TORONTO, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Dia Bras Exploration Inc. (TSX-V:DIB) (BVL:DIB) (“Dia Bras” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce its production results for the second quarter of 2012.
Press Release Highlights:
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Daniel Tellechea, President and CEO of Dia Bras, commented: “Dia Bras achieved record-breaking production in the second quarter of 2012. Consolidation of operations in Peru and Mexico has led to consistent production growth throughout 2012 establishing Dia Bras as one of the new, mid-tier precious and base metal producers in Latin America.“
Mine Operations
Dia Bras achieved record-breaking production in the second quarter of 2012. The acquisition of Sociedad Minera Corona S.A. (“Corona”) in May 2011, coupled with the announcement of commercial production at the Bolivar Mine were the two main drivers of the substantial year-over-year increases in metal production. The Company reached a total of 323,396 tonnes of ore processed (compared to 37,408 in 2011) from all operations, representing a 765% increase year-over-year. These substantial increases in production have resulted in record production figures in the second quarter and the first half of 2012. A summarized table of consolidated production results is presented below.
| Consolidated Production | Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||
| June 30, 2012 | June 30, 2011 | Var. % | June 30, 2012 | June 30, 2011 | Var. % | ||
| Silver (oz) | 670,705 | 63,942 | 949% | 1,254,952 | 122,272 | 926% | |
| Copper (000 lbs) | 4,122 | 814 | 406% | 8,000 | 1,373 | 483% | |
| Lead (000 lbs) | 9,084 | 108 | 8336% | 17,014 | 244 | 6873% | |
| Zinc (000 lbs) | 15,282 | 4,392 | 248% | 28,905 | 7,966 | 263% | |
| Gold (oz) | 2,876 | – | – | 5,901 | – | N.A. | |
Yauricocha Mine, Peru
The Yauricocha Mine in Peru continued to be the Company’s largest producing mine with a total of 217,078 tonnes processed in the second quarter of 2012. Mineralization at the Yauricocha Mine is hosted in three different zones including the Copper, Lead-Oxide (“Oxides”) and Polymetallic ore bodies.
During the second quarter of 2012, aggregate production of these ore bodies was 544,707 oz of Ag, 2.2 million lb of Cu, 9.0 million lb of Pb, 11.5 million lb of Zn and 2,876 oz of Au. A comparative summary of production from the Yauricocha Mine for the first and second quarters of 2012 has been provided below.
| Yauricocha Production1 | Three months ended2 | Six months ended | |||
| June 30, 2012 | March 31, 2012 | Var% | June 30, 2012 | ||
| Silver (oz) | 544,707 | 492,432 | 11% | 1,037,138 | |
| Copper (000 lbs) | 2,212 | 2,634 | -16% | 4,846 | |
| Lead (000 lbs) | 8,958 | 7,846 | 14% | 16,804 | |
| Zinc (000 lbs) | 11,465 | 10,485 | 9% | 21,950 | |
| Gold (oz) | 2,876 | 3,025 | -5% | 5,901 | |
| 1 For a detailed summary of production for the Yauricocha Mine, please click here. | |||||
| 2 Please note that 2012 will be the Company’s first full year of production from the Yauricocha Mine, as such comparable data has been provided only for the first and second quarters of 2012. |
Bolivar Mine, Mexico
Since the announcement of commercial production on November 29, 2011, at the Bolivar Mine, the new Piedras Verdes mill has continued to consistently increase production throughput. During the second quarter of 2012, total ore processed at the Bolivar Mine increased 203% with 86,061 tonnes processed compared to 28,415 tonnes in the same period of 2011. This substantial increase resulted in second quarter production of silver increasing 52% year-over-year for a total of 52,544 oz, compared to 34,585 oz in 2011; and copper production increasing 135% year-over-year with 1.9 million lb produced compared to 0.8 million lb in 2011. Despite this substantial increase in throughput during the second quarter of 2012, zinc production decreased 13% year-over-year to 3.8 million lb compared to 4.4 million lb in 2011. The decrease in zinc production resulted from a lower head-grade of 2.51% in the second quarter of 2012 compared to 7.94% in the same period in 2011. A summary of production from the Bolivar Mine for the second quarter of 2012 has been provided below.
| Bolivar Production1 | Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||
| June 30, 2012 | June 30, 2011 | % Var. | June 30, 2012 | June 30, 2011 | % Var. | ||
| Silver (oz) | 52,544 | 34,585 | 52% | 96,903 | 56,708 | 71% | |
| Copper (000 lbs) | 1,910 | 814 | 135% | 3,154 | 1,373 | 130% | |
| Zinc (000 lbs) | 3,817 | 4,392 | -13% | 6,954 | 7,966 | -13% | |
| 1 For a detailed summary of production for the Bolivar Mine please click here. |
The Company continues to realize operating efficiencies at the Bolivar Mine and has successfully increased throughput each month in 2012. The new Piedras Verdes mill achieved its highest production rate in June 2012 with 30,005 tonnes processed per month.
Cusi, Mexico
Total production at Cusi increased 125% in the second quarter of 2012 with 20,257 tonnes processed compared to 8,993 tonnes in the same period in 2011. During the second quarter of 2012 head grades for silver and lead were 160 g/t Ag and 0.45% Pb, compared to 131 g/t Ag and 0.94% in the same period of 2011. A summary of production from the Cusi operation for the second quarter of 2012 has been provided below.
| Cusi Production1 | Three months ended | Six months ended | ||||||
| June 30, 2012 | June 30, 2011 | % Var. | June 30, 2012 | June 30, 2011 | % Var. | |||
| Silver (oz) | 73,454 | 29,357 | 150% | 120,911 | 65,564 | 84% | ||
| Silver Flotation | 72,059 | 23,647 | 205% | 116,728 | 54,868 | 113% | ||
| Silver Lixiviation | 1,395 | 5,709 | -76% | 4,183 | 10,696 | -61% | ||
| Lead (000 lbs) | 126 | 108 | 17% | 210 | 244 | -14% | ||
| 1 For a detailed summary of production for the Cusi Project please click here. |
AGM Highlights
At the Annual Meeting of Dia Bras Shareholders held on June 29, 2012, all of the resolutions tabled at the meeting were overwhelmingly approved by shareholders, including the re-election of Alberto Arias, Douglas F. Cater, Steven G. Dean, John S. Donnelly, Guillermo Kaelin, Philip Renaud and Daniel Tellechea as Directors.
Included in the resolutions approved at the meeting was the adoption of the Dia Bras restricted share unit plan (“RSUP”) for the benefit of the employees, consultants, officers and directors of the Corporation and its subsidiaries. The RSUP provides for a maximum number of 5,000,000 restricted share units to be reserved for issuance under the RSUP. A reduction of the number of shares reserved under the current stock option plan of the Corporation from 8,300,000 to 3,300,000 was also approved by the shareholders.
The technical content of this news release has been approved by Thomas L. Robyn, Ph.D., CPG, RPG, a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 and Head of Exploration for Dia Bras Exploration, Inc.
About Dia Bras
Dia Bras Exploration is a Canadian mining company focused on precious and base metals in Chihuahua State, other areas of northern Mexico, and most recently at its Yauricocha silver-lead-zinc-copper-gold mine in Peru. The Company is accelerating exploration at the Yauricocha property as well as pursuing the development and exploration of its most advanced Mexican assets – the Bolivar Property (copper-zinc-silver) and the Cusi Property (silver-lead) and is exploring in Mexico several precious metal targets such as La Sidra gold project at the Bolivar Property, Las Coloradas silver project at Melchor Ocampo (Zacatecas State), the Bacerac silver project (Sonora State), and the La Verde gold project at the Batopilas Property (Chihuahua State). Dia Bras is also exploring base metal projects in Mexico such as the Corralitos intrusion-hosted molybdenum deposit (Chihuahua State). Dia Bras is also exploring base metal projects in Mexico such as the Corralitos intrusion-hosted molyebdenum deposit.
The Company’s shares trade on the Bolsa de Valores de Lima and TSXV under the symbol “DIB”.
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 news release.
Forward-looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this news release without limitation regarding new projects, acquisitions, future plans and objectives are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
