VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
-- (Marketwired)
-- 08/21/14
Argentex Mining Corporation ("Argentex" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: ATX)(OTCQB: AGXMF) is pleased to announce the results of the updated National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (the Report) undertaken by Mine Development Associates ("MDA") of Reno, Nevada. This Report incorporates drilling and trenching results from 2013 on the Company's 100%-owned Pinguino Silver-Gold Project, located in Santa Cruz province, Argentina.
Highlights:
-- Increase in indicated category Ag eq. ounces by 13% (3.0 million
additional Ag Eq. ounces to a total of 26.7 Million Ounces Ag Eq. @
132.3 g/t Ag Eq)
-- Increase in inferred category Ag Eq. ounces by 49% (2.3 million
additional Ag Eq. ounces to a total of 7.0 Million Ounces Ag Eq. @ 98.0
g/t Ag Eq.).
-- Four new veins were added to the resource to bring the total number of
veins included in the updated resource estimate to twelve.
-- More than sixty veins remain to be fully tested in vein structures that
remain open in all directions
"This significant increase in the resource estimate follows our latest phase of exploration in the oxidation zone and further supports our belief in the potential for the future development of the Pinguino project. The increase resulted from the addition of four veins to the resource, as well as further drilling and trenching on certain veins included in the previous resource estimate of January 31st, 2013. The increase in enriched Ag/Au grade oxide material continues to point to the potential to evaluate a staged development of the project and while the long-term future of Pinguino lies in the primary mineralisation, this high-grade oxide material could make an initial low-cost oxide operation feasible. The oxide material is enriched in Ag/Au, whilst the primary mineralisation comprises either Ag-Au or Ag-Au-Zn-Pb sulphide mineralisation," commented Mike Brown, President and CEO of Argentex. "These results, coupled with our understanding of the deposit and its expansion potential, will provide a solid foundation to our recently announced strategic review.
Table 1: Resource Summary
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Indicated Grade (g/t) Grade Ounces (000's) Pounds (000's)
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Tonnes Zn Pb
('000) Ag eq. Ag Au (%) (%) Ag Ag eq Au Zn Pb
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6,281 132.3 103.4 0.58 0.77 0.54 20,877.0 26,717.0 116.8 107,225 74,993
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Inferred Grade (g/t) Grade Ounces (000's) Pounds (000's)
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Tonnes Zn Pb
('000) Ag eq. Ag Au (%) (%) Ag Ag eq Au Zn Pb
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2,207 98.0 65.3 0.66 0.52 0.35 4,632.0 6,957.0 46.5 25,378 17,062
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1. Ag equivalent grade = Ag grade + (Au grade (i) 50) (Rounding may cause
apparent discrepancies).
2. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated
economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the
estimated Mineral Resources will be converted into Mineral Reserves. All
Mineral Resources have been classified in accordance with the Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on
Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by
the Standards Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM
Council on December 11, 2005 and updated on November 27, 2010 and on May
10, 2014.
3. Two cutoffs are used for reporting the resources: 40g/t AgEq for
elevations above 270m, and 100g/t AgEq for elevations below 270m
elevation. Average surface elevations at Pinguino are around 400 metres
above sea-level.
4. MDA reports resources at cutoffs that are reasonable for deposits of
this nature given anticipated mining methods and plant processing costs,
while also considering economic conditions.
5. For the Luna, Savary and CSV veins, resources were reported only for
those that fell within a floated cone based on reasonable assumptions
and prices for resource reporting for open pit mining.
6. Grades presented are in situ and have been reported to 3m by 6m by 4m
(high) blocks.
7. Tonnes reported are for all veins, as are gold and silver grades and
ounces, but zinc and lead pounds and grades are exclusive of Luna,
Savary, Karina, and CSV veins, which did not have zinc and lead
estimated.
8. All equivalent ounces for silver and gold were calculated by Argentex.
The varying cutoffs used in the resource model are given below:
Table 2: Resource estimate by cut-off grades (Ag Eq)
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Indicated
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Cut Off Ag
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Eq. Tonnes Ag Eq. Ag Au Zn Pb
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(g/t) (000's) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) % %
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20 11,635 86.4 66.6 0.40 0.78 0.44
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40 6,918 125.7 97.8 0.56 0.94 0.55
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Reported 6,281.0 132.3 103.4 0.58 0.77 0.54
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60 4,552 165.6 130.5 0.70 0.99 0.63
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80 3,229 205.2 163.9 0.83 1.02 0.68
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100 2,442 242.5 196.0 0.93 0.98 0.72
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150 1,401 332.7 276.0 1.14 0.78 0.75
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200 912 418.9 355.0 1.28 0.63 0.77
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Indicated
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Cut Off Ag
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Eq. Ag Ag Eq Au Zn Pb
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(g/t) (000's oz) (000's oz) (000's oz) (000's lbs) (000's lbs)
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20 24,897 32,327 149 199,614 112,511
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40 21,747 27,967 124 142,729 84,365
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Reported 20,877 26,717 117 107,225 74,993
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60 19,102 24,237 103 99,633 63,010
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80 17,014 21,304 86 72,514 48,664
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100 15,389 19,034 73 52,862 38,549
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150 12,432 14,992 51 24,154 23,237
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200 10,409 12,284 38 12,756 15,575
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Inferred
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Cut Off Ag
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Eq. Tonnes Ag Eq. Ag Au Zn Pb
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(g/t) (000's) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) % %
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20 6,043 57.6 39.3 0.37 0.64 0.29
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40 2,921 89.1 59.5 0.59 0.85 0.37
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Reported 2,207 98.0 65.3 0.66 0.52 0.35
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60 1,656 119.9 78.5 0.83 0.91 0.43
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80 1,059 148.5 96.0 1.05 0.98 0.49
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100 699 179.3 114.1 1.30 0.96 0.53
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150 341 240.9 157.0 1.68 1.06 0.63
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200 173 307.6 216.9 1.81 0.97 0.68
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Inferred
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Cut Off Ag
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Eq. Ag Ag Eq Au Zn Pb
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(g/t) (000's oz) (000's oz) (000's oz) (000's lbs) (000's lbs)
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20 7,631 11,206 72 84,880 38,344
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40 5,590 8,365 56 54,659 23,733
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Reported 4,632 6,957 47 25,378 17,062
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60 4,181 6,381 44 33,083 15,619
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80 3,270 5,055 36 22,910 11,340
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100 2,565 4,030 29 14,762 8,141
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150 1,722 2,642 18 7,945 4,724
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200 1,206 1,711 10 3,694 2,584
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The tables below summarise the division of the resource estimate by oxidation state, as defined from drill logs. Oxidation levels typically range from 40-60m below the surface, although they can extend down to approximately 130m below the surface within the veins. These are reported at the variable cut-off grades (see note 4 above).
Table 3: Resource Composition by Oxidation State
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Indicated Cut-off Tonnes Ag eq. Ag Au Zn Pb
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Zone (Ag Eq g/t) (000's) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) % %
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Oxide variable 2,802 145.2 114.1 0.62 0.07 0.32
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Transitional variable 717 134.5 106.6 0.56 0.23 0.41
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Sulphide variable 2,763 118.6 91.7 0.54 1.62 0.80
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Total 6,282
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Inferred Cut-off Tonnes Ag eq. Ag Au Zn Pb
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Zone (Ag Eq g/t) (000's) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) % %
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Oxide variable 757 101.7 77.7 0.48 0.06 0.30
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Transitional variable 163 93.9 72.9 0.42 0.30 0.34
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Sulphide variable 1,287 96.5 57.1 0.79 0.77 0.38
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Total 2,207
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Indicated Cut-off Ag Ag eq Au Zn Pb
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(000's (000's (000's
Zone (Ag Eq g/t) (000's oz) oz) oz) lbs) (000's lbs)
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Oxide variable 10,276 13,081 56 4,324 19,768
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Transitional variable 2,458 3,103 13 3,595 6,500
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Sulphide variable 8,146 10,536 48 98,550 48,487
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Total 26,720 117 106,469 74,755
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Inferred Cut-off Ag Ag eq Au Zn Pb
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(000's (000's (000's
Zone (Ag Eq g/t) (000's oz) oz) oz) lbs) (000's lbs)
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Oxide variable 1,890 2,475 12 1,001 5,007
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Transitional variable 382 492 2 1,092 1,204
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Sulphide variable 2,363 3,993 33 21,907 10,818
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Total 6,960 47 24,000 17,029
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See notes for Table 1 for reporting details.
Discussion
The addition of the Karina, Savary, Luna and CSV veins in the Inferred category follows their discovery in the 2012 exploration program, and follow up drilling in the oxide zone in late 2013. The exhibited structural control of high-grade mineralisation by cross-cutting faults could offer significant potential to identify high-grade zones at depth. In general only the Marta Centro vein has been drilled to any significant depth (approximately 350m). The untested deeper extensions of the veins focusing on zones of cross-cutting structures for high-grade shoots are targets for resource expansion.
Of all metals listed and found in the veins, only silver, gold, zinc, and lead were modelled. Indium occurs at Pinguino associated with zinc in higher than anomalous grades in the polymetallic veins, but it was not modelled.
With only 12 of the 70 or more discovered veins included in the current estimate, the Company continues to believe in the potential of the mineral resource at Pinguino.
QAQC
A best-practices and increasingly stringent protocol for the collection, preparation and submission of rock samples for analysis was followed throughout the phases of exploration at Pinguino. All samples were analyzed by Acme Analytical Laboratories ("Acme Labs") except for the 2006 drilling of Phase 2 which were sent to Alex Stewart (Assayers), Argentina, S.A. The current analytical protocol, which was largely instituted in 2007 for the Phase V drilling, and which constitutes the bulk of the assay data that contributed to the resource model, begins with all field samples being submitted to Acme Labs' preparation laboratory in Mendoza, Argentina. From there, the sample pulps were sent to its laboratory in Vancouver for multi-element ICP-MS analysis (1DX procedure). Samples overlimit in silver, lead, zinc or copper were rerun by a high- detection limit ICP-ES procedure (Acme Labs code 7AR). Samples overlimit in silver from that procedure and, more recently, all gold assays greater than 300 ppb were rerun by fire assay (G6 procedure). Acme Labs is an accredited ISO 9000:2001 full-service commercial laboratory with its head office in Vancouver. Quality control was maintained by submitting field blanks and duplicates, Company standards for the latest phase and by reviewing laboratory results of its own replicates, duplicates and analytical standards.
About Pinguino
Argentex's 10,000-hectare advanced silver and gold exploration Pinguino project is located in Argentina's Patagonia region, within the Deseado Massif of Santa Cruz province. The Deseado Massif is an active region of mining with four precious metal mines currently in production, and includes multiple active advanced and early stage exploration projects.
The Pinguino system has grown to 70+ individual veins, with a combined strike length approaching approx. 113 line-kilometers. The Pinguino project is unique within the Deseado Massif region of Santa Cruz province in that it contains two different and spatially distinct types of mineralization, one precious metal and the other sulphide-rich polymetallic. The Company continues to evaluate the geological model of sulphide-enriched potentially mineralized intrusives at depth, forming the probable source for the polymetallic veins exposed on surface.
Pinguino is easily accessible, situated approximately 400 meters above sea level in low-relief topography. An existing system of all-weather roads provides year-round access to the property.
The mineral resource estimate was prepared by Steven Ristorcelli, C. P. G., Principal Geologist at Mine Development Associates in Reno, Nevada in accordance with NI 43-101, and he is an independent "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. S. Ristorcelli has approved the details of the resource estimate as contained herewith.
All other content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Mike Brown, MAIG, and he is a "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101.
The Company expects a complete copy of the Report will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this press release.
About Argentex
Argentex Mining Corporation is an exploration company focused on advancing its Pinguino silver-gold project in Santa Cruz, Argentina. In total, Argentex owns 100% of the mineral rights to more than 37 properties located within approximately 136,087 hectares of highly prospective land located in the Santa Cruz and Rio Negro provinces.
Shares of Argentex common stock trade under the symbol ATX on the TSX Venture Exchange and under the symbol AGXMF on the OTCQB. 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.
On behalf of Argentex Mining Corporation:
Michael Brown, President and CEO
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Words such as "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "could", "potential", "should", "anticipates", "likely", "believes" and words of similar import also identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include those concerning management's belief in the potential for the future development of the Pinguino project, that the increase in enriched Ag/Au grade material continues to point to the potential to evaluate a staged development of the project, that high grade oxide material could make an initial low cost oxide operation feasible, that these results, coupled with the Company's understanding of the deposit and its expansion potential, will provide a solid foundation to the Company's recently announced strategic review and that the exhibited structural control of high-grade mineralization by cross-cutting faults could offer significant potential to identify high-grade zones at depth.
Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors beyond the Company's control. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the availability of the Company's consultants and risks that are inherent in Argentex's operations including the risks that the Company may not find any minerals in commercially feasible quantity or raise enough money to fund its exploration and/or plans. These and other risks are described in the Company's Annual Information Form and other public disclosure documents filed on the SEDAR website maintained by the Canadian Securities Administrators and the EDGAR website maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contacts:
Argentex Mining Corporation
Michael Brown
President and CEO
604-568-2496
604-568-1540 (FAX)
info@argentexmining.com
www.argentexmining.com
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