New Hana Signs Definitive Agreement to Option the Formerly Producing
Musina Copper Project in South Africa
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Jul 18, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
New Hana Copper Mining Ltd. ("HML" or the "Company") - (tsx
venture:HML) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an
Acquisition and Joint Venture agreement (the "Agreement") with BSC
Resources Limited. ("BSC") of South Africa whereby the Company has
the option to earn up to a 100% interest in the Musina Copper Project
(the "Project"), located in northeast South Africa.
The Musina Project
The Musina Project area is comprised of six Prospecting Rights
covering 100 square kilometers (10,006.88 hectares) of highly
prospective ground which encompasses the Musina fault which is a
structure that is known to host a number of formerly producing
high-grade copper mines. The Project includes the formerly producing
Artonvilla, Spence, Messina, Harper and Campbell underground copper
mining operations.
Mining commenced at Musina around 1905 focusing on high grade (25%
Cu) surface outcrops. Subsequently, copper mineralization was
exploited by five main shafts along the Messina fault zone over a
strike length of 15 kilometres to depths of over 1,400 metres below
surface. From 1905 to 1993 Musina was operated by Messina (Transvaal)
Development Company, after which the name was changed to Messina Ltd.
The mine was closed due to low copper prices.
Over 750,000 tonnes of wire-grade copper ingots were fire-refined on
site until 1993 when it became uneconomical to continue operating the
company's own smelter. Subsequently, concentrates, with an average
grade of +40% copper, were transported by rail to Phalabora for
smelting and refining.
The management of BSC estimates that tens of millions of tonnes of
mineralized material remains at Musina.
Copper mineralization has also been confirmed, through drilling and
trenching, at the Mollytoo target. BSC geologists believe that there
is considerable potential for the discovery of additional copper
mineralization within this target area to a depth of at least 1,500
metres, which is the historic depth of the Harper and Campbell mines,
and along strike within and adjacent to the Musina fault.
There is also exploration potential at a partially drilled breccia
pipe which may extend mineralization from surface to a depth of at
least 1,500 metres. In addition, there are a number of high quality
historic copper soil anomalies that remain untested.
The Project area has not previously been flown with modern
geophysical techniques which could detect additional blind massive
sulphide bodies and/or zones of disseminated mineralization.
Copper sulphide mineralization consists mostly of chalcopyrite,
bornite and chalcocite whereas oxide mineralization consists of
mostly of malachite and some minor covellite and azurite. The copper
mineralization is believed to have originated from magmatic
intrusions of late to post-Karoo age. Mineralized emanations intruded
the country-rock, mainly along the Musina fault, to form breccia
bodies in this fault zone, as well as breccia pipes.
The Project is well supported by infrastructure including roads,
railway and is adjacent to the national electrical grid. The
Phalabora Copper Smelter and Refinery is located approximately 326
kilometres away from the Project.
Terms of the transaction
The Company can earn its initial undivided 50% interest in the Musina
Project by making an initial US$200,000 cash payment to BSC within
five (5) business days of the later of that date that five of the six
project's prospecting rights are renewed by the South African
authorities and TSX Venture approval (the "Effective Date"), and
three equal payments of US$100,000 every six months thereafter. As a
result, the total cash payment for the initial 50% interest is
US$500,000.
To earn its initial undivided 50% interest therein, the Company must
also incur total work expenditures aggregating US$5,100,000 on the
Project within 36 months of the Effective Date of the Agreement.
The Company shall have the sole exclusive right and option to acquire
the remaining 50% undivided interest of the Project by paying a cash
amount of US$2,600,000 to BSC and by issuing up to 10 million common
shares of the Company to BSC, such that the number of shares will, on
the date of issue, equate to a value not greater than US$30 million.
Such shares will be issued to BSC within 10 business days after the
receipt of a Mining Right from the South Africa Minister of Mineral
Resources. The Mining Right shall cover the entirety of the property
or any smaller area selected by the Company.
If the Company acquires the initial 50% interest and does not elect
to acquire the remaining undivided 50% interest, the Project will be
managed on a joint-venture basis with the Company being the operator
of the Project.
The Company may terminate the earn-in in respect to all or a portion
of the Project at any time during the earn-in period, by delivering a
notice on at least 30 days' notice to BSC terminating the earn-in in
respect to the Project.
About BSC Resources Ltd.
BSC is a South African Black Economic Empowerment company which is
focused on the exploration for and development of precious, base
metal and coal projects in South Africa. BSC was incorporated in 2005
and since then has acquired one of the largest prospecting areas in
South Africa which includes the ex-Falconbridge Insizwa nickel,
copper and platinum project, which BSC has optioned to a major global
mining company.
Update on New Hana Copper Mining Ltd.'s Kuke Copper-Silver Project in
Botswana
The Company's recently concluded its exploration drilling program at
Kuke and results are pending. The company will provide an update on
the Kuke Project once it has assessed the results from this program.
This press release was reviewed and approved by Marek Kreczmer.,
Chief Executive Officer for New Hana. He is the qualified person as
defined in NI 43-101.
The Agreement remains subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory
approvals, including acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Please visit the Company's website at
www.newhanamining.com for
additional details on the Company and the Kuke Project.
Statements in this press release, other than purely historical
information, including statements relating to the Company's future
plans and objectives or expected results, may include forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous
assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties
inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual
results may vary materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements.
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.
Contacts:
New Hana Copper Mining Ltd.
Investor Relations
(604) 682-4262
(778) 370-0146 (FAX)
info@newhanamining.com
www.newhanamining.com
SOURCE: New Hana Copper Mining Ltd.
To
many people in Africa, earning one dollar or euro may be enough to feed a family
for a day. Selling handicrafts is a solution for some, but how can they be sold
to far-off markets like the US? That is where Seeds of Hope, a non-profit
organization in Charlotte, North Carolina (US) comes in. 
