Altiplano Begins Startup Phase at El Penon and Strengthens Board
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSXV: APN) (WKN: A2JNFG) ("Altiplano" or the "Company") is pleased to report it has completed the commissioning stage at the El Peñón processing plant located near the town of La Serena, Chile and has entered the startup phase with first concentrate production expected in early August. The state-of-the-art facility is located approximately 15 km from the Company's copper-gold and iron mine, Farellon.
Highlights
All testing of the crushing, milling, copper/gold flotation, copper thickener tanks and tailings management has been completed.
Processing of the copper-gold-iron materials has begun with the stockpile at the mill and mine site, full transition to inhouse processing will be completed at the end of August.
To optimize output, ongoing system updates and adjustments are expected over the next few months, including iron separation testing and production, expected to be completed in 6 weeks.
Five-thousand tonnes of copper-gold-iron material will be processed per month and is expected to produce 300 tonnes of copper/gold concentrate and 1,800 tonnes of iron concentrate.
Final tails will be "dry stacked" in a tailings compound where the Company is reviewing opportunities to sell this product to the agricultural/construction industries based on contained phosphorus. Final tails are expected to contain approximately 25% apatite.
First copper concentrate sales are expected in late-August, supported by the concentrate purchase and sale offtake agreement.
Altiplano Strengthens Board
Altiplano is pleased to announce the addition of Luis Albano Tondo to the Board of Directors. Luis is a Mining Engineer with 35+ years of experience in the mining industry. Mr. Tondo has served as President, Executive Director, Independent Director, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, VP Operations and Project Director and Advisor for numerous listed companies with mining ventures in South America, including senior roles with Kinross and Rio Tinto. He has been directly involved with the construction and operation of several multi-million-dollar mining projects in Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. Mr. Tondo is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Jamie Hutton has resigned from the Board, and we would like to thank Jamie for his nearly five-year tenure and commitment as an APN director.
President and CEO Alastair McIntyre comments: "We are very pleased to reach this next milestone of our business. The production of copper-gold and iron concentrates at the El Peñón processing facility will allow us to leverage revenue and profit opportunities, providing sustainability for the Company to pursue and develop new growth opportunities. We are proud to design this state-of-the-art facility with ESG in mind as a first of its kind in Chile. Additionally, we are very pleased to be adding Luis Tondo to Altiplano's Board as a commitment to strengthen the board and management as the Company grows. Luis has extensive experience in the mining industry in South America and brings excellent technical capabilities and knowledge of local projects and participants. Luis will be a great complement to the APN Team to support our growth and technical oversight of our operations in Chile."
El Peñón
The El Peñón processing facility is a state-of-the-art Environmental Social Governance (ESG) focused operation designed to reduce transportation and processing costs. The plant utilizes nonchemical flotation and magnetic separation to generate copper/gold and magnetic iron concentrates as income streams. A dry stack tailings process generates dry tailings without the requirement of a conventional tailings dam and reduces water consumption through recycling by 75%. Tails are reduced by 40% through magnetic separation, and final tails have opportunity to be used in the agricultural and construction industries. The El Peñón plant is a first-of-its-kind facility in the Chilean small-scale processing industry.
About Altiplano
Altiplano Metals is a growing gold, silver, and copper company focused on the Americas. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets that include operating and developing copper/gold/iron mines and a state-of-the-art operating copper/gold and iron processing facility in production. Altiplano is focused on creating long-term stakeholder value through developing safe and sustainable production, reinvesting into exploration, and pursuing acquisition opportunities to complement its existing business. Management has a substantial record of success in capitalizing on opportunity, overcoming challenges and building shareholder value. Altiplano trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange trading under the symbol APN and the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol A2JNFG.
Altiplano has generated over US$12.1 million from the recovery and sale (after processing costs) of more than 5.2 million pounds of copper with an average grade of 1.80% Cu (2018 Q1-2023 Q1). Cash flow has been reinvested into equipment, underground drilling, expanding underground development at Farellon, enhancing ventilation to increase productivity and capacity, new underground development and exploration, and the building of the El Peñón fit-for-purpose mill and flotation plant located 15 km from the Farellon site.
John Williamson, B.Sc., P.Geol., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this document.
Altiplano is part of the Metals Group of Companies, led by a dynamic group of resource sector professionals with a long record of success in evaluating and advancing mining projects from exploration through to production, attracting capital, and overcoming adversity to deliver exceptional shareholder value. www.metalsgroup.com
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
/s/ "John Williamson"
Chairman
For further information, please contact:
Alastair McIntyre, CEO
alastairm@apnmetals.com
Tel: (416) 434 3799
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 release.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify any historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the issuer is not treating any historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
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