can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been
correct.
Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties (known and
unknown) that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or
implied and should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results.
These
factors include, but are not limited to, such things as: (i) general economic conditions in
Canada
,
the Philippines
and elsewhere; (ii) volatility of prices for precious metals, base metals, and other
commodities; (iii) commodity supply and demand; (iv) fluctuations in currency and interest rates;
(v) inherent risks associated with the exploration and development of mining properties, including
but not limited to geological characteristics, metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, the
availability of equipment and facilities necessary to complete development and the ability to
develop adequate processing capacity; (vi) the cost of consumables and mining and processing
equipment; (vii) unforeseen technological and engineering problems; (viii) ultimate recoverability
of reserves; (ix) production, timing, results and costs of exploration and development activities; *
political factors, political stability or civil unrest, including but not limited to acts of sabotage or
terrorism; (xi) availability of financial resources or third-party financing; (xii) changes in laws or
regulations (domestic or foreign); (xiii) changes in administrative practices; (xiv) changes in
exploration plans or budgets; (xv) the availability of skilled labour; (xvi) the failure of parties to
contracts with the Company and TVIRD to perform as agreed, including its joint venture partners;
(xvii) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
or similar public health crises; and (xviii) extreme
weather conditions and forces of nature (i.e. typhoons, heavy rains, earthquakes, and the like) that
may disrupt operations and exploration.
Forward-looking statements regarding Pan de Azucar ("PDA"), current drilling and the possible
resumption of drilling, the results of such drilling and the possible lifting of the Cease-and-Desist
Order ("CDO") issued by the Iloilo provincial government, are based upon, but are not limited to,
TVIRD's past exploration, operations, construction and project development experience in the
region and in such terrain, current and previous exploration activities, discussions with third
parties, community-related programs, legislation of and relations with various levels of
government, the availability of financing and TVIRD's overall plans, budget and strategy for PDA
as may be considered and agreed between TVIRD and its joint venture partner (which are all
subject to change).
Forward-looking statements regarding the Agata Limestone Project, possible future development
and operations are based upon, but are not limited to, TVIRD's past exploration, operations,
construction and project development experience in the region and in such terrain, ongoing
discussions with and expression of interest by major international companies in the limestone
deposit, the availability of financing and TVIRD's overall plans, budget and strategy for the Agata
Limestone Project as may be considered and agreed between TVIRD and its joint venture partner
(which are all subject to change).
Forward-looking statement related to possible nickel prospects and their acquisition by
TVIRD/AMVI do not lend any certainty that such acquisition and subsequent exploration will occur
and are based on, but are not limited to, TVIRD's past exploration, operations and project
development experience in the region and in such terrain, current and previous exploration
activities, discussions with third parties, the availability of financing and TVIRD's overall plans,
budget and strategy for AMVI as may be considered and agreed between TVIRD/AMVI and its joint
venture partner (which are all subject to change).
Forward-looking statements regarding the Mabilo project ("Mabilo") and the Nalesbitan project
("Nalesbitan) are based upon, but are not limited to, TVIRD's past operational, construction and
project development experience in the region and in such terrain, current and previous exploration
activities, discussions with third parties, the availability of financing and TVIRD's overall plans,
budget and strategy for Mabilo as may be considered and agreed between TVIRD and its joint
venture partner (which are all subject to change).
The Company does not have control over TVIRD nor does it have any involvement in the
management or decisions of TVIRD or control over financial reporting and internal controls of
TVIRD. The Company relies on the internal controls and financial reporting controls of TVIRD and
their failure to maintain effectiveness or comply with applicable standards may adversely affect
TVI.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance upon the forward-looking statements
contained in this material change report and such forward-looking statements should not be
interpreted or regarded as guarantees of future outcomes.
Various risks to which the Company is exposed in the conduct of its business (including mining
activities) are described in detail in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended
December 31, 2022
, which was filed on SEDAR+ on
May 15, 2023
, and is available under the
Company's profile at
www.sedarplus.ca
.
The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are made as of the date hereof
and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update or to revise any of the included
forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws in force in Canada.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary
statement.
Neither 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.
SOURCE
TVI Pacific Inc.
View original content:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2024/12/c2255.html
%SEDAR: 00001837E
For further information:
Patrick Hanna, Chief Financial Officer, TVI Pacific Inc.,Phone: 403-265-
4356, E-mail: [email protected]
CO: TVI Pacific Inc.
CNW 09:38e 12-APR-24