United States Antimony Corporation (“USAC”, NYSE MKT “UAMY”) reported it has a lease on the San Jose Antimony Mines (“Wadley”) in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. USAC will lease the mine for a period of one year with renewal rights. During the first six months that started on June 20, 2013, the rental is $25,000 per month and thereafter it is $30,000 per month. The lease includes the mining concessions, mining equipment, the mill, and the infrastructure including a man-camp, assay lab, hospital, administrative office, railroad siding, shop, and warehouses. USAC has received a letter from the mine owner authorizing the company to commence operations at the Mines. The parties intend to memorialize the lease in a definitive agreement by the end of next week.
According to the U. S. Geological Survey (Bulletin 946-E, San Jose Antimony Mines Near Wadley, State of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, 1946, Donald E. White and Jenaro Gonzales R.) by 1943, the “San Jose mines have produced more antimony than any other district in Mexico, and they have been surpassed in production by only one or two other deposits in the world.” By 1943, the recorded production was 57,612 metric tons of contained antimony metal. Since that time the mine has produced a significant additional amount of antimony that was not recorded.
The mineralized zone is approximately 2 kilometers long and a kilometer in width and has been developed by 500 kilometers (300 miles) of underground workings. Historically, the antimony was recovered by hand-sorting “high-grade” for direct smelting. Since 2010, USAC purchased and smelted 481,028 pounds of antimony from the Wadley. In 1943, the U. S. Geological Survey noted, “If the mining of low-grade ore becomes feasible in the future, large tonnages can be blocked out in the mantos and in the veins. In addition, dumps resulting from more than 50 years of mining are readily available… The future of the San Jose mines depends to a large extent upon the development of a milling process by means of which antimony can be extracted from low-grade oxide ores…”
In the late 1990s a 500 ton per day plant was installed at Wadley. The plant recovered only 20-25% of the values and made a low-grade concentrate. On a trial basis in 2012, USAC modified the plant and produced a 40-50% antimony concentrate with up to a 55% recovery on a reduced tonnage basis. USAC claims no reserves at the present time at Wadley.
Management’s immediate plan will be to permit the Wadley to mine and mill the lower-grade mineralization and direct ship the higher grade antimony to USAC’s Mexican smelter.
Forward Looking Statements:
This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events, including matters related to the Company’s operations, pending contracts and future revenues, ability to execute on its increased production and installation schedules for planned capital expenditures and the size of forecasted deposits. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and assumptions will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company’s most recent filings, including Form 10-KSB with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
United States Antimony Corporation
John Lawrence, 406-827-3523
[email protected]
